How to...

Overview

The io.Connect COM library allows you to interop-enable your MS Office VBA apps and integrate them with other interop-enabled apps in io.Connect Desktop. You can use io.Connect functionality in your VBA apps for Excel, Outlook, Word, etc. The io.Connect COM library support the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of MS Office 2013 and up.

To access io.Connect functionalities in your VBA app, you have to reference and initialize the io.Connect COM library. The io.Connect COM library is distributed as a DLL file which is a part of the SDK bundle of io.Connect Desktop located in the %LocalAppData%/interop.io/io.Connect Desktop/SDK/GlueCOM folder.

In the io.Connect VBA Concepts section below you will find general concepts that apply when using the io.Connect COM library in VBA. The COM/VBA Reference section provides reference documentation specific to using the io.Connect COM library in VBA apps.

Using the io.Connect COM Library

Referencing

The io.Connect COM library is available as a package in NuGet which you can include in your projects. The io.Connect COM library is also distributed with io.Connect Desktop and is usually located in the %LocalAppData%/interop.io/io.Connect Desktop/SDK/GlueCOMv2 folder.

To reference the io.Connect COM library, open the Microsoft VBA Editor and go to Tools > References. Click "Browse" find and select the GlueCOM.dll file. In the list of available references you should now see "Tick42 Glue for COM":

Reference

Initialization

To initialize the io.Connect COM library, import the library and create an instance of the Glue42 class. You can use this instance to access all io.Connect functionality. Finally, register your app.

Below is an example of a subroutine which initializes io.Connect, exposing the app instance under the name "My VBA App":

Dim Glue As Glue42

Public Sub InitializeGlue()
    If Glue Is Nothing Then
        Set Glue = New Glue42
        ' Connecting to io.Connect and registering the app instance.
        Glue.StartWithAppName ("My VBA App")
    End If
End Sub

io.Connect VBA Concepts

Once the io.Connect COM library has been initialized, your app has access to all io.Connect functionalities. For more detailed information on the different io.Connect capabilities and APIs, see:

The following sections explain concepts related to using the io.Connect COM library.

Composite Values

All io.Connect functionality related to receiving and sending data works with composite data values (structures). The io.Connect COM library for VBA provides a mechanism based on the GlueDynamicValue class to dynamically build composite values and to access individual fields within the composite structure.

Building Composite Values

  • use CreateGlueValues to get an empty dynamic value representing the root of the composite data structure;
  • use chained indexing to set individual fields within the data structure (see Indexing);

The following shows how to build a sample composite value which can be used as an argument when invoking an Interop method:

' Creating an empty root value.
Dim MyVal
Set MyVal = Glue.CreateGlueValues

' Setting a field with a string value.
MyVal("operation") = "AddSub"

' Setting a field with an array of integers as a value.
Dim OperandsArray(0 To 1) As Integer
OperandsArray(0) = 5
OperandsArray(1) = 3
MyVal("operands") = OperandsArray

' Setting a string field nested in another composite value.
MyVal("metadata")("reason") = "testing"

As a result, MyVal will contain the following composite value (represented as a JSON object):

{
    "operation": "AddSub",
    "operands": [5, 3],
    "metadata": {
        "reason": "testing"
    }
}

Indexing

You can use named indexing with instances of GlueDynamicValue to access child nodes by name.

For example:

Dim MyValue
MyValue = DynamicValue("ChildNodeName")

Depending on whether "ChildNodeName" exists and its type, the return value from the named indexing can be:

  • Variant/GlueDynamicValue if "ChildNodeName" represents a composite value. If "ChildNodeName" doesn't exist, it will be automatically created as an empty composite value.
  • Variant/<some native type> if "ChildNodeName" represents an elementary field.

As indexing can return another instance of GlueDynamicValue, this allows for chained indexing to access nested composite values:

Dim MyDoubleValue as Double
MyDoubleValue = DynamicValue("CompositeLevel_0")("CompositeLevel_1")("ElementaryDoubleField")

⚠️ Note that using indexing is recommended only when accessing fields within a composite value with a known structure.

Accessing Composite Value Fields

  • use the GetReflectData method of a data provider instance passing an empty string as an argument to get the root of the composite value;
  • the data provider is typically passed as an argument to callback/event handler subroutines which are invoked when io.Connect sends data to the app;

The example below uses the same data structure from the previous example and shows how to access fields in a composite value. The invocationRequest data provider is passed as an argument to the handler subroutine:

' Declaring the native variables.
Dim Operation As String
Dim Operand1, Operand2 As Integer
Dim Reason As String
Dim Error As Integer

' Getting the root of the composite value from the data provider.
Dim Args
Set Args = invocationRequest.GetReflectData("")

' Extracting the elementary fields from the composite value:

' Accessing a string value.
Operation = Args("operation")
' Accessing integer values in an array.
Operand1 = Args("operands")(0)
Operand2 = Args("operands")(1)
' Access a string value inside a composite value.
Reason = Args("metadata")("reason")
' This will raise a "Type Mismatch" exception: "metadata" is a composite value which can't be cast to "Integer".
Error = Args("metadata")

Elementary fields are automatically cast to the compatible native type. Trying to assign to an incompatible type will raise an exception. Array elements can be accessed by their numeric index. Arrays can't be directly cast to a native array type. Accessing a field which doesn't exist will return an empty GlueDynamicValue.

You can also store a lower-level composite value or array in a temporary variable and use it to access its fields. This helps avoid unnecessary repetitions of the path to deeper nested composite values and extra calls to the io.Connect COM library:

Dim OperArr
' Storing an array from a composite data structure in a variable.
OperArr = Args("operands")
' Accessing array elements from the temporary variable.
Operand1 = OperArr(0)
Operand2 = OperArr(1)

Another possibility for accessing a lower-level value in a composite structure directly from the data provider is to specify a path to the value when invoking GetReflectData. This can be useful when handling complex composite values where only part of the value structure is of interest:

' Accessing directly a lower-level value by providing a path as an argument.
Reason = invocationRequest.GetReflectData("metadata.reason")

Traversing Composite Values with Unknown or Dynamic Structure

To traverse and get information about the fields of a composite value with unknown or dynamic structure, use the Count, Names and Values properties of a GlueDynamicValue instance and its Contains method.

io.Connect Time

io.Connect time is essentially a Unix timestamp: the number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch, i.e. 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC, ignoring leap seconds. To convert from io.Connect time to VBA Date, you can use the following formula:

VBADate = CDate(GlueTime / 86400 + 25569)
  • 86400 is the number of seconds in one day (60 * 60 * 24);
  • 25569 is the VBA numeric representation of 1970-01-01 00:00:00;

⚠️ *Note that the resulting Date timestamp will also be in UTC, and not in local time.

Helper Functions

The VBA samples use a helper function which simplifies the use of the io.Connect COM library and/or provides functionality not directly available in VBA.

GetFormHwnd

This helper function is used to retrieve the window handle (HWND) of a VBA UserForm.

Implementation:

Private Declare PtrSafe Function FindWindowA _
    Lib "user32.dll" ( _
    ByVal lpClassName As String, _
    ByVal lpWindowName As String) As LongPtr

Public Function GetFormHwnd(Form As Variant) As Long
    Dim strCaption As String
    Dim strClass As String

    ' Class name changed in Office 2000.
    If Val(Application.Version) >= 9 Then
        strClass = "ThunderDFrame"
    Else
        strClass = "ThunderXFrame"
    End If

    Randomize
    ' Saving the caption.
    strCaption = Form.Caption
    Form.Caption = "FindMe#" + CStr(Rnd)

    GetFormHwnd = CLng(FindWindowA(strClass, Form.Caption))
    'Restoring the caption.
    Form.Caption = strCaption
End Function

COM/VBA Reference

This reference describes the components in the io.Connect COM library relevant to VBA.

⚠️ Note that the library also contains components that aren't intended to be directly used by VBA apps.

Enums

GlueMethodFlags

Enumeration of the possible flags associated with an io.Connect method.

Name Value Hex Binary
GlueMethodFlags_None 0 00 00000000
GlueMethodFlags_ReturnsResult 1 01 00000001
GlueMethodFlags_IsGuiOperation 2 02 00000010
GlueMethodFlags_IsUserSpecific 4 04 00000100
GlueMethodFlags_IsMachineSpecific 8 08 00001000
GlueMethodFlags_OutsideDomain 16 10 00010000
GlueMethodFlags_SupportsStreaming 32 20 00100000

GlueMethodInvocationStatus

Enumeration of the possible values for the status of an io.Connect method invocation.

Name Value
GlueMethodInvocationStatus_Succeeded 0
GlueMethodInvocationStatus_Failed 1
GlueMethodInvocationStatus_TimedOut 2
GlueMethodInvocationStatus_NotAvailable 3
GlueMethodInvocationStatus_Started 4

GlueStreamState

Enumeration of the possible values for the status of an io.Connect stream subscription.

Name Value
GlueStreamState_Pending 0
GlueStreamState_Stale 1
GlueStreamState_Opened 2
GlueStreamState_Closed 3
GlueStreamState_SubscriptionRejected 4
GlueStreamState_SubscriptionFailed 5

GlueWindowEventType

Enumeration of the possible values for the event type passed to HandleWindowEvent

⚠️ Note that not all event types are applicable to VBA apps.

Name Value Hex
GlueWindowEventType_Unknown 0 00
GlueWindowEventType_Snapshot 1 01
GlueWindowEventType_WindowFrameAdded 2 02
GlueWindowEventType_WindowFrameRemoved 3 03
GlueWindowEventType_WindowFrameChanged 4 04
GlueWindowEventType_ButtonClicked 5 05
GlueWindowEventType_ButtonRemoved 6 06
GlueWindowEventType_ButtonAdded 7 07
GlueWindowEventType_GroupHeaderVisibilityChanged 8 08
GlueWindowEventType_CompositionChanged 9 09
GlueWindowEventType_FrameColorChanged 10 0A
GlueWindowEventType_Created 11 0B
GlueWindowEventType_Closed 12 0C
GlueWindowEventType_UrlChanged 13 0D
GlueWindowEventType_ContextChanged 14 0E
GlueWindowEventType_VisibilityChanged 15 0F
GlueWindowEventType_BoundsChanged 16 10
GlueWindowEventType_StateChanged 17 11
GlueWindowEventType_FocusChanged 18 12
GlueWindowEventType_TitleChanged 19 13
GlueWindowEventType_WindowCanvasWindowChanged 20 14
GlueWindowEventType_TabHeaderVisibilityChanged 21 15
GlueWindowEventType_FrameSelectionChanged 22 16
GlueWindowEventType_ShowFlydownBoundsRequested 23 17
GlueWindowEventType_WindowZoomFactorChanged 24 18
GlueWindowEventType_FrameIsLockedChanged 25 19
GlueWindowEventType_DOMReady 26 1A
GlueWindowEventType_Hibernated 27 1B
GlueWindowEventType_Resumed 28 1C

Types

GlueContext

This type is used to store information about an io.Connect context.

Properties

Name Type Description
Id String Identifier of the context within io.Connect.
Name String Name of the context.

VBGlueInstance

This type is used to store information about an io.Connect app instance.

Properties

Name Type Description
ApplicationName String Name of the app.
Environment String io.Connect environment in which the app instance is running.
InstanceId String Identifier assigned to the app instance by io.Connect.
MachineName String Hostname of the machine where the app instance is running.
Metadata GlueDynamicValue Additional optional information about the app instance represented as a composite value.
MetricsRepositoryId String Identifier of the metrics repository used by the app instance (if any).
ProcessId Long Identifier of the process (PID) in which the app instance is running.
ProcessStartTime Double Number representing the io.Connect Time when the process was started.
Region String io.Connect region in which the app instance is running.
ServiceName String Service name under which the app instance is running.
UserName String Username under which the app instance is running.
Version String io.Connect client version.

VBGlueMethod

This type is used to store information about an io.Connect method or stream.

Properties

Name Type Description
Flags GlueMethodFlags Contains various flags associated with the method.
Input String String representation of the method arguments signature as provided during the method registration.
Instance VBGlueInstance Contains information about the io.Connect app instance that has registered the method.
Name String Method name.
ObjectTypes String() Optional array of strings specifying the types of objects that the method works with (e.g., Instrument, Client, etc.)
Output String String representation of the method return value signature as provided during the method registration.
RegistrationCookie String Unique identifier assigned to the method during registration.

VBGlueResult

This type is used to store information about the result that an io.Connect Interop method will return when invoked.

Properties

Name Type Description
GlueData GlueData Represents the data contained in the result.
LogDetails String Additional optional information about the result.
Message String Optional message associated with the result.
method VBGlueMethod Information about the io.Connect method providing the result.
Status GlueMethodInvocationStatus Enumeration value representing the method invocation status.

Classes

Glue42

This class is used as the main entry point for using any io.Connect functionality.

Properties

This class has no properties which can be used in VBA.

Methods

CreateDefaultVBGlueWindowSettings

Creates an instance of GlueWindowSettings which can be used to initiate window registration with specific settings. See also RegisterGlueWindowWithSettings

Signature:

Function CreateDefaultVBGlueWindowSettings() As GlueWindowSettings

Parameters: None

Return value: GlueWindowSettings

CreateGlueData

Creates an instance of GlueData containing a composite value. The returned instance can be used to initialize the GlueData property of VBGlueResult

Signature:

Function CreateGlueData(data) As GlueData

Parameters:

Name Type Description
data Variant An instance of GlueDynamicValue representing the root of the composite value.

Return value: GlueData

CreateGlueValues

Creates an instance of GlueDynamicValue which can represent a root node in a composite value.

Signature:

Function CreateGlueValues() as Variant

Parameters: None

Return value: Variant/GlueDynamicValue

CreateMethodInvocator

Creates an instance of GlueMethodInvocator which can serve as a proxy for invoking io.Connect methods and receiving results from method invocations.

Signature:

Function CreateMethodInvocator() As GlueMethodInvocator

Parameters: None

Return value: GlueMethodInvocator

CreateServerMethod

Creates an instance of GlueServerMethod which can be used to register an io.Connect method and handle the server-side interaction with io.Connect.

Signature:

Function CreateServerMethod(methodName As String, Input As String, Output As String, objectTypesCSV As String) As GlueServerMethod

Parameters:

Name Type Description
methodName String Name of the method to create.
Input String Optional string representation of the method input arguments signature.
Output String Optional string representation of the method return value signature.
objectTypesCSV String Optional string of comma-separated values specifying the types of objects that the method works with (e.g., Instrument, Client, etc.)

Return value: GlueServerMethod

CreateServerStream

Creates an instance of GlueServerStream which can be used to register an io.Connect stream and handle the server-side interaction with io.Connect.

Signature:

Function CreateServerStream(streamName As String, Input As String, Output As String, objectTypesCSV As String) As GlueServerStream

Parameters:

Name Type Description
streamName String Name of the stream to create.
Input String Optional string representation of the stream subscription request arguments.
Output String Optional string representation of the published stream data structure.
objectTypesCSV String Optional string of comma-separated values specifying the types of objects that the stream method works with (e.g., Instrument, Client, etc.)

Return value: GlueServerStream

CreateStreamConsumer

Creates an instance of GlueStreamConsumer which can be used to subscribe to io.Connect streams and handle the client-side interaction with io.Connect.

Signature:

Function CreateStreamConsumer() As GlueStreamConsumer

Parameters: None

Return value: GlueStreamConsumer

GetChannels

Obtains the names of all available io.Connect Channels.

Signature:

Function GetChannels() As String()

Parameters: None

Return value: String()

GetGlueContext

Creates an instance of GlueContextManager which can later be linked to an io.Connect context with the Open method.

Signature:

Function GetGlueContext(contextName As String) As GlueContextManager

Parameters:

Name Type Description
contextName String Name of the context.

Return value: GlueContextManager

GetKnownContexts

Obtains a list of all currently available io.Connect contexts.

Signature:

Function GetKnwonContexts() As GlueContext()`

Parameters: None

Return value: GlueContext() - GlueContext array containing information about the currently available io.Connect contexts.

GetMethodNamesForTarget

Obtains the names of all io.Connect methods or streams exposed by the specified apps.

Signature:

Function GetMethodNamesForTarget(targetRegex As String) As String()

Parameters:

Name Type Description
targetRegex String Optional regular expression pattern which allows selecting for which target apps to retrieve the registered Interop methods/streams. If provided, only methods and streams exposed by apps with names matching the regular expression will be returned. An empty string or Nothing will match all app names.

Return value: String()

GetTargets

Obtains the names of all io.Connect apps currently exposing methods or streams.

Signature:

Function GetTargets() As String()

Parameters: None

Return value: String()

Log

Outputs a message to the io.Connect log.

Signature:

Sub Log(level As Byte, Message As String)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
level Byte Log level. The following values are accepted: 0 (trace), 1 (debug), 2 (info), 3 (warn), 4 (error), 5 (fatal)
Message String The message to log.

Return value: None

RegisterGlueWindow

Initiates the registration of a VBA UserForm as an io.Connect Window with default settings.

Signature:

Function RegisterGlueWindow(hwnd As Long, windowEventHandler As IGlueWindowEventHandler) As GlueWindow

Parameters:

Name Type Description
hwnd Long Handle (HWND) to the VBA UserForm window. It can be obtained with the helper function GetFormHwnd.
windowEventHandler IGlueWindowEventHandler Nothing must be provided in VBA.

Return value: GlueWindow

⚠️ Note that the returned instance of GlueWindow shouldn't be used to interact with the io.Connect Window until the HandleWindowReady event has been raised (i.e., the window registration is complete).

RegisterGlueWindowWithSettings

Initiates the registration of a VBA UserForm as an io.Connect Window with custom settings.

Signature:

Function RegisterGlueWindowWithSettings(hwnd As Long, settings As GlueWindowSettings, windowEventHandler As IGlueWindowEventHandler) As GlueWindow

Parameters:

Name Type Description
hwnd Long Handle (HWND) to the VBA UserForm window. It can be obtained with the helper function GetFormHwnd.
settings GlueWindowSettings An instance of GlueWindowSettings containing the settings to use during the window registration. You need to obtain an instance by using CreateDefaultVBGlueWindowSettings first, and then modify the property values as needed.
windowEventHandler IGlueWindowEventHandler Nothing must be provided in VBA.

Return value: GlueWindow

⚠️ Note that the returned instance of GlueWindow shouldn't be used to interact with the io.Connect Window until the HandleWindowReady event has been raised (i.e., the window registration is complete).

StartWithAppName

Connects to the io.Connect Gateway and announces the app instance. Connection to the io.Connect Gateway is required for using any io.Connect functionality.

Signature:

Sub StartWithAppName(ApplicationName As String)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
ApplicationName String Name under which the app will be registered in io.Connect.

Return value: None

Stop

Disconnects from the io.Connect Gateway, shutting down all communication:

  • The app instance will no longer receive any notifications from io.Connect, no event handlers will be invoked.
  • All stream subscriptions will be terminated.
  • All methods and streams published by the app will be automatically unregistered.
  • The app instance will no longer be visible/discoverable.
  • io.Connect context data (including io.Connect Channel data) set by the app will persist until overwritten by other apps.

Signature:

Sub Stop()

Parameters: None

Return value: None

GlueContextManager

This class is used for interaction with io.Connect contexts. Interface: IGlueContext.

Properties

This class has no properties.

Methods

Close

Closes an open io.Connect context. The context is unlinked from the GlueContextManager which can no longer be used to interact with the context. The associated event handler will no longer be executed when the context data changes.

Signature:

Sub Close()

Parameters: None

Return value: None

GetContextInfo

Obtains a GlueContext containing information about the linked context.

Signature:

Function GetContextInfo() As GlueContext

Parameters: None

Return value: GlueContext

GetDataAsJson

Gets a composite value or an elementary field in JSON format.

Signature:

Function GetDataAsJson(fieldPath As String) As String

Parameters:

Name Type Description
fieldPath String Path to the field in the composite value structure. An empty string refers to the root of the composite value structure.

Return value: String

GetReflectData

Gets a composite value or an elementary field from the associated composite value structure.

Signature:

Function GetReflectData(fieldPath As String) as Variant

Parameters:

Name Type Description
fieldPath String Path to the field in the composite value structure. An empty string refers to the root of the composite value structure.

Return value:

  • Variant/GlueDynamicValue if fieldPath refers to a composite value;
  • Variant/<some native type> if fieldPath refers to an elementary field;
  • Variant/Empty if the specified fieldPath doesn't exist;

Open

Opens an io.Connect context. If the context doesn't exist, it is automatically created with an empty data value.

Signature:

Sub Open()

Parameters: None

Return value: None

Remove

Removes a shared context value.

Signature:

Sub Remove(fieldPath As String)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
fieldPath String Path to the composite value or field in the composite value structure to remove.

Return value: None

SetValue

Sets or updates a context value.

Signature:

Sub SetValue(fieldPath As String, Value)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
fieldPath String Path to the composite value or field in the composite value structure. Non-existent elements in the path are automatically created as composite values. If any of the path elements (apart from the last one) exist but aren't composite values, the call will fail.
Value Variant An instance of GlueDynamicValue to which the composite value or field will be set. See Building Composite Values for details about obtaining and initializing a GlueDynamicValue.

Return value: None

UpdateContextDataJson

Updates a composite value or an elementary field in the shared context.

Signature:

Sub UpdateContextDataJson(fieldPath As String, jsonEncodedData As String)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
fieldPath String Path to the composite value or field in the composite value structure. Non-existent elements in the path are automatically created as composite values. If any of the path elements (apart from the last one) exist but aren't composite values, the call will fail.
jsonEncodedData String String representation of the new value in JSON format.

Return value: None

Nonapplicable Methods

The following methods aren't intended to be used in VBA:

  • BuildAndSetContextData
  • BuildAndUpdateContextData
  • GetData
  • IsLaunchedByGD
  • JsonToVariant
  • SetContextData
  • SetContextDataOnFieldPath
  • UpdateContextData

Events

HandleContextUpdate

The handler for this event is executed when the linked context data has been updated or when a context has been linked with the Open method.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueContextManager_HandleContextUpdate(ByVal contextUpdate As IGlueContextUpdate)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
contextUpdate IGlueContextUpdate An instance of GlueContextUpdate which can be used to access the context data.

Nonapplicable events

The following events aren't intended to be used in VBA:

  • HandleContext

GlueContextUpdate

An instance of this class is passed by io.Connect to the HandleContextUpdate event handler. Interface: IGlueContextUpdate.

Properties

This class has no properties.

Methods

GetContext

Obtains an instance of GlueContextManager linked to the io.Connect context that has been updated.

Signature:

Function GetContext() As GlueContextManager

Parameters: None

Return value: GlueContextManager

GlueData

This class is used to store composite data values. Interface: IGlueData.

Properties

This class has no properties.

Methods

GetReflectData

Gets a composite value or an elementary field from the associated composite value structure.

Signature:

Function GetReflectData(fieldPath As String) as Variant

Parameters:

Name Type Description
fieldPath String Path to the field in the composite value structure. An empty string refers to the root of the composite value structure.

Return value:

  • Variant/GlueDynamicValue if fieldPath refers to a composite value;
  • Variant/<some native type> if fieldPath refers to an elementary field;
  • Variant/Empty if the specified fieldPath doesn't exist;

GlueDynamicValue

An instance of this class represents a node in a composite value. Composite values are passed to and returned by various io.Connect COM methods involving data exchange between apps. See also Building Composite Values and Accessing Composite Value Fields.

Properties

Name Type Description
Count Long Contains the number of child nodes.
Names String() Array of Strings containing the child node names.
Values Variants() Array of Variants representing the child nodes. A Variant can contain another GlueDynamicValue (if the node has children, i.e. the node is a nested composite value) or a native type.

Methods

Contains

Checks if a child node with the specified name exists.

Signature:

Function Contains(Name As String) As Boolean

Parameters:

Name Type Description
Name String Name of the child node to check whether it exists.

Return value: Boolean

Nonapplicable Methods

The following methods aren't intended to be used in VBA:

  • GetEnumerator

GlueInvocationRequest

This class is used by apps when providing an io.Connect method implementation. An instance of this class is passed by io.Connect to the HandleInvocationRequest event handler. Interface: IGlueInvocationRequest.

Properties

Name Type Description
Caller VBGlueInstance Information about the app instance that has invoked the method.
method VBGlueMethod Information about the method being invoked.

Methods

GetReflectData

Gets a composite value or an elementary field from the associated composite value structure. In the case of an invocation request, this is the composite value structure holding the arguments with which the request was made.

Signature:

Function GetReflectData(fieldPath As String) as Variant

Parameters:

Name Type Description
fieldPath String Path to the field in the composite value structure. An empty string refers to the root of the composite value structure.

Return value:

  • Variant/GlueDynamicValue if fieldPath refers to a composite value;
  • Variant/<some native type> if fieldPath refers to an elementary field;
  • Variant/Empty if the specified fieldPath doesn't exist;

SendFailure

Returns a "Failed" status to the io.Connect method invocator (caller).

Signature:

Sub SendFailure(Message As String, additionalData as Variant)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
Message String Message describing the failure to be returned to the caller.
additionalData Variant Optional additional data to return to the caller. See details below.

The following may be provided as additionalData:

Type Description
GlueDynamicValue Composite value to return to the caller together with the "Failed" status.
Nothing No additional information will be returned to the caller.

Return value: None

Invoking SendFailure is equivalent to invoking SendResult with an argument of type VBGlueResult with the following properties initialized:

  • Status is set to GlueMethodInvocationStatus_Failed.
  • Message is set to the Message argument.
  • GlueData is initialized according to the provided additionalData argument.

SendResult

Returns a result to the io.Connect method invocator (caller).

Signature:

Sub SendResult(result as Variant)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
result Variant Optional additional data to return to the caller. See details below.

The following may be provided as result:

Type Description
VBGlueResult An instance of VBGlueResult fully describing the result which will be returned back to the caller. You may initialize some or all properties as needed. The method property doesn't need to be initialized (its value is ignored), it will be automatically populated by io.Connect when delivering the result to the caller.
GlueDynamicValue Composite value to return to the caller. This is equivalent to providing a VBGlueResult with Status = GlueMethodInvocationStatus_Succeeded, GlueData initialized with the provided composite value, and all other properties initialized with empty/default values.
Nothing No value will be returned to the caller. This is equivalent to sending a VBGlueResult with Status = GlueMethodInvocationStatus_Succeeded and all other properties initialized with empty/default values.

Return value: None

Below is an example of initializing a VBGlueResult for use with SendResult:

' Build the composite value to be returned to the caller.
Dim DynamicValue
Set DynamicValue = Glue.CreateGlueValues
DynamicValue("jobID") = "JOB#1234"

' Initialize the result.
Dim VBResult As VBGlueResult
VBResult.Message = "Background job started."
VBResult.Status = GlueMethodInvocationStatus_Started
Set VBResult.GlueData = Glue.CreateGlueData(DynamicValue)

' Send the result.
request.SendResult VBResult

GlueMethodInfo

This class is used to store information about an io.Connect streaming method. Instances of this class are passed as arguments to stream subscription event handlers. Interface: IGlueMethodInfo.

Properties

Name Type Description
correlationId String Optional user-defined string which was passed as an argument to Subscribe when the app initiated the stream subscription.
method VBGlueMethod Contains details about the io.Connect stream.

Methods

This class has no methods.

GlueMethodInvocator

This class is used to handle the client-side method invocation. Instances of this class can be created by using CreateMethodInvocator.

Properties

This class has no properties.

Methods

InvokeAsync

Invokes an io.Connect method asynchronously. The result is delivered via the HandleInvocationResult event.

Signature:

Sub InvokeAsync(method As String, targetRegex As String, args, all As Boolean, correlationId As String, timeoutMsecs As Long)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
method String Name of the method to invoke.
targetRegex String Optional regular expression pattern which allows selecting the target apps which will service the method invocation. If provided, only targets with app name matching the regular expression will be considered. An empty string or Nothing will match all app names.
args Variant An instance of GlueDynamicValue representing the arguments to pass to the io.Connect method being invoked (see also Building Composite Values) or Nothing in case the method accepts no arguments.
all Boolean Indicates whether the method invocation request should be sent to all available app targets or to one target only.
correlationId String Optional user-defined string which will be delivered back to the invocation result handler. This can be used to distinguish the returned results in case you make several invocations without waiting for the results to arrive first.
timeoutMsecs Long Specifies how long (in milliseconds) io.Connect will wait for the method invocation to complete before sending a "timed out" status to the caller.

Return value: None

InvokeSync

Invokes an io.Connect method synchronously.

⚠️ Note that invoking this method will block VBA execution until the method invocation completes. As VBA code runs in a single thread, it isn't possible to synchronously invoke methods registered by the same VBA app.

Signature:

Function InvokeSync(method As String, targetRegex As String, args, all As Boolean, timeoutMsecs As Long) as VBGlueInvocationResult

Parameters:

Name Type Description
method String Name of the method to invoke.
targetRegex String Optional regular expression pattern which allows selecting the target apps which will service the method invocation. If provided, only targets with app name matching the regular expression will be considered. An empty string or Nothing will match all app names.
args Variant An instance of GlueDynamicValue representing the arguments to pass to the io.Connect method being invoked (see also Building Composite Values) or Nothing in case the method accepts no arguments.
all Boolean Indicates whether the method invocation request should be sent to all available app targets or to one target only.
timeoutMsecs Long Specifies how long (in milliseconds) io.Connect will wait for the method invocation to complete before sending a "timed out" status to the caller.

Return value: VBGlueInvocationResult - an instance of VBGlueInvocationResult containing information about the result from the method invocation.

Events

HandleInvocationResult

The handler for this event is executed when a method invocation initiated with InvokeAsync has completed.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueMethodInvocator_HandleInvocationResult(ByVal result As IGlueInvocationResult)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
result IGlueInvocationResult An instance of VBGlueInvocationResult containing information about the result from the method invocation.

GlueServerMethod

This class is used to expose io.Connect methods and handle the server-side interaction with io.Connect. Instances of this class can be created with CreateServerMethod. Interface: IGlueServerMethod.

Properties

Name Type Description
Definition VBGlueMethod Contains details about the io.Connect method definition.

Methods

Register

Registers an Interop method in io.Connect. The registered Interop method becomes visible to other io.Connect apps.

Signature:

Sub Register()

Parameters: None

Return value: None

Unregister

Unregisters an Interop method from io.Connect. The unregistered Interop method is no longer available in io.Connect.

Signature:

Sub Unregister()

Parameters: None

Return value: None

Events

HandleInvocationRequest

The handler for this event is executed when an app invokes a registered io.Connect method.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueServerMethod_HandleInvocationRequest(ByVal request As IGlueInvocationRequest)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
request IGlueInvocationRequest An instance of GlueInvocationRequest which can be used to send the invocation result back to the caller.

GlueServerStream

This class is used to expose io.Connect streams (streaming methods) and handle the server-side interaction with io.Connect. Instances of this class can be created with CreateServerStream. Interface: IGlueServerStream.

Properties

Name Type Description
Definition VBGlueMethod Contains details about the io.Connect streaming method definition.

Methods

CloseBranch

Closes a stream branch. This will disconnect (unsubscribe) all subscribers from the branch and remove the branch from the stream.

Signature:

Sub CloseBranch(branch As String)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
branch String Name (key) of the branch to close.

Return value: None

CloseStream

Closes a stream. This will disconnect (unsubscribe) all subscribers (on all branches) from the stream. All branches will be removed from the stream.

Signature:

Sub CloseStream()

Parameters: None

Return value: None

GetBranchKeys

Gets an array containing the names of all branches of the stream.

Signature:

Function GetBranchKeys() As String()

Parameters: None

Return value: String() - an array of Strings containing the names (keys) of all stream branches.

PushVariantData

Push data to a stream or stream branch.

Signature:

Sub PushVariantData(data, branch As String)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
data Variant An instance of GlueDynamicValue representing the data to publish (see also Building Composite Values).
branch String Name of the branch to which to push the data. Providing an empty string will broadcast the data to all subscribers on all branches.

Return value: None

Register

Registers an Interop stream in io.Connect. The registered stream becomes visible to other io.Connect apps.

Signature:

Sub Register()

Parameters: None

Return value: None

Unregister

Unregisters an Interop stream from io.Connect. The unregistered stream is no longer available in io.Connect.

Signature:

Sub Unregister()

Parameters: None

Return value: None

Nonapplicable Methods

The following methods aren't intended to be used in VBA:

  • GatBranch
  • Push

Events

HandleSubscriber

The handler for this event is executed when a new stream subscriber is accepted.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueServerStream_HandleSubscriber(ByVal subscriber As IVBGlueStreamSubscriber, ByVal requestData As IGlueData)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
subscriber IVBGlueStreamSubscriber An instance of VBGlueStreamSubscriber containing information about the new stream subscriber.
requestData IGlueData An instance of GlueData representing the composite value passed with the subscription request.

HandleSubscriberLost

The handler for this event is executed when an existing subscriber is unsubscribed from the stream.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueServerStream_HandleSubscriberLost(ByVal subscriber As IVBGlueStreamSubscriber)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
subscriber IVBGlueStreamSubscriber An instance of VBGlueStreamSubscriber containing information about the lost stream subscriber.

HandleSubscriptionRequest

The handler for this event is executed when an app attempts to subscribe to a stream.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueServerStream_HandleSubscriptionRequest(ByVal request As IGlueSubscriptionRequest)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
request IGlueSubscriptionRequest An instance of GlueSubscriptionRequest which can be used to accept or reject a new subscriber.

GlueStreamConsumer

This class is used to subscribe to io.Connect streams and handle the client-side interaction with io.Connect. Instances of this class can be created by using CreateStreamConsumer.

Properties

This class has no properties.

Methods

Subscribe

Attempt to subscribe to an io.Connect stream by sending a subscription request.

Signature:

Sub Subscribe(stream As String, targetRegex As String, args, all As Boolean, correlationId As String, timeoutMsecs As Long)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
stream String Name of the stream to which to subscribe.
targetRegex String Optional regular expression pattern which allows selecting the target apps publishing the stream. If provided, only apps with name matching the regular expression will be considered. An empty string or Nothing will match all app names.
args Variant An instance of GlueDynamicValue representing the arguments to pass along with the subscription request (see also Building Composite Values) or Nothing if the stream publisher requires no arguments.
all Boolean Indicates whether the subscription request should be sent to all matching apps which publish the stream, or a single app only.
correlationId String Optional user-defined string which will be delivered back to the stream consumer event handlers. It can be used to distinguish subscriptions in case you use the same stream consumer for multiple subscriptions.
timeoutMsecs Long Specifies how long (in milliseconds) io.Connect will wait for the subscription request to be accepted or rejected before sending a "timed out" status to the caller.

Return value: None

Events

HandleStreamClosed

The handler for this event is executed when the associated stream subscription has been terminated.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueStreamConsumer_HandleStreamClosed(ByVal stream As IGlueMethodInfo)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
stream IGlueMethodInfo An instance of GlueMethodInfo containing information about the streaming method.

HandleStreamData

The handler for this event is executed when a stream publishing app pushes data to a stream.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueStreamConsumer_HandleStreamData(ByVal stream As IGlueMethodInfo, ByVal Data As IGlueData)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
stream IGlueMethodInfo An instance of GlueMethodInfo containing information about the streaming method.
Data IGlueData An instance of GlueData containing the latest data published to the stream.

HandleStreamStatus

The handler for this event is executed when the status of the associated stream changes.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueStreamConsumer_HandleStreamStatus(ByVal stream As IGlueMethodInfo, ByVal state As GlueStreamState, ByVal Message As String, ByVal dateTime As Double)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
stream IGlueMethodInfo An instance of GlueMethodInfo containing information about the streaming method.
state GlueStreamState Enumeration value representing the status of the io.Connect stream.
Message String Optional message describing the reason for the status change.
datetime Double Number representing the io.Connect Time when the stream status changed.

HandleSubscriptionActivated

The handler for this event is executed when a subscription request has been dispatched to io.Connect. The main purpose for invoking this event is to provide an instance of the stream subscription which the app may later use to unsubscribe from the stream.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueStreamConsumer_HandleSubscriptionActivated(ByVal subscription As IGlueStreamSubscription, ByVal correlationId As String)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
subscription IGlueStreamSubscription An instance of GlueStreamSubscription.
correlationId String Optional user-defined string which was passed as an argument to Subscribe when the app initiated the stream subscription.

⚠️ Note that when this event is invoked, the subscription request hasn't yet been resolved.

GlueStreamSubscription

This class is used to represent an io.Connect stream subscription. Interface: IGlueStreamSubscription.

Properties

This class has no properties.

Methods

Close

Unsubscribes from the associated io.Connect stream.

Signature:

Sub Close()

Parameters: None

Return value: None

GlueSubscriptionRequest

This class is used by apps which expose io.Connect streams. An instance of this class is passed by io.Connect to the HandleSubscriptionRequest event handler. Interface: IGlueSubscriptionRequest.

Properties

Name Type Description
Requester VBGlueInstance Contains information about the io.Connect app instance which has sent the subscription request.
stream VBGlueMethod Contains details about the io.Connect streaming method.

Methods

Accept

Accepts a new subscriber on the stream.

Signature:

Function Accept(branch As String, result) As IGlueStreamBranch

Parameters:

Name Type Description
branch String Name of the branch on which to accept the new subscriber. If the branch doesn't exist, it will be automatically created. Providing an empty string will put the new subscriber on the default (unnamed) branch.
result Variant This parameter isn't applicable in VBA. Use Nothing when invoking the method.

Return value: IGlueStreamBranch

⚠️ Note that the return value isn't intended to be used in VBA and can be ignored.

GetReflectData

Gets a composite value or an elementary field from the associated composite value structure. In the case of a subscription request, this is the composite value structure holding the arguments with which the request was made.

Signature:

Function GetReflectData(fieldPath As String) as Variant

Parameters:

Name Type Description
fieldPath String Path to the field in the composite value structure. An empty string refers to the root of the composite value structure.

Return value:

  • Variant/GlueDynamicValue if fieldPath refers to a composite value;
  • Variant/<some native type> if fieldPath refers to an elementary field;
  • Variant/Empty if the specified fieldPath doesn't exist;

Reject

Rejects a subscription request.

Signature:

Sub Reject(result)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
result Variant Optional String containing a message to deliver back to the app which has sent the subscription request.

Return value: None

GlueWindow

This class represents an io.Connect Window. Interface: IGlueWindow.

Properties

This class has no properties.

Methods

Activate

Activates the window.

Signature:

Sub Activate()

Parameters: None

Return value: None

GetChannelContext

Obtains an instance of GlueContextManager for the io.Connect Channel selected in the window.

Signature:

Function GetChannelContext() As GlueContextManager

Parameters: None

Return value: GlueContextManager or Nothing in case no Channel is selected in the window.

GetChannelSupport

Determines whether the io.Connect Window has Channel support enabled. When Channel support is enabled, a Channel selection box will be available in the windows title bar. See also SetChannelSupport.

Signature:

Function GetChannelSupport() As Boolean

Parameters: None

Return value: Boolean

GetId

Obtains the io.Connect Window identifier. The io.Connect Window identifier is an opaque value and the app shouldn't try to interpret the contents of the value in any way.

Signature:

Function GetId() As String

Parameters: None

Return value: String

Contains the identifier that io.Connect keeps for the registered window.

GetTitle

Obtains the io.Connect Window title (caption). The io.Connect Window title is separate and independent from the the VBA form title. The initial io.Connect Window title will be set to the name with which the app was registered in io.Connect. See also SetTitle.

Signature:

Function GetTitle() As String

Parameters: None

Return value: String

IsVisible

Determines whether the io.Connect Window is visible. See also SetVisible.

Signature:

Function IsVisible() As Boolean

Parameters: None

Return value: Boolean

SetChannelSupport

Enables or disables Channel support for the io.Connect Window. When Channel support is enabled, a Channel selection box will be available in the windows title bar. See also GetChannelSupport.

Signature:

Sub SetChannelSupport(showLink As Boolean)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
showLink Boolean True if Channel support is to be enabled, False if Channel support is to be disabled.

Return value: None

SetTitle

Sets the title (caption) of the io.Connect Window. See also GetTitle.

Signature:

Sub SetTitle(title As String)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
title String The new window title.

Return value: None

SetVisible

Shows or hides the io.Connect Window. See also IsVisible.

Signature:

Sub SetVisible(visible As Boolean)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
visible Boolean True to show the io.Connect Window, False to hide it.

Return value: None

Nonapplicable Methods

The following methods aren't intended to be used in VBA:

  • Unregister

Events

HandleChannelChanged

The handler for this event is executed when the user changes the Channel from the Channel selection box in the window title bar.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueWindow_HandleChannelChanged(ByVal Window As IGlueWindow, ByVal Channel As IGlueContext, ByVal prevChannelName As String)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
Window IGlueWindow An instance of GlueWindow representing the window for which the Channel was changed.
Channel IGlueContext An instance of GlueContextManager which can be used to interact with the io.Connect context on which the new Channel is based. Nothing will be provided if no new Channel is selected, i.e. the user deselects the current Channel.
prevChannelName String Name of the previously selected Channel. An empty string will be provided in case no Channel was previously selected.

HandleChannelData

The handler for this event is executed in two cases:

  • when the data in the selected Channel changes;
  • after the HandleChannelChanged event, when the user switches to another Channel using the Channel selection box in the title bar.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueWindow_HandleChannelData(ByVal window As IGlueWindow, ByVal channelUpdate As IGlueContextUpdate)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
window IGlueWindow An instance of GlueWindow representing the window for which the data of the currently selected Channel has changed.
channelUpdate IGlueContextUpdate An instance of GlueContextUpdate which can be used to access the Channel data.

HandleWindowDestroyed

The handler for this event is executed when the io.Connect Window is being destroyed. The purpose for raising this event is to provide an opportunity for the VBA app to gracefully unload the VBA UserForm.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueWindow_HandleWindowDestroyed(ByVal window As IGlueWindow)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
window IGlueWindow The app should ignore this parameter.

HandleWindowEvent

The handler for this event is executed when various events related to the io.Connect Window are fired, e.g. when the window is activated, moved, etc.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueWindow_HandleWindowEvent(ByVal window As IGlueWindow, ByVal eventType As GlueWindowEventType, ByVal eventData As GlueDynamicValue)ndow)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
window IGlueWindow An instance of GlueWindow representing the window for which the event was fired.
eventType GlueWindowEventType Enumeration value representing the type of the event.
eventData GlueDynamicValue Additional information about the specific event, represented as a composite value.

HandleWindowReady

The handler for this event is executed when the io.Connect Window registration has completed.

Handler signature:

Sub GlueWindow_HandleWindowReady(ByVal window As IGlueWindow)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
window IGlueWindow An instance of GlueWindow representing the window that has been registered.

To interact with the io.Connect Window, the app can use either the instance of GlueWindow passed to this event handler, or the instance obtained from RegisterGlueWindow.

GlueWindowSettings

This class is used to store the settings to be used when registering a UserForm as an io.Connect Window.

Properties

Name Type Default Description
AllowMove Boolean True Specifies whether the window can be moved. (Currently unusable.)
AllowResize Boolean True Specifies whether the window can be resized. (Currently unusable.)
AllowTabClose Boolean True Specifies whether a tab window will have a "Close" button. Only applicable when the window Type is set to "Tab".
AllowUnstick Boolean True Specifies whether the io.Connect Window can be separated from other io.Connect Windows once it has been stuck to another io.Connect Window or window group.
Channel String "" Specifies the Channel to be initially selected. No Channel is selected by default.
ChannelSupport Boolean True Specifies whether the window will have Channel support enabled.
FrameColor String "" The color of the window frame. (Currently unusable.)
Icon String "" Icon for the app. (Currently unusable.)
IsSticky Boolean True Specifies whether the window can be stuck to other io.Connect Windows or window groups.
MaxHeight Long 0 Specifies the maximum height (in pixels) to which the window can be resized. A value of 0 means no limit. The height of the window title bar isn't included.
Maximizable Boolean True Specifies whether the window will have a "Maximize" button.
MaxWidth Long 0 Specifies the maximum width (in pixels) to which the window can be resized. A value of 0 means no limit.
MinHeight Long 0 Specifies the minimum height (in pixels) to which the window can be resized. The height of the window title bar isn't included.
Minimizable Boolean True Specifies whether the window will have a "Minimize" button.
MinWidth Long 0 Specifies the minimum width (in pixels) to which the window can be resized.
ShowTaskbarIcon Boolean True Specifies whether the window should have an icon in the taskbar.
StandardButtons String "" Optional list of comma-separated values specifying which command buttons will be available in the window title bar. See StandardButtons below.
SynchronousDestroy Boolean False VBA apps must always set this value to True.
Title String "" Specifies the window title. If an empty string is provided, the initial window title will be set to the name of the io.Connect app registering the window.
Type String "Flat" Specifies the window type. The available types are "Flat" and "Tab".

StandardButtons

The StandardButtons property specifies which command buttons will be available in the window title bar. A comma-separated list of the following values may be provided:

Value Description
"None" No command buttons will be shown. This is used to hide all command buttons and can't be combined with other values.
"LockUnlock" Show the "Lock/Unlock" button.
"Extract" Show the "Extract" button.
"Collapse" Show the "Collapse" button.
"Minimize" Show the "Minimize" button. Works in conjunction with the Minimizable property which must also be set to True for the button to be visible.
"Maximize" Show the "Maximize" button. Works in conjunction with the Maximizable property which must also be set to True for the button to be visible.
"Close" Show the "Close" button.
"Default" | "" Equivalent to "Collapse,Minimize,Maximize,Close"

Methods

This class has no methods.

VBGlueInvocationResult

Instances of this class are returned by io.Connect when an asynchronous method invocation has completed. Interface: IGlueInvocationResult.

Properties

Name Type Description
correlationId String User-defined string which was passed as an argument to InvokeAsync.
Results VBGlueResult() A VBGlueResult array containing details about the invocation result. If the invocation request was sent to multiple target apps, the array will have an element for each result returned by each app. The array will always contain at least one element even if the invoked method isn't available (e.g., the specified method isn't registered by any app).

Methods

This class has no methods.

VBGlueStreamSubscriber

This class is used to store information about an io.Connect stream subscriber app. An instance of this class is passed to event handlers of GlueServerStream (see HandleSubscriber and HandleSubscriberLost. Interface: IVBGlueStreamSubscriber.

Properties

This class has no properties.

Methods

Close

Unsubscribes (removes) a subscriber from the stream.

Signature:

Sub Close(data)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
data Variant This parameter isn't applicable in VBA. Use Nothing when invoking the method.

Return value: None

GetStream

Gets information about the streaming method to which the app is subscribing.

Signature:

Function GetStream() As VBGlueMethod

Parameters: None

Return value: VBGlueMethod

GetSubscriberInstance

Gets information about the subscriber app instance.

Signature:

Function GetSubscriberInstance() As VBGlueInstance

Parameters: None

Return value: VBGlueInstance

Push

Pushes stream data only to the associated subscriber app instance.

Signature:

Sub Push(data)

Parameters:

Name Type Description
data Variant An instance of GlueDynamicValue representing the data to publish (see also Building Composite Values).

Return value: None