DDE into CVI IDE.

[Jon Kasprick]

Where is the DDE interface to the CVI IDE (cvi.exe) documented? For example "Open UIR file, %1", etc.

[Jason F.]

First of all, if you are trying to use DDE to control CVI, DON'T. Use ActiveX Automation instead, it is much easier and well defined as an application communication interface than DDE as a whole. If you are trying to control it from a VB or VC++ app, then just import its functionality through their wizards. If you are trying to control it from a CVI app, then just use the CVI ActiveX Automation Controller wizard to develop a custom library you can use.

If you are dead set on using DDE, then read the following bad news about that idea.

There is no documentation for the DDE features of the CVI IDE. Although, you can look at the cmdsrvr.h include file in your cvi\include directory to see the usable interface features. DDE probably was just not seen as an all too im
portant feature to continue advancement of for the purpose of controlling CVI.

Again, I suggest you use ActiveX over DDE anyday.

Jason Foster
Applications Engineer
National Instruments
www.ni.com/ask

[Jon Kasprick]

Thanks for the response. The 'cmdsrv.h' was the key I needed. Thanks for the warning about controlling via DDE. I was peripherally wondering about that for potential application integration strategies.

My interest was certainly in the DDE interface in general, but the specific problem I'm looking at is file type associations for launching CVI. I noticed that Win95 & 98 didn't create the associations properly, and NT hides & protects them better. The NT installation is the only one that properly launches my CVI project when I click on one of the source files (not .prj, or .uir).

Now that you know the rest of the story, is this a CVI problem, or did I honk up the install?

It's more of a curiosity at this point since I think I have the answers to solve my
immediate problem. I'll try setting the DDE I/F for the file associations in my W98 system and check it out. I found the NT info stashed in the registry. Explorer's File Types shows blanks!