Windows XP in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Name

DDE Share — \windows\system32\ddeshare.exe

Synopsis

Facilitates Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) communication over a network.

To Open

Command Prompt → ddeshare

Description

Dynamic Data Exchange is a mechanism that allows one application to send instructions to another. DDE Share extends this functionality by facilitating this communication across a local network, using the NetDDE protocol. NetDDE is a cross-platform tool, capable of communicating with applications on Windows, DOS, OS/2, Solaris, VMS, and HP/UX systems.

When you start DDE Share, you’ll see a simple window with a menu and two unlabeled icons. The two icons correspond to the first two entries in the Shares menu: double-click the icon with the hand holding the blank window to display the DDE Shares window, or double-click the icon with the hand holding the “checked” window to display the DDE Trusted Shares window.

Notes

• The NetDDE service must be running on both machines. (See the “Microsoft Management Console”, later in this chapter, for more information on services.)

• One of the two computers assumes the role of server, and the other assumes the role of client. On the server machine only, DDE shares must be created; these shares work similarly to shared folders and printers (see Chapter 7), where a particular resource is given a “share name.” In the case of Microsoft Chat, this is already done (shared as Chat$).

  If the required entries are not present, you’ll need to create them. Unfortunately, DDE conversations are proprietary; ...