OLE columns in a DataWindow object enable you to store, retrieve, and modify blob data in a database. To use an OLE column in an application, place a DataWindow control in a window and associate it with the DataWindow object.
For users of SQL Server
If you are using a SQL Server database, you must turn off
transaction processing to use OLE. In the Transaction object used
by the DataWindow control, set AutoCommit to TRUE.
For how to create an OLE column in a DataWindow object, see the PowerBuilder User’s Guide.
Users can interact with the blob exactly as you did in preview in the DataWindow painter: they can double-click a blob to invoke the server application, then view and edit the blob. You can also use the OLEActivate function in a script to invoke the server application. Calling OLEActivate simulates double-clicking a specified blob.
The OLEActivate function has this syntax:
dwcontrol.OLEActivate (row, columnnameornumber, verb )
When using OLEActivate, you need to know the action to pass to the OLE server application. (Windows calls these actions verbs.) Typically, you want to edit the document, which for most servers means you specify 0 as the verb.
To obtain the verbs supported by a particular OLE server application, use the advanced interface of the Windows Registry Editor utility (run REGEDT32 /V).
For information about Registry Editor, see the Windows online Help file REGEDT32.HLP.
For example, you might want to use OLEActivate in a Clicked script for a button to allow users to use OLE without their having to know they can double-click the blob’s icon.
The following statement invokes the OLE server application for the OLE column in the current row of the DataWindow control dw_1 (assuming that the second column in the DataWindow object is an OLE column):
dw_1.OLEActivate(dw_1.GetRow(), 2, 0)
For more information about using OLE in a DataWindow object, see the PowerBuilder User’s Guide.
