Minimize app vs. Not Visible App

[zSplash]

My code takes several minutes to "run", and I want the enduser to not have
to "watch" all the rigamarole. I have a progress bar, which lets them know
how the code is progressing, but because my code opens, closes, and adds new
documents, among other things, I want to keep that from view.

I have tried to make the application not visible, but evidently some
properties/methods don't work in that state. I have tried (when adding a
new document, for example), to just make the added document not visible, but
then my code is stuck in never-neverland, between the (now closed) added
document and the active document. I have also unsuccessfully tried
screenupdating = false and windowstate = wdWindowMinimize.

What is the preferred way to allow long code to run, with nothing being
visible to the enduser but the progress bar?

TIA

 

[Jezebel]

There are no properties that don't work with Word not visible, unless you
are using the Selection object and Windows/Panes, etc. You can easily write
your code to eliminate these. Your code will run much faster, apart from
anything else.

Your problem with the app minimized is also sloppy coding. For one thing,
don't use ActiveDocument except as a starting point. Hard to suggest
anything beyond that, without knowing more about your code. Word goes into
nevernever land only if you send it there.

 

[zSplash]

Thanks so much for the constructive advice, Jezebel. I'm sorry my coding is
sloppy; I'm sure yours, even as a beginner, was awesome.

I am using Selection object -- how do I eliminate that? I didn't use
ActiveDocument elsewhere -- excuse my misuse of the term. I just tried to
explain where the problem was occurring.

st.

 

[Jonathan West]

Thanks so much for the constructive advice, Jezebel. I'm sorry my coding
is
sloppy; I'm sure yours, even as a beginner, was awesome.

I am using Selection object -- how do I eliminate that? I didn't use
ActiveDocument elsewhere -- excuse my misuse of the term. I just tried to
explain where the problem was occurring.

Most things that you do with the selection you can do with a Range object
instead.

if the macro starts out by using the selection, put this at the start of the
macro

Dim myRange as Range
Set myRange = Selection.Range

Then, throughout the rest of the macro, you can do a search & replace,
replacing Selection with myRange.

In many cases, that is all you will need to do. Your macro will probably run
faster as a result, because the screen isn't having to update so much.

 

[Jezebel]

Wasn't meant to be rude. I'm KNOW my beginner code was execrable. Just the
problems you describe are -- well, bugs.

In place of the Selection object you use Range variables. In fact, the
Selection is just a special kind of Range object anyway -- you'll see that
it has all the same properties. The main difference is that the Selection
object needs access to the visual display, and you can have only one of
them. Post a code snippet ....

The other problem that beginners tend to run into is moving around the
document using the Selection and move methods. Better (and MUCH faster) is
to work directly with the underlying objects.

 

[zSplash]

Thanks so much for the specific direction. I have tried what you suggest,
but now I get errors ("Method or data member not found.") at places like:

myRange.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
[which had been]
Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine

I guess the Range object doesn't have the HomeKey method (??).

Anyway, here's a snippet of my code. I'm more than game to learn the Range
object, but need a little more help, guys. TIA

X = 1
While Asc(MyRange) <> 13
MyRange.EndKey Unit:=wdLine, Extend:=wdExtend
MyRange.Copy
helpme = True 'to bypass open_doc events
Documents.add DocumentType:=wdNewBlankDocument
MyRange.Paste
MyRange.Delete Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
ActiveDocument.SaveAs FileName:="H:\CCall\c" & X & ".txt",
FileFormat:=wdFormatText
ActiveWindow.Close
MyRange.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
'add column of macro numbers
MyRange.TypeText Text:="c" & X
MyRange.TypeText Text:=vbTab
MyRange.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
MyRange.MoveDown Unit:=wdLine, Count:=1
X = X + 1
Wend

 

[Jezebel]

Thanks so much for the specific direction. I have tried what you suggest,
but now I get errors ("Method or data member not found.") at places like:

myRange.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
[which had been]
Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine

I guess the Range object doesn't have the HomeKey method (??).

Anyway, here's a snippet of my code. I'm more than game to learn the
Range
object, but need a little more help, guys. TIA

X = 1
While Asc(MyRange) <> 13
MyRange.EndKey Unit:=wdLine, Extend:=wdExtend
MyRange.Copy
helpme = True 'to bypass open_doc events
Documents.add DocumentType:=wdNewBlankDocument
MyRange.Paste
MyRange.Delete Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
ActiveDocument.SaveAs FileName:="H:\CCall\c" & X & ".txt",
FileFormat:=wdFormatText
ActiveWindow.Close
MyRange.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
'add column of macro numbers
MyRange.TypeText Text:="c" & X
MyRange.TypeText Text:=vbTab
MyRange.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
MyRange.MoveDown Unit:=wdLine, Count:=1
X = X + 1
Wend

Most things that you do with the selection you can do with a Range object
instead.

if the macro starts out by using the selection, put this at the start of the
macro

Dim myRange as Range
Set myRange = Selection.Range

Then, throughout the rest of the macro, you can do a search & replace,
replacing Selection with myRange.

In many cases, that is all you will need to do. Your macro will probably run
faster as a result, because the screen isn't having to update so much.


--
Regards
Jonathan West - Word MVP
www.intelligentdocuments.co.uk
Please reply to the newsgroup

 

[Jezebel]

One of the points of using Ranges is that you don't need to move around
them. So you're right, a range doesn't have methods like EndKey, HomeKey or
MoveDown.

Perhaps you could explain what you're trying to do here: you start with an
open document, then copy something into a new document, then add numbers to
soemthing in the original document? -- at the start of each paragraph? cell?

But what is the looping all about? continue until you meet an empty
paragraph? What are you trying to copy?

Thanks so much for the specific direction. I have tried what you suggest,
but now I get errors ("Method or data member not found.") at places like:

myRange.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
[which had been]
Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine

I guess the Range object doesn't have the HomeKey method (??).

Anyway, here's a snippet of my code. I'm more than game to learn the
Range
object, but need a little more help, guys. TIA

X = 1
While Asc(MyRange) <> 13
MyRange.EndKey Unit:=wdLine, Extend:=wdExtend
MyRange.Copy
helpme = True 'to bypass open_doc events
Documents.add DocumentType:=wdNewBlankDocument
MyRange.Paste
MyRange.Delete Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
ActiveDocument.SaveAs FileName:="H:\CCall\c" & X & ".txt",
FileFormat:=wdFormatText
ActiveWindow.Close
MyRange.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
'add column of macro numbers
MyRange.TypeText Text:="c" & X
MyRange.TypeText Text:=vbTab
MyRange.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
MyRange.MoveDown Unit:=wdLine, Count:=1
X = X + 1
Wend

Most things that you do with the selection you can do with a Range object
instead.

if the macro starts out by using the selection, put this at the start of the
macro

Dim myRange as Range
Set myRange = Selection.Range

Then, throughout the rest of the macro, you can do a search & replace,
replacing Selection with myRange.

In many cases, that is all you will need to do. Your macro will probably run
faster as a result, because the screen isn't having to update so much.


--
Regards
Jonathan West - Word MVP
www.intelligentdocuments.co.uk
Please reply to the newsgroup

 

[Jonathan West]

Thanks so much for the specific direction. I have tried what you suggest,
but now I get errors ("Method or data member not found.") at places like:

myRange.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
[which had been]
Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine

I guess the Range object doesn't have the HomeKey method (??).

Anyway, here's a snippet of my code. I'm more than game to learn the
Range
object, but need a little more help, guys. TIA

X = 1
While Asc(MyRange) <> 13
MyRange.EndKey Unit:=wdLine, Extend:=wdExtend
MyRange.Copy
helpme = True 'to bypass open_doc events
Documents.add DocumentType:=wdNewBlankDocument
MyRange.Paste
MyRange.Delete Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
ActiveDocument.SaveAs FileName:="H:\CCall\c" & X & ".txt",
FileFormat:=wdFormatText
ActiveWindow.Close
MyRange.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
'add column of macro numbers
MyRange.TypeText Text:="c" & X
MyRange.TypeText Text:=vbTab
MyRange.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
MyRange.MoveDown Unit:=wdLine, Count:=1
X = X + 1
Wend

There are a few methods which are available for the Selection which are not
available for a Range, and you have with unerring accuracy found most of
them!

If your paragraphs take up a single line each, then you can use the Move
method instead of HomeKey and EndKey, and set the Unit pareameter to
wdParagraph and the value to 1 or -1 respectively. That will move the range
the appropriate distance.

 

[zSplash]

Thanks, guys, for your responses. I guess I'll have to try to figure out
Range object, or else have the code flash across the screen. Selection just
seemed so easy to use (I could immediately see if I selected the correct
thing), while Range is less obvious to me....

You've pretty much got what I'm trying to do. The end user types a List (of
names and "acct_numbers"), then my code deals with that List. I copy each
line of the List to a text file, then modify the text file, then save the
text file, then add additional #'s (macro #'s) to each line of the List, and
save the List.

The only looping in this snippet is for the purpose you state -- to continue
until I reach an empty line.

 

[Jezebel]

OK, for starters, try experimenting with this ... your source document has a
list of numbers, each on its own line (ie, in a paragraph of its own)

Dim pPar as Word.Range
Dim pSrcDoc as Word.Document
Dim pTargetDoc as Word.Document

Set pSrcDoc = ActiveDocument
For each pPar in pSrcDoc.Paragraphs
Debug.Print pPar.Text
Set pTargetDoc = Documents.Add
pTargetDoc.Range = pPar.Text
pTargetDoc.SaveAs FileName:=....
pTargetDoc.Close
Next


It's not everything you're trying to do, but it might help you understand
the method. MUCH easier than moving the selection around, once you get the
hang of it.

 

[zSplash]

Thanks so much Jezebel. I will try exactly what you say, and, hopefully,
understand it. I really appreciate the help you and Jonathan have provided!

st.