DDE - Poke
Declaration
<AMDDE ACTIVITY="poke" APPLICATION="text" TOPIC="text" ITEM="text" DATA="text" TIMEOUT="number" />
Description
Uses an open dynamic data exchange (DDE) channel to send data to an application.
IMPORTANT: Automate Desktop's DDE capabilities
should only be used by individuals who are experienced with DDE
communications.
Practical usage
Typically used to send unsolicited data, that is, to "poke" data to another application during a DDE conversation.
Parameters
General
| Property | Type | Required | Default | Markup | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | Text | Yes | (Empty) | APPLICATION="Excel" | The name of the application that the DDE conversation should be initialized with. Each DDE conversation is uniquely defined by the application name and topic. At the beginning of a DDE conversation, the client and server determine the application name and topic. The application name is usually the name of the server application. For example, when Excel acts as the server in a conversation, the application name is Excel. |
| Topic | Text | Yes | (Empty) | TOPIC="primary_file" | The
server-defined topic name of the DDE conversation. The DDE topic
is a general classification of data within which multiple data
items may be "discussed" (exchanged) during the conversation.
For applications that operate on file-based documents, the topic
is usually a file name. For other applications, the topic is an
application-specific name. NOTE:
The server application defines the topic names available for a
DDE conversation. See documentation for the DDE server application
for specific information about the names of available topics. |
| Data | Text | Yes | (Empty) | DATA="remove" | The data to be sent to the receiving application (the DDE server). |
| Item | Text | Yes | (Empty) | ITEM="source" | The
item within a DDE topic to which the specified data is to be sent.
A DDE data item is information related to the conversation topic
exchanged between the applications. Values for the data item can
be passed from the server to the client, or from the client to
the server. NOTE: The server application defines the item names available for a
DDE conversation. See documentation for the DDE server application
for specific information about the names of available items. |
| Timeout (milliseconds) | Number | No | 60000 | TIMEOUT="99000" | Scalar specifying the time-out limit (measured in milliseconds) for this operation. The default value is 60000. |
Examples
NOTE:
- Copy and paste the sample AML code below directly into the Task Builder Steps Panel.
- To successfully run the sample code, update parameters containing user credentials, files, file paths, or other information specific to the task to match your environment.
Description
This sample task pokes an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
Copy
<AMDDE ACTIVITY="poke" APPLICATION="Excel" TOPIC="Sheet1" ITEM="R1C1" DATA="This is the text to poke." TIMEOUT="60000" />