3) Connecting to Inventor from a Windows MFC app.

Here is what your init of you MFC Windows application could look like:

BOOL CCollMakeApp::InitInstance()

{

       INITCOMMONCONTROLSEX InitCtrls;

       InitCtrls.dwSize = sizeof(InitCtrls);

       // Effettuare questa impostazione in modo da includere tutte le classi di controlli comuni da utilizzare

       // nell'applicazione.

       InitCtrls.dwICC = ICC_WIN95_CLASSES;

       InitCommonControlsEx(&InitCtrls);

   ::CoInitialize (NULL) ;

   if (!ExcelIsPresent()) {

       // Required if you use tabular iParts

       gLogger.Printf (ekErrMsg,L"Is Excel installed for Inventor?") ;

   }

   const bool kbInventorOK = ConnectToInventor();

   if (!kbInventorOK) {

       return FALSE ;

   }

       CWinApp::InitInstance();

       // Creare il gestore della shell se la finestra di dialogo contiene

       // controlli della visualizzazione elenco o struttura ad albero della shell.

       CShellManager* pShellManager = new CShellManager;

   // Initialization finished, run the main dialog of the application...

   {

           CMainDlg dlg;

           m_pMainWnd = &dlg;

           (void)dlg.DoModal();

   }

   // Program finished, tidy up...

   // Let the user see dialogs etc...

   GetInvAppPtr()->SilentOperation = VARIANT_FALSE ;

   // Free up Inventor interface globals

   DestroyInventorGlobals () ;

   ::CoUninitialize();

       // Eliminare il gestore della shell creato in precedenza.

       if (pShellManager != NULL)

       {

               delete pShellManager;

       }

       return FALSE;

}

CoInitialize and CoUninitialize are required to be able to use COM and its pointers. What I do is, in sequence:

Step 3 above is the heart of the program, a dialog box which talks to Inventor. You have to write that!

4) Inventor pointers and DestroyInventorGlobals