How to open and contol other programs?

[Mark Strickland]

One other approach

If you have something you need to control and COM is not an option take a look at AutoIT. It is a freeware scripting system that can "read" screens, send keystrokes, move the mouse, click buttons, etc. There are lots of add on features like the ability to read/write SQLite DB's etc.

I can't say it is the ideal solution but it does have merit under some circumstances.

[StanHelton]

Hello one and all,

I would like to use PB Win to open and control various Window applications.
For example assme we are going to use PB to create text files using Microsoft Word.

How does one use PB to go execute the following simple steps:

1 - Open MS Word.
2 - Open a new file.
3 - Enter some text.
4 - Save the new file.

I chose a simple task knowing full well that the easiest way would be to write PB code to Open a file, Print text to the file and then Close the file.


Cordially, Ned Mullen

:secret: The absolute simplest answer to your question is in the manual and the online help and the samples files in PBWIN.

In the PB printed manual there is a sample program on page 53-4 that does exactly what you ask in Excel. I suggest you read pp. 43-55 on COM programming to understand what it is doing. The same article is available in the online help from the table of contents/programming reference/COM programming. One of the best things about PB is that it runs as advertised!

The Excel sample demos the simplest way to do it. The Word sample is your direct answer.

Stan


this is the sample from the sample file in your PBWIN/samples directory:

'
'  oWord.bas example for PowerBASIC for Windows
'  Copyright (c) 2002-2005 PowerBASIC, Inc.
'  All Rights Reserved.
'
'  Run a short demonstration of sending data to Microsoft Word.
'
'  * Tested with MS Word v9.00 (Office 2000) *
'
'==============================================================================


#COMPILE EXE
#DIM ALL
#INCLUDE "oWord.inc"

DECLARE SUB DisplayResult(msg AS STRING)


'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Compiler-independent helper function to display feedback and errors
'
SUB DisplayResult(msg AS STRING)

    #IF %DEF(%PB_CC32)
        PRINT msg
        PRINT "Press a key...";
        WAITKEY$
        LOCATE ,1
    #ELSE
        MSGBOX msg, &H00001000& ' %MB_SYSTEMMODAL
    #ENDIF

END SUB


'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Main application entry point...
'
FUNCTION PBMAIN () AS LONG

    DIM oWordApp     AS WordApplication ' Application Interface
    DIM oWordDoc     AS WordDocument    ' Document Interface
    DIM oWordSel     AS WordSelection   ' Selection
    DIM sProgID_Word AS STRING

    DIM vBool     AS VARIANT
    DIM vText     AS VARIANT
    DIM vFile     AS VARIANT
    DIM vFileFmt  AS VARIANT
    DIM vVnt      AS VARIANT
    DIM Result    AS STRING

    DisplayResult "About to Open MSWORD..."
    '----------------------------------------------------------------
    ' Note: For some components, the full version needs to be used,
    '       but else a version independent part of it is enough.
    sProgID_Word = PROGID$(CLSID$("Word.Application"))
    IF LEN(sProgID_Word) = 0 THEN sProgID_Word = "Word.Application"
    '----------------------------------------------------------------

    ' Open an instance of MSWORD
    SET oWordApp = WordApplication IN sProgID_Word
    IF ISFALSE ISOBJECT(oWordApp) THEN _
        SET oWordApp = NEW WordApplication IN sProgID_Word

    ' Could MSWORD be opened? If not, terminate this app
    IF ISFALSE ISOBJECT(oWordApp) THEN
        DisplayResult "Unable to open or start MSWORD!"
        EXIT FUNCTION
    END IF

    ' Make MSWORD visible in for example normal show state
    LET vBool = %wdWindowStateNormal   ' or %wdWindowStateMaximize
    OBJECT LET oWordApp.WindowState = vBool
    LET vBool = 1
    OBJECT LET oWordApp.Visible = vBool
    '----------------------------------------------------------------

    ' Get the current document count from the "documents collection"
    DisplayResult "About to request the MSWORD document count..."
    LET vVnt = 0
    OBJECT GET oWordApp.Documents.Count TO vVnt
    DisplayResult "MSWORD has " & FORMAT$(VARIANT#(vVnt)) & " File(s) loaded!"

    ' Add a document to the "documents collection", and obtain a reference
    ' to the document Interface for the new document
    DisplayResult "Adding a new document to MSWORD..."
    LET vVnt = 0
    OBJECT CALL oWordApp.Documents.ADD TO vVnt
    IF OBJRESULT OR ERR THEN
        DisplayResult "MSWORD was not able to start a new document." & $CR & _
                      "Please ensure MSWord and VBA are installed."
        GOTO Terminate
    END IF
    SET oWordDoc = vVnt

    ' Get the current document count from the "documents collection"
    ' This should be one value higher than before
    DisplayResult "Checking the MSWORD document count again..."
    LET vVnt = 0
    OBJECT GET oWordApp.Documents.Count TO vVnt
    DisplayResult "MSWORD has " & FORMAT$(VARIANT#(vVnt)) & " File(s) loaded!"

    ' Get the Interface to the currect selection of the document
    DisplayResult "About to obtain an interface to the current selection point..."
    OBJECT GET oWordApp.Selection TO vVnt
    SET oWordSel = vVnt

    ' Enter some text into the document at the selection position
    DisplayResult "..and placing some text at that selection point..."
    LET vText = "PowerBASIC controls Microsoft Word!"
    OBJECT CALL oWordSel.TypeText(vText)

    ' Set a paragraph marker (end of paragraph)
    OBJECT CALL oWordSel.TypeParagraph

    ' Another paragraph
    LET vText = "COM client controls a COM server!"
    OBJECT CALL oWordSel.TypeText(vText)
    OBJECT CALL oWordSel.TypeParagraph

    ' Save the new document to disk
    DisplayResult "About to save the document and close MSWORD..."
    LET vFile    = "Test.doc"
    LET vFileFmt = %wdFormatDocument
    OBJECT CALL oWordDoc.SaveAs(vFile, vFileFmt)

    DisplayResult "All done! The COM automation stuff is pretty cool!"
    '----------------------------------------------------------------

Terminate:
    ' Close the current document and then close MSWORD completely
    OBJECT CALL oWordApp.ActiveWindow.CLOSE
    OBJECT CALL oWordApp.Quit

    ' Close all of the Interfaces
    SET oWordSel  = NOTHING
    SET oWordDoc  = NOTHING
    SET oWordApp  = NOTHING

END FUNCTION

this is the sample for Excel from the manual.

[B][COLOR=#010100]'Requires Excel 97  or later to be installed.[/COLOR][/B]
 #COMPILE EXE
 #INCLUDE "ExcelApp.inc"
  
 FUNCTION PBMAIN
   ' Object Variables
   DIM oExcelApp       AS ExcelApplication
   DIM oExcelWorkbook  AS ExcelWorkbook
   DIM oExcelWorkSheet AS ExcelWorkSheet
   DIM oExcelChart     AS ExcelChart
  
   ' General Object param variables
   DIM vBool           AS VARIANT
   DIM vVnt            AS VARIANT
   DIM oVnt            AS VARIANT
   DIM vText           AS VARIANT
   DIM vRange          AS VARIANT
   DIM vX              AS VARIANT
   DIM vY              AS VARIANT
  
   ' Chart Object param variables
   DIM vGallery        AS VARIANT
   DIM vFormat         AS VARIANT
   DIM vPlotBy         AS VARIANT
   DIM vCatLabels      AS VARIANT
   DIM vSerLabels      AS VARIANT
   DIM vHasLegend      AS VARIANT
   DIM vTitle          AS VARIANT
  
   ' SaveAs Object param variables
   DIM vFile           AS VARIANT
   DIM vFileFmt        AS VARIANT
  
   ' Open an instance of EXCEL
   LET oExcelApp = ExcelApplication IN _
     $PROGID_ExcelApplication8
   IF ISFALSE ISOBJECT(oExcelApp) THEN _
     LET oExcelApp = NEW ExcelApplication IN  $PROGID_ExcelApplication8
  
   ' Could EXCEL be opened? If not, terminate this app
   IF ISFALSE ISOBJECT(oExcelApp) THEN EXIT FUNCTION
  
   ' Create a new workbook in EXCEL
   OBJECT CALL oExcelApp.WorkBooks.Add TO oVnt
  
   ' Copy the Interface reference into an Object Variable
   LET oExcelWorkbook = oVnt
  
   ' Create a new worksheet in the workbook and use this
   ' worksheet reference to pump data into EXCEL
   OBJECT CALL oExcelWorkBook.WorkSheets.Add TO oVnt
  
   ' Copy the Interface reference into an Object Variable
   LET oExcelWorkSheet = oVnt
  
   ' Format and send data for cells A1:L1
   LET vRange = "A1:G1"
  
   ' Create a Day of the Week array for A1:G1
   DIM a$(1 TO 7)
   a$(1) = "Monday"    : a$(2) = "Tuesday"
   a$(3) = "Wednesday" : a$(4) = "Thursday"
   a$(5) = "Friday"    : a$(6) = "Saturday"
   a$(7) = "Sunday"
  
   LET vText = a$()
   OBJECT LET oExcelWorkSheet.Range(vRange).Value = vText
  
  ' Center the column title text
   LET vVnt = %xlHAlignCenter
   OBJECT LET  oExcelWorkSheet.Range(vRange).HorizontalAlignment = vVnt
  
   ' Set the font attributes and border for this header  line
   OBJECT LET oExcelWorkSheet.Range(vRange).Font.Bold =  vBool
  
   ' Color the text Blue
   LET vVnt = RGB(0,0,255)
   OBJECT LET oExcelWorkSheet.Range(vRange).Font.Color =  vVnt
  
   ' Set the column width to approx 11 characters
   LET vVnt = 11
   OBJECT LET oExcelWorkSheet.Range(vRange).ColumnWidth =  vVnt
  
   ' Enclose the table with a border
   LET vRange = "A1:G2"
   LET vVnt = %xlMedium        ' Medium density border
   OBJECT CALL  oExcelWorkSheet.Range(vRange).BorderAround(Weight = vVnt)
  
   ' Format and send data for cells A2:G2
   LET vRange = "A2:G2"
  
   ' Create a sales value array for each day of the week
   DIM b@(1 TO 7)
   RANDOMIZE TIMER
   FOR y& = 1 TO 7
     b@(y&) = RND(1,100000)
   NEXT y&
   LET vVnt = b@()
   OBJECT LET oExcelWorkSheet.Range(vRange).Value = vVnt
  
   ' Format these cells in money (currency) format, ie:  "$#.##"
   LET vText = "Currency"
   OBJECT LET oExcelWorkSheet.Range(vRange).Style = vText
  
  ' Now we can make EXCEL visible to the user
   LET vBool = 1
   OBJECT LET oExcelApp.Visible = vBool
  
   ' Prepare the chart
   OBJECT GET oExcelApp.Charts.Add TO oVnt
  
   ' Copy the Interface reference into an Object Variable
   LET oExcelChart = oVnt
  
   ' Set the range of cells to use in the table. Here it's  7x2
   LET vRange = "A1:G2"
   OBJECT GET oExcelWorkSheet.Range(vRange) TO vRange
  
   ' Set the Chart parameters
   LET vGallery   = %xl3DPie
   LET vFormat    = 7
   LET vPlotBy    = %xlRows
   LET vCatLabels = 1
   LET vSerLabels = 1
   LET vHasLegend = 2
   LET vTitle     = "Sales percentages"
  
   ' Launch the Chart using named parameters
   OBJECT CALL oExcelChart.ChartWizard( _
     Source          = vRange, _
     Gallery         = vGallery, _
     Format          = vFormat, _
     PlotBy          = vPlotBy, _
     CategoryLabels  = vCatLabels, _
     SeriesLabels    = vSerLabels, _
     HasLegend       = vHasLegend, _
     Title           = vTitle)
  
   #IF %DEF(%PB_CC32)
     PRINT "Press a key to continue the demo"
     WAITKEY$
   #ELSE
     MSGBOX "Click to continue the demo", &H00002000&  ' = %MB_TASKMODAL
   #ENDIF
  
   ' un-Rem the next line for a Print Preview of the  table
   '  Object call oExcelWorksheet.PrintPreview
  
   ' un-REM next line to stop "save workbook" prompting
   '  OBJECT LET oExcelWorkBook.Saved = vBool
  
   ' Save the Worksheet to disk - may trigger an  "Overwrite?"
   ' prompt if the file already exists.  We could either
   ' delete the file ahead of time or supply a unique  name
   LET vFile = "Test.Xls"
   OBJECT CALL oExcelWorkSheet.SaveAs(vFile)
  
   ' Close the current Worksheet and close EXCEL
   OBJECT CALL oExcelApp.ActiveWindow.Close
   OBJECT CALL oExcelApp.Quit
  
   ' Release the Interfaces.  We could omit this since  the
   ' app is about to close, but "best practice" states we
   ' should clean our house before moving out.
   LET oExcelApp       = NOTHING
   LET oExcelWorkbook  = NOTHING
   LET oExcelWorkSheet = NOTHING
   LET oExcelChart     = NOTHING
 END FUNCTION
  
 'See Also
 [URL="http://www.powerbasic.com/support/pbforums/the_powerbasic_com_browser.htm"]'The PowerBASIC COM  Browser[/URL]
 [URL="http://www.powerbasic.com/support/pbforums/COM_Programming.htm"]'COM Programming Introduction[/URL]

[Ned Mullen]

Thanks for your help.

To Fred and Bob,

My apologies for the delay in replying to your answers. The doctors insisted on making some changes to my tummy. This was another of the fringe benefits one gets for making it beyond the age of 16.

In any case, many thanks for your kind and useful help.

Cordially, Ned Mullen

[Fred Harris]

It takes several seconds for anything to happen after you click the Yes in the MsgBox(), so be patient...

#Compile Exe
#Include "Win32Api.inc"
#Include "oword.inc"

Function PBMain() As Long
  Register i As Long
  Dim oWord As WordApplication
  Dim oWordDoc As WordDocument
  Dim oWordSel As WordSelection
  Dim oFont As WordFont
  Dim vBool As Variant, vVnt As Variant
  Dim vText As Variant

  
  If MsgBox("Do You Wish To Open Word?", %MB_YESNO, "We Need To Know!")=%IDYES Then
     Set oWord = New WordApplication In "Word.Application"
     Let vBool = 1
     Object Let oWord.Visible = vBool
     Object Call oWord.Documents.Add To vVnt
     Set oWordDoc = vVnt
     Object Get oWord.Selection To vVnt
     Set oWordSel = vVnt
     Let vText = "Here Is Some Text"
     Object Call oWordSel.TypeText(vText)
     Object Call oWordSel.TypeParagraph
     Object Get oWordSel.Font To vVnt
     Set oFont = vVnt
     Object Get oFont.Size To vVnt
     vText="oFont.Size = " & Str$(Variant#(vVnt))
     Object Call oWordSel.TypeText(vText)
     Object Call oWordSel.TypeParagraph
     Object Get oFont.Name To vVnt
     vText="oFont.Name="& Variant$(vVnt)
     Object Call oWordSel.TypeText(vText)
     Object Call oWordSel.TypeParagraph
     Object Call oWordSel.TypeParagraph
     For i=4 To 30
       Let vVnt=CSng(i)
       Object Let oFont.Size=vVnt
       Let vText = "Text With Font Size = " & Str$(i)
       Object Call oWordSel.TypeText(vText)
       Object Call oWordSel.TypeParagraph
     Next i
     Set oWordSel = Nothing
     Set oWordDoc = Nothing
     Set oWord = Nothing
  End If

  PBMain=0
End Function

Next question:

Where do you get OWord.inc?

Answer:

Read your PB COM documentation.

[BOB MECHLER]

There is some sample code for this in the Samples directory of PBWin I believe. I've done this once. I'll see if I can get time to post it. Jose Roca has a lot on this at his web site, I believe.

Bob Mechler

[Ned Mullen]

Hello one and all,

I would like to use PB Win to open and control various Window applications.
For example assme we are going to use PB to create text files using Microsoft Word.

How does one use PB to go execute the following simple steps:

1 - Open MS Word.
2 - Open a new file.
3 - Enter some text.
4 - Save the new file.

I chose a simple task knowing full well that the easiest way would be to write PB code to Open a file, Print text to the file and then Close the file.


Cordially, Ned Mullen