Editing text in text box grouped within a trapezoid

[Linking to specific cells in pivot table]

Hi,

My macro fails when I try to have text within a textbox that is grouped with
a trapezoid (Autoshape). The text box is contained with the trapezoid.
What's driving me crazy is that I can update the text box manually when they
are grouped, but the macro fails when it tries to do the same thing. Is
there anyway to update the text box without ungrouping and then regrouping?
I want to avoid this because the group number incremements every time you
re-group and I remember reading that when an object number gets too large,
the macro will fail. Below is my code -- thanks in advance for your help!!

Sub updatewhengrouped()

ActiveSheet.Shapes("Text Box 7").Select
Selection.Characters.Text = "Always thought..."
Range("A1").Select

End Sub

 

[DM Unseen]

Do not use selection more then nescesary!(Macro recorder sins should
not be repeated)

In this case the selection contains different types of shapes, and this
makes that properties that are not available for all items in the
selection cannot be used.

for a Shapecontrol (i.e. a control from the Forms toolbar) use
ActiveSheet.Shapes("Text Box 7").ControlFormat.Value ="myvalue"

DM Unseen

 

[Peter T]

AFAIK it's not possible to change the text string in a grouped item without
ungrouping, manually or programmatically. You say you can manually - how, or
maybe I've misunderstood. You can though change font properties to the
entire group.

You're right about the group number identifier incrementing each time
ungrouped & regrouped. You can give it your own name and reapply when
regrouped. But it doesn't stop the object id number increment, which will
apply to this when regrouped, or any subsequently added shapes. It's
annoying, intuitively one might think problems could arise if the number
gets too large but that's never occurred for me, even with the number
getting into many 10,000's.

Regards,
Peter T

"Linking to specific cells in pivot table"

 

[DM Unseen]

to get to an shape of a group use:

say you have a "group 4"(or whatever you call it), and that contains a
"textbox 3" which needs anew value of 333.

Activesheet.Shapes("Group 4").GroupItems("TextBox
3").ControlFormat.Value = 333

DM Unseen

 

[Peter T]

We might be at cross purposes here.

Most properties of a grouped item can be changed as per your example for a
grouped control. However, referring to the OP's question, if you know how to
change the text in a grouped item (textframe) without ungrouping I'd also be
pleased to know.

Regards,
Peter T

 

[DM Unseen]

Peter,

My code does not "ungroup" it just changes part of a shape-group(albeit
a *control* textbox and not a "shape" tetxbox)

After your comment I checked some more on the "Drawing textbox" and can
confirm that:

grouping drawing shapes, including the "drawing" textbox makes the
"characters" object in VBA (and indeed the text itsself) *unavailable*.
Ungrouped items do not have this issue(this is what you said).

Endusres can still edit the text though of the individual items

This anomaly comes with the following observation:

- When editing (text) in shapegroups in excel; , excel goes into "Text
Edit Mode", in this mode you can change the text of the shape(s). You
notice the mode by observing a shaded rectangle around the shape. When
you want to change text, excel goes into this mode so you can edit
this.
-When selecting a single shape Excel goes automatically into Text Edit
mode when you start typing, when having a shape group you *first need
to select a shape within the group, and after you can start editing the
text*
- Edit mode is *not* available in VBA, as soon as VBA is active, the
"Text Edit mode" is deactivated and blocked and cannot be activated
anymore until VBA code has ended.
-The VBA characters object is only giving back text when that shape can
be given the focus (as if to start the "text editing mode")

Workaround:

Select the items within the group *before* reading out or setting the
text:

Example:

Sub t()
Dim shpTextbox As Shape
Dim tfText As TextFrame
Dim c As Characters
Dim shpGroup As Shape

Set shpGroup = ActiveSheet.Shapes(2) ' get the groupt
Set shpTextbox = shpGroup.GroupItems(1) ' get the textbox
Set tfText = shpTextbox.TextFrame
Set c = tfText.Characters()
shpTextbox.Select ' select the shape you want to get the text from,
this is important, else this code will fail!
Debug.Print c.Text ' we get the text
End Sub

Also for other types of textboxes that needs to be grouped with shapes
that do not use the "shape" textbox from the drawing toolbar, but the
textbox from the "Forms" toolbar or the "Control Toolbox" you can
safely group these with your shapes. These items can still be edited
when grouped(see my previous post). Also, you can make them mimic a
drawing textbox quite closely, so endusres will not spot the
difference, and you also can do more with them. YMMV

DM Unseen

Hope this clarifies something.

Dm Unseen

 

[Peter T]

Hi DM,

I think we are still talking at cross purposes <g>

The OP's objective is to write text in a grouped shape that has a text
frame. It's easy to return the text in such an item, in your example no need
to select anything vs what your commented notes suggest "...or the code will
fail".

However - how to write text without ungrouping. Your example does not do
that and I don't think possible.

Further, both you and the OP suggest it's possible to manually edit text in
a grouped item without ungrouping. I guess I must be missing something
because I don't see any way to do that.

Regards,
Peter T

PS, I was aware that your original example with controlformat did not
ungroup, and also that it's possible to change just about anything in a
grouped object except text, though individual font proeprties are also a
problem.

 

[DM Unseen]

Peter,

I showed that you need to select the item in the group to actually get
the text (and you can also clear the text as well). but setting it
errors out (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr) whatever I try. So i guess you're right
in the sense that Excel VBA does not allow you to set individual texts
of shapes directly through VBA

There is a workaround however(a quite nice one as well). Each shape
that can contain text also has a formula property so you could work
around this with linking to a cell and then removing the link

Sub t()
Dim shpTextbox As Shape
Dim shpGroup As Shape


Set shpGroup = ActiveSheet.Shapes(2)
Set shpTextbox = shpGroup.GroupItems(2)
shpTextbox.Select
Range("A1") = "mytext"
Selection.Formula = "=A1"
Selection.Formula = vbNullString
Debug.Print Selection.Characters.Text
Debug.Print Selection.Formula
End Sub

This is getting fun!

You could of course leave the formula, that would be way better, but it
works!!!!!

DM Unseen

 

[Peter T]

Hi DM,

For me it's not necessary to select a grouped item to return the text, and I
can't select a grouped item even if I want to. On which point this line in
your example
shpTextbox.Select
errors for me with permission denied

If you are able select a grouped item the only thing I can think of is there
must be some version difference, I'm using XL2K. Don't have later version to
hand but from memory don't think it worked in any version.

I was optimistic for a moment you had come up with something with the
Formula property, I had never thought of that. Sadly I cannot get that to
work despite trying various other ways.

So we are working with similar objects can you incorporate your formula
approach or select a grouped item in the following, say in the loop after
the Msgbox.

Sub test()
Dim v(1 To 4), i
Dim shp As Shape
Dim gi As Object
Dim ws As Worksheet

Set ws = ActiveSheet
ws.DrawingObjects.Delete

'first make 4 texboxes & group
For i = 1 To 4
Set shp = ws.Shapes.AddTextbox(1, 20, i * 20, 50, 15)
shp.TextFrame.Characters.Text = Chr(i + 64)
v(i) = shp.Name
Next
Set shp = ws.Shapes.Range(v).Group
Application.ScreenUpdating = True

i = 0
For Each gi In shp.GroupItems
i = i + 1
MsgBox gi.TextFrame.Characters.Text, , gi.Name

'gi.TextFrame.Characters.Text = i & " text"
'#1004 unable to set the text property

'gi.Select
'#70 Permission denied
Next

End Sub

It's also possible to get to the text in an object that supports it at the
DrawingObject level, even in a grouped object, simply
s = ob.Text or ob.Text = s

FWIW I find this level significantly faster to read/write than
shape.textframe. However still not possible to write if grouped.

I'm glad you're perservering with this, I gave up a long time ago!

Regards,
Peter T

 

[DM Unseen]

Peter,

(this will be my last email, after that I'm on holiday

I checked in XL2K (I was using XL2002!) and you are right, it cannot be
done since the formula property is not updatable in a grouped items as
well!(although it does not error out)

the following code on XL2K failed:

Sub test()
Dim t As TextBox
Set t = ActiveSheet.Shapes(1).GroupItems(2).DrawingObject 'no inside
group selection possible in XL2K so we just get the object
Range("A1") = "mytext"
t.Formula = "$A$2"
't.Text = "text"
't.Characters.Text = "test"
Debug.Print t.Formula 'forumal not updated

End Sub

Solution for you might be

Sub test()
Dim v(1 To 4), i
Dim shp As Shape
Dim gi As Object
Dim ws As Worksheet


Set ws = ActiveSheet
ws.DrawingObjects.Delete


'first make 4 texboxes & group
For i = 1 To 4
Set shp = ws.Shapes.AddTextbox(1, 20, i * 20, 50, 15)

shp.DarwingObjects.Formula = Range("A1").offset(0,i) ' works when *not*
grouped
Range("A1").offset(0,i) = Chr(i + 64)

v(i) = shp.Name
Next
Set shp = ws.Shapes.Range(v).Group
Application.ScreenUpdating = True


i = 0
For Each gi In shp.GroupItems
i = i + 1
MsgBox gi.TextFrame.Characters.Text, , gi.Name


'gi.TextFrame.Characters.Text = i & " text"
'#1004 unable to set the text property


'gi.Select
'#70 Permission denied
Next


End Sub



DM Unseen

 

[Peter T]

Hi DM,

Sorry about this but I'm afraid your new line below does not work for me

shp.DrawingObjects.Formula = Range("A1").Offset(0, i)

Not to worry, we've probably exhausted this topic. As I said at the head I
don't think there's a solution.

Have a good holiday,

Peter T

 

[DM Unseen]

I'm back!

I realised a typo slipped in (but weas not able to correct it).

It should be:

shp.DrawingObjects.Formula = Range("A1").Offset(0, i).Address

The fotmula property only accepts an cell/range address.

Hereby finishing this discussion properly

DM Unseen