Automation and Spooler

Hi Folks,

I have developed a port monitor with WebDAV behavior. One feature available
during port configuration is a "Test" button which automates IE and shows
the user a page from the webserver. That works. If I invoke the same code
from EndDocPort I get no failures from COM (ActiveX?) but the call to set
the instance visible has no effect -- I get no error and I also get no
visibility. I am able to fire up MessageBox displays.

My COM code is almost trivial -- 5 steps: Initialize COM, Create an
Instance, Allocate a BSTR, Call the Navigate Method of the instance, Set the
instance Visible.

Is there some subtlety about the spooler EndDocPort routine that I don't
understand? Can anybody see anything wrong in my code?



void Test(tstring *url)
{
HRESULT hr;
IWebBrowserApp* ie = NULL;
BSTR u;
VARIANT flags = {0};
VARIANT frame = {0};
VARIANT post = {0};
VARIANT hdr = {0};

if (FAILED(hr = CoInitializeEx(NULL, COINIT_APARTMENTTHREADED)))
{
SetLastError(hr);
Notify(_T("Test URL"), __LINE__);
}

if (FAILED(hr = CoCreateInstance(CLSID_InternetExplorer,
NULL,
CLSCTX_SERVER,
IID_IWebBrowserApp,
(LPVOID*)&ie)))
{
SetLastError(hr);
Notify(_T("Test URL"), __LINE__);
}

if ((u = SysAllocString(url->c_str())) == NULL){Notify(_T("Test URL"),
__LINE__);}

if (FAILED(hr = ie->Navigate(u, &flags, &frame, &post, &hdr)))
{
SetLastError(hr);
Notify(_T("Test URL"), __LINE__);
}

if (FAILED(hr = ie->put_Visible(VARIANT_TRUE)))
{
SetLastError(hr);
Notify(_T("Test URL"), __LINE__);
}

Hi Chris,
port monitors run in the spooler process with system account, which has
no Current User in the registry. Perhaps IE needs some information from
that place. You can try to copy some entries to HKEY_USERS\.Default
entry. Regmon can help you to identify needed entries.

Dieter

Chris Miller schrieb:
> Hi Folks,
>
> I have developed a port monitor with WebDAV behavior. One feature available
> during port configuration is a "Test" button which automates IE and shows
> the user a page from the webserver. That works. If I invoke the same code
> from EndDocPort I get no failures from COM (ActiveX?) but the call to set
> the instance visible has no effect -- I get no error and I also get no
> visibility. I am able to fire up MessageBox displays.
>
> My COM code is almost trivial -- 5 steps: Initialize COM, Create an
> Instance, Allocate a BSTR, Call the Navigate Method of the instance, Set the
> instance Visible.
>
> Is there some subtlety about the spooler EndDocPort routine that I don't
> understand? Can anybody see anything wrong in my code?
> ...