[VB6]Searching an ActiveX/COM object for a method

This article was first posted by me on StackOverflow in response to my own question, "How do I search an ActiveX/COM object for a method?". This article is an edited version of the original.

"After Googling around not quite finding what I wanted, I remembered the Edanmo site which got me thinking about TLBINF32.DLL, downloading Microsoft's TLBINF32.CHM and reading up on GetMembersWithSubStringEx.

Below is the implementation of it (done in VB6 with a reference to TLBINF32.DLL), some demo VBScript and output, and the wrapping of that functionality in some VBA.

Public Function SearchTLIMethodsAndProperties(sTypelib As Variant, sSymbol As Variant) As Variant Dim SI As SearchItem Dim aResults As Variant Dim bFound as boolean Dim Groups(1) As InvokeKinds Groups(0) = INVOKE_FUNC Or INVOKE_PROPERTYGET Or _ INVOKE_PROPERTYPUT Or INVOKE_PROPERTYPUTREF ReDim aResults(0) bFound = False With TypeLibInfoFromFile(sTypelib) .SearchDefault = tliStClasses Or tliStEvents For Each SI In .GetMembersWithSubStringEx(sSymbol, Groups) bFound = True arr.AAdd_PostIncrement aResults, SI.Name Next End With if bFound then ReDim Preserve aResults(UBound(aResults) - 1) end if SearchTLIMethodsAndProperties = aResults End Function

VBScript demo. The above code was included in my StdLib DLL in the Registry coclass.

Dim O, R Set O = CreateObject("Std.Registry") Set R = CreateObject("Std.Arrays") WScript.Echo R.ShowStructure( O.SearchTLIMethodsAndProperties( "MSSCRIPT.OCX",""))

Output from the demo (script was run in SciTE).

>cscript "C:\foo\foo.vbs" {Add,AddCode,AddObject,AllowUI,Clear,CodeObject,Column,Count,Description,Error,Eval,ExecuteStatement,HasReturnValue,HelpContext,HelpFile,Item,Language,Line,Modules,Name,NumArgs,Number,Procedures,Reset,Run,SitehWnd,Source,State,Text,Timeout,UseSafeSubset} >Exit code: 0

Finally, the VBA code. A cell has a symbol in it and this routine finds it or returns an error string. (reg. in this case refers to the Registry coclass in the StdLib.DLL)

Public Function LookupSymbol(sLib As String, sSym As String) As String Dim aRes As Variant aRes = reg.SearchTLIMethodsAndProperties(sLib, sSym) Dim i As Integer LookupSymbol = "!!NotFound!!" For i = 0 To UBound(aRes) If LCase$(aRes(i)) = LCase$(sSym) Then LookupSymbol = sSym Exit For End If Next End Function

Hmm ... no error checking. Should fix that.

© Copyright Bruce M. Axtens, 2009

[Delphi] Updating SysTray

I'd been lurking at ITtoolbox for a while and saw this request for help with updating the system tray.

I've had similar problems myself. For instance, if you use boost or some similar process-control tool to kill the Skype.exe and SkypePM.exe programs, the processes disappear from memory but the system tray still shows the Skype icon until you move the mouse over the icon. Then the tray refreshes, the Skype icon disappears and the remaining icons rearrange.

On Experts Exchange I found a bit of Delphi code which moves the mouse over the systray (using system messages rather than moving the mouse pointer itself.) This convinces Windows to update the systray. Because not everyone has an Experts Exchange membership, I've turned the code into a COM DLL, which you can download. Source is included (Artistic2 license.) A copy of the original Experts Exchange code can be found here.

Once you've registered the DLL (regsvr32 UpdateSysTray.DLL) you can use it in anything that supports ActiveX/COM objects. For example, in VBScript:

set o = createobject("UpdateSysTray.UST") o.UpdateSysTray()

© Copyright Bruce M. Axtens, 2008