Cannot create ActiveX component Excel

Question

VB.NET

Dim oExcel As Object = Nothing

oExcel = CreateObject("Excel.Application") ' -> Cannot create ActiveX Component

 

In my project, I don't reference any Excel DLL. This has been working fine for several years.

Now I am on Win 7, VS 2005 and Office 2010 (32-bit) and I get this error.

I tried to add a reference to Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel but can't find anything under the .NET tab... Turns out I have a program that has a copy of the DLL (office 12) so I copy the DLL to my program's directory and add a reference through the Browse Button.

My code is now:

Dim oExcel As New Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.Application

 

 

System.InvalidCastException was unhandled by user code

  Message="Creating an instance of the COM component with CLSID {00024500-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} from the IClassFactory failed due to the following error: 80004002."

  I am baffled.

1. Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel is in the GAC. How come it is not available under the .NET tab?

2. How come the object can't be created?

 

 

Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi Atchoum

The version of Office you want to automate must match the version of the PIA installed on the machine. If Office 2010 is installed, then you can't use the DLL for an earlier version.

You do need the PIA you found in the GAC. If it's not listed in the .NET tab, look in the COM tab. The Office applications are COM, so by default, that's where they're listed. If VSTO 2008 or 2010 is installed, then VSTO takes care of writing entries to the .NET tab. But that won't be the case with Visual Studio 2005.

---

Cindy Meister, VSTO/Word MVP

Answer 2

Hi Cindy,

Thanks for your response. I did find it under the COM tab. So that' one mystery solved. I learned something about VS2005. Thanks again.

Unfortunately I still get the following error.

 

System.InvalidCastException was unhandled by user code

  Message="Creating an instance of the COM component with CLSID {00024500-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} from the IClassFactory failed due to the following error: 80004002."

Could it be a security issue? I am a single user, administrator of course. I have NIS 2010 installed, turned everything off I believe to no avail. I run Excel as an administrator...

Atchoum

 

Answer 3

What happens if you try like this:

Dim xl as Excel.Application = new Excel.Application()

Is there a reason you want/need to declare it as type Object?

---

Cindy Meister, VSTO/Word MVP

Answer 4

Hi Cindy,

It does not make any difference: same error...

Atchoum

Answer 5

Does this help?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306682/en-us

 

Answer 6

Thanks but no.

My code fails on the first line whether

 

Dim xl as Excel.Application = new Excel.Application()

or 

 Dim oExcel As Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.ApplicationClass
 oExcel = CreateObject("Excel.Application")

 

Answer 7

Ok, so you are using Excel 2007, right. 

Dim xlApp As Excel.Application

When you use it...

Set xlApp = New Excel.Application
xlApp.Visible = True

...

I've use this before:

xlApp.Workbooks.Application.CalculateFull

...when you're done with it...

xlApp.Quit

 

 

Answer 8

I am using Excel 2010 and as said before the problem is I can't initialize the Excel object.

 

Answer 9

Can you create an Excel instance using VBA in say Word or even Excel itself to start a second instance, eg

Sub Test()
Dim oXL As Object

Set oXL = CreateObject("excel.application")
oXL.Visible = True
Set oWB = oXL.Workbooks.Add

End Sub

Regards,
Peter Thornton

Answer 10

Hi Peter,

No, I can't. I can't even trap the error. Excel just crashes. Among the info that it wants to send to Microsoft, in the InternalMetadata.xml, I could pick up:

 

 

<ProblemSignatures>

<EventType>APPCRASH</EventType>

<Parameter0>EXCEL.EXE</Parameter0>

<Parameter1>14.0.4756.1000</Parameter1>

<Parameter2>4b9c08e8</Parameter2>

<Parameter3>StackHash_d9ab</Parameter3>

<Parameter4>6.1.7600.16559</Parameter4>

<Parameter5>4ba9b29c</Parameter5>

<Parameter6>c0000374</Parameter6>

<Parameter7>000cdc9b</Parameter7>

</ProblemSignatures>

 

Atchoum

Answer 11

Peter,

Thanks a million time. Following the result of your test I completely uninstalled Office and reinstalled and it solved the issue.

Thanks for everybody's help on this.

 

Atchoum