Targeting an ActiveX Document Container
ActiveX documents, like ActiveX controls,
cannot be used alone. ActiveX documents must exist in a container, which
is itself an object. Most ActiveX documents, however, will be viewed in an
application that provides an object that is the actual container of the
ActiveX document. Throughout this document, we will therefore refer to
these applications as container applications, or applications that can
contain an ActiveX document.www.tartoos.com
Here are three containers, and their advantages:
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Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 3.0 or later) — Using
Internet Explorer, an ActiveX document can be a familiar version of an
existing application with added Internet capabilities. For example, an
existing application can be enhanced with Web links (using the Hyperlink
object). You can also deploy the ActiveX document over the Internet,
allowing users to get the latest version of your application.
www.tartoos.com
Note The deployment of ActiveX
documents differs slightly depending on the version of Internet Explorer
that you are targeting. For more information on deploying ActiveX
documents, see "Manually Deploying ActiveX Components" in Building
Internet Applications.
-
Microsoft Office Binder 1.0 (or later) — The Microsoft Binder is
an electronic "paper clip" that can hold several disparate documents,
such as Word and Excel documents. Use an ActiveX document to add
database programming or multimedia display capabilities to binders. For
example, a repair manual assembled as a binder of Word documents could
be enhanced by the addition of a Visual Basic ActiveX document that
displayed video clips of repair procedures.www.tartoos.com
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Visual Basic Development Environment Tool Window — The Visual
Basic Environment Tool Window is an object created by the
CreateToolWindow function. Using this function, you can create a
dockable window in the Visual Basic development environment. This window
can then contain ActiveX documents that provide additional user
interface capabilities to the development environment. For instance, you
could create a resource editor or menu editor using the Visual Basic
Extensibility Object Model.
www.tartoos.com
Issues for Containers
Because the capabilities of an ActiveX document can depend on the host
application, you should consider the following questions:
-
Will this document depend on the features of a particular host
application?
For example, if you are creating an ActiveX document that will run in
Internet Explorer, you may want to exploit its ability to show an ActiveX
document in one frame, and HTML documents in another.www.tartoos.com
-
Will I be creating a suite of documents that work together?
For example, if the document is a simple calculator, it will probably not
demand more than a single ActiveX document, and the answer is "no."www.tartoos.com
If the answer to either of these is "yes," then you will need to
investigate the capabilities of the target application(s). Specifically,
you will want to know how to navigate from one ActiveX document to another
(if you are creating a suite of documents), or how to access the features
of the host application. Other than documentation from the creator of the
container application, the only way to discover the object model is by
using the Object Browser.www.tartoos.com
One Example: One Goal,
Two Containers
To illustrate this, let's examine a multi-document scenario. Imagine you
have created two ActiveX documents, and want to open the second by
clicking on a button on the first.
If the host application is Internet Explorer, you must use the Hyperlink
object's NavigateTo method to get from one document to another, as shown
in the following code:
Private Sub cmdGoTo_Click()
'
Assuming the name of the
'
destination is AxDoc2.vbd.
UserDocument.HyperLink.NavigateTo _
"file://c:\docs\AxDoc2.vbd"
End
Sub
On the other hand, Microsoft Binder operates on an entirely different
metaphor. Instead of navigating to another document, you must add a
section to the Binder. An example of the code is shown in the following:
Private Sub cmdAddSection_Click()
'
Use the same document: AxDoc2.
UserDocument.Parent.Parent.Sections. _
Add , "c:\docs\AxDoc2.vbd"
End
Sub
Looking Into the Target
Application's Object Modelwww.tartoos.com
From the preceding two different methods shown, it becomes apparent that
you cannot count on one method to get from one ActiveX document to another
in every container. The question then becomes, "How do I discover the
method for a target host application?"
One way (besides documentation) to discover an application's methods is to
use the Object Browser. For example, to explore the object model of
Microsoft Binder, follow these steps:www.tartoos.com
To discover the objects and methods of Microsoft Binderwww.tartoos.com
Note You must have Microsoft Office Binder 1.0 or later, which
can be installed with Microsoft Office.
-
On the Project menu, click References.
-
In the scrolling list of available references, click OLE Automation
Binder 1.0 Type Library (or Microsoft Binder 8.0 Object Library
for Office ’97).
-
Click OK.
-
Press F2 to open the Object Browser.
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Click the Project/Library Box, and then click Office Binder.
-
In the Classes List, click Sections.
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In the Members of List, click Add. You will now see the syntax of
the Add method, which you can use to add the ActiveX document to the
Sections collection.
Navigating Through the
Object Modelwww.tartoos.com
You may have noticed that the Object Browser hasn't given you a complete
guide to the object model. Compare the code:
UserDocument.Parent.Parent.Sections.Add _
,
"c:\docs\AxDoc2.vbd"www.tartoos.com
with the information found in the Object Browser. The difference lies in
the addition of "UserDocument.Parent.Parent" to the code.
The discrepancy arises because
the ActiveX document is itself "buried" lower within the object model. To
Office Binder, the ActiveX document is just one more Section object in a
Sections collection. Thus the code
TypeName(UserDocument.Parent)
returns "Section," while
TypeName(UserDocument.Parent.Parent)
returns "Binder."
In order to navigate through the
hierarchy to the top of the object model, the code uses the reference
returned by the Parent property. However the code must navigate one final
level — again using the Parent property. This results in the
Parent.Parent
code. The code then navigates back down to the Sections collection,
culminating in the Add method.www.tartoos.com
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