Dynamic Data Exchange

This section provides guidelines for implementing dynamic data exchange for applications that cannot use the Dynamic Data Exchange Management Library (DDEML). For more information about the DDEML, see Dynamic Data Exchange Management Library.

Overviews

Name Description
About Dynamic Data Exchange Discusses transferring data between applications.
Using Dynamic Data Exchange Provides code samples concerning dynamic data exchange.
DDE Reference The API reference.

DDE Functions

Name Description
DdeSetQualityOfService Specifies the quality of service (QOS) a raw Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) application desires for future DDE conversations it initiates. The specified QOS applies to any conversations started while those settings are in place. A DDE conversation's quality of service lasts for the duration of the conversation; calls to the DdeSetQualityOfService function during a conversation do not affect that conversation's QOS.
FreeDDElParam Frees the memory specified by the lParam parameter of a posted DDE message. An application receiving a posted DDE message should call this function after it has used the UnpackDDElParam function to unpack the lParam value.
ImpersonateDdeClientWindow Enables a DDE server application to impersonate a DDE client application's security context. This protects secure server data from unauthorized DDE clients.
PackDDElParam Packs a DDE lParam value into an internal structure used for sharing DDE data between processes.
ReuseDDElParam Enables an application to reuse a packed DDE lParam parameter, rather than allocating a new packed lParam. Using this function reduces reallocations for applications that pass packed DDE messages.
UnpackDDElParam Unpacks a DDE lParam value received from a posted DDE message.

DDE Messages

Name Description
WM_DDE_INITIATE Initiates a conversation with a server application responding to the specified application and topic names. Upon receiving this message, all server applications with names that match the specified application and that support the specified topic are expected to acknowledge it.

DDE Notifications

Name Description
WM_DDE_ACK Notifies a DDE application of the receipt and processing of the following messages: WM_DDE_POKE, WM_DDE_EXECUTE, WM_DDE_DATA, WM_DDE_ADVISE, WM_DDE_UNADVISE, WM_DDE_INITIATE, or WM_DDE_REQUEST (in some cases).
WM_DDE_ADVISE A DDE client application posts the WM_DDE_ADVISE message to a DDE server application to request the server to supply an update for a data item whenever the item changes.
WM_DDE_DATA A DDE server application posts a WM_DDE_DATA message to a DDE client application to pass a data item to the client or to notify the client of the availability of a data item.
WM_DDE_EXECUTE A DDE client application posts a WM_DDE_EXECUTE message to a DDE server application to send a string to the server to be processed as a series of commands. The server application is expected to post a WM_DDE_ACK message in response.
WM_DDE_POKE A DDE client application posts a WM_DDE_POKE message to a DDE server application. A client uses this message to request the server to accept an unsolicited data item. The server is expected to reply with a WM_DDE_ACK message indicating whether it accepted the data item.
WM_DDE_REQUEST A DDE client application posts a WM_DDE_REQUEST message to a DDE server application to request the value of a data item.
WM_DDE_TERMINATE A DDE application (client or server) posts a WM_DDE_TERMINATE message to terminate a conversation.
WM_DDE_UNADVISE A DDE client application posts a WM_DDE_UNADVISE message to inform a DDE server application that the specified item or a particular clipboard format for the item should no longer be updated. This terminates the warm or hot data link for the specified item.

DDE Structures

Name Description
DDEACK Contains status flags that a DDE application passes to its partner as part of the WM_DDE_ACK message. The flags provide details about the application's response to the messages WM_DDE_DATA, WM_DDE_POKE, WM_DDE_EXECUTE, WM_DDE_ADVISE, WM_DDE_UNADVISE, and WM_DDE_REQUEST.
DDEADVISE Contains flags that specify how a DDE server application should send data to a client application during an advise loop. A client passes a handle to a DDEADVISE structure to a server as part of a WM_DDE_ADVISE message.
DDEDATA Contains the data, and information about the data, sent as part of a WM_DDE_DATA message.
DDEPOKE Contains the data, and information about the data, sent as part of a WM_DDE_POKE message.
HSZPAIR Contains a DDE service name and topic name. A DDE server application can use this structure during an XTYP_WILDCONNECT transaction to enumerate the service-topic pairs that it supports.