Use COM Objects in MATLAB

Access COM components from MATLAB^®

The Microsoft^® Component Object Model (COM) provides a framework for integrating reusable, binary software components into an application. Because components are implemented with compiled code, the source code can be written in programming languages that support COM. Upgrades to applications are simplified, as components can simply be swapped without the need to recompile the entire application. In addition, a component's location is transparent to the application, so components can be relocated to a separate process or even a remote system without having to modify the application.

Alternatively, consider using a Microsoft .NET application. For more information, see Call .NET from MATLAB.

MATLAB supports COM and .NET on the Windows^® platform only.

Functions

`actxserver`	Create COM server
`actxGetRunningServer`	Handle to running instance of Automation server
`methodsview`	View class methods
`eventlisteners`	List event handler functions associated with COM object events
`registerevent`	Associate event handler for COM object event at run time
`unregisterallevents`	Unregister all event handlers associated with COM object events
`unregisterevent`	Unregister event handler associated with COM object event at run time
`iscom`	Determine whether input is COM object
`isevent`	Determine whether input is COM object event
`isinterface`	Determine whether input is COM interface

Objects

COM Access COM components from MATLAB

Topics

COM Integration

MATLAB COM Integration
COM concepts and an overview of COM support in MATLAB.
Get Started with COM
Examples that show how to use COM interface with MATLAB.
Register Servers
Before using COM objects, you must register their servers.
Create COM Objects
How to create Microsoft controls and COM server objects.
Handle COM Data in MATLAB
Pass data to and handle data from a COM object.
COM Object Properties
List property names and set values, work with multiple objects and properties, use the Property Inspector, use enumerated values and custom properties.
COM Methods
You execute, or invoke, COM functions or methods belonging to COM objects.
COM Events
Respond to events, write event handlers.
COM Event Handlers
Use registerevent to register server events.
Save and Delete COM Objects
Use these MATLAB functions to save and restore the state of a COM control object.
COM Object Interfaces
Use COM interfaces.
COM Collections
COM collections are a way to support groups of related COM objects that can be iterated over.
Supported Client/Server Configurations
COM client-server configurations in MATLAB.
MATLAB Application as DCOM Client
Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) is a protocol that allows clients to use remote COM objects over a network.
Explore COM Objects
Learn about a COM object using MATLAB commands.

Microsoft Office

Write Spreadsheet Data Using Excel as Automation Server
This example shows how to write a MATLAB matrix to an Excel^® spreadsheet.
Read Spreadsheet Data Using Excel as Automation Server
This example shows how to use a COM Automation server to access another application from MATLAB.
Change Cursor in Spreadsheet
This example shows how to change the cursor icon in an Excel® spreadsheet.
Change Row Height in Range of Spreadsheet Cells
This example shows how to change the height of a row, defined by a Range object, in a spreadsheet.
Insert Spreadsheet After First Sheet
This example shows how to skip an optional input argument in the Excel Add method, used to insert a sheet into a workbook.
Connect to Existing Excel Application
This example shows how to read data from an open file, weekly_log.xlsx, in MATLAB.
Display Message for Workbook OnClose Event
This example shows how to handle a COM interface event, how to set up an event in a Microsoft Excel workbook object, and how to handle its BeforeClose event.

Troubleshooting

MATLAB COM Support Limitations

Microsoft does not support loading 32-bit DLLs or in-process COM servers into a 64-bit application, or conversely.

Interpreting Argument Callouts in COM Error Messages

When a MATLAB client sends a command with an invalid argument to a COM server application, the server sends back an error message in the following format.