Description
variant 
com_get_active_object ( string progid [, int code_page] )
     com_get_active_object() is similar to creating a new
     instance of a COM object, except that it will
     only return an object to your script if the object is already running.
     OLE applications use something known as the Running Object Table to
     allow well-known applications to be launched only once; this function
     exposes the COM library function GetActiveObject() to get a handle on a
     running instance.
    
     progid must be either the ProgID or CLSID for the
     object that you want to access (for example
     Word.Application).  code_page
     acts in precisely the same way that it does for the COM class.
    
     If the requested object is running, it will be returned to your script
     just like any other COM object.  Otherwise a com_exception
     will be raised.  There are a variety of reasons why
     this function might fail, the most common being that the object is not
     already running.  In that situation, the exception error code will be
     MK_E_UNAVAILABLE; you can use the
     getCode method of the exception object to check the
     exception code.
    
| Warning | 
      Using com_get_active_object() in a web server context
      is not always a smart idea.  Most COM/OLE applications are not designed
      to handle more than one client concurrently, even (or especially!)
      Microsoft Office.  You should read Considerations for Server-Side
      Automation of Office for more information on the general issues
      involved.
       |