CreateObject

Creates and returns a reference to a new instance of a COM/Automation object.

Syntax: CreateObject( class [ , servername ] )

class
required Variant (String). The application name and class of the object to create, in the form appname.objecttype — for example, "Excel.Application". A CLSID may also be supplied in the form "new:{XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX}".
servername
optional Variant (String). The name of the network server on which to create the object — the same as the Machine Name portion of a UNC share name. For a share named \\MyServer\Public, servername is "MyServer". If servername is omitted or supplied as a zero-length string (""), the object is created on the local machine.

To use the returned object, assign it to an object variable. Declaring the variable As Object causes late binding (binding occurs at run time); declaring it with a specific class type produces early binding (binding occurs at compile time), which is faster and gives access to IntelliSense for the object’s members but limits the variable to that one type.

Dim ExcelApp As Object
Set ExcelApp = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
ExcelApp.Visible = True

If an object has registered itself as single-instance, only one instance is ever created, no matter how many times CreateObject is invoked.

Note

CreateObject obtains a new instance of the object. GetObject attaches to an already-running instance — or starts the object’s application with a particular file loaded.

Common Errors

Error When
-2147221020 (&H800401E4), Invalid syntax class is not a registered class name, such as a number, or a CLSID in braces without new:
-2147221164 (&H80040154), Class not registered class is new: with a CLSID that is not registered
-2147221005 (&H800401F3), Invalid class string class is new: followed by text that is not a CLSID
5 (&H5), Invalid procedure call or argument class is a zero-length string
-2147023174 (&H800706BA), The RPC server is unavailable. servername names a computer that cannot be reached
94 (&H5E), Invalid use of Null class or servername is Null

Note BETA 1034

When class is not a registered class name, such as a number, or a CLSID in braces without new:, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 429 (&H1AD), ActiveX component can’t create object, instead.

Note BETA 1034

When class is new: with a CLSID that is not registered, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 429 (&H1AD), ActiveX component can’t create object, instead.

Note BETA 1034

When class is new: followed by text that is not a CLSID, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 429 (&H1AD), ActiveX component can’t create object, instead.

Note BETA 1034

When class is a zero-length string, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 429 (&H1AD), ActiveX component can’t create object, instead.

Example

This example creates a Microsoft Excel Application object, makes it visible, and then closes it via Quit, releasing the reference at the end.

Dim XlApp As Object
Set XlApp = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
XlApp.Visible = True
' ... work with Excel through XlApp ...
XlApp.Quit
Set XlApp = Nothing

See Also