OLE automationUsing OLE/DDE to link BlueZone to other applications

Using OLE/DDE to link BlueZone to other applications

BlueZone supports OLE/DDE links to other applications, which can be used to automate copy and paste operations.

When enabled, BlueZone establishes a "Link" with the other application. Possible uses include; automatically copying Customer information from a BlueZone emulation screen to a Microsoft Word document to perform mail merges or automatically copying data from a host screen via BlueZone, to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Each time the host screen changes, the data are dynamically updated in the linked application.
  1. Enable linking in BlueZone:
    1. From the BlueZone menu bar, click Options → API.
    2. Select the Enable DDE Server Interface check box.
    3. Set the HLLAPI Short Name Session Identifier to a unique value. The default is A. If links to multiple BlueZone sessions are required, then each session must have a unique identifier.
    4. Set the Auto-assign HLLAPI Names check box to eliminate having to configure each session separately.
    5. Select the desired data in your BlueZone emulation session to be sent to the linked application by selecting it and copying it to the Windows clipboard.
      Tip: Once you have the area highlighted, right-click and select Copy to Clipboard.
  2. Establish the link in the "Linked" application:
    1. Position the cursor in the document where the BlueZone data must appear.
    2. From the "Linked" application's menu, click Edit → Paste Special.
    3. In the Paste Special dialog, select the Paste link radio button and Unformatted Text from the As list.
    4. Click OK. The "Link" is now established. Each time the BlueZone screen changes, the data is automatically updated in the "Linked" application.
Parent topic: OLE automation