You can serialize your data quickly by placing it into a PropertyBag object, then reading the PropertyBags Contents property. This property is really a Byte array that is a serial representation of the data in your PropertyBag object. You can use this byte array for many purposes, including an efficient means of data transmission over DCOM:

Private Function PackData() As String	Dim pbTemp	As PropertyBag		'Create a new PropertyBag object	Set pbTemp = New PropertyBag	With pbTemp		'Add your data to the PB giving each item a 		'unique string key		Call .WriteProperty("FirstName", "John")		Call .WriteProperty("MiddleInitial", "J")		Call .WriteProperty("LastName", "Doe")				'Place the serialized data into a string 		'variable.		Let PackData = .Contents	End With		Set pbTemp = NothingEnd Function

To retrieve the serialized data, simply create a new PropertyBag object and set the serialized string to its Contents property. Convert the string into a byte array before assigning it to the Contents property:

Private Sub UnPackData(sData As String)	Dim pbTemp	As PropertyBag	Dim arData()	As Byte		'Convert the string representation of the data to 	'a Byte array	Let arData() = sData		'Create a new PropertyBag object	Set pbTemp = New PropertyBag	With pbTemp		'Load the PropertyBag with data		Let .Contents = arData()				'Retrieve your data using the unique key		Let m_sFirstName = .ReadProperty("FirstName")		Let m_sMiddleInitial = _			.ReadProperty("MiddleInitial")		Let m_sLastName = .ReadProperty("LastName")	End With	 	Set pbTemp = NothingEnd Sub

Mike Kurtz, McKees Rocks, Pa.