DDServer Control for Visual Basic Test and demonstration programs

The DDServer package comes with test applications in compiled and source code form. You can try out the full version DDServer.ocx using the test program DDSvTest.exe. You will not be able to modify it until you have a design time licence. You can modify the demonstration test program DDSvDemT.exe, which exercises DDSvDemo.ocx. The screen shot of DDSvTest will give you some idea of the functionality offered by DDServer.

The text box in the lower left corner records the Events raised within the server application. They are

• The server registered its name with DDEML, which raised the DDERegister event.
• A client connected to the System topic.
• A client connected to the Test topic.
• The client connected to the Test Topic started an Advise or Notify loop for the Count Item.

The ExecTest Windows Shell command tester

ExecTest is a program which displays the command line parameters given when it was launched. It also displays strings sent by any DDE Execute command, for example when Windows launches a file. The source code is provided so you can see how simple it is to capture the Shell DDE Execute commands, allowing you to open new files in a running instance of your Visual Basic authored application.

To see the Shell Verbs in action you need to

• assign a file extension to ExecTest,
• create a file with that extension,
• add some Action Verbs to the file class, including DDE commands,
• open the file by right clicking it in Explorer to select one of the verbs.

You can create the file association and Action Verbs with Windows Explorer.

The example above shows that ExecTest was launched with no file specified. The file ExecTest.abc was right clicked twice, the "open" and "NewVerb" menu selections being chosen.

The DDServer status was obtained and the text added to the text box. It shows that the service name is "ExecText" and there is one topic, the "System" topic. It has the standard item list.

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