XL: Client Not Updated with Multiple Instances of Excel

ID: Q107745

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0
Microsoft Query 97 for Windows
Microsoft Query for Windows 95, version 2.0
Microsoft Query for Windows, version 1.0

SUMMARY

When multiple instances of Microsoft Excel are simultaneously serving as dynamic data exchange (DDE) clients to a single DDE server, only one instance of Microsoft Excel will be updated.

MORE INFORMATION

This is a problem with the current implementation of the DDE management library (DDEML). The problem will only occur when all of the following conditions are met:

There are two or more instances of the same application serving as DDE clients.
The applications all have objects with the same name (such as "Sheet1")
The applications are all trying to use FETCH.ADVISE

Steps to Reproduce Problem

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1. Start Microsoft Query.

2. Open two instances of Microsoft Excel and run the following Visual Basic

   macro from each instance:

   Sub dde()

      chanNum = DDEInitiate("msquery", "system")
      ' Use the path for your query file for the following:
      ' Note: query files in Excel 97 contains a dqy extension.
      DDEExecute chanNum, "[open('c:\excel\query1.qry')]"
      nRows = DDERequest(chanNum, "NumRows")
      nCols = DDERequest(chanNum, "NumCols")
      DDEExecute chanNum, "[fetch.advise('Excel','sheet1','r1c1:r" & _
      nRows(LBound(nRows)) & "c" & nCols(LBound(nCols)) & "','all')]"

   End Sub

   NOTE: You will need to create a query file to run this macro if you
   don't already have one. Use the path for this file in line 2 of the
   macro.)

3. Check Sheet1 on both instances of Excel; they should display a copy of

   the query.

4. Switch to Query Tool and from the Records menu, choose Allow Editing.

5. Change some of the records in the query.

Check Sheet1 on both instances of Microsoft Excel; the records should have been updated on one but not the other.

Additional query words: 5.00 7.00 8.00 97

Keywords          : kbprg kbdta KbVBA 
Version           : WINDOWS:5.0,7.0,97
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: May 17, 1999