Steps for setting up the WinWedge

1. Select "DDE Server" from the "Mode" menu in the Wedge. When the dialog box appears asking for a DDE Command Destination Application, enter: "MSACCESS" as the Application Name and the name of your open database (without the MDB Extension) as the DDE topic.

2. Select "Input Record Structure" in the "Define" menu and define the structure of the input data to WinWedge. When you get to the final Window entitled "Input Record Definition Editor", enter the string: [GrabData] as the Field Postamble DDE Command after the last data field that you have defined. This is a DDE command that will be sent to MSACCESS after each data record is received by the Wedge.

3. Set up the rest of the Wedge as needed for your serial device and then activate it.

Steps for setting up MS ACCESS

MSAccess does not have a "GrabData" DDE command so the first step is to create one. When you define a macro in an Access database, the name of the macro automatically becomes a valid MSAccess DDE command for as long as the database is open.

1. Create a new macro that performs the "RunCode" Action. For the function name that is required by the RunCode action, enter the name "GetWedgeData()". Save the macro with the macro name "GrabData" then switch to the Modules tab and create a new module containing the code below.

When finished, save your Module as modWedgeCode. The example above sets up the Wedge to issue a DDE command consisting of the name of an Access macro (directly to the Access database that contains the macro) after each data record is received from your serial device. The macro calls an Access VBA function that performs a DDERequest back to the Wedge and returns the contents of FIELD(1) to a variable named "MyData". It then creates a new record in a table and inserts the data into the new record.

Dealing with Multiple Fields

If your record contains more than one field you will need to modify the code slightly to enter the additional fields into your table. Suppose for example that your record looks like:

X = 0.987, Y = 0.786, Z = 1.23<CR><LF>

You would first configure WinWedge for three, comma delimited fields with a Carriage Return or CRLF Received as the end of Record. You would probably also apply a numeric filter to each field to strip out the "X = ". Then your code would look like:

Troubleshooting

The Macro Runs but Stops with a "The expression you entered has a function name that Microsoft Access can't find" (or similar) error.

Usually this means that you named your Module "GetWedgeData". You should never give a module the same name as a procedure, or Access may be unable to find that procedure. If this is the case then simply rename your module.

Error 3078 : The Microsoft Jet database engine cannot find the input table or query 'TABLE1'. Make sure it exists and that its name is spelled correctly. or Error 3265 : Item not found in this collection.

Our example uses a table called "Table1" and a field called "SerialData". You will need to modify the code slightly so that it opens YOUR table and writes to fields that exist in that table. Change the lines below to point to your table and a valid field in that table.:

Set MyTable = MyDB.OpenRecordset("TABLE1")
MyTable![SerialData] = MyData

Error 3421 : Data type conversion error.

Make sure that the data type for that field is appropriate: If the MyData variable (the data from WinWedge) contains "X = 123" and your field can only contain numbers you will get this error.

Compile Error: User-Defined Type not Defined.

Older versions of the WinWedge Manual contain the line:

Dim MyDB as Database, MyTable As Recordset

However MS Access 2000 and later no longer support the Database type declaration so the easiest solution is simply to delete the words "as Database" from the statement:

Dim MyDB, MyTable

Error 282 : Microsoft Access can't find the specified application and topic because it can't open the DDE channel.

This error usually means that you forgot to change the com port in your code - check the line:

ChannelNumber = DDEInitiate("WinWedge", "Com1")

and change "Com1" to "Com2" or whichever com port you are using. If you are using TCPWedge the line should be something like:

ChannelNumber = DDEInitiate("TCPWedge", "123.45.67.89")

Be sure to change "123.45.67.89" to the IP Address TCPWedge is connected to.

When I have two or more instances of WinWedge running at the same time, each sending DDE commands to Access, sometimes I lose some data. What can I do to prevent this?

The following article explains how to prevent this:

Running Multiple Instances of WinWedge with Microsoft Access.

Nothing Happens in Access but I do see the data appear in the WinWedge window.

This problem has a number of possible causes. First it is important to realize that the table will not usually update in real time, in most cases you will need to close the table and reopen it in order to see the new data. In order to see the table update in real time you will need to change the refresh rate. To do so, click on Tools > Options and change the "Refresh Interval (sec)" value from its 60 second default to just 1 or 2 seconds.

If you still have no data then make sure that WinWedge is correctly configured in DDE Server Mode as described at the top of this page. Next, with WinWedge running and containing data from your instrument, try running the macro manually and see if it enters the data into your table.

If the macro works when you run it manually then there is a problem with the DDE connection between WinWedge and MS Access. Usually this is caused by long FileNames. While 32 Bit versions of WinWedge suport long file names, there seems to be an upper limit to the length of a DDE Topic. Since Access uses the name of the database as the topic filenames that exceed this limit may be truncated. Furthermore DDE Topics that contain spaces may need to be enclosed in quotes. Suppose your database is called "This is my WinWedge Test Database.mdb" - then the DDE Topic should be "This is my WinWedge Test Database" however it may be truncated to "This is my W" or possibly just "This" if the topic was not enclosed in quotations. Either way, the topic does not exist and the macro will not run. Try enclosing your DDE Topic in quotes or rename your database based on the old 8.3 short file name rules and then update the Topic in WinWedge.

If the macro does not work when you run it manually then there is probably something wrong with the code. Usually the following line is to blame:

If Len(MyData) = 0 Then Exit Function

Before entering data into the table this line checks to see if there actually is any data in the MyData Variable and If there is no data it simply exits. If you have made any customizations to the code you may have changed the variable names and you are no longer using a variable called MyData. If this is the case then it will always be empty and the function will always stop at this line. Delete the line or modify it to check a variable that does exist and try again.

If the macro still doesn't work you will need to set a break point near the top of the code and step through it to see what happens. To set a break point simply place the cursor on the line:

ChannelNumber = DDEInitiate("WinWedge", "Com1")

and Press F9. (It should turn a brown color). Then when you run the macro again the line will turn Yellow. Keep pressing F8 to step through the code line by line, place your cursor over variables to see what is in them and make a note of which line you are on when it stops or causes an error. When you are done, be sure to remove the break point using the same steps you used to add it (F9 will toggle it on and off) or the code will always stop executing at that point.

Launching And Terminating WinWedge From Access
Collecting Data Directly into a Form in an Access Database
Transmitting Variables Out The Serial Port From Access