`CreateObject` Function

Creates and returns a reference to an ActiveX object (COM object).

Syntax

CreateObject(class, [servername])

Parameters

class: Required. String expression representing the programmatic identifier (ProgID) of the object to create. The format is typically "Application.ObjectType" or "Library.Class".
servername: Optional. String expression representing the name of the network server where the object will be created. If omitted or an empty string (""), the object is created on the local machine. This parameter is only used for DCOM (Distributed COM).

Return Value

Returns an Object reference to the created COM object. The actual type depends on the class specified. Returns Nothing if the object cannot be created.

Remarks

CreateObject is used to instantiate COM objects at runtime. This is known as late binding, as opposed to early binding where you reference the object library and declare objects with specific types at design time.

Important Characteristics:

Creates objects using late binding (runtime resolution)
Requires the COM object to be registered on the system
Returns generic Object type (requires type casting for IntelliSense)
Slower than early binding but more flexible
No compile-time type checking
Enables automation of external applications
Can create objects on remote servers (DCOM)

Common `ProgID`s

`ProgID`	Description
"Excel.Application"	Microsoft Excel application
"Word.Application"	Microsoft Word application
"Scripting.FileSystemObject"	File system object for file operations
"Scripting.Dictionary"	Dictionary object for key-value pairs
"ADODB.Connection"	ADO database connection
"ADODB.Recordset"	ADO recordset for database queries
"Shell.Application"	Windows Shell automation
"WScript.Shell"	Windows Script Host Shell object
"MSXML2.DOMDocument"	XML DOM parser
"CDO.Message"	Collaboration Data Objects for email
"InternetExplorer.Application"	Internet Explorer automation
"Outlook.Application"	Microsoft Outlook application
"Access.Application"	Microsoft Access application

Examples

Basic Usage

' Create an Excel application object
Dim xlApp As Object
Set xlApp = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
xlApp.Visible = True
xlApp.Workbooks.Add
Set xlApp = Nothing

' Create a FileSystemObject
Dim fso As Object
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

Microsoft Excel Automation

Sub CreateExcelSpreadsheet()
Dim xlApp As Object
Dim xlBook As Object
Dim xlSheet As Object

On Error GoTo ErrorHandler

' Create Excel application
Set xlApp = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
xlApp.Visible = True

' Add a workbook
Set xlBook = xlApp.Workbooks.Add
Set xlSheet = xlBook.Worksheets(1)

' Add data
xlSheet.Cells(1, 1).Value = "Name"
xlSheet.Cells(1, 2).Value = "Value"
xlSheet.Cells(2, 1).Value = "Item 1"
xlSheet.Cells(2, 2).Value = 100

' Clean up
Set xlSheet = Nothing
Set xlBook = Nothing
xlApp.Quit
Set xlApp = Nothing

Exit Sub

ErrorHandler:
MsgBox "Error: " & Err.Description
If Not xlApp Is Nothing Then
xlApp.Quit
Set xlApp = Nothing
End If
End Sub

File System Operations

Function FileExists(filePath As String) As Boolean
Dim fso As Object
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
FileExists = fso.FileExists(filePath)
Set fso = Nothing
End Function

Function GetFileSize(filePath As String) As Long
Dim fso As Object
Dim file As Object

Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
If fso.FileExists(filePath) Then
Set file = fso.GetFile(filePath)
GetFileSize = file.Size
Set file = Nothing
End If
Set fso = Nothing
End Function

Common Patterns

Dictionary for Key-Value Storage

Function CreateDictionary() As Object
Dim dict As Object
Set dict = CreateObject("Scripting.Dictionary")

' Add items
dict.Add "Name", "John Doe"
dict.Add "Age", 30
dict.Add "City", "New York"

Set CreateDictionary = dict
End Function

Database Connection

Function OpenDatabase(connectionString As String) As Object
Dim conn As Object

On Error GoTo ErrorHandler

Set conn = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
conn.Open connectionString

Set OpenDatabase = conn
Exit Function

ErrorHandler:
MsgBox "Database error: " & Err.Description
Set OpenDatabase = Nothing
End Function

XML Document Processing

Function LoadXMLFile(filePath As String) As Object
Dim xmlDoc As Object

Set xmlDoc = CreateObject("MSXML2.DOMDocument")
xmlDoc.async = False

If xmlDoc.Load(filePath) Then
Set LoadXMLFile = xmlDoc
Else
MsgBox "Error loading XML: " & xmlDoc.parseError.reason
Set LoadXMLFile = Nothing
End If
End Function

Shell Commands

Sub RunCommand(command As String)
Dim shell As Object
Set shell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
shell.Run command, 1, True  ' Wait for completion
Set shell = Nothing
End Sub

Function GetEnvironmentVariable(varName As String) As String
Dim shell As Object
Set shell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
GetEnvironmentVariable = shell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%" & varName & "%")
Set shell = Nothing
End Function

Email Sending (CDO)

Sub SendEmail(toAddr As String, subject As String, body As String)
Dim msg As Object
Dim config As Object

Set msg = CreateObject("CDO.Message")
Set config = CreateObject("CDO.Configuration")

' Configure SMTP settings
With config.Fields
.Item("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendusing") = 2
.Item("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserver") = "smtp.example.com"
.Item("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserverport") = 25
.Update
End With

' Send message
With msg
Set .Configuration = config
.To = toAddr
.From = "sender@example.com"
.Subject = subject
.TextBody = body
.Send
End With

Set msg = Nothing
Set config = Nothing
End Sub

Word Document Creation

Sub CreateWordDocument()
Dim wordApp As Object
Dim wordDoc As Object

Set wordApp = CreateObject("Word.Application")
wordApp.Visible = True

Set wordDoc = wordApp.Documents.Add
wordDoc.Content.Text = "This is a test document."

Set wordDoc = Nothing
Set wordApp = Nothing
End Sub

Registry Access

Function ReadRegistry(keyPath As String) As String
Dim shell As Object
Set shell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

On Error Resume Next
ReadRegistry = shell.RegRead(keyPath)

Set shell = Nothing
End Function

Sub WriteRegistry(keyPath As String, value As String)
Dim shell As Object
Set shell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
shell.RegWrite keyPath, value
Set shell = Nothing
End Sub

HTTP Request

Function GetWebPage(url As String) As String
Dim http As Object

Set http = CreateObject("MSXML2.XMLHTTP")
http.Open "GET", url, False
http.Send

If http.Status = 200 Then
GetWebPage = http.responseText
End If

Set http = Nothing
End Function

Advanced Usage

Remote Object Creation (DCOM)

Sub CreateRemoteObject()
Dim obj As Object

' Create object on remote server
Set obj = CreateObject("MyApp.MyClass", "\\ServerName")

' Use the remote object
obj.DoSomething

Set obj = Nothing
End Sub

Object Factory Pattern

Function CreateObjectSafe(progID As String) As Object
On Error GoTo ErrorHandler

Set CreateObjectSafe = CreateObject(progID)
Exit Function

ErrorHandler:
MsgBox "Failed to create object: " & progID & vbCrLf & _
"Error: " & Err.Description, vbCritical
Set CreateObjectSafe = Nothing
End Function

Version-Specific Object Creation

Function CreateExcelObject() As Object
On Error Resume Next

' Try different versions in order of preference
Set CreateExcelObject = CreateObject("Excel.Application.16")  ' Office 2016
If CreateExcelObject Is Nothing Then
Set CreateExcelObject = CreateObject("Excel.Application.15")  ' Office 2013
End If
If CreateExcelObject Is Nothing Then
Set CreateExcelObject = CreateObject("Excel.Application")  ' Any version
End If

On Error GoTo 0
End Function

Error Handling

Function CreateObjectWithErrorHandling(progID As String) As Object
On Error GoTo ErrorHandler

Set CreateObjectWithErrorHandling = CreateObject(progID)
Exit Function

ErrorHandler:
Select Case Err.Number
Case 429  ' ActiveX component can't create object
MsgBox "The COM object '" & progID & "' is not registered on this system.", _
vbCritical, "Object Not Found"
Case 70   ' Permission denied
MsgBox "Permission denied creating object: " & progID, vbCritical
Case Else
MsgBox "Error creating object: " & progID & vbCrLf & _
"Error " & Err.Number & ": " & Err.Description, vbCritical
End Select

Set CreateObjectWithErrorHandling = Nothing
End Function

Common Errors

Error 429 (ActiveX component can't create object): Object not registered or not installed
Error 70 (Permission denied): Insufficient permissions to create the object
Error 462 (The remote server machine does not exist or is unavailable): DCOM server issue
Error 13 (Type mismatch): Invalid ProgID format

Performance Considerations

Late binding (CreateObject) is slower than early binding
No IntelliSense or compile-time checking with CreateObject
Reuse objects when possible instead of creating multiple instances
Always set objects to Nothing when done to release resources
Creating objects on remote servers has network overhead

Early Binding vs Late Binding

Late Binding (`CreateObject`)

Dim xlApp As Object  ' Generic Object type
Set xlApp = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
xlApp.Visible = True  ' No IntelliSense

Advantages: - No reference needed at design time - Works with any version of the COM object - More flexible for distribution

Disadvantages: - Slower performance - No IntelliSense - No compile-time checking - Errors only at runtime

Early Binding (Object Library Reference)

' Add reference to "Microsoft Excel XX.0 Object Library"
Dim xlApp As Excel.Application
Set xlApp = New Excel.Application
xlApp.Visible = True  ' IntelliSense available

Advantages: - Faster performance - IntelliSense support - Compile-time checking - Better debugging

Disadvantages: - Requires reference at design time - Version-specific - Larger deployment package

Best Practices

Always Clean Up Objects

Sub ProperCleanup()
Dim xlApp As Object

On Error GoTo ErrorHandler

Set xlApp = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
' Use the object...

' Clean up
If Not xlApp Is Nothing Then
xlApp.Quit
Set xlApp = Nothing
End If
Exit Sub

ErrorHandler:
If Not xlApp Is Nothing Then
xlApp.Quit
Set xlApp = Nothing
End If
End Sub

Check Object Creation Success

Dim obj As Object
Set obj = CreateObject("Some.Object")
If obj Is Nothing Then
MsgBox "Failed to create object"
Exit Sub
End If

Use Specific Error Handling

On Error Resume Next
Set obj = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
If Err.Number <> 0 Then
MsgBox "Excel not available: " & Err.Description
Exit Sub
End If
On Error GoTo 0

Limitations

Requires COM object to be registered on the system
No compile-time type checking
Slower than early binding
No IntelliSense support in IDE
DCOM requires proper network and security configuration
Cannot create objects with parameterized constructors
Limited to COM/ActiveX objects only

GetObject: Gets reference to existing object or creates from file
New: Creates early-bound object (requires reference)
Set: Assigns object reference
Nothing: Releases object reference
Is: Compares object references
TypeName: Returns type name of object

CreateObject Function