# WIN32OLE.ole\_show\_help problem

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/win32ole-ole-show-help-problem/174572>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [August 28, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/win32ole-ole-show-help-problem/174572 "2009-08-28T22:17:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![danielb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@danielb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/danielb)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/win32ole-ole-show-help-problem/174572/1 "2009-08-28T22:17:31Z")

</div>

Hi,

ruby 1.8.6 (2009-03-31 patchlevel 368) [i386-mswin32\_90]  
Vista Home Premium  
Excel 2007

Here’s the documentation for WIN32OLE.ole\_show\_help in win32ole.c:

/\*

- call-seq:
- 

```
WIN32OLE.ole_show_help(obj [,helpcontext])

```

- 
- Displays helpfile. The 1st argument specifies WIN32OLE\_TYPE
- object or WIN32OLE\_METHOD object or helpfile.
- 
- 

```
excel = WIN32OLE.new('Excel.Application')

```

- 

```
typeobj = excel.ole_type

```

- 

```
WIN32OLE.ole_show_help(typeobj)

```

\*/

When I tried to run that sample I got:

irb(main):005:0\> excel = WIN32OLE.new(‘Excel.Application’)  
=\> #WIN32OLE:0x45fdf08  
irb(main):006:0\> typeobj = excel.ole\_type  
WIN32OLERuntimeError: unknown property or method `ole_type' HRESULT error code:0x80020006 Unknown name. from (irb):6:in`method\_missing’  
from (irb):6

Any ideas?

Regards,

Dan

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![danielb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@danielb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/danielb)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/win32ole-ole-show-help-problem/174572/2 "2009-08-28T23:55:17Z")

</div>

Hello,

At 08/29/2009 05:11 AM, Daniel B. wrote:

> irb(main):005:0\> excel = WIN32OLE.new(‘Excel.Application’)  
> =\> #WIN32OLE:0x45fdf08  
> irb(main):006:0\> typeobj = excel.ole\_type  
> WIN32OLERuntimeError: unknown property or method `ole_type' HRESULT error code:0x80020006 Unknown name. from (irb):6:in`method\_missing’  
> from (irb):6
> 
> Any ideas?

Sorry, this is the bug of comment of win32ole.c.  
WIN32OLE#ole\_type is available in Ruby 1.9.  
Instead, try  
typeobj = WIN32OLE\_TYPE.new(‘Microsoft Excel 12.0 Object Library’,  
‘Application’)

Regards,  
Masaki S.