How To Show a Modal Form from an OLE Server DLL

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Step-by-Step Example

1. Making a DLL from Visual Basic 4.0.
2. Making a DLL from Visual Basic 5.0 or Visual Basic 6.0.
3. Calling the DLL from Excel.

1. Start a new project. Form1 is created by default.
2. On Form1, place a CommandButton, and place the following code in the CommandButton:

         Private Sub Command1_Click()
         Unload Me
         End Sub
   
   						

3. Insert a class module by choosing Insert...Class Module from the menu.
4. In the Class module, place the following code:

         Public Sub ShowModal()
         Form1.Show 1
         End Sub
   
   						

5. Press the F4 key to bring up the Properties window for the class, and change the Name of the class to clsShowForm. Set Instancing to Createable MultiUse, and set Public to True.
6. From the Tools menu, choose Options, and select the Project tab. Change the project name to prjShowForm, select OLE Server, and change the Application Description to "Show Project Example" (without the quotes).
7. Also in the Project tab, switch the Startup Form to Sub Main(). Click OK in the Options dialog box.
8. Add a regular module to the project by choosing Module from the Insert menu.
9. Place a main subroutine into it:

         Sub main()
   
         End Sub
   
   						

10. From the Filemenu, choose Make OLE DLL to make the OLE Server. This creates the DLL and registers the OLE Server on the system.

1. Start a new ActiveX DLL project. Class1 is created by default.
2. In the Class module, place the following code:

         Public Sub ShowModal()
         Form1.Show 1
         End Sub
   
   						

3. Press the F4 key to bring up the Properties window for the class, and change the Name of the class to clsShowForm. Set Instancing to MultiUse.
4. Add a form... From the Project menu, choose Add Form
5. On Form1, place a CommandButton, and place the following code in the CommandButton:

         Private Sub Command1_Click()
         Unload Me
         End Sub
   
   						

6. From the Tools menu, choose Options, and select the Project tab. Change the project name to prjShowForm, select OLE Server, and change the Application Description to "Show Project Example" (without the quotes).
7. Also in the Project tab, switch the Startup Object to None.
8. From the Filemenu, choose Make OLE DLL to make the OLE Server. This creates the DLL and registers the OLE Server on the system.

1. Start Excel, and by default it will start in Book1. This is important because the example above uses the Caption of Excel to find the window handle. From the Insert menu, choose Macro Module to go into the VBA editor.
2. Place the following code in the editor:

         Sub test()
         Dim x As Object
         Set x = CreateObject("prjShowForm.clsShowForm")
         x.ShowModal
         End Sub
   
   						

3. Run the code in the Excel editor and it will show the modal form provided by the OLE Server DLL. It will be shown modally in front of Excel until the form is dismissed. If the same form is shown from an out-of-process OLE Server, two undesirable characteristics will manifest themselves: Excel will fail to paint as the modal form is moved around and it will be possible to click on Excel to bring it to the foreground.