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Creating Automation Controller in Dynamics NAV

  • Article

To implement Automation in Dynamics NAV, create an Automation controller in C/AL code of the Dynamics NAV object. By using variables that have an Automation data type, an Automation controller implements and runs Automation objects from an Automation server. This topic outlines the procedure for creating an Automation controller.

To create an Automation controller that uses an Automation server

  1. Declare the top-level interface of the Automation server as a variable of the data type Automation.

  2. Declare all other objects and interfaces (classes) as variables of the Automation data type.

  3. Call the C/AL CREATE function on the variable that you declared in step 1 as shown in the following code:

    CREATE(AutomationVariable [,True|False] ,True)

    The last parameter must be set to True so that the automation controller targets the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client.

    Note

    You can also use define a Boolean type variable instead of setting the parameter to True. The variable must evaluate to True for the controller to be created at run time. If variable evaluates to False, then you will see an error at run time.

    For more information, see CREATE Function (Automation).

  4. Use the methods and properties of the Automation server in your C/AL code.

  5. If needed, use the CLEAR function (destroy) for the top-level object. Otherwise, it will be cleared automatically when the variable goes out of scope.

    You write most of your code during step 4 by using the methods and the properties of the Automation server. The syntax and the semantics of these methods and properties are documented in the documentation for each Automation server. Using these methods and properties in C/AL does not require any new or changed syntax.

    For examples of creating an Automation controller, see Walkthrough: Using Automation to Write a Letter in Microsoft Office Word and Walkthrough: Using Automation to Create a Graph in Microsoft Excel.

See Also

Extending Microsoft Dynamics NAV Using COM
Using COM Technologies in Microsoft Dynamics NAV
COM Overview
Best Practices for Using Automation with the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows Client