Is an opened Excel-Reference by TestComplete somehow hidden for other applications?

[paulvinders]

We have the following situation:

we start TestExecute 14 and get per OLEObject a reference to Excel.Application. We open a Workbook. An Excel-instance is opened with this Workbook. Another (Delphi) application opens and writes another Workbook. Both Workbooks appear in the same instance under Windows 7/Office 2010, so TestExecute can search the new Workbook in the only existing instance and work with it. So far so good.

Now we are using Windows 10/Office 2016: the Delphi-application opens another Excel instance instead of using the same instance of TestExecute!?! Is the TestExecute-Excel-Instance somehow hidden for other applications? We already set the registry entry 'disablemergeinstance' to 0, but this does not make any difference.

How can we search a Workbook in several instances? Or better, how can we make the TestExecute-Excel-Instance 'public'?

sincerely

P. Vinders

SOPTIM AG, Germany

[AlexKaras · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Hope, https://smartbear-cc.force.com/portal/KbArticleViewer?name=Get-COM-reference-for-a-running-Excel-ins... will help.

[paulvinders]

Hi Alex,

thanks for the reply. Testcomplete is the first application which starts opening Excel-Workbooks. The other Delphi-application creates/fills Workbooks during testexcution. So no Excel-instance runs at Start...

[tristaanogre]

Using OleObject('Excel.Application') creates a running Excel instance.  So, as soon as you call that in TestComplete, a running instance is created.  Hence, the article @AlexKaras posted still applies

[paulvinders]

Hi,

After adding EXCEL7 in MSAA, the Property is visible not visible under

Sys.Process("EXCEL").Window("XLMAIN", "a - Excel", 2).Window("XLDESK", "", 1).Window("EXCEL6", "", 1). It is visble under Sys.Process("EXCEL").Window("XLMAIN", "a - Excel", 2).Window("XLDESK", "", 1).Panel("a"). Sys.Process("EXCEL").Window("XLMAIN", "a - Excel", 2).Window("XLDESK", "", 1).Window("EXCEL7", "", 1) has disappeared.

Instead of adding EXCEL7, I've added only EXCEL6 in MSAA: then the property is visible under Sys.Process("EXCEL").Window("XLMAIN", "a - Excel", 2).Window("XLDESK", "", 1).Window("EXCEL7", "a", 1) -- EXCEL 7 !!!!!!!!

Also, a Sys.Process("EXCEL").Window("XLMAIN", "", 3 exists though 2 files are opened, not 3...

I don't understand it.

[paulvinders · Accepted solution]

Hi,

the following works for me with EXCEL7 in MSAA (Windows 7/10 and Office 2016):

Sys.Process("EXCEL").Window("XLMAIN", "*", 1).Window("XLDESK", "*", 1).Panel("*").NativeObject.Application

With this property I have all original Properties/Methods like before.

Thanks!

sincerely

P. Vinders