[python-win32] Active-X control

[Tim Roberts]

Christopher Brown wrote:
>
> I am using windows xp, python 2.5.4, with build 213 of pywin32. I am
> brand new to pywin32, and I have gathered some info from various web
> searches on how to use the library. I'm clearly doing something wrong.
>
> I am in the process of switching from Matlab to Python, and one thing
> I need to do is to use an ocx library to control some hardware. Here
> is how I do it in matlab, which works just fine:
>
> >> h_pa5 = actxcontrol('PA5.x',[1 1 1 1])
> ...
>
> ...With python-win32, I seem to be able to connect to the library, but
> I can't issue any commands:
>
> >>> import win32com.client
> >>> axPA5 = win32com.client.Dispatch("PA5.X")
> >>> axPA5
> <COMObject PA5.X>
> >>> axPA5.ConnectPA5('USB',1)
> Traceback (most recent call last):
> com_error: (-2147418113, 'Catastrophic failure', None, None)
> >>>
>
> What am I doing wrong?

-2147418113 is 0x8000ffff, which is E_UNEXPECTED.  That doesn't help
very much.

The second parameter to actxcontrol are screen coordinates.  Some
ActiveX controls expect to be installed as components in a GUI.  Your
Python example doesn't set up a GUI.  Does it work in Matlab if you omit
the coordinates, like this?
    h_pa5 = actxcontrol('PA5.x')

If not, then you have more work ahead of you.  You'll have to create a
window and a message loop using one of the Python GUI toolkits.

-- 
Tim Roberts, timr at probo.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.