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Q186015: HOWTO: Pass Parameters to an ActiveDoc

Article: Q186015
Product(s): Microsoft FoxPro
Version(s): WINDOWS:6.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 29-JUL-1999

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 6.0 
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SUMMARY
=======

You can pass an argument to an Active Document application in one of two ways,
depending on how the application runs:

- Hosted in the Internet Browser.

  -or-

- In Visual FoxPro or Visual FoxPro run-time.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Hosted By Internet Explorer
---------------------------

When the Active Document application is hosted in an Internet browser, any
arguments specified are sent directly to the Run event of the ActiveDoc class.
The following line of code is included as the first line in the Run event by
default:

     LPARAMETERS cHyperLinkTarget

The Run event can only receive one parameter. However, you may parse this one
parameter into multiple parameters once received by the Run event. Multiple
parameters may be strung together with a delimiter such as a plus sign. The
developer needs to code the application to look for the delimiter character when
parsing out multiple parameters.

Passing an argument to an Active Document application uses the following syntax:

     HTTP://MYIIS/MyADoc.app#MyParamVal

Everything, starting with and including the pound sign passes into the Run event
as a parameter. Therefore, you need to remove the pound sign from the
parameter.

Parameters can only pass to an Active Document application that is hosted in a
Web browser if the Active Document application is being served by a Web server
such as Microsoft Internet Information Server. A parameter cannot pass to an
Active Document application that runs in the browser with the Run Active
Document command from Visual FoxPro's Tools menu. Nor can a parameter pass to an
Active Document application if you type the location directly into the Web
browser's address bar. For instance, you can run an Active Document application
by typing the following into Microsoft Internet Explorer's address bar, but you
cannot pass any parameters:

  

  C:\TEST\MyADoc.app

In Visual FoxPro
----------------

When the Active Document is hosted in Visual FoxPro or the Visual FoxPro
run-time, the arguments pass to the Init event of the ActiveDoc class. The
syntax to run an Active Document application in the Visual FoxPro development
environment is as follows:

     DO MyADoc.app WITH cMyParamVal

MyADoc.app is the name of the Active Document application, and cMyParamVal is the
value of the parameter.

Parameters cannot pass to the Active Document application if you run the
application from the Run Active Document command on the Tools menu, whether it
is hosted in Visual FoxPro or not.

Tips For Coding The ActiveDoc Class
-----------------------------------

Since there is a difference in where these parameters are being received, some
tips to help avoid problems when creating an Active Document application that
utilizes parameters are described below:

- Use custom properties in the ActiveDoc class to store the parameter values.
  If you are passing the parameters to the form called in the Run event, when
  the application is run through the Visual FoxPro shell, you reduce the code
  needed to reference the parameter.

  You create Custom properties by selecting New Property from the Class menu
  when in the Visual Class Designer or in the Edit Property/Method dialog box
  also accessed from the Class menu.

- Use the ISHOSTED() and GETHOST() functions to determine if the Active
  Document application is being run in FoxPro or hosted in Internet Explorer.

  ISHOSTED( ) returns true (.T.) if an Active Document is hosted in an Active
  Document container such as Microsoft Internet Explorer.

  GETHOST() returns an object reference to the container of an Active Document.
  You can then use the name property to determine the name of the container.

- Creating ActiveDoc classes can only take place in the Visual Class Designer.
  You cannot create an ActiveDoc class with program code.

- The following are sample Init and Run events from an ActiveDoc class that use
  Parameters. This.one and This.two are custom properties of the ActiveDoc
  class. The Run event code below is expecting two parameters, separated by a
  plus sign.

  Sample Code
  -----------

     PROCEDURE Init
        PARAMETERS one,two
        This.one=one
        This.two=two
     ENDPROC

     PROCEDURE Run
        LPARAMETERS cHyperLinkTarget
        IF ISHOSTED() THEN
           MyHost=GETHOST()
           IF MyHost.Name='Microsoft Internet Explorer' THEN
              This.one= ;
                 SUBSTR(cHyperLinkTarget,2,AT('+',cHyperLinktarget)-2)
              This.two=SUBSTR(cHyperLinkTarget,AT('+',chyperlinktarget)+1)
           ENDIF
        ENDIF
        DO FORM test1 WITH This.one,This.two
        READ EVENTS
        ENDPROC

REFERENCES
==========

Visual FoxPro "Programmer's Guide," 6.0, Chapter 31 - Interoperability and the
Internet Visual FoxPro Help, version 6.0, search on: "ISHOSTED()"; "GETHOST()"

Additional query words: kbvfp600

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Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbVFPsearch kbAudDeveloper kbVFP600
Version           : WINDOWS:6.0
Issue type        : kbhowto

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