Numeric

DDEInitiate( ) establishes a DDE channel between Visual FoxPro and a DDE server application. Once a channel is established, Visual FoxPro can request data from the server by referring to the channel in subsequent DDE functions. Visual FoxPro acts as the client, requesting data from the server application through the channel.

If the channel is successfully established, DDEInitiate( ) returns the channel number. Channel numbers are non-negative, and the number of channels you can establish is limited only by your system resources.

DDEInitiate( ) returns –1 if the channel cannot be established. If the server application is not open, Visual FoxPro asks if you would like to open it. If you choose Yes, Visual FoxPro attempts to open the application. (You can use DDELastError( ) to determine why a channel cannot be established.)

To avoid being asked whether you want to open the application, set the DDESetOption( ) SAFETY option. You can also use RUN with the /N option to start the application.

A channel can be closed with DDETerminate( ).

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