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<refentry xml:id="function.com-get-active-object" xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
 <refnamediv>
  <refname>com_get_active_object</refname>
  <refpurpose>Returns a handle to an already running instance of a COM object</refpurpose>
 </refnamediv>
 <refsect1 role="description">
  &reftitle.description;
  <methodsynopsis>
   <type>variant</type><methodname>com_get_active_object</methodname>
   <methodparam><type>string</type><parameter>progid</parameter></methodparam>
   <methodparam choice="opt"><type>int</type><parameter>code_page</parameter></methodparam>
  </methodsynopsis>
  <para>
   <function>com_get_active_object</function> is similar to creating a new
   instance of a <xref linkend="class.com"/> object, except that it will
   only return an object to your script if the object is already running.
   OLE applications use something known as the "<literal>Running Object Table</literal>" to
   allow well-known applications to be launched only once; this function
   exposes the COM library function GetActiveObject() to get a handle on a
   running instance.
  </para>
 </refsect1>
 <refsect1 role="parameters">
  &reftitle.parameters;
  <para>
   <variablelist>
    <varlistentry>
     <term><parameter>progid</parameter></term>
     <listitem>
      <para>
       <parameter>progid</parameter> must be either the ProgID or CLSID for
       the object that you want to access (for example
       <literal>Word.Application</literal>).
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>
    <varlistentry>
     <term><parameter>code_page</parameter></term>
     <listitem>
      <para>
       Acts in precisely the same way that it does for the <xref
       linkend="class.com"/> class.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>
   </variablelist>
  </para>
 </refsect1>
 <refsect1 role="returnvalues">
  &reftitle.returnvalues;
  <para>
   If the requested object is running, it will be returned to your script
   just like any other COM object.
  </para>
 </refsect1>
 <refsect1 role="errors">
  &reftitle.errors;
  <para>
   There are a variety of reasons why this function might fail, the most
   common being that the object is not already running.  In that situation,
   the exception error code will be <constant>MK_E_UNAVAILABLE</constant>;
   you can use the <literal>getCode</literal> method of the exception object
   to check the exception code.
  </para>
 </refsect1>
 <refsect1 role="notes">
  &reftitle.notes;
  <warning>
   <para>
    Using <function>com_get_active_object</function> in a web server context
    is not always a smart idea.  Most COM/OLE applications are not designed
    to handle more than one client concurrently, even (or especially!)
    Microsoft Office.  You should read <link
    xlink:href="&url.msoffice.serverside;">Considerations for Server-Side
    Automation of Office</link> for more information on the general issues
    involved.
   </para>
  </warning>
 </refsect1>
</refentry>

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