Thanks!

There are two things to remember, one: MSDN is not always correct, two: not everything is backwards compatible. Serge Krynine wrote: #if _MFC_VER >= 0x0700 // represents MFC version 7 and later VT_BSTR); #else VT_BSTRT); #endif There are obviously differences between COleVariant v6 and v7 as they act differently. Just right click on VT_BSTRT in both VC6 and VC7 and you will be brought to different definitions. Serge Krynine wrote: CString s; // why 's = v.pcVal' works, but 's = v' does not? #if _MFC_VER >= 0x0700 // represents MFC version 7 and later s = v; #else s = v.pcVal; #endif CString in VC6 does not have an operator = const VARIANT& and VC7 does. Try different settings, and use the debugger's variable watch window to see what is happening. "You're obviously a superstar." - Christian Graus about me - 12 Feb '03 "Obviously ???  You're definitely a superstar!!!" mYkel - 21 Jun '04 Within you lies the power for good - Use it! Honoured as one of The Most Helpful Members of 2004

Then you can't do it. Ryan "Punctuality is only a virtue for those who aren't smart enough to think of good excuses for being late" John Nichol "Point Of Impact"

I use XML4C[^] - it's fast, free and open source! /ravi Let's put "civil" back in "civilization" http://www.ravib.com ravib@ravib.com

DOS, no, Win32 Console, Yes. There is nothing preventing you from usig MAPI or equivelent APIs in a console based win32 app. But there is no command per sa.

Thanks for the answers, now it’s clear. As the disassembly shows, the compiler generated ‘default copy constructor’ and ignored the user-defined copy constructor. Surely, in this situation, the compiler must warn about what it is doing? Interesting, what the standard says about user defined copy constructors. Does it mention that copy constructors are not applicable in some cases? And how many case are there ?