ComValue

Wraps a value, SafeArray or COM object for use by the script or for passing to a COM method.

ComValue itself is a class derived from Any, but is used only to create or identify COM wrapper objects.

Parameters

Return Value

This function returns a wrapper object containing a variant type and value or pointer, specifically ComValue, ComValueRef, ComObjArray or ComObject.

Ptr

If a wrapper object's VarType is VT_UNKNOWN (13) or includes the VT_BYREF (0x4000) flag or VT_ARRAY (0x2000) flag, the Ptr property can be used to retrieve the address of the object, typed variable or SafeArray. This allows the ComObject itself to be passed to any DllCall or ComCall parameter which has the "Ptr" type, but can also be used explicitly. For example, ComObj.Ptr is equivalent to ComObjValue(ComObj) in these cases.

If a wrapper object's VarType is VT_UNKNOWN (13) or VT_DISPATCH (9) and the wrapped pointer is null (0), the Ptr property can be used to retrieve the current null value or to assign a pointer to the wrapper object. Once assigned (if non-null), the pointer will be released automatically when the wrapper object is freed. This can be used with DllCall or ComCall output parameters of type "Ptr*" or "PtrP" to ensure the pointer will be released automatically, such as if an error occurs. For an example, see ComObjQuery.

When a wrapper object with VarType VT_DISPATCH (9) and a null (0) pointer value is assigned a non-null pointer value, its type changes from ComValue to ComObject. The properties and methods of the wrapped object become available and the Ptr property becomes unavailable.

ByRef

If a wrapper object's VarType includes the VT_BYREF (0x4000) flag, empty brackets [] can be used to read or write the referenced value.

When creating a reference, Value must be the memory address of a variable or buffer with sufficient capacity to store a value of the given type. For example, the following can be used to create a variable which a VBScript function can write into:

Note that although any previous value is freed when a new value is assigned by vref[] or the COM method, the final value is not freed automatically. Freeing the value requires knowing which type it is. Because it is VT_VARIANT in this case, it can be freed by calling VariantClear with DllCall or by using a simpler method: assign an integer, such as vref[] := 0.

If the method accepts a combination of VT_BYREF and VT_VARIANT as shown above, a VarRef can be used instead. For example:

However, some methods require a more specific variant type, such as VT_BYREF | VT_I4. In such cases, the first approach shown above must be used, replacing 0x400C with the appropriate variant type.

General Remarks

When this function is used to wrap an IDispatch or IUnknown interface pointer (passed as an integer), the wrapper object assumes responsibility for automatically releasing the pointer when appropriate. Therefore, if the script intends to use the pointer after calling this function, it must call ObjAddRef(DispPtr) first. By contrast, this is not necessary if Value is itself a ComValue or ComObject.

Conversion from VT_UNKNOWN to VT_DISPATCH results in a call to IUnknown::QueryInterface, which may produce an interface pointer different to the original, and will throw an exception if the object does not implement IDispatch. By contrast, if Value is an integer and VarType is VT_DISPATCH, the value is used directly, and therefore must be an IDispatch-compatible interface pointer.

Known limitation: Each time a COM object is wrapped, a new wrapper object is created. Comparisons and assignments such as obj1 == obj2 and arr[obj1] := value treat the two wrapper objects as unique, even when they contain the same variant type and value.

Examples

Passes a VARIANT ByRef to a COM function.

#Requires AutoHotkey v2 32-bit ; 32-bit for ScriptControl.
code := "
(
Sub Example(Var)
    MsgBox Var
    Var = "out value!"
End Sub
)"
sc := ComObject("ScriptControl"), sc.Language := "VBScript", sc.AddCode(code)


; Example: Pass a VARIANT ByRef to a COM method.
var := ComVar()
var[] := "in value"
sc.Run("Example", var.ref)
MsgBox var[]

; The same thing again, but more direct:
variant_buf := Buffer(24, 0)  ; Make a buffer big enough for a VARIANT.
var := ComValue(0x400C, variant_buf.ptr)  ; Make a reference to a VARIANT.
var[] := "in value"
sc.Run("Example", var)  ; Pass the VT_BYREF ComValue itself, no [] or .ref.
MsgBox var[]
; If a VARIANT contains a string or object, it must be explicitly freed
; by calling VariantClear or assigning a pure numeric value:
var[] := 0

; The simplest way when the method accepts VT_BYREF|VT_VARIANT:
var := "in value"
sc.Run("Example", &var)
MsgBox var


; ComVar: An object which can be used to pass a value ByRef.
;   this[] retrieves the value.
;   this[] := Val sets the value.
;   this.ref retrieves a ByRef object for passing to a COM method.
class ComVar {
    __new(vType := 0xC) {
        ; Allocate memory for a VARIANT to hold our value. VARIANT is used even
        ; when vType != VT_VARIANT so that VariantClear can be used by __delete.
        this.var := Buffer(24, 0)
        ; Create an object which can be used to pass the variable ByRef.
        this.ref := ComValue(0x4000|vType, this.var.ptr + (vType=0xC ? 0 : 8))
        ; Store the variant type for VariantClear (if not VT_VARIANT).
        if vType != 0xC
            NumPut "ushort", vType, this.var
    }
    __item {
        get => this.ref[]
        set => this.ref[] := value
    }
    __delete() {
        DllCall("oleaut32\VariantClear", "ptr", this.var)
    }
}

Parameters

Return Value

Ptr

ByRef

General Remarks

Related

Examples