---
rexxpub:
defaults: rony.yaml
logo: oorexx
---
. slide cover
# Windows-Automatisation 1
. subtitle
**OLE-Automation/ActiveX-Automation, ooRexx Proxy Class "OLEObject"**
. cover-art
. picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p01-diagram-7.png
# OLE (ActiveX) Automation
. after
- **COM**: **C**omponent **O**bject **M**odel
. after
- RPC ("remote procedure call")
. click
- Defines standard ***i**nterface* function "***I***Unknown"
. click
- Developed further
- DCOM, COM+
. click
- **OLE** : **O**bject **L**inking and **E**mbedding
. after
- COM-based, ***i**nterface* function "***I***Dispatch"
. click
- Linking of documents (dynamic data exchange, DDE)
- Cold link
- Warm link
- Hot link
. click
- Embedding of alien/foreign documents
# OLE (ActiveX) Automation
. steps each=after
- VBX, OCX, ActiveX
- Set of COM-Interfaces for defining Windows "components"
- Windows programs, which can be combined as building stones
- Defined interface for communicating with components
. click
- Acronyms
- Visual Basic Extension
- Mostly developed for GUI
- Object Component Extension and ActiveX
- Independent of Visual Basic, therefore usable for all Windows programs
. slide reference="Cf. winextensions.pdf (8. OLE Automation)"
# OLE (ActiveX) Automation
. after
- OLE (ActiveX) Automation
. after
- Interface for remotely controlling Windows applications/components
. click
- Set of COM-based interface functions
. after
- Standardized definition of programming interfaces for (scripting) languages
- Invocation of *methods* (functions) in a Windows program/component
- Querying and setting *property* ("attribute") values of a Windows program/component
- Intercepting of *events* that get raised by a Windows program/component
- Querying of *constant* values in a Windows program/component
. click
- Logging of user actions, which can be transformed into a "script" ("macro") program
. slide reference="Cf. winextensions.pdf (8. OLE Automation)" presenter="Till Winkler"
# OLE (ActiveX) Automation
. columns 1 11
**COM Class Provider**
. next column
. drawing id=#p5d15 ratio=2.16 width=100% size=0.91
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. end group
. box id=#p5x18 at=16.7,41.3,66.1,8.8 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff; font-size: 1.61em"
Collection of COM-Classes
. box id=#p5x20 at=3.5,64.1,12.2,10.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff; font-size: 1.21em"
Internet Explorer
. box id=#p5x21 at=16.9,64.1,12.2,10.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff; font-size: 1.21em"
Word
. box id=#p5x22 at=30.3,64.1,12.2,10.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff; font-size: 1.21em"
Excel
. box id=#p5x23 at=43.7,64.1,12.2,10.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff; font-size: 1.21em"
PowerPoint
. box id=#p5x24 at=57.1,64.1,12.2,10.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff; font-size: 1.21em"
...
. box id=#p5x25 at=70.4,64.1,12.2,10.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff; font-size: 1.21em"
AutoCAD
. group box id=#p5x26 at=83.8,64.1,12.2,10.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff; font-size: 1.01em"
And many
others ...
. end group
. box square id=#p5x27 at=5.9,75.5,8.1,4.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
methods
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properties
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events
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constants
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methods
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properties
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events
. box square id=#p5x34 at=19.2,92.2,8.1,4.6 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
constants
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methods
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properties
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events
. box square id=#p5x38 at=32.5,92.2,8.1,4.6 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
constants
. box square id=#p5x39 at=46.1,75.5,8.1,4.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
methods
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properties
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events
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constants
. box square id=#p5x43 at=59.1,75.5,8.1,4.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
methods
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properties
. box square id=#p5x45 at=59.1,86.9,8.1,4.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
events
. box square id=#p5x46 at=59.1,92.2,8.1,4.6 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
constants
. box square id=#p5x47 at=73,75.5,8.1,4.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
methods
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properties
. box square id=#p5x49 at=73,86.9,8.1,4.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
events
. box square id=#p5x50 at=73,92.2,8.1,4.6 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
constants
. box square id=#p5x51 at=86,75.5,8.1,4.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
methods
. box square id=#p5x52 at=86,80.8,8.1,4.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
properties
. box square id=#p5x53 at=86,86.9,8.1,4.5 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
events
. box square id=#p5x54 at=86,92.2,8.1,4.6 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff"
constants
. arrow #p5x18 <-> #p5x20 route=elbow
. arrow #p5x18 <-> #p5x21 route=elbow
. arrow #p5x18 <-> #p5x22 route=elbow
. arrow #p5x18 <-> #p5x23 route=elbow
. arrow #p5x18 <-> #p5x24 route=elbow
. arrow #p5x18 <-> #p5x25 route=elbow
. arrow #p5x18 <-> #p5x26 route=elbow
. click box id=#p5x16 at=35.7,21.1,28.2,8.8 style="--skin-box-bg: #ffffff; font-size: 1.51em"
OLE-Interface
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**initialise & interact**
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ooRexx Application
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**messages**
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. end drawing
. end columns
. slide reference="Cf. winextensions.pdf (8. OLE Automation)"
# OLE (ActiveX) Automation
- Information about Windows applications and components is stored in the Windows Registry
. click
- **HKEY\_CLASSES\_ROOT**
. after
- **CLSID**
- GUID resp. UUID
- Global resp. Universal Unique Identifier
. click
- **ProgID**
- A string that can be easily comprehended and memorized by humans
. click
- Identifying (addressing) of a COM Windows component can be done via a *CLSID*, a *ProgID* or a "*moniker*" (a human readable string)
. slide reference="Cf. winextensions.pdf (8.3. The OLEObject Class)"
# ooRexx Class ".OLEObject"
. after steps
- Reference documentation available with the Windows version of ooRexx
. after
- "ooRexx Windows Reference": **winextensions.pdf**
- "Proxy" class for addressing OLE resp. ActiveX Windows programs, which allows for
. after
- Locating and addressing running OLE/ActiveX programs
- Creating new instances of OLE/ActiveX programs
- Querying the *published* programming interfaces (methods, properties, constants, events)
- Sending ooRexx messages to invoke the interfaces
. after
- Arguments are automatically converted by ooRexx
. with
- Return values are automatically converted by ooRexx
. slide reference="Cf. winextensions.pdf (8.3. The OLEObject Class)"
# ooRexx Class ".OLEObject"
. after steps
- Querying/setting of property values using ooRexx messages
. after
- Windows properties can be used as if they were ooRexx attributes
- Can intercept events and invoke ooRexx methods by the same name
- Automatically carries out the necessary datatype conversion between Windows and ooRexx, ie. between ooRexx and the following (COM) Windows datatypes
. after
- VT\_EMPTY, VT\_NULL, VT\_VOID, VT\_I1, VT\_I2, VT\_I4, VT\_I8, VT\_UI1, VT\_UI2, VT\_UI4, VT\_UI8, VT\_R4, VT\_R8, VT\_CY, VT\_DATE, VT\_BSTR, **VT\_DISPATCH**, *VT\_VARIANT*, **VT\_PTR**, VT\_SAFEARRAY
. slide kicker="ooRexx Class “.OLEObject”, 3" reference="Cf. winextensions.pdf (8.3. The OLEObject Class)"
# Methods (1 of 2)
. steps each=after
- **Init( ProgID | CLSID \[, NOEVENTS|WITHEVENTS\] )**
- Creates a new instance of the OLE/ActiveX program ("COM class")
- Returns an ooRexx (proxy) object for it
. click
- **GetObject( Moniker \[, SubclassOfOLEObject\] )**
- Class method, which searches an existing instance of a COM class
- Returns an ooRexx (proxy) object for it
. click
- **GetConstant( \[someConstantName\] )**
- Returns the value for the constant named *someConstantName*
- Returns all published constants with their defined values as a Rexx stem
. slide kicker="ooRexx Class “.OLEObject”, 4" reference="Cf. winextensions.pdf (8.3. The OLEObject Class)"
# Methods (2 of 2)
. steps each=after
- **GetKnownEvents, GetKnownMethods**
- Returns a stem containing all published events and methods of the COM class
. click
- **GetOutParameters**
- Returns an array object with the "out" parameters of the last invocation
. click
- **Dispatch( MessageName \[, Argument1, Argument2, ...\] )**
- Invokes a method on the Windows side which has the same name as "MessageName" and forwards any supplied arguments
. click
- **UNKNOWN( MessageName \[, ArrayWithArguments\] )**
- This method processes all unknown messages and forwards them to the OLE/ActiveX program, which gets represented by the proxy object
- The reason why one can send ooRexx messages successfully to Windows objects!
# Hint about the examples
. after
- The Windows version of Open ooRexx (ooRexx) is delivered with numerous OLE/ActiveX examples, which can be found under the ooRexx installation directory:
. with
```
?\ooRexx\samples\ole
```
. click
- Attention!
. after
- The following foils only depict a subset of the supplied examples
. after
- Therefore please study and run all examples in all of the samples subdirectories
. after
- These examples do not change your computer settings permanently!
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1, Internet Explorer 11"
# "InternetExplorer.Application" # 1
- ...\\ole\\apps\\MSInternetExplorer\_navigate.rex (executed on 2022-05-03)
. columns 8 4
. after
. after mark 4-6 pen=1
. click mark 9-12 pen=2
. with mark 15 pen=2
. click mark 18-20 pen=3
```rexx
/* create an object for IE */
myIE = .OLEObject~New("InternetExplorer.Application")
myIE~Width = 1000
myIE~Height = 800
Say "current dimensions of IE are:" myIE~Width "by" myIE~Height
/* set new dimensions and browse IBM homepage */
myIE~Width = 1280
myIE~Height = 1024
myIE~Visible = .True -- now show the window
myIE~Navigate("https://www.ibm.com")
/* wait for 10 seconds */
Call SysSleep 10
/* wait for 10 seconds */
myIE~Navigate("https://www.rexxla.org/events")
Call SysSleep 10
myIE~quit
```
. after label
Output:
. with
```output
current dimensions of IE are: 1000 by 800
```
. next column
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. layers style=width:100%
. picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p12-layer-10.png id=#p12L1
. after picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p12-layer-11.png id=#p12L2 anim=fade
. end layers
. end group
. end columns
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1"
# "WScript.Shell"
- ...\\ole\\apps\\WScriptShell.rex
. columns 9 3
. after
. after mark 3-11 pen=1
. click mark 13-17 pen=2
. click mark 19 pen=3
```rexx
WshShellObj = .OLEObject~New("WScript.Shell")
WshEnv = WshShellObj~Environment
Say "Operating system:" WshEnv["OS"]
Say "You have" WshEnv["NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS"] "processor(s) of",
WshEnv["PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE"] "architecture in your system."
Say "The following directories represent special folders on your system:"
Do Folder Over WshShellObj~SpecialFolders
Say " " Folder
End
Say "Creating a shortcut for NOTEPAD.EXE on your Desktop..."
Desktop = WshShellObj~SpecialFolders("Desktop")
ShortCut = WshShellObj~CreateShortcut(Desktop || "\Shortcut to Notepad.lnk")
ShortCut~TargetPath = "%WINDIR%\notepad.exe"
ShortCut~Save
WshShellObj~Popup("Processing of REXX script has finished!")
```
. next column
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. picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p13-12.png width=22%
. end group
. after group anim=fade
. picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p13-13.png width=99%
. end group
. end columns
. click label
Possible Output:
. after
```output
Operating system: Windows_NT
You have 2 processor(s) of AMD64 architecture in your system.
The following directories represent special folders on your system:
C:\Users\Public\Desktop
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
… cut …
Creating a shortcut for NOTEPAD.EXE on your Desktop...
```
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1"
# "WScript.Network"
- ...\\ole\\apps\\WScriptNetwork.rex
. columns 9 3
. after id=#p14x57
```rexx
WshNetObj = .OLEObject~New("WScript.Network")
Say "Computer Name:" WshNetObj~ComputerName
Say "User Domain:" WshNetObj~UserDomain
Say "User Name:" WshNetObj~UserName
Say "The following network drives are currently mapped:"
MappedDrives = WshNetObj~EnumNetworkDrives
Do i=0 To MappedDrives~Count/2 - 1
Say " Drive" MappedDrives[i*2] "is mapped to" MappedDrives[i*2 + 1]
End
Say "The following network printers are currently connected:"
Printers = WshNetObj~EnumPrinterConnections
Do i=0 To Printers~Count/2 - 1
Say " Port" Printers[i*2] "is connected to" Printers[i*2 + 1]
End
```
. next column
. after id=#p14x58
```output
MappedDrives:
[0] Z:
[1] \\192.168.122.1\Shared
Printers:
[0] PORTPROMPT:
[1] Microsoft Print to PDF
[2] SHRFAX:
[3] Fax
```
. end columns
. click label
Possible Output:
. with id=#p14x59
```output
Computer Name: DESKTOP-NS1T6G3
User Domain: DESKTOP-NS1T6G3
User Name: waldi
The following network drives are currently mapped:
Drive Z: is mapped to \\192.168.122.1\Shared
The following network printers are currently connected:
Port PORTPROMPT: is connected to Microsoft Print to PDF
Port SHRFAX: is connected to Fax
```
. after arrow #p14x57:8 -> #p14x58:1
. with arrow #p14x57:14 -> #p14x58:6
. after arrow #p14x58:9 <-> #p14x59:5
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1, Excel 2016 Version 2203"
# "Excel.Application" # 1 (1 of 3)
- ...\\ole\\apps\\MSExcel.rex
. after
. click mark 10-28 pen=1
. click mark 13-18 pen=2
. click mark 19-23 pen=3
. click mark 24-27 pen=4
```rexx
excelApplication = .OLEObject~new("Excel.Application")
excelApplication~visible = .true -- make Excel visible
Worksheet = excelApplication~Workbooks~Add~Worksheets[1]
colTitles = "ABCDEFGHI" -- define first nine column letters
lastLine = 12 -- number of lines to process
sumFormula = "=sum(?2:?"lastLine-1")" -- English formula: question marks will be changed to column letter
say "sumFormula: " sumFormula "(question marks will be changed to column letter)"
xlHAlignRight = excelApplication~getConstant("xlHAlignRight") -- get value of "horizontal align right" constant
do line = 1 to lastLine -- iterate over lines
do col = 1 to colTitles~length -- iterate over columns
colLetter = colTitles[col] -- get column letter
cell = Worksheet~Range(colLetter||line) -- e.g. ~Range("A1")
if line = 1 then do -- first row? yes, build title
cell~value = "Type" colLetter -- header in first row
cell~font~bold = .true -- make font bold
cell~Interior~ColorIndex = 36 -- light yellow
cell~style~horizontalAlignment = xlHAlignRight -- right adjust title
end
else if line = lastLine then do -- last row? yes, build sums
/* set formula, e.g. "=sum(B2:B9)" */
cell~formula = sumFormula~changeStr("?",colLetter) -- adjust formula to column to sum up
cell~Interior~ColorIndex = 8 -- light blue
end
else do -- a row between 2 and 9: fill with random values
cell~value = random(999999) / 100 -- create a random decimal value
cell~font~ColorIndex = 11 -- set from black to violet
end
end
end
```
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1, Excel 2016 Version 2203"
# "Excel.Application" # 1 (2 of 3)
- ...\\ole\\apps\\MSExcel.rex (continued)
. after
. after mark 1-13 pen=1
. click mark 14-19 pen=2
. click mark 20-26 pen=3
. click mark 27-28 pen=4
```rexx
sumCell = WorkSheet~range("A"lastLine) -- get sum-cell of column A
if sumCell~text = "#NAME?" then
do
say
say "** Excel reports a '#NAME?' error for the 'sum' function! Probable cause: **"
say "** your local Excel user interface language is not set to English, therefore you need **"
say "** to adjust the function name 'sum' in the variable 'sumFormula' to your user interface **"
say "** language and rerun this program (e.g. in German you need to rename 'sum' to 'summe') **"
say "** sumCell~formula:" sumCell~formula
say "** sumCell~text: " sumCell~text
say "** sumCell~value: " sumCell~value
say
end
formatString = "#"excelApplication~thousandsSeparator"##0"excelApplication~decimalSeparator"00"
say "formatString: " formatString -- show format string
excelApplication~useSystemSeparators = .false -- allow our format string to be used everywhere
stringRange="A2:"colTitles~right(1)lastLine
say "formatting range:" stringRange
WorkSheet~range(stringRange)~numberFormat = formatString -- get range and set its number format
excelApplication~DisplayAlerts = .false -- no alerts from now on
homeDir = value("USERPROFILE",,"ENVIRONMENT")-- get value for environment variable "USERPROFILE"
fileName = homeDir"\samp09_ooRexx.xlsx" -- build fully qualified filename
say "fully qualified fileName:" fileName -- show fully qualifed filename
Worksheet~SaveAs(fileName) -- save file
-- let the user inspect the Excel file
say "Excel sheet got saved to file, press enter to continue ..."
parse pull . -- wait for user to press enter
excelApplication~Quit -- close Excel
```
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1, Excel 2016 Version 2203"
# "Excel.Application" # 1 (3 of 3)
. after picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p17-14.png width=56%
. with label
Possible Output:
. after
```output
sumFormula: =sum(?2:?11) (question marks will be changed to column letter)
formatString: #.##0,00
formatting range: A2:I12
fully qualified fileName: C:\Users\waldi\samp09_ooRexx.xlsx
Excel sheet got saved to file, press enter to continue …
```
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1"
# "Scripting.FileSystemObject"
- ...\\ole\\apps\\ScriptingFileSystemObject.rex
. after
```rexx
fsObject = .OLEObject~new("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
allDrives = fsObject~drives
if allDrives = .NIL then do
say "The object did not return information on your drives!"
exit 1
end
do i over allDrives
info = i~DriveLetter "-"
/* show the DriveType in human-readable form */
j = i~DriveType
select
when j=1 then info = info "Removable"
when j=2 then info = info "Fixed"
when j=3 then info = info "Network"
when j=4 then info = info "CD-ROM"
when j=5 then info = info "RAM Disk"
otherwise info = info "Unknown"
end
/* append the ShareName for a network drive... */
if j=3 then info = info i~ShareName
/* ...and the VolumeName for the other ones */
else if i~IsReady then info = info i~VolumeName
say info
end
```
. click label
Possible Output:
. after
```output
C - Fixed
Z - Network \\192.168.122.1\Shared
```
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1, Excel 2016 Version 2203" presenter="Till Winkler"
# "Excel.Application" # 2
...\\ole\\apps\\MSExcel\_cURL.rex
. columns 8 4
. after
. after mark 1-11 pen=1
. click mark 14-30 pen=2
. click mark 32-34 pen=3
```rexx
-- Get information using curl, save results in array
cityArr = .array~of("Vienna", "Graz", "Linz", "Salzburg", "Innsbruck", "Klagenfurt", "Bregenz", -
"Eisenstadt", "Sankt-Poelten", "Wien")
cityWeather = .array~new -- array for weather information
do counter i name over cityArr
command='curl https://wttr.in/'name'?format="%l:+%t"' -- https://github.com/chubin/wttr.in
say "#" i":" command -- give user feedback
outArr = .array~new -- array for stdout
ADDRESS SYSTEM command with output using (outArr) error using (.array~new)
cityWeather~append(outArr[1]) -- append output to array
end
-- Start Excel with empty worksheet
excelApplication = .OLEObject~new("Excel.Application")
excelApplication~visible = .true -- make Excel visible
Worksheet = excelApplication~Workbooks~Add~Worksheets[1] -- add worksheet
-- Create bold collum header in first row
colhead = .array~of("City", "Celsius") -- array with header text
do counter col name over colhead
Worksheet~cells(1,col)~Value = name -- insert items from array
Worksheet~cells(1,col)~font~bold = .true -- make bold
end
-- Insert information from gained with curl
do counter row name over cityWeather
parse var name city ":" temperature "°C" -- parse curled informations
Worksheet~cells(row+1,1)~Value = city -- city in collum 1
Worksheet~cells(row+1,2)~Value = temperature -- temperature in collum 2
end
-- Select range for chart, use left upper and lower right cell location
Worksheet~Range("A1:B" || (row+1))~Select -- include title row
-- Add Chart
excelApplication~Charts~Add -- create new chart
excelApplication~ActiveChart~HasTitle = .True -- add title
excelApplication~ActiveChart~ChartTitle~Characters~Text = "Temperature"
```
. next column
. after group anim=fade
. layers style=width:100%
. picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p19-layer-17.png id=#p19L3
. after picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p19-layer-18.png id=#p19L4 anim=fade
. end layers
. end group
. after label
Output:
. after
```output
# 1: curl https://wttr.in/Vienna?format="%l:+%t"
# 2: curl https://wttr.in/Graz?format="%l:+%t"
# 3: curl https://wttr.in/Linz?format="%l:+%t"
# 4: curl https://wttr.in/Salzburg?format="%l:+%t"
# 5: curl https://wttr.in/Innsbruck?format="%l:+%t"
# 6: curl https://wttr.in/Klagenfurt?format="%l:+%t"
… cut …
```
. end columns
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1, Internet Explorer 11"
# "InternetExplorer.Application" # 2
- ...\\ole\\apps\\ MSInternetExplorer\_events.rex
. columns 9 3
. after
. after mark 2-4 pen=1
. after mark 13-23 pen=2
. after mark 20-21 pen=2
```rexx
/* instantiate an instance of the Internet Explorer */
myIE = .watchedIE~new("InternetExplorer.Application","WITHEVENTS")
myIE~visible = .true
myIE~navigate("http://www.ibm.com/")
/* wait for the OnQuit event of the browser to change */
/* the !active attribute of the REXX object to false */
myIE~!active = .true
do while myIE~!active = .true
call syssleep(2)
end
::CLASS watchedIE SUBCLASS OLEObject
/* ... Cut ... Lines deleted, please lookup the original file in your installation ! */
/* this is an event of the Internet Explorer */
::METHOD TitleChange
use arg Text
say "The title has changed to:" text
/* this is an event of the Internet Explorer */
::METHOD OnQuit
self~!active = .false -- terminates the waiting loop in main code
::METHOD !active ATTRIBUTE -- store the active attribute
```
. next column
. click group anim=fade
. picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p20-diagram-19.png width=100%
. end group
. end columns
. after label
Output:
. after
```output
The title has changed to: IBM - Österreich | IBM
```
. slide reference="Press any key to change style!" presenter="Till Winkler"
# "Word.Application"
...\\ole\\apps\\MSWord\_useStyles.rex
. columns 7 2 3
. after
. after mark 1-21 pen=1
. after mark 24-25 pen=1
. click mark 28-47 pen=2
```rexx
Word = .OLEObject~New("Word.Application")
Word~Visible = .TRUE -- make Word visible
Document = Word~Documents~Add -- add document
Selection = Word~Selection -- selection object
say "# 1: Create: title style..."
Selection~Style = "Title" -- Create selection with style: Title
Selection~TypeText("TITLE") -- give selection a text
Selection~TypeParagraph -- add paragraph (go to next line)
say "# 2: Create: heading 1 style..."
Selection~Style = "Heading 1" -- Create selection with style: Heading 1
Selection~TypeText("HEADING 1") -- give selection a text
Selection~TypeParagraph -- add paragraph (go to next line)
say "# 3: Create: heading 2 style..."
Selection~Style = "Heading 2" -- Create selection with style: Heading 2
Selection~TypeText("HEADING 2") -- give selection a text
Selection~TypeParagraph -- add paragraph (go to next line)
-- Note: Usually the style "Normal" follows heading styles
Selection~TypeText("Reset to normal ...") -- "Normal" follows "Heading 2"
Selection~TypeParagraph -- add paragraph (go to next line)
say "# 4: Create: normal text style..."
Selection~Style = "Normal" -- Create selection with style: normal
Selection~TypeText("I am Normal Text.") -- give selection a text
say "Press any key to change style!"
parse pull -- wait for key press
-- Go through each sentence
SentenceCount = Document~Sentences~Count -- get sentence count
Font = Selection~Font -- get font object
do SentenceNumber = 1 to SentenceCount -- go through each sentence
Document~Sentences(SentenceNumber)~Select -- select sentence
StyleName = Selection~Style~NameLocal -- get style name of sentence
Select case StyleName -- make changes depending on style name
when "Title" then do
Font~Name="Arial"
Font~Size="38"
Font~Bold = .TRUE
end
when "Heading 1" then do
Font~Name="Times New Roman"
Font~Size="22"
Font~Italic = .TRUE
end
otherwise NOP
end
end
```
. next column
. after picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p21-20.png width=100%
. next column
. after picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p21-21.png width=95%
. end columns
. after label
Output:
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1, PowerPoint 2016 Version 2203" presenter="Till Winkler"
# "PowerPoint.Application"
...\\ole\\apps\\MSPowerPoint\_layouts.rex
. columns 8 4
. after
. after mark 1-8 pen=1
. click mark 10-14 pen=2
. click mark 16-25 pen=3
. click mark 27-31 pen=4
```rexx
-- Start PowerPoint
PP = .OLEObject~New("PowerPoint.Application")
PP~Visible = .TRUE -- make PP visible
-- Add first Slide
PP~Presentations~Add~Slides~Add(1, 1) -- add: Title-Slide
FirstSlide = PP~ActivePresentation~Slides(1)
FirstSlide~Shapes(1)~TextFrame~TextRange = "New Presentation Title" -- first Shape is Title
FirstSlide~Shapes(2)~TextFrame~TextRange = "Subtitle at:" .dateTime~new -- second Shape is SubTitle
-- Append several Slides
ActivePresentation = PP~ActivePresentation
ActivePresentation~Slides~Add(2, 1) -- append: second Title-Slide
ActivePresentation~Slides~Add(3, 2) -- append: Title and Text Slide
ActivePresentation~Slides~Add(4, 3) -- append: Title and 2-Columne Text
ActivePresentation~Slides~Add(5, 5) -- append: Title, Text and Chart
-- Check what on Slide
SlideCount = ActivePresentation~Slides~Range~Count -- get amount of Slides
say "Your Presentation has" SlideCount "Slides"
do SlideNumber = 1 to SlideCount -- go through each Slide
ShapeCount = ActivePresentation~Slides(SlideNumber)~Shapes~Range~Count -- get amount of Shapes per Slide
say " Slide" SlideNumber "has" ShapeCount "Shapes"
do ShapeNumber = 1 to ShapeCount -- go through each Shape
-- List names of Shapes on Slide
say " ("ShapeNumber"/"ShapeCount"):" ActivePresentation~Slides(SlideNumber)~Shapes(ShapeNumber)~name
end
end
-- Save and Close
parse source . . s -- get fully qualified path of this script
-- create unique file name
fileOut = filespec('location',s)"\PP_" || date("S") || "_" || changeStr(":",time(),"") || ".pptx"
ActivePresentation~SaveAs(fileOut) -- save pptx file
PP~Quit -- close PP
```
. next column
. after group anim=fade
. layers style=width:88%
. picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p22-layer-24.png id=#p22L5
. after picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p22-layer-25.png id=#p22L6 anim=fade
. end layers
. end group
. after label
Possible Output:
. after
```output
Your Presentation has 5 Slides
Slide 1 has 2 Shapes
(1/2): Title 1
(2/2): Subtitle 2
Slide 2 has 2 Shapes
(1/2): Title 1
(2/2): Subtitle 2
Slide 3 has 2 Shapes
(1/2): Title 1
… cut …
```
. end columns
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1, Outlook 2016 Version 2203" presenter="Till Winkler"
# "Outlook.Application"
...\\ole\\apps\\MSOutlook.rex
. columns 8 4
. after
. after mark 1-2 pen=1
. click mark 8 pen=2
. click mark 11 pen=3
. click mark 12-21 pen=4
```rexx
Outlook = .OLEObject~new("Outlook.Application")
NameSpace = Outlook~GetNamespace("MAPI")
-- In Outlook folder have numbers:
-- DeletedItems (3), Outbox (4), SentMail (5), Inbox (6),
-- Calendar (9), Contacts (10), Journal (11), Notes (12),
-- Tasks (13)
Inbox = NameSpace~GetDefaultFolder("6") -- selects Inbox
-- makes Outlook visible and shows Inbox
Inbox~Display
InboxItems = Inbox~Items
MailCount = InboxItems~Count -- count items in Inbox
say "You have" MailCount "Mail(s) in your Inbox:"
Do ItemNumber = 1 to MailCount -- go through each item
Item = Inbox~Items(ItemNumber)
Sender = Item~Sender~Name -- sender of item
say "#" ItemNumber"." Sender
end
```
. next column
. after group anim=fade
. picture img/110_AutoWin_V21/p23-26.png width=100%
. end group
. end columns
. after label
Possible Output:
. after
```output
You have 8 Mail(s) in your Inbox:
# 1. Rony Flatscher
# 2. Rony Flatscher
# 3. Till Winkler
# 4. Rony Flatscher
… cut …
```
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1"
# "Access.Application"
- ...\\ole\\apps\\MSAccess\_contacts.rex
. after
```rexx
-- Initialize string to database path.
strDB = "c:\temp\newdb.mdb"
-- Create new instance of Microsoft Access.
appAccess = .OLEObject~new("Access.Application")
-- Open database in Microsoft Access window.
appAccess~NewCurrentDatabase("strDB")
-- Get Database object variable.
dbs = appAccess~CurrentDb
-- Create new table.
tdf = dbs~CreateTableDef("Contacts")
-- Create field in new table.
/* Please note how to access the constant.
Microsoft documentation and the MS OLEViewer output
these constants as dbText, dbBinary, etc. - the type library
however prints them as DB_TEXT, DB_BINARY, etc.. Unless
documentation is found why the names should be translated,
the OLE code will *NOT* convert the names. */
fld = tdf~CreateField("CompanyName", appAccess~getConstant("db_Text"), 40)
-- Append Field and TableDef objects.
tdf~Fields~Append(fld)
dbs~TableDefs~Append(tdf)
appAccess~quit
```
# ADS – Active Directory Services
. after
- Authentication and authorization of users and computers
. after
- Users
. with
- Access rights
. with
- ...
. after
- Wikipedia overview article
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active\_Directory
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1"
# Collecting Information Using ADS, 1
# Retrieve information about a computer with ADSI.
- ...\\ole\\adsi\\adsi1.rex
. after
```rexx
ComputerName = value("COMPUTERNAME",,"ENVIRONMENT")
myComputer = .OLEObject~GetObject("WinNT://"||ComputerName||",computer")
say "Standard properties of this computer:"
say left("Name:" ,10) myComputer~name
say left("Class:" ,10) myComputer~class
say left("GUID:" ,10) myComputer~guid
say left("ADsPath:",10) myComputer~adspath
say left("Parent:" ,10) myComputer~parent
say left("Schema:" ,10) myComputer~schema
```
. click label
Possible Output:
. after
```output
Standard properties of this computer:
Name: DESKTOP-NS1T6G3
Class: Computer
GUID: {DA438DC0-1E71-11CF-B1F3-02608C9E7553}
ADsPath: WinNT://WORKGROUP/DESKTOP-NS1T6G3
Parent: WinNT://WORKGROUP
Schema: WinNT://WORKGROUP/Schema/Computer
```
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1"
# Collecting Information Using ADS, 2
# Get a user's full name and change it..
- ...\\ole\\adsi\\adsi2.rex \
(Note: this program requires administrator permissions)
. click label
Possible Output:
. after
. after mark 4 pen=1
```rexx
ComputerName = value("COMPUTERNAME",,"ENVIRONMENT") -- get ComputerName
UserID = value("USERNAME",,"ENVIRONMENT" ) -- get UserName
userObject = .OLEObject~GetObject("WinNT://"||ComputerName||"/"||UserID||",user")
/* using the object property */
say "The full name for" UserID "is" userObject~FullName
/* using the standard get method for ADSI objects */
say "The full name for" UserID "is" userObject~Get("FullName")
say "Would you like to rename the full name (y/n)?"
pull answer
if answer = "Y" then do
say "New full name:"
parse pull answer
/* set the property */
/* as an alternative, the property can also be set with the standard put */
/* method of ADSI objects: */
/* userObject~Put("FullName",answer) */
userObject~FullName=answer
/* because properties are cached to avoid network calls, changing the */
/* properties of an object will only affect the cache at first. */
/* the object gets updated with the SetInfo method: */
userObject~SetInfo
say "updated the full name for" UserID
end
```
. after
```output
rexx adsi2.rex
The full name for Administrator is John Doe
The full name for Administrator is John Doe
Would you like to rename the full name (y/n)?
y
New full name:
John Doe's Mother
updated the full name for Administrator
```
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1"
# Collecting Information Using ADS, 3
# Displaying namespaces and domains.
- ...\\ole\\adsi\\adsi5.rex
. after
. after mark 1 pen=1
```rexx
myADS = .OLEObject~GetObject("ADs:")
do namespace over myADS
say "Domains in" namespace~Name
do domain over namespace
if domain \= .nil then
say " " domain~name
else
say domain
end
end
```
. click
Possible Output (on a standalone Windows PC):
. after
```output
Domains in WinNT:
Domains in LDAP:
```
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1"
# Collecting Information Using ADS, 4
# Inspecting properties of an object.
- ...\\ole\\adsi\\adsi6.rex
. columns 7 5
. after
. after mark 3 pen=1
. after mark 4 pen=1
```rexx
ComputerName = value("COMPUTERNAME",,"ENVIRONMENT")
myDomain = .OLEObject~GetObject("WinNT://"||ComputerName)
mySchemaClass = .OLEObject~GetObject(myDomain~schema)
say "Properties for the" myDomain~name "object:"
say
if mySchemaClass~container = 1 then do
say myDomain~name "may contain the following objects:"
do i over mySchemaClass~Containment
say " " i
end
end
else
say myDomain~name "is not a container."
say
say "Mandatory properties:"
do i over mySchemaClass~MandatoryProperties
say " " i
end
say
say "Optional properties:"
do i over mySchemaClass~OptionalProperties
say " " i
End
```
. next column
. click label
Possible Output:
. after
```output
Properties for the DESKTOP-NS1T6G3 object:
DESKTOP-NS1T6G3 may contain the following
objects:
User
Group
Service
FileService
PrintQueue
Mandatory properties:
Optional properties:
Owner
Division
OperatingSystem
OperatingSystemVersion
Processor
ProcessorCount
Name
```
. end columns
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1"
# Collecting Information Using ADS, 5
# Create a group and several users in it.
- ...\\ole\\adsi\\adsi7.rex \
(Note: this program requires administrator permissions)
. columns 7 5
. after
. after mark 2 pen=1
```rexx
ComputerName = value("COMPUTERNAME",,"ENVIRONMENT") -- get ComputerName
computer = .OLEObject~GetObject("WinNT://"||ComputerName)
/* create a new group */
newGroup = computer~Create("group", "REXX-TestGroup")
newGroup~Description = "A test group created with REXX"
newGroup~SetInfo
/* make sure the information in the object cache is up-to-date */
newGroup~GetInfo
say "Created new group" newGroup~Name
say "Description:" newGroup~Description; say
say "Creating 15 users in this group:"
say "User01..User15 with passwords demo01..demo15"
/* create several new users */
do i = 1 to 15
/* create name and other information */
userName = "User"right(i,2,'0')
userFullName = "Demo User Number" i
userDescription = "A demo user that was created with REXX"
userPassword = "demo"right(i,2,'0')
newUser = computer~Create("user", userName)
newUser~FullName = userFullName
newUser~Description = userDescription
newUser~SetPassword(userPassword)
newUser~SetInfo
newGroup~Add(newUser~ADsPath)
end
```
. next column
. click label
Output:
. after
```output
Created new group REXX-TestGroup
Description: A test group created with REXX
Creating 15 users in this group:
User01..User15 with passwords demo01..demo15
```
. end columns
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1"
# Collecting Information Using ADS, 6
# Remove the users and the group that were created in *adsi7.rex*.
- ...\\ole\\adsi\\adsi8.rex \
(Note: this program requires administrator permissions)
. after
. after mark 2 pen=1
```rexx
ComputerName = value("COMPUTERNAME",,"ENVIRONMENT") -- get ComputerName
computer = .OLEObject~GetObject("WinNT://"||ComputerName)
say "Removing the fifteen users..."
do i = 1 to 15
computer~Delete("user", "User"||right(i,2,'0'))
end
say "Removing the test group..."
computer~Delete("group", "REXX-TestGroup")
say "done"
```
. click label
Possible Output:
. after
```output
Removing the fifteen users...
Removing the test group...
```
# WMI – Windows Management Instrumentation
- Allows to get information of instrumented components and notifications
- Local and remote computers and devices
- ...
- Wikipedia overview article
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows\_Management\_Instrumentation
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1"
# Collecting Information Using WMI
- ...\\ole\\wmi\\accounts.rex
. after
. after mark 1 pen=1
```rexx
WMIObject = .OLEObject~GetObject("WinMgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}")
userAccounts = WMIObject~InstancesOf("Win32_Account")
do instance over userAccounts
say
say "="~copies(16) instance~name "="~copies(16)
do i over instance~properties_
say left(i~name":",20,' ') i~value
end
end
```
. click label
Possible Output:
. after
```output
================ Everyone ================
Caption: DESKTOP-NS1T6G3\Everyone
Description: DESKTOP-NS1T6G3\Everyone
Domain: DESKTOP-NS1T6G3
InstallDate: The NIL object
LocalAccount: 1
Name: Everyone
SID: S-1-1-0
SIDType: 5
Status: OK
================ LOCAL ================
Caption: DESKTOP-NS1T6G3\LOCAL
… cut …
```
. slide reference="Windows 10 Version 21H1"
# Collecting Information Using WMI
- ...\\ole\\wmi\\process.rex
. after
```rexx
WMIObject = .OLEObject~GetObject("winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}")
say "Here is a list of currently running processes"
do process over WMIObject~InstancesOf("win32_process")
say process~processid process~name
end
```
. click label
Possible Output:
. after
```output
Here is a list of currently running processes
0 System Idle Process
4 System
92 Registry
328 smss.exe
436 csrss.exe
508 wininit.exe
516 csrss.exe
600 services.exe
608 winlogon.exe
620 lsass.exe
752 svchost.exe
…cut…
```
# Further Links
. after
- Rexx Language Association (RexxLA)
- [Numerous additional links]{.fragment .afterPrevious}\
[\ (2025-10-31)]{.fragment .afterPrevious}
. click
- OLE-/Active-X Query Tool written in ooRexx
- [Included in ooRexx 5.1.0 (Windows, released May 2025), see installation at\
`oorexx\samples\ole\oleinfo`]{.fragment .afterPrevious}
- [If running earlier versions of ooRexx (4.2 or 5.0) Windows download **oleinfo**\
\ (2025-10-31)]{.fragment .afterPrevious}
. click
- ooRexx related OLE/ActiveX page, a ***must*** to visit!
[\ (2025-10-31)]{.fragment .afterPrevious}
# Further Links
. after
- Microsoft Office VBA Reference
[\ (2025-10-31)]{.fragment .withPrevious}
. click
- A collection of Microsoft of administrative scripts for Windows
- A self unarchiving Windows help file\
\ (2025-10-31)
. after
- Collection of Visual Basic scripts for administrative tasks
. after
- Simply transcribable to ooRexx
. after
- *Hint:* simply replace the dot (**.**) in Visual Basic programs with the ooRexx message operator (the tilde: **\~**)
. slide card logo=none
# Contact