VBScript in a Nutshell

Name

CreateObject Function

Syntax

CreateObject(servername.Typename [, Location])

servername

Use: Required

Data subtype: String

The name of application providing the object.

Typename

Use: Required

Data subtype: String

The type or class of the object to create.

Location

Use: Optional

Data subtype: String

The name of the server where the object is to be created.

Return Value

A reference to an ActiveX object.

Description

Creates an instance of an OLE Automation (ActiveX) object. Prior to calling the methods, functions, or properties of an object, you are required to create an instance of that object. Once an object is created, you reference it in code using the object variable you defined.

Rules at a Glance

• In order to assign the object reference to a variable, you must use the Set keyword. For example:

  Dim oDoc
  Set oDoc = CreateObject("Word.Document")

• servername and typename are not arbitrary values. Instead, the combination of servername.typename is known as a programmatic identifier or ProgID and is defined in the system registry. ProgIDs are included among the subkeys of HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Some common programmatic identifiers are shown in the following table:

  ProgID	Description
  ADODB.Connection	An ActiveX Data Objects connection
  ADODB.Recordset	An ActiveX Data Objects recordset
  DAO.DBEngine	Data Access Objects
  Excel.Application	Microsoft Excel
  Excel.Chart	A Microsoft Excel chart
  Excel.Sheet	A Microsoft Excel workbook
  MAPI.Session	Collaborative Data Objects
  Outlook.Application ...