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Subject:Re: Question on Word Macros From:John -dot- Cornellier -at- PARIS -dot- IE -dot- PHILIPS -dot- COM Date:Mon, 1 Sep 1997 14:00:45 +0200
Greets from Paris
Marie Paretti asked about the purpose of word macros.
Word macros are used for any repetitive task, e.g. applying a style or text
format. You can either edit the macros as lines of code, or record a series of
actions in a macro. You then assign a keyboard shortcut to execute the macro. In
this way you perform a series of actions with one keystoke. You can also assign
the macro to a toolbar button or menu.
Another advantage to macros is automation -- reduced risk of human error.
Up until Word97 you didn't need to be a programmer to write useful macros.
However Word Basic (along with Excel Basic etc.) has been replaced, in Office97,
with VBA. There has been a few informative posts on this topic over the last few
days.
BTW there is something similar for Frame -- the Frame Developer's Kit. Unlike
VBA it's not included with the app. You buy it separately. Can't tell you
anything about it. Anyone?
Off the top of my head, here are a few macros I've used today:
One which looks for hexadecimal numbers and applies a trailing H in subscript
format.
A macro which applies "keep with next" and "keep together" para format to all
the lines of a list except the last, to which it only applies "keep together".
This is the only way to keep a numbered or bulleted list on the same page
without gluing it to the following para, causing an inappropriate pagebreak.
A macro which searches through a doc, finds tables, then formats them all in the
same way. Otherwise all tables have to be made the same one by one. BTW Frame
has styles for tables, but Word doesn't.
Whether or not you use macros depends on your style of work. Speaking for
myself, I'd gladly spend 25 minutes coding a macro which then saves half an hour
of repetitive typing! Even better, some macros can save days of work.
John mailto:john -dot- cornellier -at- paris -dot- ie -dot- philips -dot- com
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