Add-in Express™
for Microsoft® Office and CodeGear® VCL
Add-in Express VCL and Excel RTD servers
Microsoft Excel 2002 - 2007 provides a new way to view and update data in real time instead of DDE. This Real-Time Data (RTD) feature is really great for working with constantly-changing data such as stock quotes, currency exchange rates, inventory levels, price quotes, weather forecasts, sports scores and so on. Add-in Express supports Real-Time Data servers and Excel user defined functions technologies and provides the same RAD way as for COM Add-ins and Smart Tags.
The sample below demonstrates how to build an RTD server for Microsoft Excel 2007. If you need to develop a Real-Time Data server for earlier Excel versions, have a look at a sample RTD server for Excel 2002-2003.
1. Create a new RTD server project with Add-in Express wizard
Note. Automation add-ins are supported by Excel 2002 and higher.
In the Delphi IDE, close all opened projects, select the "File|New|Other:" item on the main menu, and run the "MS Excel Real-Time Data Server" wizard on the "Add-in Express" tab of the "New Item" dialog box:
In the wizard windows, you enter the name of the project, the destination folder, coclass name, and the server type (DLL or EXE). The wizard generates a new project and opens it in the Delphi IDE.
2. Name your RTD server
The RTDServer module (MyRTDServer1_IMPL.pas) is the heart of the project: it is a placeholder of the RTD Topic component; also, it provides you with RTD server properties.
3. Add a new topic
To add a new topic select the Add-in Express tab on the Component Palette and add adxRTDTopic to the RTDServer module. In the Object Inspector, specify the topic via the StringXX property and handle the OnRefreshData event:
Technical information:
| function TRTDServerModule.MyTopicRefreshData(Sender: TObject): OleVariant; |
| begin |
| Result := RandomRange(-100, 100); |
| end; |
 | Up to 28 string values identifying the topic |
| Default value will be used before retrieving the first data |
| Enabled |
4. Register and run the server
Save the project, compile it, close Excel, and register the server via "Run|Register ActiveX Server". Run Excel and enter the RTD function to a cell:
See also a sample Real-Time Data project in .NET
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