DDE Diagnostic Utility

The dde_diag.exe program, located in the CIMPLICITY \exe directory, is provided to assist you in validating communication to a specific DDE Service, Topic and Item name. The Service and Topic name are used in the CIMPLICITY device configuration and the Item name is used in the CIMPLICITY point configuration.

This program is invoked by using one of the following commands:

  • For read tests

dde_diag.exe < service > < topic > < item >

  • For write tests

dde_diag.exe < service > < topic > < item > < type > < value >

  • For HotLink tests

dde_diag.exe < service > < topic > <item> OnChange

Where :

< service > is the Application (or Service) name of the DDE Server.

< topic > is a valid Topic for the DDE Server.

< item > is a valid Item for the DDE Server (format is Server specific).

< type > is one of the following data types:

C-Character

S-Short

L-Long

F-Floating

T-Text

< value > is a valid value to be written to the item.

Note: HotLink means a Hot Link will be created for the given item. Once the link is established, the value of the item is updated automatically by the DDE Server.

Upon successful connection to the DDE Server for the given Topic, this test utility reads and prints the value of the given Item. An appropriate error message is printed if the utility fails to connect to the DDE server or the Item is invalid.

When validating communication over NetDDE, the Service is:

\\<nodename>\ndde$

Where:

< nodename > is the computer name where the DDE Server is running.

The Topic is the Share Name you created using the DDE share utility.