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Table of contents
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 Programming Guide for VBA i
Understanding the CorelDRAW object model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Table of contents ii
Table of contents iii
Introduction
Welcome to the CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X3 Programming Guide for VBA , your resource for developing and distributing Microsoft® Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA) solutions in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3.
About Corel Corporation
Corel Corporation provides innovative software solutions that help millions of value-conscious businesses and consumers in more than 75 countries improve their productivity. The company is renowned for its powerful software portfolio, which combines innovative photo-editing, graphics-creation, vector-illustration, and technical-graphics applications with office and personal productivity solutions. Corel’s flagship products include
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, WordPerfect® Office suite, Corel® Paint Shop Pro®, Corel® Painter™, and Corel
DESIGNER® Technical Suite. For more information, please visit www.corel.com
.
About CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 is a comprehensive vector-based drawing program that makes it easy to create professional artwork, from simple logos to technical illustrations. The tools in CorelDRAW are designed to meet the demands of the graphic designer.
About VBA in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3
In 1995, Corel incorporated automation into CorelDRAW 6 by including its Corel SCRIPT™ language. This enabled solution developers to create intelligent mini-applications within CorelDRAW, such as ones that draw shapes, reposition and resize shapes, open and close documents, or set styles.
Corel SCRIPT was included with CorelDRAW versions 6 through 9. Although the Corel SCRIPT editor is not included with CorelDRAW in versions 9 and later, the run-time engine is included, so scripts written for earlier versions of CorelDRAW can easily be migrated to the latest versions.
In 1998, Corel took the strategic decision to augment the Corel SCRIPT functionality of CorelDRAW 9 by licensing the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications engine to handle its behind-the-scenes automation. The addition of VBA made CorelDRAW immediately accessible to millions of VBA and Visual Basic developers around the world.
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 Programming Guide for VBA 1
VBA in CorelDRAW can be used as a platform for developing powerful corporate graphical solutions, such as automated ticket generators, customized calendars, or batch-processors of files. VBA can also be used to enhance and optimize the workflow within CorelDRAW. For example, you can improve and customize some of the builtin functionality of CorelDRAW (such as object creation, alignment, or transformation) or add page layouts onthe-fly (such as to create company letterheads).
VBA comes with a fully integrated development environment (IDE) that provides contextual pop-up lists, syntax highlighting, line-by-line debugging, and visual designer windows. These helpful prompts and aids create a particularly friendly learning environment for inexperienced developers.
For CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3, VBA is available to both CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT®.
About this manual
This manual, which should be read in conjunction with the CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT object model diagrams that install with CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3, was designed as a resource for the following:
• exploring the VBA IDE and many of its advanced features
• understanding the most important CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 functions and how to use them
• examining how to package and deploy VBA solutions developed for CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3
This manual should be used by anyone who is interested in automating simple and complex tasks in
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 or who is developing commercial solutions that integrate with CorelDRAW
Graphics Suite X3. It is assumed that the reader already has experience with at least one other procedural programming language, such as BASIC, Visual Basic, C, C++, Java™, Pascal, Cobol, or Fortran. This manual does not describe the basics of procedural programming, such as functions, conditional branching, and looping.
Non-programmers should learn the basics of programming in a language such as Visual Basic or VBA before using this document to develop CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 solutions.
This manual is organized into the following chapters, which deal with specific aspects of automating tasks and building solutions in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3:
•
provides a brief introduction to VBA.
•
Chapter 2: Getting started with VBA
lets you explore the VBA workspace in CorelDRAW and Corel
PHOTO-PAINT.
•
Chapter 3: Working with macros shows you how to create, run, and debug macros.
•
Chapter 4: Creating user-interfaces for macros
demonstrates how to provide dialog boxes, toolbars and buttons, user interaction, and help for your macros.
•
Chapter 5: Organizing and deploying macros helps you organize and deploy the macros you create.
model.
Finally, a glossary (page 88) defines the terms used in this manual.
Documentation conventions
The following conventions are used in this manual:
Introduction 2
When you see This is
A note — presents information such as conditions for performing a procedure
A tip — presents information such as procedure shortcuts, variations, or benefits
In addition, this manual uses a few formatting conventions:
• User-interface items are displayed in boldface .
• Glossary items are displayed in italics .
• Information that can be substituted, such as a path or filename, is displayed in <italics and between angle brackets > .
• Coding is formatted in a monospace font
.
For more information
VBA for CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 also installs with the following documentation:
• VBA object model diagrams for CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT — These are available as Adobe®
Acrobat® Reader® (PDF) files and are installed to ..\Program Files\Corel\
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 13\Programs .
• VBA Help files for CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT — These can be accessed through the VB
Editor: select any item in the Object Browser and press F1 to access a Help topic on that item.
For comprehensive information about the features in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3, you can consult the user guide, which is installed by default to the ..\Program Files\Corel\CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 13\
Languages\ <language> \Help folder. Alternatively, you can access a Help system from within a CorelDRAW
Graphics Suite X3 application by clicking Help ` Help topics .
For the latest news, tips and tricks, and product upgrade information, you can check the CorelDRAW Graphics
Suite X3 Web site. Go to www.corel.com
, and follow the links for CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3.
For prompt and accurate information about product features, specifications, pricing, availability, services, and technical support, contact Corel Support Services. For the most current information on available support and professional services for your Corel product, please visit www.corel.com/support .
If you have any comments or suggestions about CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 or about the CorelDRAW
Graphics Suite X3 Programming Guide for VBA , you can submit them by using the contact information provided at www.corel.com/contact .
Introduction 3
Chapter 1
Understanding VBA
Before getting started with VBA in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3, it’s important to understand a little bit about VBA in general.
This chapter answers the following questions:
• How does VBA compare with other programming languages?
• What are the main elements used in VBA?
What is VBA?
Visual Basic for Applications (more commonly known as VBA ) is a built-in programming language that can automate repetitive functions and create intelligent solutions in CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT.
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 includes VBA version 6.3.
VBA is both a language and an editor. It is not possible to have the language without the editor, nor is it possible to edit VBA in anything but the VB Editor or to run VBA programs without the VB Editor.
VBA is developed by Microsoft and is built into almost all of its desktop applications, including Microsoft®
Office. VBA is licensed by Microsoft to other companies, including Corel Corporation (in CorelDRAW Graphics
Suite, Corel DESIGNER® Technical Suite, and WordPerfect Office), Autodesk, Inc. (in AutoCAD®), and
IntelliCAD Technology Consortium (in IntelliCAD®). This makes Corel applications compatible with a wide array of applications that support VBA.
For a complete list of applications that support VBA, consult the Microsoft Web site at http:// www.msdn.microsoft.com/vba/companies/company.asp
.
It is not necessary for an application to support VBA in order for the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 VBA engine to control that application. That means you can build solutions in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 that access databases, word processors, specialized content editors, XML documents, and more.
What is automation?
Most actions that you can do in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 can be done programmatically through VBA.
This programmability of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 is called automation . Automating repetitive tasks can save time and reduce effort, while automating complex tasks can make possible the otherwise impossible.
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 Programming Guide for VBA 4
In its simplest form, automation is simply recording a sequence of actions so that you can play them back time and again. The term macro has come to include any code that is accessible to VBA while running within the process, even though some of that code might be far more advanced than a mere set of recorded actions. For the purposes of this manual, a macro refers to VBA functions and subroutines
(which are explained in “Building functions and subroutines” on page 10).
While it is possible to record a sequence of actions in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3, the real power of automation and VBA is that these recordings can be edited to provide conditional and looping execution. For example, a simple macro may set the selected shape’s fill color to red and apply a one-point outline; however, by adding a condition and a looping mechanism to the VBA code, the macro could, for example, be made to seek out each selected shape and apply only the fill to text shapes and only the outline to all other shape types.
Who is VBA designed for?
VBA can be used by both non-programmers and programmers alike.
VBA for non-programmers
VBA is based on Microsoft’s successful Visual Basic (VB) programming language. The main difference between
VBA and VB is that you cannot create stand-alone executable (EXE) files using VBA, whereas you can with VB.
That is to say, using VBA, you can create only programs that run inside the host application (in this case,
CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT).
VB is a “visual” version of the BASIC programming language. This means that it is a very easy language to learn, particularly because it provides visual cues within the editor. Microsoft has added a great deal to the original
BASIC language, and it is now a powerful and fast language (although not as powerful as Java or C++, nor as quick as C).
The aim of this manual is not to teach you how to become a programmer but instead to teach experienced programmers how to apply their skills to developing useful solutions within CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3. If you are not a programmer, you may find it useful to refer to the many books that have been written about VBA and VB before continuing to read this manual.
VBA for programmers
VBA is an in-process automation controller. In other words, it can be used to control the functionalities of
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 that can be automated. In addition, because VBA runs “in-process,” it bypasses the interprocess synchronization mechanisms so as to run much more efficiently.
All of the automation that is available to the in-process VBA is also available to external out-of-process automation controllers, or OLE clients. This includes applications developed in programming languages that can be used to develop OLE clients, such as the following:
• Microsoft Visual Basic, Visual C++, and Windows® Script Host
• Borland® Delphi™ and C++
• the VBA engines of other applications
Chapter 1: Understanding VBA 5
How does VBA compare with other programming languages?
VBA has many similarities with most modern, procedural programming languages, including Java and
JavaScript®, C and C++, and Windows Script Host. However, VBA runs as an in-process automation controller, whereas the other languages (apart from JavaScript) are used to compile stand-alone applications.
VBA compared with Java and JavaScript
VBA is similar to Java and JavaScript in that it is a high-level, procedural programming language that has full
in Java and JavaScript — supports on-demand compilation and can be executed without being compiled.
VBA has another similarity with JavaScript in that it cannot be executed as a standalone application. JavaScript is embedded within Web pages, as a mechanism for manipulating the Web browser’s document object model (or
“DOM”). Likewise, VBA programs are executed inside a host environment (in this case, CorelDRAW or Corel
PHOTO-PAINT) so as to manipulate the host’s object model
(which is discussed in “What is an object model?” on page 7).
Most VBA applications can be compiled to P-code so as to make them run more quickly, although the difference is hardly noticeable given the sophistication of today’s computer hardware. Java can be similarly compiled;
JavaScript, however, cannot.
Finally, whereas VBA uses a single equals sign (
=
) for both comparison and assignment, Java and JavaScript use a single equals sign (
=
) for assignment and two equals signs (
==
) for Boolean comparison. (For more information on
Boolean comparison and assignment in VBA, see “Using Boolean comparison and assignment” on page 12.)
VBA compared with C and C++
Visual Basic — similarly to C and C++ — uses functions. In VB, functions can be used to return a value but subroutines cannot. In C and C++, however, functions are used regardless of whether you want to return a
VBA allocates and frees memory “transparently.” In C and C++, however, the developer is responsible for most memory management. This makes using strings in VBA even simpler than using the
CString
class in C++.
Finally, whereas VBA uses a single equals sign (
=
) for both comparison and assignment, C and C++ use a single equals sign (
=
) for assignment and two equals signs (
==
) for Boolean comparison. (For more information on
Boolean comparison and assignment in VBA, see “Using Boolean comparison and assignment” on page 12.)
VBA compared with Windows Script Host
Windows Script Host (WSH) is a useful addition to Windows for doing occasional scripting and automation of
Windows tasks. WSH is an out-of-process automation controller that can be used to control CorelDRAW
Graphics Suite X3. However, because WSH scripts cannot be compiled (and must be interpreted as they are executed) and must be run out of process, they tend to be slow.
WSH is a host for a number of scripting languages, each of which has its own syntax. However, the standard language used by WSH is a macro language resembling Visual Basic, so for standard scripts, the syntax is the same as in VBA.
Chapter 1: Understanding VBA 6
What are the main elements used in VBA?
If you’ve ever developed object-oriented code in C++, Borland Delphi, or Java, you’re already familiar with the concepts of “classes,” “objects,” “properties,” and “methods,” but let’s re-examine them in greater detail as they apply to VBA.
A class is a description of something. For example, the class “car” is a small vehicle with an engine and four wheels.
An object is an instance of a class. If we extend the car metaphor, then the actual, physical car that you go out and purchase for the purposes of driving is an object (that is, an instance of the class “car”). In the context of
CorelDRAW, each open document is an instance of the
Document
class, each page in the document is an instance of the
Page
class, and each layer (and each shape on each layer) are more instances of more classes.
Most classes have properties . For example, the properties of the class “car” are that it is small, it has an engine, and it has four wheels. Every instance of the class “car” (that is, every object in that class) also has properties such as color, speed, and number of seats. Some properties, called “read-only” properties, are fixed by the design of the class; for example, the number of wheels or seats does not (usually) vary from car to car. However, other properties can be changed after the object has been created; for example, the speed of the car can go up and down, and, with a bit of help, its color can be changed. In the context of CorelDRAW,
Document
objects have a name, a resolution, and horizontal and vertical ruler units; individual shapes have outline and fill properties, as well as a position and a rotation factor; and text objects have text properties, which may include the text itself.
A method is an operation that the object can have performed on itself. In the example of the class “car,” the car can be made to go faster and slower, so two methods for the class are “accelerate” and “decelerate.” In the context of
CorelDRAW, documents have methods for creating new pages, layers have methods for creating new shapes, and shapes have methods for applying transformations and effects.
Objects are often made up of other smaller objects. For example, a car contains four objects of the class “wheel,” two objects of the class “headlight,” and so on. Each of these child objects has the same properties and methods of its class-type. In the context of CorelDRAW, a document object contains page objects, which contain layer objects, which contain shape objects, some of which contain other objects. This parent/child relationship of objects is an important one to recognize, particularly when referencing an individual object.
Some classes “inherit” features from their parents. For example, in the context of CorelDRAW, the
Shape
type has many subtypes (or “inherited types”), including
Rectangle
,
Ellipse
,
Curve
, and
Text
. All of these subtypes can make use of the basic members of the
Shape
type, including methods for moving and transforming the shape and for setting its color. However, the subtypes also have their own specialist members; for example, a
Rectangle
can have corner radii, whereas
Text
has an associated
Font
property.
What is an object model?
VBA relies on an application’s object model for communicating with that application and modifying its documents.
Without an object model, VBA cannot query or change an application’s documents.
Object models in software provide a high level of structure to the relationship between parent and child objects.
They also allow object types or classes to be used repeatedly in different ways; for example, a
Shape
object may be of the type “group” and may contain other
Shape
objects, some of which may also be of the type “group,” or
Chapter 1: Understanding VBA 7
“rectangle,” or “curve,” or “text.” This high level of organization and re-use makes the object model simple to use
Remember, though, that the object model is the map that the VBA language uses to access the various members
— objects, methods, and properties — of a document, and to make changes to those members. Without the object model, it is simply impossible to gain access to the objects in the document.
Understanding object hierarchy
In any object model, each object is a child of another object, which is a child of another object. Also, each object has child members of its own — properties, objects, and methods. All of this comprises an object hierarchy that is the object model. In CorelDRAW, the root object of all objects is the
Application
object, because all objects are children or grandchildren of the application.
In order to “drill down” through the layers of hierarchy to get to the object or member that you want, you must use a standard notation. In VBA, as in many object-oriented languages, the notation is to use a period (
.
) to indicate that the object on the right is a member (or child) of the object on the left.
Application.Documents(1).Pages(1).Layers(1).Shapes(1).Name = "Bob"
It is not usually necessary to use the full hierarchical (or fully qualified) reference to an object or its properties.
Some of the object-syntax in the fully qualified reference is mandatory or required; however, other syntax is optional (because a shortcut object for it is available, or because it is implicit or implied), and so it can either be included for clarity or omitted for brevity.
A shortcut object is merely a syntactical replacement for the long-hand version of the object. For example, the shortcut object
ActiveLayer
replaces the long-hand version
Application.ActiveDocument.ActivePage.ActiveLayer
, while the object shortcut
ActiveSelection replaces the long-hand version
Application.ActiveDocument.Selection
. For information on the shortcut
objects that are available to CorelDRAW, see “Using shortcut objects” on page 32.
For detailed information on the CorelDRAW object model, see the Appendix.
How is VBA code structured?
Because VBA is a procedural language that shares much in common with all procedural languages, your current knowledge should help you get off to a quick start with VBA.
This section examines the following topics on VBA structure and syntax:
• Building functions and subroutines
• Using memory pointers and memory allocation
• Using Boolean comparison and assignment
• Using logical and bitwise operators
• Providing message boxes and input boxes
Chapter 1: Understanding VBA 8
VBA can create object-oriented classes, although these are a feature of the language and are not discussed in detail in this manual.
Declaring variables
In VBA, the construction for declaring variables is as follows:
Dim foobar As Integer
The built-in data types are
Byte
,
Boolean
,
Integer
,
Long
,
Single
,
Double
,
String
,
Variant
, and several other less-used types including
Date
,
Decimal
, and
Object
.
Variables can be declared anywhere within the body of a function, or at the top of the current module. However, it is generally a good practice to declare a variable before it is used; otherwise, the compiler interprets it as a
Variant
, and inefficiencies can be incurred at run time.
Booleans take
False
to be zero and
True
to be any other value, although converting from a
Boolean
to a
Long
results in
True
being converted to a value of
–1
.
To get more information about one of the built-in data types, type it into the code window, select it, and then press F1 .
Data structures can be built by using the following syntax:
Public Type fooType
item1 As Integer
item2 As String
End Type
Dim myTypedItem As fooType
The items within a variable declared as type fooType
are accessed using dot notation: myTypedItem.item1 = 5
Declaring strings
Strings in VBA are much simpler than in C. In VBA, strings can be added together, truncated, searched forwards and backwards, and passed as simple arguments to functions.
To add two strings together, simply use the concatenation operator (
&
) or the addition operator (
+
):
Dim string1 As String, string2 As String string2 = string1 & " more text" + " even more text"
In VBA, there are many functions for manipulating strings, including
InStr()
,
Left()
,
Mid()
,
Right()
,
Len()
, and
Trim()
.
Declaring enumerated types
To declare an enumerated type , use the following construction:
Chapter 1: Understanding VBA 9
Public Enum fooEnum
ItemOne
ItemTwo
ItemThree
End Enum
The first item in an enumerated type is assigned, by default, a value of zero.
Declaring arrays
To declare an array , use parentheses — that is, the
(
and
)
symbols:
Dim barArray (4) As Integer
The value defines the index of the last item in the array. Because array indexes are zero-based by default, there are five elements in the preceding sample array (that is, elements
0
thru
4
, inclusive).
Arrays can be resized by using
ReDim
. For example, the following code adds an extra element to barArray
, but preserves the existing contents of the original five elements:
ReDim Preserve barArray (6)
Upper and lower bounds for an array can be determined at run time with the functions
UBound()
and
LBound()
.
Multidimensional arrays can be declared by separating the dimension indexes with commas:
Dim barArray (4, 3)
Building functions and subroutines
VBA uses both functions and subroutines (or “subs”). Functions can be used to return a value, whereas subs cannot.
In VBA, functions and subs do not need to be declared before they are used, nor before they are defined. In fact, functions and subs need to be declared only if they actually exist in external system dynamic-linked libraries
(DLLs).
Typical functions in a language such as Java or C++ can be structured as follows: void foo( string stringItem ) {
// The body of the function goes here
} double bar( int numItem ) { return 23.2; }
In VBA, however, functions are structured as in the following example:
Public Sub foo (stringItem As String)
' The body of the subroutine goes here
End Sub
Public Function bar (numItem As Integer) As Double bar = 23.2
End Function
To force a function or sub to exit immediately, you can use
Exit Function
or
Exit Sub
(respectively).
Chapter 1: Understanding VBA 10
Ending lines
In VBA, each statement must exist on its own line, but no special character is required to denote the end of each line. (This is in contrast to the many programming languages that use the semicolon to separate individual statements.)
To break a long VBA statement over two or more lines, each of the lines (other than the last line) must end with an underscore (
_
) preceded by at least one space: newString = fooFunction ("This is a string", _
5, 10, 2)
It is also possible to combine several statements in a single line by separating them with colons: a = 1 : b = 2 : c = a + b
A line cannot end with a colon. Lines that end with a colon are labels used by the
Goto
statement.
Including comments
Comments in VBA — similarly to in ANSI, C++, and Java — can be created only at the end of a line.
Comments begin with an apostrophe (
'
) and terminate at the end of the line.
Each line of a multi-line comment must begin with its own apostrophe: a = b ' This is a really interesting piece of code that
' needs so much explanation that I have had to break
' the comment over multiple lines.
To comment out large sections of code, use the following code (similarly to in C or C++):
#If 0 Then ' That's a zero, not the letter 'oh'.
' All this code will be ignored by
' the compiler at run time!
#End If
Using memory pointers and memory allocation
VBA does not support C-style memory pointers. Memory allocation and garbage collection are automatic and transparent, just as in Java and JavaScript (and some C++ code).
Passing values “by reference” and “by value”
Most languages, including C++ and Java, pass an argument to a procedure as a copy of the original. If the original must be passed, then one of two things can happen:
• a memory pointer is passed that directs to the original in memory
• a reference to the original is passed
The same is true in VB, except that passing a copy of the original is called passing by value and passing a reference to the original is called passing by reference .
Chapter 1: Understanding VBA 11
By default, function and subroutine parameters are passed by reference. This means that a reference to the original variable is passed in the procedure’s argument, and so changing that argument’s value within the procedure, in effect, changes the original variable’s value as well. This is a great way of returning more than one value from a function or sub. To explicitly annotate the code to indicate that an argument is being passed by reference, you can prefix the argument with
ByRef
.
If you want to prevent the procedure from changing the value of the original variable, you can force the copying of an argument. To do this, prefix the argument with
ByVal
, as shown in the example that follows. This
ByRef
/
ByVal
functionality is similar to the ability of C and C++ to pass a copy of a variable, or to pass a pointer to the original variable.
Private Sub fooFunc (ByVal int1 As Integer, _
ByRef long1 As Long, _
long2 As Long) ' Passed ByRef by default
In the preceding example, arguments long1
and long2
are both, by default, passed by reference. Modifying either argument within the body of the function modifies the original variable; however, modifying int1
does not modify the original because it is a copy of the original.
Defining scope
You can define the scope of a data type or procedure (or even an object). Data types, functions, and subs (and members of classes) that are declared as private are visible only within that module (or file), while functions that are declared as public are visible throughout all the modules; however, you may have to use fully qualified referencing if the modules are almost out of scope — for example, if you are referencing a function in a different project.
Unlike C, VBA does not use braces — that is, the
{
and
}
symbols — to define local scope. Local scope in VBA is defined by an opening function or sub definition statement (that is,
Function
or
Sub
) and a matching
End statement (that is,
End Function
or
End Sub
). Any variables declared within the function are available only within the scope of the function itself.
Using Boolean comparison and assignment
In VB, Boolean comparison and assignment are both performed by using a single equals sign (
=
):
If a = b Then c = d
This is in contrast to many other languages that use a double equals sign for a Boolean comparison and a single equals sign for assignment: if( a == b ) c = d;
The following code, which is valid in C, C++, Java, and JavaScript, is invalid in VBA: if( ( result = fooBar( ) ) == true )
This would have to be written in VBA as the following: result = fooBar( )
If result = True Then
Chapter 1: Understanding VBA 12
For other Boolean comparisons, VBA uses the same operators as other languages (except for the operators for “is equal to” and “is not equal to”). All the Boolean-comparison operators are provided in the following table:
C-style operator Comparison
Is equal to
Is not equal to
Is greater than
VBA operator
=
<>
>
Is less than
<
Is greater than or equal to
>=
Is less than or equal to
<=
==
!=
>
<
>=
<=
The result of using one of the Boolean operators is always either
True
or
False
.
Using logical and bitwise operators
In VBA, logical operations are performed by using the keywords
And
,
Not
,
Or
,
Xor
,
Imp
, and
Eqv
, which perform the logical operations AND, NOT, OR, Exclusive-OR, logical implication, and logical equivalence (respectively).
These operators also perform Boolean comparisons.
The following code shows a comparison written in C or a similar language: if( ( a && b ) || ( c && d ) )
This would be written as follows in VBA:
If ( a And b ) Or ( c And d ) Then
Alternatively, the above could be written in the following full long-hand form:
If ( a And b = True ) Or ( c And d = True ) = True Then
The following table provides a comparison of the four common VBA logical and bitwise operators, and the Cstyle logical and bitwise operators used by C, C++, Java, and JavaScript:
VBA operator C-style bitwise operator C-style Boolean operator
And
Not
&
~
&&
!
Or
Xor
|
^
||
Providing message boxes and input boxes
You can present simple messages to the user by using the
MsgBox
function:
Dim retval As Long retval = MsgBox("Click OK if you agree.", _
Chapter 1: Understanding VBA 13
vbOKCancel, "Easy Message")
If retval = vbOK Then
MsgBox "You clicked OK.", vbOK, "Affirmative"
End If
You can also get strings from the user by using
InputBox
function:
Dim inText As String inText = InputBox("Input some text:", "type here")
If Len(inText) > 0 Then
MsgBox "You typed the following: " & inText & "."
End If
If the user clicks Cancel , the length of the string returned in inText
is zero.
Chapter 1: Understanding VBA 14
Chapter 2
Getting started with VBA
Now that you understand a bit about VBA, you’re ready to get started with macros.
This chapter covers the following topics:
• Installing VBA for CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3
Installing VBA for CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3
Before you can develop and run macros in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3, you may need to install the VBA feature.
When you perform a “typical installation” of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3, VBA is installed by default.
To install VBA
1
2
3
Insert CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 Disc 1 into the CD drive.
If the installation wizard does not start automatically, click Start ` Run on the Windows taskbar, and then type X:\CGS13\Setup.exe
(where X is the letter that corresponds to the CD drive).
Click Install CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 , and follow the on-screen instructions.
On the Select which applications you would like to install page, click Advanced options , and then in the
Custom setup window that appears, set Utilities\Visual Basic for Applications 6.3
to install.
Set Utilities\Visual Basic for Applications 6.3
to install
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 Programming Guide for VBA 15
Using the VBA toolbars
CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT feature a toolbar that lets you access common VBA functionalities.
Using the VBA toolbar in CorelDRAW
CorelDRAW has a toolbar that provides easy access to several VBA features and to the VB Editor.
The Visual Basic for Applications toolbar in CorelDRAW
The toolbar buttons provide the following functions:
• playing macros
• opening the VB Editor
• switching the VB Editor between its modes for designing and running macros
• recording macros
• pausing the recording of macros
• stopping the recording of macros
To display the Visual Basic for Applications toolbar in CorelDRAW
• Click Window ` Toolbars ` Visual Basic for Applications .
A check mark next to the command indicates that the toolbar is displayed.
Using the VB Editor toolbar in Corel PHOTO-PAINT
Corel PHOTO-PAINT has a toolbar that provides easy access to the VB Editor.
The Visual Basic Editor toolbar in Corel PHOTO-PAINT
The toolbar buttons provide the following functions:
• playing macros
• opening the VB Editor
• switching the VB Editor between its modes for designing and running macros
To display the VB Editor toolbar in Corel PHOTO-PAINT
• Click Window ` Toolbars ` Visual Basic Editor .
A check mark next to the command indicates that the toolbar is displayed.
Chapter 2: Getting started with VBA 16
Using the VB Editor
The VB Editor that is included with VBA is similar to the one included with full Visual Basic.
The VB Editor lets you develop code and dialog boxes, browse the object tree and the modules within each project, set individual properties for objects, and debug code. However, it’s important to note that the VB Editor for VBA cannot compile executable (EXE) program files.
The VB Editor features several windows and toolbars, all of which are discussed in this section. The three
available windows are the Project Explorer (see page 17), the
Properties
Code
window (see page 19). The four available toolbars (see page 22), are the
Standard toolbar, the Debug toolbar, the Edit toolbar, and the UserForm toolbar, of which you will use the Standard and Debug toolbars most often.
Standard toolbar
Debug toolbar
Project
Explorer
Edit toolbar
Code window
Properties window
The VB Editor
The VB Editor also lets you access the Object Browser (see page 23).
UserForm toolbar
You can invoke the VB Editor from within CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Although this starts VBA as a new application in Windows, it runs within the CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT process.
To start the VB Editor
• Click Tools ` Visual Basic ` Visual Basic Editor , or press Alt + F11 .
To switch between the VB Editor and CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT, use the Windows taskbar, or press Alt + F11 or Alt + Tab .
Using the Project Explorer
The Project Explorer is essential for navigating VBA projects and their constituent documents/objects, forms, modules , and class modules .
Chapter 2: Getting started with VBA 17
The Project Explorer with a module selected
Each type of item in the Project Explorer has an icon assigned to it:
Icon Meaning project folder
document/object form module class module
To display or hide the Project Explorer
• Click View ` Project Explorer , or press Ctrl + R .
Using the Properties window
The Properties window lists all of the editable properties for the currently selected object. Many objects in VBA
— including projects, modules, and forms and their controls — have property sheets that can be modified.
Chapter 2: Getting started with VBA 18
The Properties window, showing the properties of a form
The Properties window is automatically updated when you select an object, or when you change the properties of the selected object by using other methods (for example, by using the mouse to move and resize form controls).
To display or hide the Properties window
• Click View ` Properties window , or press F4 .
Using the Code window
The Code window is where you spend most of your time when working on macros. A standard code editor in the style of Microsoft® Visual Studio®, the Code window lets you format code automatically, color and check syntax automatically, jump to definitions, and use contextual pop-up lists and automatic completion.
If you are already familiar with any of the Microsoft Visual Studio editors, the VB Editor’s Code window will be entirely familiar to you.
The VBA Code window
Chapter 2: Getting started with VBA 19
Formatting code automatically
The VB Editor formats code automatically for you — even the capitalization of keywords, functions, subroutines, and variables is taken care of by the VB Editor, irrespective of what you type.
You cannot custom-format code, although you can set the indentation for each line, as well as the placing of custom line breaks.
When it comes to calling functions and subs, you must adhere to the following rules:
• If you are calling a function and you are using the returned value, the parentheses around the parameters are mandatory (just as in most modern programming languages): a = fooFunc (b, c)
• However, if the returned value from a function call is being discarded, or if you are calling a sub, the parentheses must be left out (unlike in most other languages): barFunc d, e fooBarSub f
• If you prefer always to see the parentheses, use the
Call
keyword before the function or sub call:
Call barFunc (d, e)
Call fooBarSub (f)
Coloring syntax automatically
When you develop code in the Code window, the editor colorizes each word according to its classification:
• VBA keywords and programming statements are usually displayed in blue.
• Comments are displayed in green.
• All other text is displayed in black.
This colorization makes the code much easier to read.
Syntax highlighting and coloring
The Code window also uses the following colorization techniques:
• Lines of code containing errors are displayed in red.
• Selected text is white on blue.
• The line where execution paused for debugging is shown as a yellow highlight.
• Breakpoints that you set for debugging purposes are shown as a red dot in the left margin with the code in white on a red background.
Chapter 2: Getting started with VBA 20
• Bookmarks (which you set in the code) are indicated by a blue dot in the left margin.
Breakpoints (along with bookmarks) are lost when you quit the application. For more information on
them, see “Setting breakpoints” on page 35.
You can modify the default colors for syntax highlighting by clicking Tools ` Options , clicking the
Editor format tab, and making your changes.
Checking syntax automatically
Every time you move the cursor out of a line of code, the editor checks the syntax of the code in that line; if it finds an error, it changes the color of the text of that line to red and displays a pop-up a warning. This real-time checking is useful (particularly when you are learning VBA) because it indicates many possible errors in the code without having you run the code.
You can disable pop-up warnings by clicking Tools ` Options , clicking the Editor tab, and then disabling the Auto syntax check check box. The VB Editor still checks the syntax and highlights erroneous lines in red, but it stops displaying a warning when you paste text from another line of code.
Jumping to definitions
You can jump directly to the definition of a variable, procedure, or object by right-clicking the item in the Code window and then clicking Definition . This takes you either to the definition of the variable or function in the code or to the object’s definition in the Object Browser.
To return to where you requested the definition, right-click, and then click Last position in the Code window .
Using contextual pop-up lists and automatic completion
As you write procedures and define variables, the VB Editor adds these items to an internal list that already contains all of its built-in keywords and enumerated values. As you type, the VB Editor presents you with a list of candidate words that you may want to insert at the current position; this list is contextual, so the VB Editor usually presents only the words that are valid for the current position.
Auto-completion pop-up menu
Chapter 2: Getting started with VBA 21
This list makes code development quicker and more convenient, particularly because you do not need to remember every function and variable name but can instead choose them from the list provided. If you type the first few characters of the word you want to use, the list advances to the nearest candidate that matches the characters you’ve entered. Select the word you want to use, and either type the character that you want to have follow the word (typically a space, line feed, parenthesis, period, or comma) or press Tab or Ctrl + Enter to enter only the word.
To force the pop-up menu display, you can press Ctrl + Spacebar . The menu scrolls to the word that most closely matches the characters that you have typed so far. This technique is also useful for filling parameter lists when calling a function or subroutine. If there is only one exact match, the VB Editor inserts the word without popping up the list. To display the pop-up list for the selected keyword at any time without auto-filling it, press Ctrl + J .
Using the toolbars
The VB Editor features four toolbars that you can use to carry out your VBA tasks.
The Standard toolbar is the default toolbar.
The Standard toolbar
The Debug
toolbar contains buttons for common debugging tasks (as discussed in “Debugging macros” on page 35).
The Debug toolbar
The Edit toolbar contains buttons for common editing tasks.
The Edit toolbar
The UserForm
You can choose to display or hide each toolbar.
The UserForm toolbar
To display or hide a toolbar
• Click View ` Toolbars , and then click the command that corresponds to the toolbar you want to display or hide.
A check mark next to a command indicates that its toolbar is currently displayed.
Chapter 2: Getting started with VBA 22
You can “float” a toolbar by dragging it from the menu bar.
You can dock a toolbar by dragging it to the menu bar.
Using the Object Browser
The Object Browser is one of the most useful tools provided by the VB Editor. The Object Browser displays the entire object model of all referenced components (that is, all ActiveX® or OLE objects that are used by the project) and, most importantly, the object model of CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT — all in an easy-touse, structured format.
Project/Library list box
Help button search controls
Search Results window
View definition button
Class list
Copy to
Clipboard button
Member list
Information window
The Object Browser window
To open the Object Browser, click View ` Object Browser , or press F2 .
navigation buttons
To reference the object models for other applications, click Tools ` References . Referenced components can be accessed by the VBA code.
All of the referenced objects — plus the current module — are listed in the Project/Library list box in the upper-left corner of the Object Browser. By default, all of the member classes for the referenced objects are provided in the Class list.
It is easier to use the Object Browser when only one project or library is displayed. To display only one project or library, choose it from the Project/Library list box.
More detailed information follows about certain Object Browser elements.
Using the Class list
The Class list shows all of the classes in the current project or library.
When you select a class in the Class list, the members of that class are shown in the Member list.
Chapter 2: Getting started with VBA 23
Every project or library has an object model that contains a number of member classes. Next to each item in the
Class list, an icon depicts its class type:
Class icon Type global value module enumerated type type class module
Global values (which apply to the selected project in its entirety) include individual members from enumerated types
(such as text paragraph alignments, shape types, and import/export filters).
Member classes of an object have their own members.
To receive detailed information about a selected item, click the Help button at the top of the Object
Browser.
Using the Member list
The Member list shows all of the properties, methods, and events that are members of the current class. Each member is given an icon according to its type:
Class icon Type property implied or default property method event constant
Property members may be simple types (such as Booleans, integers, or strings), or they may be a class or enumerated type from the Class list. A property that is based on a class from the Class list inherits all the members of that class.
Chapter 2: Getting started with VBA 24
Many classes have a default property, indicated by a blue dot in their icon. The default property is implied if no property name is given when getting or setting the value of the parent object. For example, collection types have the default property
Item
, which can be indexed. However, because
Item
is usually the default property, in such instances, it is not necessary to specify the item property. Here,
ActiveSelection.Shapes.Item(1).Selected = False is the same as the shorter
ActiveSelection.Shapes(1).Selected = False because
Item
is the default or implied property of a collection of shapes.
Methods are commonly known as “member functions” — functions that the class can perform on itself. A good example is the
Move
method of the
Shape
class, which is used to move a CorelDRAW shape using an
[x, y] vector. The following code moves the selected shapes
2
measurement units to the right and
3
measurement units upwards:
ActiveSelection.Move 2, 3
If the return value of a function is not used, the function call does not take parentheses around the argument list unless the
Call
keyword is used.
For more information about
ActiveSelection
Some classes have various events associated with them. By setting up an event handler for a class’s event, when that event occurs in the application, the event’s handler is called. This functionality enables sophisticated applications to be developed that respond automatically to what is happening within the application.
Commonly handled events include the
BeforeClose
,
BeforePrint
,
BeforeSave
,
ShapeMove
,
PageActivate
, and
SelectionChange
events of the
Document
class.
Only the
Document
,
GlobalMacroStorage
, and
AddinHook
classes have events in CorelDRAW. The
AddinHook
class is not discussed in this manual.
The constants listed in the Member list are either members of enumerated types or defined as
Public
in a module. Enumerated types are used to group related items from a closed list, such as CorelDRAW shape types, import/export filters, and alignments. These constants can be used anywhere an integer value is required.
Most CorelDRAW constants begin with cdr
(for example, cdrLeftAlignment
, cdrEPS
, cdrOutlineBevelLineJoin
, cdrCurveShape
, and cdrSymmetricalNode
). Some constants begin with prn or pdf
. Visual Basic also has its own constants, including ones for keystrokes (such as vbKeyEnter
) and dialog box buttons (such as vbOK
).
To receive detailed information about a selected item, click the Help button at the top of the Object
Browser.
Using the Information window
The Information window gives information about the selected class or class member. This information includes a “prototype” of the member, its parent, and a short description of the member, and it also states whether the member is a read-only property.
Chapter 2: Getting started with VBA 25
The Information window
The types of any function parameters and properties are given as hyperlinks to the type definition or class itself, if the type is defined within the current object model. For example, the
Application
property in the preceding figure is a member of the
PHOTOPAINT Document
class; however,
Application
is also the property’s type, and it is a
PHOTOPAINT
class, so to view the class and its members, you can click the Application hyperlink.
To increase the height of the Information window, drag the top border of the window upwards to reveal its contents, or scroll down using the scrolls bar at the right of the window.
Using the search controls
You can search the object model for a matching string. This is useful for finding a class or member whose name you can only partly remember, or for finding classes and members that have similar names (such as names based on, or containing, the word “open”).
Searching an object model
To search an object model’s classes and members, type a string into the Search box, and then click the Search button. The Search Results list appears, displaying all of the found matches in alphabetical order. Clicking a found match advances the Class and Member lists to that item and displays its information in the Information window.
Matching class names have a blank Member column in the Search Results window.
To hide the Search Results window, click the Hide search results button .
Chapter 2: Getting started with VBA 26
Chapter 3
Working with macros
Now that you know your way around the VBA workspace, you are ready to begin working with macros.
This chapter covers the following topics:
• Referencing objects in macros
• Providing event handlers in macros
For detailed information on the CorelDRAW object model, see the Appendix.
Creating macros
You can create a macro either by writing it or by recording it.
Writing macros
Before you can begin writing a macro, you must create a Global Macro Storage (GMS) file — also known as a project file — for it. A GMS file is stored in its application’s GMS folder, which is typically located at
X:\Program Files\Corel\CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3\ <application> \ (where X is the letter that corresponds to the drive to which you’ve installed CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 ). The VB Editor stores all of the modules for that project in the project’s GMS file.
module type in its own folder. You cannot move a module from one folder to another within the same project, but you can drag a module to another project to make a copy of it there. There are four types of modules:
• CorelDRAW X3 Objects or Corel PHOTO-PAINT X3 Objects — used mostly for event handling, contains a single item (
ThisMacroStorage
or
ThisDocument
, respectively) and should not be used for normal code
• forms — used for custom dialog boxes and user interfaces, including the code to control them
• modules — used for general code and macros
• class modules — used for object-oriented Visual Basic classes (which are not discussed in this manual)
After you create a GMS file, you can change its project name and add modules to it.
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 Programming Guide for VBA 27
To write the macro, you must use the VB Editor. Macros that are developed in the VB Editor can take advantage of full programming control, including conditional execution, looping, and branching. In effect, you can write macros that are programs in their own right. (For the purposes of this manual, however, all VBA code is referred to as a macro even though, in some contexts, a macro is just those parts of that code that can be launched by
CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT.)
To create a project file
1
2
3
4
5
Close the application (that is, CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT) for which you want to create the project file.
In Windows Explorer, navigate to the GMS folder for the application for which you want to create the project file.
Click File ` New ` Text document .
A new, empty text document is created in this folder.
Rename the file as <filename> .gms
, where <filename> is any valid Windows filename.
Restart the application for which you’ve created the project file.
When you launch the VB Editor, the project file you’ve created is displayed in the Project Explorer as Global
Macros ( <filename> .gms) .
1
2
To rename a project
3
In the Project Explorer, select the project you want to rename.
In the Properties window, edit the (Name) value.
Names must follow normal variable-naming conventions, so they must begin with an alphabetic character, and they must not contain spaces nor special characters other than underscores ( _ ).
Press Enter to commit your changes.
To add a module to a project
1
2
In the Project Explorer, right-click the project to which you want to add a module.
Click one of the following
• Insert ` Module — inserts a normal code module
• Insert ` UserForm — inserts a new form (that is, dialog box)
• Insert ` Class Module — inserts a new class code module
The new module is stored in the project’s folder for that type of module.
Recording macros
You can record macros from directly within CorelDRAW (that is, without using the VB Editor). Recording a macro creates (in the chosen project) a new VBA macro, which can then be edited and customized by using the
VB Editor.
Chapter 3: Working with macros 28
The Save Macro dialog box
You may prefer to create macros by recording if you are not familiar with the application’s object model or are not sure which objects and methods to use. For many simple and repetitive tasks, recorded macros are a quick, efficient solution; they store the sequence of keys you press and mouse actions you perform within CorelDRAW, so that you can reuse that sequence in the future.
You cannot record macros in Corel PHOTO-PAINT.
To record a macro
1
2
3
4
5
6
Click Tools ` Visual Basic ` Record , or click the Record button on the Visual Basic for Applications toolbar.
From the Store macro in list box, choose the VBA project (GMS) file or CorelDRAW (CDR) file in which you want to store the recorded macro.
In the Macro name box, type a name that is unique to the file in which you have chosen to store the macro.
Macro names can contain numerals, but they must begin with a letter. Macro names cannot contain spaces or non-alphanumeric characters other than underscores ( _ ).
If you want, type a description of the macro in the Description box.
Click OK .
CorelDRAW begins recording your actions. To pause or resume recording, click Tools ` Visual Basic `
Pause , or click the Pause button on the Visual Basic for Applications toolbar.
To stop recording, click Tools ` Visual Basic ` Stop , or click the Stop button on the Visual Basic for
Applications toolbar.
The macro is saved using the settings you’ve specified.
Not all actions can be recorded, some because of their complexity (although many such actions can be manually coded in the VB Editor). When an action cannot be recorded, the following comment is placed in the code:
The recording of this command is not supported
.
Chapter 3: Working with macros 29
Referencing objects in macros
If you want to create a reference to an object so that you can treat that reference like a variable ( sh
, in the example that follows), you can use the
Set
keyword:
Dim sh As Shape
Set sh = ActiveSelection.Shapes.Item(1)
After you create this reference, you can treat it as if it were the object itself: sh.Outline.Color.GrayAssign 35
If the selection is changed while sh
is still in scope, sh
references the original shape from the old selection and is unaffected by the new selection. You cannot simply assign the object to the variable as in the following example:
Dim sh As Shape sh = ActiveSelection.Shapes.Item(1)
To release an object, you must set its reference value to
Nothing
:
Set sh = Nothing
You can also test whether a variable references a valid object by using the
Nothing
keyword:
If sh Is Nothing Then MsgBox "sh is de-referenced."
Objects do not need to be explicitly released. In most cases, Visual Basic releases the object when it disposes of the variable when you exit the function or sub.
For detailed information on the CorelDRAW object model, see the Appendix.
Referencing collections in macros
Many objects are members of collections of objects. A collection is similar to an array, except that it contains objects rather than values. Despite this, members of collections can be accessed in the same way as arrays. For example, a collection that is used frequently in CorelDRAW is the collection of shapes on a layer: the object
ActiveLayer
references either the current layer or the layer that is selected in the CorelDRAW Object
Manager docker.
CorelDRAW contains many collections: a document contains pages, a page contains layers, a layer contains shapes, a curve contains subpaths, a subpath contains segments and nodes, a text range contains lines and words, a group contains shapes, and the application contains windows. All of these collections are handled in the same way by VBA.
For detailed information on the CorelDRAW object model, see the Appendix.
Referencing the items in a collection
To reference the shapes on a layer, that layer’s collection of shapes is used:
ActiveLayer.Shapes
. To reference the individual shapes in the collection, the
Item()
property is used:
Dim sh As Shape
Set sh = ActiveLayer.Shapes.Item(1)
Chapter 3: Working with macros 30
Most elements of a collection start at
1
and increase. For the collection
ActiveLayer.Shapes
,
Item(1)
is the item at the “top” or “front” of the layer — in other words, the one that is in front of all the other shapes.
Because each item in the
ActiveLayer
collection is an object of type
Shape
, you can reference the item’s members merely by appending the appropriate dot-notated member:
ActiveLayer.Shapes.Item(1).Outline.ConvertToObject
Sometimes, individual items have names. If the item you are looking for has an associated name (and you know what the name is and which collection the item is in), you can reference the item directly by using its name:
Dim sh1 As Shape, sh2 As Shape
Set sh1 = ActiveLayer.CreateRectangle(0, 5, 7, 0) sh1.Name = "myShape"
Set sh2 = ActiveLayer.Shapes.Item("myShape")
Also, because an item is usually the implied or default member of a collection, it is not strictly required, so the last line of the preceding code can be rewritten as follows:
Set sh2 = ActiveLayer.Shapes("myShape")
Counting the items in a collection
All collections have a property called
Count
. This read-only property gives the number of members in the collection:
Dim count As Long count = ActiveLayer.Shapes.Count
The returned value is not only the number of items in the collection, but because the collection starts from
1
, it is also the index of the last item.
Parsing the items in a collection
It is often necessary to parse through the members of a collection to check or change the items’ properties.
By using the
Item()
and
Count
members, it is straightforward to step through a collection of items. With each iteration, it is possible to test the current item’s properties, or to call its methods. The following code restricts all shapes on the layer to no wider than ten units:
Dim I As Long, count As Long count = ActiveLayer.Shapes.Count
For I = 1 to count
If ActiveLayer.Shapes.Item(i).SizeWidth > 10 Then
ActiveLayer.Shapes.Item(i).SizeWidth = 10
End If
Next I
There is, however, a more convenient way of parsing a collection in VBA. Instead of using the
Count
property and a
For-Next
loop, this technique uses a
For-Each-In
loop:
Dim sh As Shape
For Each sh In ActiveLayer.Shapes
If sh.SizeWidth > 10 Then
Chapter 3: Working with macros 31
sh.SizeWidth = 10
End If
Next sh
If you want to copy the selection and then parse it later when it is no longer selected, copy the selection into a
ShapeRange
object:
Dim sr As ShapeRange
Dim sh As Shape
Set sr = ActiveSelectionRange
For Each sh In sr
' Do something with each shape
Next sh
Using shortcut objects
CorelDRAW provides several shortcuts to frequently accessed objects. These shortcuts are easier to use than their longhand versions because they require less typing. (Also, using shortcuts can improve run-time performance because the compiler does not have to determine every object in a long dot-separated reference.)
The following table provides the shortcuts and their long forms, as well as a description of each:
Shortcut
ActiveLayer
ActivePage
ActiveSelection
Long form
ActivePage.ActiveLayer
ActiveDocument.ActivePage
ActiveDocument.Selection
Description
Gets the current layer being edited in the current page of the document
Gets the current page of the active document
Gets the selection in the active document
ActiveSelectionRange ActiveDocument.SelectionRange
ActiveShape ActiveDocument.Selection.Shapes(1)
Gets the selection range in the active document
Gets the last-selected shape in the active document
ActiveView
ActiveWindow
ActiveWindow.ActiveView
ActiveDocument.ActiveWindow
Gets the active view of the document (that is, the representation of the document within the
ActiveWindow
)
Gets the active window (that is, the window in which the active document is displayed)
A shortcut can be used on its own as a property of the CorelDRAW
Application
object.
Chapter 3: Working with macros 32
The following shortcuts can also be used as members of a given
Document
object:
ActiveLayer
,
ActivePage
,
ActiveShape
, and
ActiveWindow
. The
Document
object also has the properties
Selection
and
SelectionRange
, which let you get the selection or selection range (respectively) from a specified document regardless of whether that document is active.
Providing event handlers in macros
While running, CorelDRAW raises various events to which VBA can respond through the use of event handlers — subroutines with specific, defined names within a
ThisMacroStorage
module in CorelDRAW. Every
CorelDRAW VBA project (that is, GMS) file has one
ThisMacroStorage
module within its CorelDRAW X3
Objects subfolder for the project. (Similarly, every Corel PHOTO-PAINT VBA project has one
ThisDocument module within its Corel PHOTO-PAINT X3 Objects subfolder for the project.)
The
GlobalMacroStorage
object is a virtual object that represents each and all open CorelDRAW documents.
The
GlobalMacroStorage
object has several events that are raised at the time of any event, such as opening, printing, saving, or closing a CorelDRAW document (although the range of events is actually greater than this because each one has a “before” and “after” event).
To respond to an event, you must provide an event handler — a subroutine in any
ThisMacroStorage
module with a specific name for which CorelDRAW is pre-programmed to search. However, CorelDRAW does check all
ThisMacroStorage
modules in all installed projects, so you can create an event-driven solution and distribute it as a single project file just as you would provide any other form of solution. Each project can have only one
ThisMacroStorage
module, and it is automatically created when the project is first created.
For example, a solution may need to respond to a document closing by logging the closure in a file as part of a workflow-management and recording system. To respond to a document opening, the solution must respond to the
GlobalMacroStorage
class’s
OpenDocument
event. To do this, open a
ThisMacroStorage
module for editing in the VB Editor; next, choose GlobalMacroStorage from the Object list box at the top of the Code window, and then choose DocumentOpen from the Procedure list box. The VB Editor creates a new, empty sub called
GlobalMacroStorage_DocumentOpen()
— or, if it exists already, places the cursor into it. You then need only write some code that adds the name of the opened file to the log. The recommended way to do this is to create a public sub in a different module that actually does the work, such that the event handler simply calls that sub when required; this keeps the size of the
ThisMacroStorage
module as small as possible, so that the run-time interpreter can more easily parse all the
ThisMacroStorage
modules each time an event is raised. The following code illustrates this example:
Private Sub GlobalMacroStorage_OpenDocument( ByVal Doc As Document, _
ByVal FileName As String)
Call LogFileOpen(FileName)
End Sub
Here is a small sample of the events available in CorelDRAW:
Event
Start
DocumentNew
Description
Raised when the user starts CorelDRAW
Raised when a document is created; passes a reference to the document
Chapter 3: Working with macros 33
Event
DocumentOpen
DocumentBeforeSave
DocumentAfterSave
DocumentBeforePrint
DocumentAfterPrint
SelectionChange
DocumentClose
Quit
Description
Raised when a document is opened; passes a reference to the document
Raised before a document is saved; passes the file name of the document as a parameter
Raised after a document is saved; passes the file name of the document as a parameter
Raised before the Print dialog box is displayed
Raised after a document is printed
Raised when a selection changes
Raised before a document is closed
Raised when the user quits CorelDRAW
Event handlers for frequent events — such as events related to the
Shape
class — should be as efficient as possible, to keep the application running as quickly as possible.
Running macros
You can run macros either from directly within CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT or from within the VB
Editor.
The CorelDRAW X3 Visual Basic for Applications Macros dialog box
To run a macro from within CorelDRAW
1
2
3
4
Click Tools ` Visual Basic ` Play , or click the Play button on the Visual Basic for Applications toolbar.
From the Macros in list box, choose the VBA project (GMS) file or CorelDRAW (CDR) file in which the recorded macro is stored.
Select the macro in the Macro name list.
Click Run .
Chapter 3: Working with macros 34
To run a macro from within Corel PHOTO-PAINT
1
2
3
4
Click Tools ` Visual Basic ` Play , or click the Play button on the Visual Basic Editor toolbar.
From the Macros in list box, choose the VBA project (GMS) file in which the recorded macro is stored.
Select the macro in the Macro name list.
Click Run .
To run a macro from within the VB Editor
• Click anywhere in the subroutine that forms the macro, and then click Run ` Run macro .
Debugging macros
The VB Editor provides strong debugging facilities that are common to language editors. It is possible to set breakpoints and to step through code.
You can also make changes to the code while it is running and watch and change variables, but these are advanced techniques that are not discussed in this manual.
Setting breakpoints
A breakpoint is a marker in a line of code that causes execution to pause. To continue, you must either restart the execution or step through the subsequent lines of code.
To set or clear a breakpoint, click the line and then click Debug ` Toggle breakpoint . By default, the line is highlighted in dark red and a red dot is placed in the margin. To clear all breakpoints, click Debug ` Clear all breakpoints .
To restart the code after it pauses at a breakpoint, click Run ` Continue . To pause the execution of the code
(immediately exiting from all functions and discarding all return values), click Run ` Reset .
You can also “run to cursor” — that is, execute the code until it reaches the line that the cursor is on, and then pause at that line. To do this, click the line where you want execution to pause, and then click Debug ` Run to cursor .
If the line with the breakpoint (or the cursor when “running to cursor”) is not executed because it is in a conditional (if-then-else) block, the code does not stop at that line.
Breakpoints are not saved. They are lost when you close the VB Editor.
Stepping through the code
When execution pauses at a breakpoint, you can continue through the code one line at a time. This lets you examine the values of individual variables after each line and determine how the code affects the values (and how the values affect the code). This is called “stepping through the code.”
To step through the code (one line at a time), click Debug ` Step into . The execution advances to every line in all called functions and subs.
Chapter 3: Working with macros 35
To step through each line of the current function or sub but not through the lines of each called function or sub, click Debug ` Step over . The called functions and subs are executed, but not line-by-line.
To execute the rest of the current function or sub but pause when the function or sub returns to the point where it was called, click Debug ` Step out . This is a quick way of returning to the point of entry of a function, so as to continue stepping through the calling function’s code.
Using the debugging windows
There are four windows that are used when debugging code: the Call Stack window, the Immediate window, the Locals window, and the Watches window. All of these windows provide important information about the state of functions and variables while an application is running.
Using the Call Stack window
The Call Stack window is a modal dialog box that lists which function calls which function. In long, complicated applications, this is useful for tracing the steps to a particular function being called. To visit a function listed in the window, select the function name and then click Show , or else close the window.
To display the Call Stack window, click View ` Call Stack… .
The Call Stack window
Using the Immediate window
The Immediate window allows you to type in and run arbitrary lines of code while a macro is paused. This is useful for getting or setting the property of an object in the document, or for setting the value of a variable in the code. To run a piece of code, type it in the Immediate window, and then press Enter . The code is executed immediately.
To display the Immediate window, click View ` Immediate window .
Chapter 3: Working with macros 36
The Immediate window
Using the Locals window
The Locals window displays all of the variables and objects that exist within the current scope. Each variable’s type and value are listed in the columns next to the variable’s name. Some variables and objects may have several children, which can be displayed by clicking the expand tree button next to the parent. Many variables let you edit their value by clicking it.
To display the Locals window, click View ` Locals window .
The Locals window
Using the Watches window
The Watches window is used to watch specific variables or object properties. This is very useful for selecting just one or two values to watch as opposed to having to find the value you want in all the values in the Locals window.
Chapter 3: Working with macros 37
The Watches window
To add a value to the Watches window, select the variable or object and its property, and then drag the selection onto the Watches window; alternatively, click the item, and then click Debug ` Quick Watch… to add the item directly to the Watches window.
The Add Watch dialog box
Select the item you want to watch, select any conditions for this watch, and then click OK . If the condition becomes true, the application pauses to let you examine the code.
Chapter 3: Working with macros 38
Chapter 4
Creating user-interfaces for macros
An important part of many VBA solutions is the user-interface. A well-designed user-interface makes the VBA solution so easy to use or so powerful that the user doesn’t hesitate to use it.
Most user-interfaces for complex VBA solutions are based on a dialog box or form, but simpler user-interfaces can be created by using toolbars and buttons (which can, in turn, be enhanced with captions and tooltips, and images or icons). Still other user-interfaces require the user to click or drag with the mouse.
However, regardless of the nature of a user-interface, its VBA solution can be made easier to deploy and support by providing the user with some form of help.
This chapter covers the following topics:
• Creating dialog boxes for macros
• Creating toolbars and buttons for macros
• Providing user interaction for macros
Creating dialog boxes for macros
All dialog boxes should abide by the following guidelines:
• They should have a meaningful title.
• They should provide an obvious functionality for cancelling or closing them.
• Their layout should make them easy to use, but they should also provide a Help button from which users can access how-to documentation.
• Their every control should feature a
ControlTipText
string, so that users can receive information about each control by passing the pointer over it.
However, there are two kinds dialog boxes: modal and modeless .
Modal dialog boxes must be acted upon before the user can resume the macro. The application is locked until the dialog box is dismissed (either by submitting it or by cancelling it). Built-in dialog boxes that you can control with VBA are almost always modal.
Modeless dialog boxes do not lock the application, so they can be left open while the user continues working in the application. In this way, they behave like dockers.
Before you can code and design dialog box, you must decide whether to make it modal or modeless.
Choosing between modal and modeless dialog boxes
The kind of dialog box you should provide depends on what you want to achieve.
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 Programming Guide for VBA 39
For example, if you are creating a solution that allows an effect or action to be applied to one or more shapes, and if you think that the user will want to apply the same effect or action subsequently to a different selection of shapes, then you should provide a modeless dialog box so that the user can set up the effect in the dialog box once and then apply it many times.
If, on the other hand, if you are creating a solution that is a “one-shot” end-to-end solution (such as a replacement Print or Save dialog box), then a modal dialog box would be more appropriate; in a case such as this, it is unlikely that a user would want to apply the same settings repeatedly, so having to re-opening the dialog box would be less convenient for them than having to manually close it.
Modal dialog boxes usually have the following features:
• an OK button — performs the dialog box’s ultimate action and then hides the dialog box. It is the default button.
• a Cancel button — dismisses the dialog box without performing the dialog box’s action. The Close button in the upper-right corner of the dialog box provides the same functionality.
Some modal dialog boxes require an Apply button that performs the dialog box’s action without making it permanent, such that cancelling the dialog box undoes the action.
If the dialog box is in the style of a wizard, it should have a Previous button and a Next button, as well as a
Cancel button. On the first page of the sequence, the Previous button should be disabled (that is, have its
Enabled
property set to
False
), while on the last page, the Next button should become the Finish button to indicate that the final page has been reached.
Modeless dialog boxes usually have the following features:
• an Apply or Create button — performs the dialog box’s action and can, in fact, be specially labelled to described the dialog box’s action. This button should be the default.
• a Close button –– closes the dialog box. This button is used after the user has applied the desired action.
After you have chosen whether your dialog box should be modal or modeless, you are ready to start setting it up.
Setting up dialog boxes
To set up a customized dialog box for use in your VBA solution, you use the Form Designer in the VB Editor.
The Form Designer provides easy access to the tools for coding and designing a form.
Chapter 4: Creating user-interfaces for macros 40
A blank form in the Form Designer
You can access the Form Designer by creating a new, blank form.
For information on accessing the User Form toolbar, which you can use when designing a form, see
“Using the toolbars” on page 22.
You can test a form at any time by running it.
To create a new, blank form
• In the Project Explorer, right-click the project to which you want to add a dialog box, and then click Insert `
UserForm .
To change the title of the form, click the form to select it, and then in the Properties window, change the
Caption
property.
It is highly recommended that you give each form a unique, descriptive name. You can do this from the
Properties window, but remember to follow the rules for naming variables in VBA.
To test a form by running it
• Press F5 .
Coding dialog boxes
Custom dialog boxes can be set as either modal or modeless by using the
Modal
parameter of the form’s
Show method.
For example, the form frmFooForm
can be displayed with the following code: frmFooForm.Show
Chapter 4: Creating user-interfaces for macros 41
Because the optional parameter
Modal
has, by default, the value vbModal
(or
1
), this code creates a modal dialog box.
If the
Modal
parameter is set to vbModeless
(or
0
), as in the following example, then a modeless dialog box is created: frmFooForm.Show vbModeless
To open a dialog box from a macro that is available from within the application itself, you must create a public sub within a VBA module; if a sub exists within a form’s code or within a class module, it cannot be made available from within the application. The sub you create cannot take any parameters.
The following example sub would launch frmFooForm
as a modeless form:
Public Sub showFooForm()
frmFooForm.Show vbModeless
End Sub
When a form loads, it triggers its own
UserForm_Initialize
event. From this event handler, you should initialize all the controls on the form that must be initialized. For more information on event
handlers, see “Providing event handlers in macros” on page 33.
It is possible to launch one or more other forms from within the current form by using its Show member function:
UserForm2.Show vbModal
However, VBA does not return control until all open forms have been unloaded.
Designing dialog boxes
The Form Designer toolbox is the main utility you’ll use when designing dialog boxes. It lets you add controls to a form by dragging the appropriate control from the toolbox to the form.
Form Designer toolbox
The Form Designer toolbox lets you add the following controls to a form:
Chapter 4: Creating user-interfaces for macros 42
Icon Control
Label
TextBox
ComboBox
ListBox
Function
Lets you provide the user with static text (for example, instructions or captions)
Lets you provide an area into which the user can type text
Lets you provide a list from which the user can select an item and
(optionally) into which the user can also type text
Lets you provide a list from which the user can select multiple items
CheckBox
OptionButton
ToggleButton
Frame
CommandButton
TabStrip
Lets you provide a check box that the user can enable (by clicking to insert a check mark into it) or disable (by clicking to remove the check mark from it), or that can be grayed (so as to make it unavailable to the user)
Lets you provide a “radio button” that is linked to other radio buttons with the same
GroupName
property, such that the user can enable only one of them at a time
Lets you provide a button that the user can click to toggle (such that it does or does not appear pressed)
Lets you group items together: items drawn on the frame move with the frame
Lets you provide a button that the user can click to commit an assigned action
Lets you provide the user with separate views of related controls
MultiPage
ScrollBar
SpinButton
Image
Lets you provide the user with multiple pages of controls
Lets you provide the user with immediate access to a range of values by scrolling
Lets you enhance another control (such as a
TextBox
) so that the user can more quickly set that control’s value
Lets you provide an image
More detailed information follows for some of these controls.
The Form Designer toolbox also features a Pick tool , which lets you select and move the controls on a form.
Chapter 4: Creating user-interfaces for macros 43
For more information about any one of these controls (or about the other controls supported by VBA), draw the control in a form and then press F1 to display a Help topic for it.
Providing text boxes
Text boxes (that is,
TextBox
controls) are the mainstay of user input. They are simple to use, quick to program, and very flexible.
To set the text in a text box when initializing it, set the
TextBox
control’s
Text
(default or implicit) property: txtWidth.Text = "3" txtHeight = "1"
To get the value of a
TextBox
control, get its
Text
property:
Call SetSize(txtWidth.Text, txtHeight.Text)
Providing combination boxes and list boxes
In a combination box (that is, a
ComboBox
control), the user can either choose an item from the list or type into the text box. You can prevent users from being able to type into a
ComboBox
control by setting its
Style property to fmStyleDropDownList
.
In a list box (that is, a
ListBox
control), the user can choose one or more items (from, typically, between three and ten items).
To populate a list of any type, you must call the list’s member function
AddItem
. This function takes two parameters: the string or numerical value, and the position in the list. The position parameter is optional, so omitting it inserts the item at the last position in the list. For example, the following code populates the list
ComboBox1
with four items:
ComboBox1.AddItem 1
ComboBox1.AddItem 2
ComboBox1.AddItem 3
ComboBox1.AddItem 0, 0
To test which item is selected when the OK button is clicked, test the list’s
ListIndex
property. To get the value of a selected item’s caption, test the
Text
property for the
ComboBox
or
ListBox
:
Dim retList As String retList = ComboBox1.Text
Providing buttons
As previously discussed, you can add a button to a form by using the
CommandButton
control. Click the form to add a default-sized button, or drag to create one to your own specifications. Click the caption to edit it, or select the button and edit its
Caption
property in the Properties window. You might also want to change the name of the button to something more descriptive, such as buttonOK
or buttonCancel
.
Chapter 4: Creating user-interfaces for macros 44
Designing buttons in the Form Designer
Most forms have an OK button and a Cancel button. However, no button functions until its form has code for handling the button’s click event. (This is because VBA forms are event-driven.)
The Cancel button is the simplest control: it must dismiss the form without doing anything else. To add a cancel action to a Cancel button, double-click the button from within the Form Designer to display its code in the
Code window. This creates a new subroutine called cmdCancel_Click
:
The Code window with code for a Cancel button
The following code, if applied to a Cancel button, instructs the form to be dismissed when the button is clicked:
Chapter 4: Creating user-interfaces for macros 45
Private Sub cmdCancel_Click()
Unload Me
End Sub
If you continue by setting the form’s
Cancel
property to
True
, you’ll find that when the user presses Escape , the cmdCancel_Click
event is triggered and the code you’ve provided unloads the form.
Similarly, you can select the OK button and set its
Default
property to
True
, so that when the user presses
Enter to activate the form, the OK button’s event handler is called; the OK button’s click-event handler performs the form’s functionality and then unloads the form.
If the form is used to set the size of the selected shapes by setting their width and height, then the OK button’s click-event handler could resemble the following code sample (which assumes you have already created two text boxes called txtWidth
and txtHeight
):
Private Sub buttonOK_Click()
Me.Hide
Call SetSize(txtWidth.Text, txtHeight.Text)
Unload Me
End Sub
Similarly, the size-setting subroutine could resemble the following:
Private Sub SetSize(width As String, height As String)
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
ActiveSelection.SetSize CDbl(width), CDbl(height)
End Sub
From inside the form’s own code module, the form object is implicit, and so all the controls can be simply accessed by name. From other modules, the controls must be accessed via their full name, which would be
UserForm1.buttonOK
.
Providing images
The
Image
control is used to place graphics on the form. The image (a bitmap) is contained in the
Picture property, so you can either load an RGB image from a file (such as a GIF, JPEG, or Windows Bitmap BMP file) or paste one into the property.
At run time, new images can be loaded into the
Image
control by changing the
Picture
property — by using the VBA function
LoadPicture
and providing a path to the new image file — as in the following example:
Image1.Picture = LoadPicture("C:\Images\NewImage.gif")
Creating toolbars and buttons for macros
Toolbars for any VBA solution are almost always visible. Toolbars are useful because their graphical icons are memorable although they occupy only a small area, and because their buttons can have meaningful titles that are displayed as part of the face and tooltips that display when the pointer hovers over them.
Chapter 4: Creating user-interfaces for macros 46
Creating toolbars for macros
When creating toolbars, you should plan carefully. It is better to have lots of small toolbars containing a few related buttons than one big toolbar containing all of the buttons for all of your macros. By breaking your buttons into small groups, it is much easier to deploy them with the projects to which they belong.
To create a toolbar
1
2
3
4
Click Tools ` Options .
Click Workspace ` Customization ` Command bars .
Click New .
Type a new name for the toolbar.
5 Enable the check box next to the toolbar’s name.
To add macro buttons to a toolbar
1
2
3
Click Workspace ` Customization ` Commands .
Choose Macros (in CorelDRAW) or VBA Macros (in Corel PHOTO-PAINT) from the Commands list box.
The list displays the fully qualified names of all of the public, parameter-free subs from all of the installed project (GMS) files.
Drag a macro from the list to the toolbar.
The macro appears on the toolbar with the default macro icon.
Adding captions and tooltips to macros
Each macro can have both a caption and a tooltip. The caption is displayed whenever the menu command is used and can be displayed as part of a button, while the tooltip appears when the pointer hovers over the menu item or button.
To set a caption for a macro
1
2
3
4
5
Click Workspace ` Customization ` Commands .
Choose Macros from the Commands list box.
The list displays the fully qualified names of all of the public, parameter-free subs from all of the installed project (GMS) files.
Select a macro in the Command list.
Click the Appearance tab.
Type the caption in the Caption box.
To associate with a caption an accelerator key that can be activated in combination with the Alt key, type an ampersand ( & ) in front of the character in the caption that you want to set as the accelerator. This accelerator key applies only to menu commands, which display accelerator characters with an underscore ( _ ).
Chapter 4: Creating user-interfaces for macros 47
To set a tooltip for a macro
1
2
3
4
5
Click Workspace ` Customization ` Commands .
Choose Macros from the Commands list box.
The list displays the fully qualified names of all of the public, parameter-free subs from all of the installed project (GMS) files.
Select a macro in the Command list.
Click the General tab.
Type the tooltip in the Tooltip help box.
Associating images or icons with macros
Commands can have a small image or icon associated with them. This icon can be displayed or hidden on toolbars and menus, and it can be sized as small (16 × 16 pixels), medium (32 × 32 pixels), or large (48 × 48 pixels).
To associate an image or icon with a macro
1
2
3
4
5
Click Workspace ` Customization ` Commands .
Choose Macros from the Commands list box.
The list displays the fully qualified names of all of the public, parameter-free subs from all of the installed project (GMS) files.
Select a macro in the Command list.
Click the Appearance tab.
Do one of the following:
• To apply a Windows bitmap (BMP) image to the macro, click Import , navigate to where the image is stored, and select it. The image’s colors are mapped to their closest available matches.
• To create a customized icon for the macro, edit the pixels displayed in the Image area.
Providing user interaction for macros
The CorelDRAW object model provides two main ways to receive input from users as they work with documents: capturing mouse actions and capturing coordinates.
Capturing mouse actions
You can capture the position of a mouse click by using the
Document.GetUserClick
function.
You can capture the position of a mouse drag by using the
Document.GetUserArea
function.
Chapter 4: Creating user-interfaces for macros 48
Capturing mouse clicks
To get from the user the position of a single mouse click, use the
GetUserClick
member function of the
Document
object. This function pauses the macro for a specified period of time, or until the user clicks somewhere in the document or presses Escape . Here is an example that uses the
GetUserClick
function:
Dim doc As Document, retval As Long
Dim x As Double, y As Double, shift As Long
Set doc = ActiveDocument doc.Unit = cdrCentimeter retval = doc.GetUserClick(x, y, shift, 10, True, cdrCursorPick)
The following parameters for the
GetUserClick
function are coded into this example:
• In the variables x
and y
, the position of the mouse click is returned.
• In the parameter shift
, the combination of the Shift , Ctrl , and Alt keys that the user holds down when clicking the mouse is returned. The Shift , Ctrl , and Alt keys are assigned values of
1
,
2
, and
4
(respectively); these values are added together before being returned.
•
10
seconds is given to the user to click somewhere in the document.
• The
SnapToObjects
parameter is enabled (that is, set to
True
).
• The Pick tool’s icon is used for the cursor icon. (You cannot use a custom icon.)
The returned value is
0
,
1
, or
2
, depending on whether the user successfully completes the click, the user cancels by pressing Escape , or the operation times out (respectively).
The returned coordinates of the click are relative to the origin of the page and are in the document’s VBA units, so it is often necessary to explicitly set the units in which you want the value to be returned.
To get the shapes that are underneath the returned click point, use the function
SelectShapesAtPoint
, which is a member of
Page
: doc.ActivePage.SelectShapesAtPoint x, y, True
The value indicates whether to select unfilled objects (
True
), or not (
False
).
Capturing mouse drags
To get from the user the position of a mouse drag, or an area or rectangle, use the
GetUserArea
member function of the
Document
object. This function pauses the macro for a specified period of time or until the user clicks, drags, and releases somewhere in the document, or until the user presses Escape . Here is an example that uses the
GetUserArea
function:
Dim doc As Document, retval As Long, shift As Long
Dim x1 As Double, y1 As Double, x2 As Double, y2 As Double
Set doc = ActiveDocument doc.Unit = cdrCentimeter retval = doc.GetUserArea(x1, y1, x2, y2, shift, 10, True, cdrCursorExtPick)
ActivePage.SelectShapesFromRectangle x1, y1, x2, y2, False
The following parameters for the
GetUserArea
function are coded into this example:
• In the variables x1
, y1
, x2
, and y2
, the position of the area is returned as two opposite corners of a rectangle.
Chapter 4: Creating user-interfaces for macros 49
• In the parameter shift
, the combination of the Shift , Ctrl , and Alt keys that the user holds down when clicking the mouse is returned. The Shift , Ctrl , and Alt keys are assigned values of
1
,
2
, and
4
(respectively); these values are added together before being returned.
•
10
seconds is given to the user to click somewhere in the document.
• The
SnapToObjects
parameter is enabled (that is, set to
True
).
• The cursor icon to be used is defined by the last parameter.
In this example, the code ends by selecting the shapes that lie completely within the area by using the
Page object’s
SelectShapesFromRectangle
method.
The returned value is
0
,
1
, or
2
, depending on whether the user successfully completes the area selection, the user cancels by pressing Escape , or the operation times out (respectively).
The returned coordinates of the area are relative to the origin of the page and are in the document’s VBA units, so it is often necessary to explicitly set the units in which you want the value to be returned.
This method returns two points that are interpreted as the corners of a rectangle. However, the two points can also be used as the start and end points of a mouse drag.
Capturing coordinates
You can convert from screen to document coordinates or from document to screen coordinates by using the
Window.ScreenToDocument
or
Window.DocumentToScreen
method (respectively).
You can determine if a set of coordinates is on a shape by using the
Shape.IsOnShape
method.
Converting coordinates
When capturing mouse actions, or when developing an complex VBA solution, it can be useful to convert between screen coordinates and document coordinates. This is done with the member functions
ScreenToDocument
and
DocumentToScreen
of the
Window
object.
The following code takes a coordinate from the screen and converts it into a point in the document that is visible in the active window:
Dim docX As Double, docY As Double
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter
ActiveWindow.ScreenToDocument 440, 500, docX, docY
The following code returns the screen coordinate of a point in the document as it displays on the screen:
Dim screenX As Long, screenY As Long
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter
ActiveWindow.DocumentToScreen 40, 60, screenX, screenY
In both cases, the converted coordinates are returned in the last two parameters.
Screen coordinates start from the upper-left corner of the screen, so positive
Y
values are down the screen, whereas negative
Y
values in the document are up the screen.
Chapter 4: Creating user-interfaces for macros 50
Testing coordinate placement
You can test whether a set of coordinates (that is, a point) is inside, outside, or on the outline of a curve by using the shape’s
IsOnShape
member function. This function takes a document coordinate and returns cdrInsideShape
if the coordinate is inside the shape, cdrOutsideShape
if the coordinate is outside the shape, or cdrOnMarginOfShape
if the coordinate is on or near the outline of the shape.
For example, the following code tests where the point
(4, 6)
is in relation to the
ActiveShape
:
Dim onShape As Long
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch onShape = ActiveShape.IsOnShape(4, 6)
Providing help for macros
It is highly recommended that you provide users with documentation for your macros.
One solution is to provide them with a Readme file or a printed manual. Another option is to build instructions directly into the dialog box, but this uses up valuable on-screen “real estate”. Yet another alternative is to create an online help system, but this requires tools and a fair amount of additional work.
For these reasons, you may instead want to provide help in the form of plain-text file. If you create a registry value when the project is installed that points to the location of the file, you can use the following function to open it:
Public Sub launchNotepad(file As String)
Shell "Notepad.exe" & " " & file, vbNormalFocus
End Sub
Pass the full path to the text file, such as
C:\ReadMe.txt
, in the parameter file
.
A much more powerful — but still easily created — solution is to use HTML. By using HTML, you can include graphics in your documentation, and you can also direct the user to a specific location on the page by using
“hash” references (such as index.html#middle
). If you know where the HTML file is installed, you can use the following function to open it:
' Put this Declare statement before all Subs and Functions!
Declare Function ShellExecute Lib "shell32.dll" _
Alias "ShellExecuteA" (ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal lpOperation As String, ByVal lpFile As String, _
ByVal lpParameters As String, ByVal lpDirectory As String, _
ByVal nShowCmd As Long) As Long
Public Sub launchBrowser(url As String)
ShellExecute 0, vbNullString, url, vbNullString, vbNullString, 5
End Sub
Simply pass the file name (for example,
C:\Program Files\ReadMe.htm
) or URL in the parameter url
.
Chapter 4: Creating user-interfaces for macros 51
Chapter 5
Organizing and deploying macros
When you’ve finished designing your macro, you can make it available to other users.
This chapter covers the following topics:
Organizing macros
To make your macros easy to deploy, it’s a good idea to organize them.
The best way to organize and maintain your macros is to use a separate module for each macro, and then group related macros into a single project (GMS) file.
To help the user find the entry point to your macros, it’s a good idea to place all of the public subs into a single module and then instruct the user how to find them; that way, the macros can be called from within
CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT.
Deploying macros
You can deploy macros to users for installation. You can deploy project files or workspaces, or both.
Deploying project files
Because every CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT document has an intrinsic project (GMS) file, you can explicitly distribute macros as part of a document so that when that document is opened, the user has immediate access to the macros even if they have not installed them. In this way, you can, for example, set up a macro to track how much time has been spent editing the document.
You must devise a mechanism for distributing your project (GMS) files to users for installation. While it is possible to distribute modules on their own, it is much simpler for your users if you distribute project files instead
(so that the users do not have to manually integrate the module into their existing project file).
To deploy a GMS file
1
2
Make the GMS file available to the users.
Instruct the users to install the GMS file by saving it to their GMS folder.
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 Programming Guide for VBA 52
Deploying workspaces
When you have developed a customized workspace that contains customized toolbars, menus, and shortcut keys, these customizations can form an intrinsic part of your macro solution.
You can deploy the entire workspace to users for installation.
Alternatively, you can export some features of your workspace so that users can import only those features into their workspace. You can distribute individual toolbars and menus, as well as complete sets of shortcut keys.
Users can import a workspace or workspace features by using the
Application.ImportWorkspace
method or by manually importing the Corel workspace (XSLT) files.
To export workspace features
1
2
3
4
Right-click the toolbar, and click Customize ` Workspace ` Export workspaces… .
In the list, enable the check boxes next to the workspace features you want to export.
Click Save .
In the File name box, type a filename.
The workspace features you’ve specified are saved to a single Corel Workspace (XSLT) file with the filename you’ve provided.
The status bar and the sizes and positions of dockers can also be exported.
If you want, you can export each workspace feature to a separate file. Simply export one item at a time to create a series of XSLT files.
When you export shortcut keys, you export all shortcut keys. If you want to distribute only a few keys, create a new workspace and remove all the shortcut keys from it, and then create only the keys that you want to export.
To import workspace features manually
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Right-click the toolbar, and click Customize ` Workspace ` Import workspaces… .
Click Browse.
Navigate to and select the Corel workspace (XSLT) file from which you want to import features.
Click Next .
In the list, enable the check boxes next to the workspace features you want to export.
Click Next .
Choose a destination for the workspace features by doing one of the following:
• Enable the Current workspace option to import the workspace features you’ve specified into the current workspace, and then click Next .
• Enable the New workspace option to import the workspace features into a new workspace. Click Next , and provide details about the workspace. Click Next .
Confirm the details of the import, and then click Finish .
Chapter 5: Organizing and deploying macros 53
The workspace features you’ve specified are imported into the workspace you’ve specified.
If the name of an incoming toolbar clashes with the name of an existing toolbar, the incoming toolbar is renamed.
If an imported command calls a VBA macro that is not installed, it does not function.
Chapter 5: Organizing and deploying macros 54
Appendix
Understanding the CorelDRAW object model
In CorelDRAW, the
Application
object is the root object for all other objects. To reference the CorelDRAW object model from an out-of-process controller, you use its
Application
object. For example, in VB you would use the following code:
Dim cdr As CorelDRAW.Application
Set cdr = CreateObject("CorelDRAW.Application.13")
Although you can use the above code in VBA, it’s not required for CorelDRAW because the
Application object is used by default if no other root object is specified.
The
Application
object contains all of the
Document
objects that are created when documents are opened in its property
Documents
. It also contains all
Window
objects. See “Working with documents” on page 55 for more
information.
Document
objects contain
Pages
collections of all their
Page
objects. See “Working with pages” on page 65 for
more information.
Individual
Page
objects contain
Layers
collections of all their
Layer
objects. See “Working with layers” on page 68 for more information.
Finally,
Layer
objects contain
Shapes
collections of all their
Shape
objects. See “Working with shapes” on page 71 for more information.
To view a diagram of the CorelDRAW object model, consult the file CorelDRAW VBA Object
Model.pdf
at Corel\CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3\Programs\ (which typically installs to the
Windows Program Files folder).
If you want information about the Corel PHOTO-PAINT object model, you can view a diagram of it at
Corel\CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3\Programs\PP VBA Object Model.pdf
(which typically installs to the Windows Program Files folder).
Working with documents
Whenever a CorelDRAW file is opened, a new
Document
object is created in the
Application
object for that document. The
Application
object contains a
Documents
collection, which provides access to all of the open documents. The order of the documents in the collection is set to the order in which the documents were created and opened.
You can browse the object model for the complete list of
Document
objects, but here is a list of the most useful ones (some of which are explained in greater detail in this chapter):
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 Programming Guide for VBA 55
Document Member
Activate
ActiveLayer
ActivePage
AddPages
AddPagesEx
BeginCommandGroup
EndCommandGroup
ClearSelection
Close
Export
ExportEx
ExportBitmap
FileName
FilePath
FullFileName
GetUserArea
GetUserClick
InsertPages
InsertPagesEx
Pages
PrintOut
PrintSettings
PublishToPDF
PDFSettings
ReferencePoint
Save
SaveAs
Selection
SelectionRange
Description
Activates the given document, bringing it to the front of the pile in
ActiveDocument
is set to reference it.
CorelDRAW .
Represents the layer that is set as active in the Object Manager
Represents the active page in the document — that is, the one that is being edited in
CorelDRAW
Adds pages to the end of a document
Creates a “command group” — that is, a series of actions that appear as a single item on the Undo list
Clears the document’s selection so as to deselect all shapes in the document
Closes the document
Performs a simple export from the document
Performs a highly configurable export from the document
Performs an export to a bitmap with full control
Gets the filename
Gets the path to the file
Gets the full path and filename of the document
Lets you add interactivity to a macro by allowing the user to drag an area
Lets you add interactivity to a macro by allowing the user to click
Inserts pages into the document at a specified location
Provides access to the
Pages
collection
Prints the document using the document’s print settings
Publishes the document to Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF) format
Gets/sets the reference point used by many
Shape
functions (such as the ones for transforming a shape or getting a shape’s position)
Saves the document using the current filename
Saves the document to a new filename or with new settings
Gets the selection as a
Shape
Gets the selection as a
ShapeRange
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 56
Document Member
Unit
WorldScale
Description
Sets the document units used by functions that take a measurement value, such as functions related to size and position. This is independent of the units that the rulers are set to use.
Also gets/sets the drawing scale. This changes the value in the document; however, it must be explicitly calculated into functions that take a measurement value, which use
1:1
by default.
The
Application
object also contains all
Window
objects.
Document
and
Window
objects have many member properties and methods for performing actions such as the following:
• Importing files into documents
• Changing content in documents
• Setting the Undo string for documents
• Exporting files from documents
Creating documents
The
Application
object has two methods for creating new documents.
The first function creates a new, empty document based on the default page size, orientation, and styles:
Application.CreateDocument() As Document
The second function creates a new, untitled document from a specified CorelDRAW (.CDT) template:
Application.CreateDocumentFromTemplate(Template As String, _
[IncludeGraphics As Boolean = True])As Document
The new document becomes active immediately, so
ActiveDocument
references the new document (rather than the old one).
Both of these functions return a reference to the new document, and so they are typically used in the following manner:
Dim newDoc as Document
Set newDoc = CreateDocument
The
Document
class does not have a method for creating an instance (object) of itself; only the
Application
object can create documents.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 57
Opening documents
To open a document, you can use the
OpenDocument
member function of the global
Application
object:
Dim doc As Document
Set doc = OpenDocument("C:\graphic1.cdr")
Importing files into documents
Files of all supported formats can be imported into CorelDRAW. However, files are imported onto layers, so for
information on importing files, see “Importing files into layers” on page 70.
Switching between documents
The
ActiveDocument
property provides direct access to the active document — that is, the document that’s in front of all the other documents in the CorelDRAW window.
ActiveDocument
is an object of type
Document and, therefore, has all of the same members — properties, objects, and methods — as the
Document
class.
If there are no open documents,
ActiveDocument
returns
Nothing
. You should test for this with the following code:
If Documents.Count = 0 Then
MsgBox "There aren't any open documents.", vbOK, "No Docs"
Exit Sub
End If
The
Document
class also has a method,
Activate
, which activates the document and brings it to the front of all the open documents in CorelDRAW such that
ActiveDocument
references the document that was activated.
The following code sample activates the third open document (providing that three or more documents are open in CorelDRAW):
Documents(3).Activate
Using the
Activate
method on the
ActiveDocument
property has no effect.
If you want, you can test the
FilePath
,
FileName
, and
FullFileName
properties of the document to activate the correct one:
•
FilePath
— for testing only the path of the file (for example, C:\My Documents\ )
•
FileName
— for testing only the name of the file (for example, Graphic1.des
)
•
FullFileName
— for testing both the full path and name (for example, C:\My Documents\Graphic1.des
)
You can test the name by using the following code:
Public Function findDocument(filename As String) As Document
Dim doc As Document
For Each doc In Documents
If doc.FileName = filename Then Exit For
Set doc = Nothing
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 58
Next doc
Set findDocument = doc
End Function
You can then call the returned document’s
Activate
method.
The documents in the
Documents
collection are sequenced in the order that they were created and opened. To reflect the current stacking order of the documents in CorelDRAW, you must use the
Windows
collection.
Viewing documents
In CorelDRAW, the user can simultaneously display several windows for viewing a single document. For a large document, one window might be zoomed in to the upper-right corner and another zoomed in to the lower-right corner. Although the individual windows can be zoomed and panned independently, turning the page in one window turns the page in them all.
By using the View Manager, the user can also save individual zoom and display settings. Selecting a view then displays that location on the page.
In VBA, the main differences between the
Window
object and the
View
object is that the
Window
object provides access to the windows that contain each
View
of the document. The
Window
is the frame, while the
View
is display of the document that’s inside it.
Working with windows
Each
Document
object has a
Windows
collection for viewing the document. To switch between windows, use a window’s
Activate
method:
ActiveDocument.Windows(2).Activate
The next and previous windows for the current document are referenced in a window’s
Next
and
Previous properties:
ActiveWindow.Next.Activate
To create a new window, call the
NewWindow
member function of a
Window
object:
ActiveWindow.NewWindow
To close a window, call its
Close
member function. If it is the document’s last window, the document is also closed:
ActiveWindow.Close
Working with views
The
Views
and
ActiveView
members are, literally, views of the document. The difference between them is that each
Window
object has just one
ActiveView
member (which is the current view onto the document), whereas a
View
object is just the recorded memory of one particular
ActiveView
member (such that re-activating that
View
object zooms and pans the
Window
object’s
ActiveView
member to the location and zoom setting that is stored in the properties of the
View
object).
Each
Window
object has an
ActiveView
member. Each
Document
object has a collection of
View
objects in its
Views
member.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 59
The only way to access an
ActiveView
member is from a
Window
object’s
ActiveView
property.
You can create a new
View
object and add it to the
Document
object’s
Views
collection from within the collection itself. The following code adds the current
ActiveView
settings to the
Views
collection:
ActiveDocument.Views.AddActiveView "New View"
You can also create a new view with specific settings by using the
CreateView
member function of the
Document
object. The following code creates a new
View
object at the position (
3, 4
) in inches, using a zoom factor of
95
%, and displaying page
6
:
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
ActiveDocument.CreateView "New View 2", 3, 4, 95, 6
To restore a view, call that view’s
Activate
member function. The document’s active window is accordingly set to that view:
ActiveDocument.Views("New View").Activate
Zooming
To zoom in to a set amount, set the
Zoom
property of the
ActiveView
member. The zoom is set as a double value in percent. For example, the following code sets the zoom factor to
200
%:
ActiveWindow.ActiveView.Zoom = 200.0
You can also zoom the
ActiveView
member with various member functions:
ToFitAllObjects
,
ToFitArea
,
ToFitPage
,
ToFitPageHeight
,
ToFitPageWidth
,
ToFitSelection
,
ToFitShape
,
ToFitShapeRange
, and
SetActualSize
.
Panning
To pan the
ActiveView
member, move its origin. This can easily be done by modifying the
OriginX
and
OriginY
properties of the
ActiveView
member. The following code pans the document
5
inches to the left and
3
inches up:
Dim av As ActiveView
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
Set av = ActiveWindow.ActiveView
av.OriginX = av.OriginX - 5 av.OriginY = av.OriginY + 3
You can also use the member function
SetViewPoint
:
Dim av As ActiveView
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
Set av = ActiveWindow.ActiveView
av.SetViewPoint av.OriginX - 5, av.OriginY + 3
Changing content in documents
You can modify content documents regardless of whether they are active. For example, if you have a reference to a document, you can add a new layer called fooLayer
by using the following code:
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 60
Dim doc As Document
Set doc = Documents(3) doc.ActivePage.CreateLayer "fooLayer"
If you want to create the new layer in an inactive document whose name you know (in the following example, it is barDoc.cdr
), you might use the following code to call the function findDocument()
:
Dim doc As Document
Set doc = findDocument("barDoc.cdr")
If Not doc Is Nothing Then doc.ActivePage.CreateLayer "fooLayer"
Modifying content in an inactive document does not activate that document. To activate a document, call its
Activate
method.
Setting the Undo string for documents
Two very useful member functions of the
Document
object allow any number of programmed CorelDRAW actions to appear as a single action on the undo list. These methods are
BeginCommandGroup()
and
EndCommandGroup()
, as in the following code sample:
Dim sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.BeginCommandGroup "CreateCurveEllipse"
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse(0, 1, 1, 0)
sh.ConvertToCurves
ActiveDocument.EndCommandGroup
After running this code, the Undo string on the Edit menu displays Undo CreateCurveEllipse , and clicking
Undo undoes not only the
ConvertToCurves
operation but also the
CreateEllipse
operation.
A command group can contain many hundreds of commands, if required. This helps to make your macros appear to be fully integrated into CorelDRAW.
Exporting files from documents
Files of all supported formats can be exported from CorelDRAW.
Files are exported from the
Document
object — not from
Layer
objects — because the range of shapes exported often extends over multiple layers (or even over multiple pages). The
Document
object has three export functions
—
Export
,
ExportEx
, and
ExportBitmap
— all of which can be used to export to bitmap or vector format.
To export a page, you require only a filename and a filter type. The following code exports the current page to a
TIFF bitmap file:
ActiveDocument.Export "C:\ThisPage.tif", cdrTIFF
However, this coding gives little control over the output of the image. More control is obtained by including a
StructExportOptions
object, as in the following code:
Dim expOpts As New StructExportOptions expOpts.ImageType = cdrCMYKColorImage
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 61
expOpts.AntiAliasingType = cdrNormalAntiAliasing expOpts.ResolutionX = 72 expOpts.ResolutionY = 72 expOpts.SizeX = 210 expOpts.SizeY = 297
ActiveDocument.Export "C:\ThisPage.tif", cdrTIFF, cdrCurrentPage, expOpts
A
StructPaletteOptions
object can also be included in the function call for palette-based image formats, so as to provide the settings for auto-generating the palette.
The
ExportEx
function is the same as the
Export
function, except that it can access the filter’s dialog box to retrieve its settings, and then export the file:
Dim eFilt As ExportFilter
Set eFilt = ActiveDocument.ExportEx("C:\ThisPage.eps", cdrEPS)
If eFilt.HasDialog = True Then
If eFilt.ShowDialog = True Then
eFilt.Finish
End If
Else
eFilt.Finish
End If
The third function,
ExportBitmap
, is similar to
ExportEx
in that it returns an
ExportFilter
object that can be used to display the Export dialog box. However, this function takes the individual members of the
StructExportOptions
object as parameters, thereby simplifying using the function:
Dim eFilt As ExportFilter
Set eFilt = ActiveDocument.ExportBitmap("C:\Selection.tif", _
cdrTIFF, cdrSelection, cdrCMYKColorImage, _
210, 297, 72, 72, cdrNormalAntiAliasing, _
False, True, False, cdrCompressionLZW) eFilt.Finish
Printing documents
Printing documents with VBA is straightforward: almost all settings that are available in the CorelDRAW Print dialog box are available as properties of the
Document
object’s
PrintSettings
member. When the properties are set, printing the document is simply a matter of calling the document’s
PrintOut
member function.
For example, the following code prints
3
copies of pages
1
,
3
, and
4
, to a level
3
PostScript® printer:
With ActiveDocument.PrintSettings
.Copies = 3
.PrintRange = prnPageRange
.PageRange = "1, 3-4"
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 62
.Options.PrintJobInfo = True
With .PostScript
.DownloadType1 = True
.Level = prnPSLevel3
End With
End With
ActiveDocument.PrintOut
For each page in the CorelDRAW Print dialog box, there is a corresponding object in the object model. The following table lists the objects that correspond to each page in the Print dialog box:
Options page in dialog box
General
Layout
Member of PrintSettings object
Properties of
PrintSettings
Properties of
PrintSettings
Prepress
PostScript
Prepress
PostScript
Misc Options
Each object contains all of the properties from the corresponding page of the Print dialog box. The only print options that cannot be set in VBA are the layout options — however, you can, if necessary, launch the Print dialog box by using the
PrintSettings
object’s
ShowDialog
member function.
To reset the print settings, call the
PrintSettings
object’s
Reset
member function:
ActiveDocument.PrintSettings.Reset
Your code can also access any printing profiles that have been saved by the user from the Print dialog box by using the
PrintSettings
object’s
Load
member function:
ActiveDocument.PrintSettings.Load "C:\Corel DESIGNER Defaults.prs"
Note that this function requires a full path to the printing profile.
You can save printing profiles by using the
Save
member function.
To print only the selected shapes, set
Document.PrintSettings.PrintRange
to prnSelection
. To select a specific printer, set
Document.PrintSettings.Printer
to refer to the appropriate printer in the collection
Application.Printers
.
Publishing documents to PDF
Publishing to Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF) format is a two-stage process. The first step is to specify the PDF settings, but this step can be skipped if the user specifies the document’s settings from within CorelDRAW or chooses to use the default settings. The second step is to export the file.
To set the PDF settings, modify the properties of the
Document
object’s
PDFSettings
member. This member is an object of type
PDFVBASettings
and has properties for all of the PDF settings that can be set in the
CorelDRAW PublishToPDF dialog box.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 63
The following code exports pages
2
,
3
, and
5
to a PDF file called
MyPDF.pdf
:
Dim doc As Document
Set doc = ActiveDocument
With doc.PDFSettings
.Author = "Corel Corporation"
.Bookmarks = True
.ColorMode = pdfRGB
.ComplexFillsAsBitmaps = False
.CompressText = True
.DownsampleGray = True
.EmbedBaseFonts = True
.EmbedFonts = True
.Hyperlinks = True
.Keywords = "Test, Example, Corel, Corel DESIGNER, PublishToPDF"
.Linearize = True
.PageRange = "2-3, 5"
.pdfVersion = pdfVersion13
.PublishRange = pdfPageRange
.TrueTypeToType1 = True
End With doc.PublishToPDF "C:\MyPDF.pdf"
You can give more control to the user by using the following code to display the PDF Settings dialog box:
Dim doc As Document
Set doc = ActiveDocument
If doc.PDFSettings.ShowDialog = True Then
doc.PublishToPDF "C:\MyPDF.pdf"
End If
Profiles for PDF settings can be saved and loaded by using the
Save
and
Load
member functions of the
PDFSettings
object.
Closing documents
To close a document, call its
Close
method:
ActiveDocument.Close
In the above code, the active document is closed and the document that was behind it in CorelDRAW becomes the new active document. If the code closes a document that is not the active document, the document referenced by
ActiveDocument
does not change.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 64
You must explicitly test the document’s
Dirty
property and take appropriate action if the document has changed.
You can also close a document by using the
Close
member function of the
Document
object itself: doc.Close
Working with pages
Each page in a document is a member of the
Document
object’s
Pages
collection.
The pages are sequenced in the
Pages
collection in the same order that they appear in the document; for example, the fifth page in the document is the same page as
ActiveDocument.Pages.Item(5)
. If the pages are reordered in the Page Sorter view, or if pages are added or deleted, the
Pages
collection is immediately updated to reflect the new order of pages in the document.
This section shows you how to carry out the following actions:
Creating pages
The member function for creating pages is actually a member of the
Document
class, not of the
Page
class.
Document Member
Document.AddPages()
Document.AddPagesEx()
Document.InsertPages()
Document.InsertPagesEx()
Description
Adds a specified number of pages at the default size to the end of the document
Adds a specified number of pages at the specified size to the end of the document
Inserts pages at the default size at a specified position in the document
Inserts pages at the given size at a specified position in the document
As an example, the following function adds
3
default-sized pages to the end of the document:
Public Function AddSomeSimplePages() as Page
Set AddSomeSimplePages = ActiveDocument.AddPages(3)
End Function
The following sample function adds
3
pages that are
8.5
by
11
inches in size to the end of the document
Public Function AddSomeSpecifiedPages() as Page
Dim doc as Document
Set doc = ActiveDocument
doc.Unit = cdrInch
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 65
Set AddSomeSpecifiedPages = doc.AddPagesEx(3, 8.5, 11)
End Function
Both of these member functions return the first page that was added. Therefore, if you know the number of pages created, you can access any of them because they are the ones after the page returned in the document’s
Pages
collection.
You can use the returned page’s
Index
property to find the right place in the
Pages
collection, and then you can increment that to access the subsequent pages that were added:
Dim firstNewPage As Page, secondNewPage As Page
Set firstNewPage = AddSomeSimplePages
Set secondNewPage = ActiveDocument.Pages(firstNewPage.Index + 1)
Switching between pages
To access the active page of the active document, use
Application.ActivePage
,
ActiveDocument.ActivePage
, or simply
ActivePage
. These return a reference to the active page in the active document, of type
Page
:
Dim pg As Page
Set pg = ActivePage
To access the active page of any document (regardless of whether it is active), use the property
Document.ActivePage
of the given document:
Public Function getDocsActivePage(doc As Document) As Page
Set getDocsActivePage = doc.ActivePage
End Function
To switch between pages, find the page that you want to access, and then invoke its
Activate
member function.
The following code activates page
3
in a CorelDRAW document:
ActiveDocument.Pages(3).Activate
It is not necessary to activate a page to make changes to it. By explicitly referencing the page you want to edit, you can make those changes without activating the page. The following code deletes all of the shapes on page
3 of the active document without activating that page:
Public Sub DeleteShapesFromPage3()
Dim doc As Document
Set doc = ActiveDocument
doc.Pages(3).Shapes.All.Delete
End Sub
Activating a page in an inactive document does not activate that document. Use the
Document.Activate
method to activate the document.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 66
Reordering pages
Individual pages can be moved around within the document by using the
MoveTo
member function of each of the pages. The following code moves page
2
to the position of page
4
:
ActiveDocument.Pages(2).MoveTo 4
Activating a page in an inactive document does not activate that document. Use the
Document.Activate
method to activate the document.
Resizing pages
You can resize pages and set their orientation, set the default page size, and use defined page sizes.
Resizing pages and setting their orientation
Pages can be individually resized by using the
SetSize
member function of the
Page
class. This function takes two size values (width and height) and applies them to the page. The following code changes the size of the active page in the active document to A4:
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter
ActivePage.SetSize 210, 297
ActivePage.Orientation = cdrLandscape
For the
SetSize
method, the first number is always the page width and the second number is always the page height. Reversing the two numbers causes CorelDRAW to switch the page’s orientation.
Setting the default page size
To set the default page size for the document, set the value of the item in the document’s
Pages
collection with index
0
:
Dim doc As Document
Set doc = ActiveDocument doc.Unit = cdrMillimeter doc.Pages(0).SetSize 297, 210
Alternatively, you can use a shortcut property
MasterPage
of the
Document
object:
Dim doc As Document
Set doc = ActiveDocument doc.Unit = cdrMillimeter doc.MasterPage.SetSize 297, 210
Using the defined page sizes
All of the page sizes that are defined (either by CorelDRAW or by the user) are stored in the
PageSizes collection of the
Application
class. You can get all of the names of the page sizes by parsing this collection and getting each
PageSize
object’s
Name
property:
Dim pageSizeName As String
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 67
pageSizeName = Application.PageSizes(3).Name
Page sizes can be specified by using their name. For example, the following code gets the
PageSize
called
Business Card
:
Dim thisSize As PageSize
Set thisSize = Application.PageSizes("Business Card")
You can get the actual dimensions of each
PageSize
object using the
Width
and
Height
properties. The following code retrieves the
Width
and
Height
(in millimeters) of
PageSize
object
3
:
Dim pageWidth As Double, pageHeight As Double
Application.Unit = cdrMillimeter pageWidth = Application.PageSizes(3).Width
pageHeight = Application.PageSizes(3).Height
PageSize
objects have a
Delete
member function, which can be used only on user-defined page sizes. To determine whether a
PageSize
is user-defined, test its
BuiltIn
Boolean property:
Public Sub deletePageSize(thisSize As PageSize)
If Not thisSize.BuiltIn Then thisSize.Delete
End Sub
If you need the page size in a particular unit of measurement, always set the document’s units before getting the width and height.
Deleting pages
Pages can be deleted by naming each page’s
Delete
member function as follows:
ActivePage.Delete
This deletes all of the shapes that exist on that page and deletes the page from the document’s
Pages
collection.
The collection is immediately updated to reflect the change.
Delete
must be called individually for each page that you want to delete.
You cannot delete all of the pages in a document. By using the following code, you can avoid trying to delete the last remaining page in a document:
If ActiveDocument.Pages.Count > 1 Then ActivePage.Delete
Working with layers
All of the layers in the document are contained by the document’s
Page
objects.
In CorelDRAW, all visible shapes are contained on layers within each page. Although one layer can have different properties on each page, all pages have the same layers and all those layers have the same names on each page.
If you want to create new shapes in CorelDRAW by using VBA, you must use the shape-creation member functions of the
Layer
class. For information, see “Working with shapes” on page 71.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 68
This section describes how to perform the following tasks:
Creating layers
To create a layer, use the
Page
class’s
CreateLayer
member function. The following code creates a new layer called
My New Layer
:
ActivePage.CreateLayer "My New Layer"
A new layer is always positioned at the top of the list of non-master layers.
Activating layers
To activate a layer, call that layer’s
Activate
member function:
ActivePage.Layers("Layer 1").Activate
This makes the layer active but does not enable the layer or make it visible if it is already locked or hidden.
Locking and hiding layers
Layer
objects have the properties
Enabled
and
Visible
that control (respectively) whether you can edit the layer and whether its contents are visible in CorelDRAW. Both properties are Boolean. By setting both the properties to
True
, you unlock and display the layer for editing. By setting either property to
False
, however, you lock the layer such that it cannot be edited.
The following sample code locks, but displays, the layer on the active page:
ActivePage.Layers("Layer 1").Visible = True
ActivePage.Layers("Layer 1").Editable = False
The result of any changes to these properties is immediately displayed in the CorelDRAW Object Manager.
The preceding sample code affects only the active page. You can set the layer settings for a given page by specifying a page from the
Pages
collection, or by referencing the
ActivePage
. To make the changes to all of the pages in the document, use the property
MasterPage
of the
Document
:
ActiveDocument.MasterPage.Layers("Layer 1").Visible = True
Reordering layers
You can use VBA to reorder layers. The
Layer
class has two member functions:
MoveAbove
and
MoveBelow
.
Both methods take a
Layer
object as the only parameter, so the layer is moved above or below this layer.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 69
The following code moves the layer called
Layer 1
to immediately below the layer
Guides
:
Dim pageLayers As Layers
Set pageLayers = ActivePage.Layers
pageLayers("Layer 1").MoveBelow pageLayers("Guides")
The change is immediately reflected in the CorelDRAW Object Manager (although sometimes the effects are apparent only in the Layer Manager).
Renaming layers
Layers can be renamed by editing the
Name
property of the layer.
The following code renames
Layer 1
:
ActivePage.Layers("Layer 1").Name = "Layer with a New Name"
Importing files into layers
Files of all supported formats can be imported into CorelDRAW.
Files are imported onto layers; therefore, the
Import
and
ImportEx
functions are members of the
Layer
object.
The following code imports the file
C:\logotype.gif
onto the active layer at the center of the page:
ActiveLayer.Import "C:\logotype.gif"
When importing, any shapes that were previously selected are deselected, and the contents of the imported file are selected.
To reposition or resize the imported shapes, get the document’s selection:
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
ActiveSelection.SetSize 3, 2
Some file formats — notably Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) and PDF — can be imported by using one of two filters. Using the EPS filter, you can import the EPS file as a placeable object that can be printed but not modified; you can also interpret the PostScript portion of the EPS file, importing the actual artwork from within the EPS rather than just the low-resolution TIFF or WMF placeable header (which cannot be as easily edited). To specify which filter to use, include the optional parameter
Filter
:
ActiveLayer.Import "C:\map.eps", cdrPSInterpreted
The
ImportEx
function provides much better control over the import filter through its optional use of a
StructImportOptions
object. The following code imports the file as a linked file:
Dim iFilt As ImportFilter
Dim importProps As New StructImportOptions importProps.LinkBitmapExternally = True
Set iFilt = ActiveLayer.ImportEx("C:\world-map.tiff", cdrAutoSense, importProps) iFilt.Finish
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 70
Deleting layers
Layers can be deleted by calling the
Layer
class’s
Delete
function. The
Layers
collection can be accessed only from the
Page
object. Calling the
Delete
function removes the layer completely from the document, deleting all of the shapes on that layer on all of the pages in the document.
The following code deletes the layer called
Layer 1
:
ActivePage.Layers("Layer 1").Delete
Working with shapes
All of the shapes in a document are contained by the document’s
Layer
objects.
Objects of type
Shape
are the actual shapes that exist in the CorelDRAW document. If you change a shape’s properties in the document (such as by moving the shape, changing its size, or giving it a new fill), these changes are immediately visible to the VBA object model.
Shape objects exist as members of
Layer
objects. Each
Layer
object contains a collection,
Shapes
, which contains all of the shapes on the layer. The first item of this collection is the shape at the top of the layer (in other words, the one that is above all the others), and the last item is the shape at the bottom; if you reorder the shapes on the page, the collection is updated to reflect the change.
Each
Page
object in the document also has a collection,
Shapes
, which contains all of the
Shapes
collections on all the layers (including any master layers) on the page. The first shape in the collection is the shape at the very top of the page, and the last shape is the shape at the bottom.
This section describes how to perform the following tasks:
Creating shapes
Shape
objects represent the shapes that you create in a CorelDRAW document by using the drawing tools.
Among the shapes you can create are rectangles, ellipses, curves, and text objects.
Because each
Shape
object is a member of the
Shapes
collection, which is a member of one of the
Layer
objects on the
Page
, the methods for creating new shapes belong to the
Layer
class, and they all begin with the word
Create
.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 71
Creating rectangles
There are two functions for creating new rectangle shapes —
CreateRectangle
and
CreateRectangle2
— both of which return a reference to the new
Shape
object. The two functions differ only in the parameters that they take.
For example, the following code, which uses
CreateRectangle
, creates a simple two-by-one-inch rectangle positioned six inches up from the bottom and three inches in from the left of the page:
Dim sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateRectangle(3, 7, 6, 5)
The parameters are given as left, top, right, bottom and they are measured in the document’s units (which can be explicitly set before creating the shape).
The alternative method,
CreateRectangle2
, creates the rectangle by specifying the coordinates of its lower-left corner and its width and height. The following code creates the same rectangle as above:
Dim sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateRectangle2(3, 6, 2, 1)
The alternative methods are provided to make it simpler to develop solutions; they provide identical functionality.
Round-cornered rectangles can also be created by using the
CreateRectangle
and
CreateRectangle2 methods. Both functions have four optional parameters that set the roundness of the corners when the rectangle is created, but these values have slightly different meanings for the two functions.
The four optional parameters of the method
CreateRectangle
take integer values in the range
0
to
100
(with zero being the default). These values define the radius of the four corners as a whole-number percentage of half the shortest side length. The following code re-creates the two-by-one-inch rectangle from earlier, but the four corner radii are set to
100
%,
75
%,
50
%, and
0
% of half the shortest side; in other words, the radii will be 0.5 inches, 0.375 inches, 0.25 inches, and a cusp:
Dim sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateRectangle(3, 7, 6, 5, 100, 75, 50, 0)
The four parameters define the radii of the corners in the order upper-left, upper-right, lower-left, lower-right.
The method
CreateRectangle2
defines the corner radii in the same order, except that it takes double (floatingpoint) values that are the radius measurements in the document’s units. The following code creates the same round-cornered rectangle:
Dim sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
ActiveDocument.ReferencePoint = cdrBottomLeft
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateRectangle2(3, 6, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.375, 0.25, 0)
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 72
You must limit the radii passed to the method
CreateRectangle2
to less than half the shorter dimension of the rectangle.
Creating ellipses
There are two methods for creating ellipses:
CreateEllipse
and
CreateEllipse2
. They differ in the parameters that they take, so you can create an ellipse based on its bounding box or instead on its center point and radius. Both functions also create arcs or partial ellipses, or segments or pie slices.
The
CreateEllipse
method takes four parameters that define its bounding box in the same way as for
CreateRectangle
— in other words, left, top, right, bottom, in the document’s units. The following code creates a 50-millimeter circle:
Dim sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse(75, 150, 125, 100)
To create an arc or a segment, three additional parameters are required: start angle, end angle, and a Boolean value that defines whether it is an arc (
False
) or a segment (
True
). Angles are measured with zero being horizontally right on the page and positive values being degrees from zero moving counterclockwise. The arc or pie is drawn from the start angle to the end angle. The following code creates a letter “C” shape:
Dim sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse(75, 150, 125, 100, 60, 290, False)
The
CreateEllipse2
method creates ellipses based on their center points, and on horizontal and vertical radii.
(If only one radius is given, a circle is created.) The following code creates the same 50-millimeter circle as the preceding code:
Dim sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse2(100, 125, 25)
To create an ellipse, provide a second radius. (The first radius is the horizontal radius, the second is the vertical radius.)
Dim sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse2(100, 125, 50, 25)
To create an arc or a segment, use the same additional parameters as for the
CreateEllipse
method.
Creating curves
Curves are made from several other objects: each
Curve
has one or more
SubPath
member objects, each
SubPath
has one or more
Segment
objects, and each
Segment
has two
Node
objects as well as two control-point position/angle properties.
You can create a curve object in CorelDRAW by using the
CreateCurve
method of the
Application
object.
Create a new
SubPath
inside the
Curve
object by using the
CreateSubPath
member function. This creates the first
Node
of the curve.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 73
Next, append a new line- or curve-type
Segment
to the
SubPath
by using the
AppendLineSegment
and
AppendCurveSegment
member functions. This adds another
Node
and sets the positions of the control handles for that
Segment
. Repeat this as often as required to build up the
Curve
.
Create the curve shape on the
Layer
by using the
CreateCurve
member function.
You can add additional
SubPaths
to the
Curve
and build those up with their own
Nodes
. You can also close a
Curve
by setting its
Closed
property to
True
.
The following code creates a D-shaped closed curve:
Dim sh As Shape, spath As SubPath, crv As Curve
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrCentimeter
Set crv = Application.CreateCurve(ActiveDocument) 'Create Curve object
Set spath = crv.CreateSubPath(6, 6) ' Create a SubPath spath.AppendLineSegment 6, 3 ' Add the short vertical segment spath.AppendCurveSegment 3, 0, 2, 270, 2, 0 ' Lower curve spath.AppendLineSegment 0, 0 ' Bottom straight edge spath.AppendLineSegment 0, 9 ' Left straight edge spath.AppendLineSegment 3, 9 ' Top straight edge spath.AppendCurveSegment 6, 6, 2, 0, 2, 90 ' Upper curve spath.Closed = True ' Close the curve
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateCurve(crv) ' Create curve shape
The
AppendLineSegment
method requires only a single node position for the end of the segment. However, the
AppendCurveSegment
method requires one Cartesian coordinate and two polar coordinates; the Cartesian coordinate is for the end node, while the polar coordinates are for the two control handles where the first parameter is the length of the handle and the second parameter is the control handle’s angle. Alternatively, you can use the
AppendCurveSegment2
method to specify the coordinates of both control handles.
The
Layer
class has three additional member functions for creating curve objects:
CreateLineSegment
,
CreateCurveSegment
, and
CreateCurveSegment2
. These functions are shortcuts for creating a
Curve
shape along with its first
Segment
on the first
SubPath
, all in a single function.
The new
Segments
are appended to the last
Node
of the
SubPath
. There is an optional parameter that causes the
Segment
to be appended to the first
Node
of the
SubPath
.
Creating text objects
Text objects are another type of
Shape
object. However, handling text is more complicated than handling other shapes.
In CorelDRAW, text is manipulated as a
TextRange
object. Text ranges can be accessed by using any of the following properties of
Shape.Text
:
•
Frames
collection –– In this scenario, each
TextFrame
object’s default member is a
TextRange
object, which is the text within the frame.
•
Story
–– In this scenario, the
TextRange
object contains all of the text in all of the frames linked to the current
Shape
object on all of the pages in the document.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 74
The text in a
TextRange
object can be manipulated as a single block of text, and its properties (such as font, size, and style) can be set simultaneously. Alternatively, the
TextRange
object has several properties that are collections of smaller text ranges:
Columns
,
Paragraphs
,
Lines
,
Words
, and
Characters
.
You can create two kinds of text: artistic text and paragraph text.
To create a new artistic text shape, use the member function
CreateArtisticText
of the
Layer
object. The following code creates an artistic text shape of the words
Hello World
, with the left end of the line at
1
inch and the baseline at
4
inches from the origin:
Dim sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateArtisticText(1, 4, "Hello World")
There are many optional parameters for this function, such that you can setting attributes such as italic, bold, size, and alignment.
To create a new paragraph text shape, use the member function
CreateParagraphText
of the
Layer
object.
Paragraph text differs from artistic text in that it flows within a rectangular container, rather than being as wide as necessary before reaching a line feed. The first four parameters of the function are left, top, right, bottom:
Dim sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateParagraphText(1, 4, 5, 2, "Hi There", _
Alignment := cdrCenterAlignment)
You can format text. To do this, first get a reference to a
TextRange
object, and then apply the formatting to it.
Frames, columns, paragraphs, lines, and the story can all be used to get a reference to a
TextRange
object.
The following code formats the first paragraph of the story into a heading style and the second and third paragraphs into a body-text style:
Dim txt As TextRange
' Format the first paragraph
Set txt = ActiveShape.Text.Story.Paragraphs(1) txt.ChangeCase cdrTextUpperCase txt.Font = "Verdana" txt.Size = 18 txt.Bold = True
' Format the second and third paragraphs
Set txt = ActiveShape.Text.Story.Paragraphs(2, 2) txt.Font = "Times New Roman" txt.Size = 12 txt.Style = cdrNormalFontStyle
All of the formatting options from the Format Text dialog box in CorelDRAW can be applied programmatically by using VBA. See the
Text
object in the VBA Object Browser for more information.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 75
You can fit text to a path by using the
Text
object’s member function
FitToPath
, which simply attaches a text object to the outline of a shape such that the text flows along the path.
The following code creates a new text object and attaches it to the selected shape:
Dim sh As Shape, sPath As Shape
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
Set sPath = ActiveShape
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateArtisticText(1, 4, "Hello World") sh.Text.FitToPath sPath
Paragraph text shapes can be flowed inside closed shapes to form non-rectangular frames. This is done by placing the
Text
object inside the
Shape
object by using the member function
PlaceTextInside
of the
Shape
object.
Given that a text shape — artistic or paragraph — is selected in CorelDRAW, the following code creates a
5
inch by
2
-inch ellipse and places the selected text inside it:
Dim txt As Shape, sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
Set txt = ActiveShape
Set sh = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse(0, 2, 5, 0) sh.PlaceTextInside txt
Selecting shapes
To determine whether a
Shape
is selected, you can test its
Selected
Boolean property:
Dim sh As Shape
Set sh = ActivePage.Shapes(1)
If sh.Selected = False Then sh.CreateSelection
You can add a
Shape
to the selection simply by setting its
Selected
property to
True
; this selects the shape without deselecting all the other shapes. To select just one shape without any other shapes, use the
CreateSelection
method, as in the preceding code.
To deselect all the shapes, call the document’s
ClearSelection
method:
ActiveDocument.ClearSelection
To select all the shapes on the page or layer, use the following code:
ActivePage.Shapes.All.CreateSelection
This calls the
CreateSelection
of the
ShapeRange
object, which is returned by the
All
member function of the
Shapes
collection on the active page. Only those shapes on locked or hidden layers will not be selected.
To get the selection — in other words, to access the shapes that are selected in the document — you have a choice: get a reference to a document’s
Selection
object, or instead get a copy of the document’s
SelectionRange
property. The difference between these two selection-type objects is that
Selection
is updated whenever the selection changes in the document while
SelectionRange
is a copy of the selection state at the time and is not updated.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 76
Referencing the ActiveSelection object
The shortcut for
ActiveDocument.Selection
is
ActiveSelection
. This returns a
Shape
object, which is a reference to the document’s
Selection
object. Because this is a reference, whenever the selection in the document is changed (either by the user or programmatically), the shapes that this
Selection
object contains reflect the change.
Dim sel As Shape
Set sel = ActiveDocument.Selection
ActiveSelection
returns a
Shape
object of subtype cdrSelectionShape
. This
Shape
subtype has a member collection called
Shapes
, which is a collection of all of the selected shapes in the document. The items in the
ActiveSelection.Shapes
collection can be accessed in the normal manner:
Dim sh As Shape, shs As Shapes
Set shs = ActiveSelection.Shapes
For Each sh In shs
sh.Rotate 15 'Rotate each shape thru 15° counterclockwise
Next sh
You cannot directly remember and recall the objects that are selected by using
ActiveSelection
. To copy the references to the selected objects, you must populate an array of
Shape
or a collection of type
Shapes
, or you must use a
ShapeRange
.
Referencing the ActiveSelectionRange object
ActiveSelectionRange
is the shortcut for
ActiveDocument.SelectionRange
. This is a property of the document of type
ShapeRange
:
Dim selRange As ShapeRange
Set selRange = ActiveDocument.SelectionRange
The
ShapeRange
object returned by
ActiveSelectionRange
contains a collection of references to the shapes that were selected at the moment when the property was read. Because these references are to the shapes themselves (and not to the selection), if you change the selection, the
ShapeRange
is not updated.
The shapes referenced by
ActiveSelectionRange
are held in a
ShapeRange
object. This collection can be parsed in the usual way:
Dim sh As Shape, shRange As ShapeRange
Set shRange = ActiveSelectionRange
For Each sh In shRange
sh.Skew 15 ' Skew each shape thru 15° counterclockwise
Next sh
Because the
SelectionRange
is a static copy of references to the objects selected at the time, it is an ideal way of remembering and recalling the selection. Also, shapes can be added to and removed from a
ShapeRange object, so it is an ideal way of manipulating the selection.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 77
Comparing the ActiveSelection and ActiveSelectionRange objects
To get the selection, you have a choice: you can get a reference to a document’s
Selection
object (of type
Shape
), which is updated if the selection changes, or you can get a reference to a new
ShapeRange
object, which is like a collection of references to the objects in the selection at that moment in time and is not updated.
Although
ActiveSelection
is generally easier to use, the big advantage of
ActiveSelectionRange
over it is that, even when the selection changes, the
ShapeRange
content does not change (whereas the
ActiveSelection Shapes
collection does change). Also,
ShapeRange
can be duplicated, and it even allows for shapes to be added and removed and for transformations to be applied, all without the
ShapeRange
being active at the time.
The individual shapes in a
ShapeRange
can be selected by calling the range’s
CreateSelection
member function:
Dim shRange As ShapeRange
Set shRange = ActiveSelectionRange shRange.Remove 1 shRange.Remove 2 shRange.CreateSelection
The above code creates a
ShapeRange
from the selection and then removes the first and second — actually the third shape of the original range, because it becomes the second shape when you remove the first — shapes from the range; it then creates a new selection from those shapes left in the range (that is, all the shapes of the original selection, minus the two shapes that were removed from the collection).
If you want to add a
ShapeRange
to the current selection rather than replace the selection, use the
AddToSelection
member function of
ShapeRange
.
Parsing selected shapes
Parsing through the selected shapes is done in the same way for both selections and selection ranges.
Here is a code sample for selections:
Dim shs As Shapes, sh As Shape
Set shs = ActiveSelection.Shapes
For Each sh In shs
' Do something with the shape, sh
Next sh
And here is a code sample for selection ranges:
Dim sRange As ShapeRange, sh As Shape
Set sRange = ActiveSelectionRange
For Each sh In sRange
' Do something with the shape, sh
Next sh
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 78
However, selection ranges have the advantage that even if the selection subsequently changes, the range is not updated, and so the “memory” of the selection is not lost. Getting a reference to the
ActiveSelection
, though, does not create a copy of the references to the shapes in the selection, but creates a reference to the intrinsic
ActiveSelection
object. This means that if the selection changes, all references to the
ActiveSelection
are also updated, and so the “memory” of the selection is lost.
Ordering selected shapes in a collection
The order of the
Shape
objects in both the
ActiveSelection.Shapes
and
ActiveSelectionRange collections is the reverse of the order in which the shapes were selected by the user. Consequently, the first shape in both collections is the last shape that the user selected, and the last shape in both collections is the first shape that the user selected. This property of these collections is useful for macros that need to distinguish which shape was selected first or last.
Determining shape type
Each
Shape
object has a property
Type
that returns the shape’s subtype — that is, what type of shape it is
(rectangle, ellipse, curve, text, group, and so on). This is a read-only property. Because some types of shapes have member functions and properties that others do not, it is often necessary to test the shape’s type before calling a method that doesn’t necessarily apply to it.
The following sample code tests a shape to determine whether it is text. It then tests to determine whether it is artistic or paragraph text; if it determines it to be artistic text, it rotates it through
10
degrees:
Dim sh As Shape
Set sh = ActiveShape
If sh.Type = cdrTextShape Then
If sh.Text.IsArtisticText = True Then
sh.Rotate 10
End If
End If
Changing shape properties
You can modify the properties of the shapes you create by using VBA.
Sizing shapes
To get the width or height of a
Shape
, test its
SizeWidth
or
SizeHeight
properties:
Dim width As Double, height As Double
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter width = ActiveShape.SizeWidth
height = ActiveShape.SizeHeight
The returned
Double
value depends on the setting of
ActiveDocument.Unit
, so if you need the size in a specific unit, begin by setting it. The same applies for all of the size properties and methods in the object model.
To get the width and height in a single command, use the member function
GetSize
:
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 79
Dim width As Double, height As Double
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter
ActiveShape.GetSize width, height
To set the size of a
Shape
, set its
SizeWidth
or
SizeHeight
properties to the new values. The following code sets the size of the active shape to
50
by
70
millimeters:
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter
ActiveShape.SizeWidth = 50
ActiveShape.SizeHeight = 70
Alternatively, you can use the
SetSize
method, which sets both in one call:
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter
ActiveShape.SetSize 50, 70
There is an additional method for setting the shape size:
SetSizeEx
. This method takes a center point in addition to the width and height; the resize is performed relative to this point rather than to the shape’s center point. For example, the following code resizes the selection to
10
by
8
inches about the point (
6
,
5
) in the document:
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
ActiveSelection.SetSizeEx 6, 5, 10, 8
The object
ActiveSelection
refers to a
Shape
object that contains all of the selected shapes in the document.
All of the preceding code refers to the object’s size in terms of its vector curves and ignores the fact that any shape with an outline may actually extend beyond the rectangle containing the curves. There is one method that can be used to get the size of the bounding box of the shape, with the option of including the widths of any outlines. This method is
GetBoundingBox
:
Dim width As Double, height As Double
Dim posX As Double, posY As Double
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
ActiveDocument.ReferencePoint = cdrBottomLeft
ActiveShape.GetBoundingBox posX, posY, width, height, True
The method’s main use is to get the shape’s bounding box, including the position of its lower-left corner. The final parameter is a Boolean value that indicates whether to return the bounding box of the shape including its outline (
True
) or excluding it (
False
). The method for setting the shape’s bounding box does not include the necessary parameter for doing so in relation to its bounding box, although by using
GetBoundingBox
twice
(once including the outline and a second time excluding the outline) it is possible to calculate the size and position of the bounding box of the vector, not including the outline:
Public Sub SetBoundingBoxEx(X As Double, Y As Double, _
Width As Double, Height As Double)
Dim sh As Shape
Dim nowX As Double, nowY As Double
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 80
Dim nowWidth As Double, nowHeight As Double
Dim nowXol As Double, nowYol As Double
Dim nowWidthol As Double, nowHeightol As Double
Dim newX As Double, newY As Double
Dim newWidth As Double, newHeight As Double
Dim ratioWidth As Double, ratioHeight As Double
Set sh = ActiveSelection
sh.GetBoundingBox nowX, nowY, nowWidth, nowHeight, False
sh.GetBoundingBox nowXol, nowYol, nowWidthol, nowHeightol, True
ratioWidth = Width / nowWidthol
ratioHeight = Height / nowHeightol
newWidth = nowWidth * ratioWidth
newHeight = nowHeight * ratioHeight
newX = X + (nowX - nowXol)
newY = Y + (nowY - nowYol)
sh.SetBoundingBox newX, newY, newWidth, newHeight, False, cdrBottomLeft
End Sub
Stretching and scaling shapes
Shapes can be stretched and scaled by a proportional amount. The
Shape
object has two member functions —
Stretch
and
StretchEx
— that perform this operation. Both functions take a decimal value for horizontal and vertical stretching, where
1
is 100% (or no change); you cannot use zero, so you must use a very small value instead.
The following code stretches the selection to half its current height and twice its width, about the midpoint of the bottom edge of its bounding box:
ActiveDocument.ReferencePoint = cdrBottomMiddle
ActiveSelection.Stretch 2, 0.5
The stretch can also be performed about any point on the page by using the
StretchEx
member function. The following code performs the same stretch as above, but about the point (
4
,
5
) on the page in inches:
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
ActiveSelection.StretchEx 4, 5, 2, 0.5
Both of the above functions have an optional Boolean parameter that, when
True
, stretches paragraph text characters by the given amount; when it is
False
, only the bounding box of the text is stretched, and the text is re-flowed within the box.
Positioning shapes
The position of a
Shape
object can be determined by using the properties
PositionX
and
PositionY
, and by using the methods
GetPosition
and
GetBoundingBox
. The position of a shape can be specified by setting the properties
PositionX
and
PositionY
, or by using the methods
SetPosition
,
SetSizeEx
, and
SetBoundingBox
.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 81
The following code gets the position of the
ActiveSelection
shape relative to the current
ReferencePoint property of
ActiveDocument
, which the code explicitly sets to the lower-left corner:
Dim posX As Double, posY As Double
ActiveDocument.ReferencePoint = cdrBottomLeft
ActiveSelection.GetPosition posX, posY
The above code returns the position of the reference point of the selection without accounting for the widths of any of the selected shapes’ outlines. To account for the widths of the outlines, use the function
GetBoundingBox
.
The following code sets the position of the lower-right corner of each selected shape in the active document to (
3
,
2
) in inches:
Dim sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
ActiveDocument.ReferencePoint = cdrBottomRight
For Each sh In ActiveSelection.Shapes
sh.SetPosition 3, 2
Next sh
Rotating shapes
Shapes can be rotated by using the member functions
Rotate
and
RotateEx
of the
Shape
object.
The
Rotate
member function simply rotates the shape by the given angle (in degrees) about the shape’s rotation center. The following code rotates the selection by
30
degrees about its center of rotation:
ActiveSelection.Rotate 30
Positive rotation angles are always degrees counterclockwise.
To find the center of rotation, get the values of the shape’s properties
RotationCenterX
and
RotationCenterY
. Changing the values of these properties moves the center of rotation for the next call to this function.
The function
RotateEx
takes additional parameters that specify the center of rotation. This is a quicker, simpler method than setting each of
RotationCenterX
and
RotationCenterY
and then calling
Rotate
. The following code rotates each of the selected shapes by
15
degrees clockwise about each shape’s lower-right corner:
Dim sh As Shape
ActiveDocument.ReferencePoint = cdrBottomRight
For Each sh In ActiveSelection.Shapes
sh.RotateEx -15, sh.PositionX, sh.PositionY
Next sh
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 82
Skewing shapes
Shapes can be skewed by using the member functions
Skew
and
SkewEx
of the
Shape
object. These two functions are similar to the
Rotate
and
RotateEx
member functions, except that they take two angle parameters: the first is horizontal skew (positive values move the top edge to the left and the bottom edge to the right), and the second is vertical skew (positive values move the right edge upwards and the left edge downwards). The horizontal skew is applied before the vertical skew.
The following code skews the selection by
30
degrees horizontally and by
15
degrees vertically:
ActiveSelection.Skew 30, 15
Skews of angles close to or greater than 90° are not allowed.
Coloring shapes
Color can be applied to both the fill and the outline of an object, as well as to page backgrounds, lenses, and gradient fills.
You can copy one color to another using the method
CopyAssign
:
Dim sh As Shape
Set sh = ActiveShape sh.Outline.Color.CopyAssign sh.Fill.UniformColor
You can get the color model of a color object by getting its
Type
property:
Dim colType As cdrColorType colType = ActiveShape.Outline.Color.Type
When you have the type of the color (usually one of cdrColorRGB
, cdrColorCMYK
, or cdrColorGray
, but not limited to those), you can get the components of the color, which are as follows:
• for CMYK color —
CMYKCyan
,
CMYKYellow
,
CMYKMagenta
, and
CMYKBlack
• for RGB color —
RGBRed
,
RGBGreen
, and
RGBBlue
• for grayscale —
Gray
To convert a
Color
object’s color to a different color model, use the member functions
ConvertToCMYK
,
ConvertToRGB
,
ConvertToGray
, and so on. The color is converted by using the CorelDRAW color management settings. For example, the following code converts the fill to RGB:
ActiveShape.Fill.UniformColor.ConvertToRGB
To set a new color, use methods such as
CMYKAssign
,
RGBAssign
, and
GrayAssign
. The number of parameters these methods take depend on how many color components are required for that color model. For example, the following code assigns a deep-blue RGB color to the active shape’s outline:
ActiveShape.Outline.Color.RGBAssign 0, 0, 102
Each component’s value range depends on the color model.
Some functions in the CorelDRAW object model take a
Color
object as a parameter. To create a new
Color object, use the VBA keyword
New
, as in the following example:
Dim col As New Color
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 83
col.RGBAssign 0, 255, 102
ActiveShape.Outline.Color.CopyAssign col
The color “none” does not exist. To set the color “none” to an outline or fill, you must actually set the outline- or fill-type to “none”.
Outlining shapes
Every
Shape
object has a property
Outline
, which refers to an
Outline
object.
Outline
objects have such properties as
Type
,
Width
,
Color
, and
Style
.
The property
Type
sets whether the shape has an outline: the shape has an outline if it is set to cdrOutline
, but it does not have an outline if it is set to cdrNoOutline
. Setting this property to cdrOutline
for a shape that does not have an outline gives the shape the document’s default outline, while setting this property to cdrNoOutline
removes the outline from the shape. This is the same as setting
Width
to zero.
The property
Width
sets the width of the outline in the units of the document; to set the width in points, for example, first set the document’s
Unit
property to cdrPoint
. In the following code sample, the outline of the selected shapes is set to
1
millimeter:
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter
ActiveSelection.Outline.Width = 1
Any shapes whose
Type
property is cdrNoOutline
has that property changed to cdrOutline
when the outline color or width is set.
The property
Color
is a color object that defines the color of the outline. Setting the color of the outline automatically sets the
Type
property of the outline to cdrOutline
and gives the outline the default width:
ActiveSelection.Outline.Color.GrayAssign 0 ' Set to black
The
Style
property of
Outline
sets the dash properties of the outline. It has four properties, of which only three can be set:
•
DashCount
— sets the number of dashes in the style
•
DashLength
— an array of values that gives the length of each dash, with the dash size determined by the value of
DashCount
•
GapLength
— an array of values that gives the length of each gap following each dash, with the dash size determined by the value of
DashCount
•
Index
— a read-only property that gives the index of the outline style in the document’s
OutlineStyles collection, which is presented to the user in the Outline dialog box
The values in the arrays
DashLength
and
DashGap
are drawn as multiples of the width of the line; therefore, if
DashLength(1)
is
5
and the line is 0.2 inches in width, the dash’s length is 1 inch; if the line’s width is changed to 0.1 inches, the dash’s length becomes 0.5 inches.
To use one of the application’s outline styles, you must reference the style from the
OutlineStyles
collection by giving an index of the style you want to use. The problem with this is that each user’s installation of CorelDRAW can have a different collection of outline styles (most notably if the user has modified them), so it is not guaranteed that a given indexed style is the same for all users. To use one of the styles, assign it to the outline:
ActiveShape.Outline.Style = Application.OutlineStyles(3)
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 84
OutlineStyles.Item(0)
is always a solid line; to set an outline to solid, set it equal to this style.
Outline
objects have many other properties, including the following:
•
StartArrow
,
EndArrow
— sets the arrowhead to use on each end of an open curve
•
LineCaps
,
LineJoin
— sets the type of line caps (butt, round, or square) and joins (bevel, miter, or round)
•
NibAngle
,
NibStretch
— sets the shape of the nib used to draw the line
•
BehindFill
,
ScaleWithShape
— draws the outline behind the fill, and scales the outline with the shape
Outline
objects also have two methods:
•
ConvertToObject
— converts the outline to an object
•
SetProperties
— a single method that can be used to set most of the outline’s properties in a single call, a technique that is much more efficient and much quicker than specifying each property individually when setting the properties of hundreds or thousands of outlines at the same time
Filling shapes
There are many types of fills in CorelDRAW, including uniform fills, fountain fills, PostScript fills, pattern fills, and texture fills, and each type needs to be handled differently.
Only uniform and fountain fills are discussed here.
The read-only
Type
property of a
Fill
object gives the type of the fill, or whether there is no fill. The following code gets the fill type:
Dim fillType As cdrFillType fillType = ActiveShape.Fill.Type
The fill type cannot be set with this property; it is set when the fill is created and applied.
To remove any type of fill, use the member function
ApplyNoFill
of the
Fill
object.
Uniform fills consist of a single, solid color. This color is represented by the fill’s property
UniformColor
, which is a
Color
object.
To apply a uniform fill to a shape, use the
ApplyUniformFill
member function of the shape’s
Fill
property:
ActiveShape.Fill.ApplyUniformFill CreateRGBColor(255, 0, 0)
Unless you are copying the color from an existing
Color
object, you have to create a new
Color
object first and then apply the color to the shape’s
Fill
property.
To change the color of a uniform fill, change the
UniformColor
property of the
Fill
object:
ActiveShape.Fill.UniformColor.RGBAssign 0, 0, 102
Uniform fills have a
Type
property of cdrUniformFill
.
Fountain fills are defined by the property
Fountain
, which is a
FountainFill
object.
FountainFill
objects have many properties, including type, angle, and blend type. The most important property, though, is the collection of colors that comprise the fountain fill.
To create a new fountain fill, use the
ApplyFountainFill
member function of the
Fill
object. This creates a simple two-color fountain with basic properties. The following code creates a simple linear fountain fill, from red to yellow, at
30
degrees to the horizontal:
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 85
Dim startCol As New Color, endCol As New Color startCol.RGBAssign 255, 0, 0 endCol.RGBAssign 255, 255, 0
ActiveShape.Fill.ApplyFountainFill startCol, endCol, cdrLinearFountainFill, 30
All of the parameters for the
ApplyFountainFill
member function are optional, and not all have been used in the preceding code sample. It is possible to set the midpoint, the number of steps, and the color-blend type in the same function call.
After the fountain fill has been created, you can add more colors to the blend by adding new
FountainColor items to the
Colors
collection, which is a property of
Fill.Fountain
. For example, the following code adds a green color to the
Colors
collection at a position about one-third (
33
%) of the way from the red:
Dim fFill As FountainFill
Set fFill = ActiveShape.Fill.Fountain
fFill.Colors.Add CreateRGBColor(0, 102, 0), 33
Individual colors in the fountain can be moved using the
FountainColor.Move
member function. The following code moves the green color from the previous code to a position that is
60
% from the red towards the yellow:
ActiveShape.Fill.Fountain.Colors(1).Move 60
Color positions are integer values in percent, where 0% is the start-color position and 100% is the endcolor position.
The number of colors reported by the
Count
property of the
Colors
collection is the number of colors between the start and end colors. So for the fountain fill created above, the value of the
Count
property is
1
. The first color in the
Colors
collection is item
0
and is the start color; it cannot be moved, but its color can be changed.
The last color in the
Colors
collection is item
(Count + 1)
and is the end color; it also cannot be moved, but its color can be changed. The following code changes the color of the end color from yellow to blue:
Dim cols As FountainColors
Set cols = ActiveShape.Fill.Fountain.Colors
cols(cols.Count + 1).Color.RGBAssign 0, 0, 102
There are additional properties (not described here) that define edge padding, center position (for conical, radial, and rectangular fountains), and the number of steps used to draw the fill.
Fountain fills have a
Type
property value of cdrFountainFill
.
Duplicating shapes
To duplicate shapes, you can use the
Duplicate
member function of the
Shape
object:
ActiveSelection.Duplicate
This function takes two option values that set the offset for the duplicate from the original. The following code positions the duplicate two inches to the right and one inch above the original:
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrInch
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 86
ActiveSelection.Duplicate 2, 1
Applying effects to shapes
Effects can be applied directly to shapes by using the appropriate member function of the
Shape
object.
Creating blends
The
CreateBlend
member function of the
Shape
object creates a blend between the current
Shape
and the
Shape
in the parameter list. The following code creates a
10
-step blend:
Dim sh As Shapes, eff As Effect
Set sh = ActiveSelection.Shapes
Set eff = sh(1).CreateBlend(sh(2), 10)
The number of shapes in the blend is 12 — the start and end shapes, plus the ten steps created.
There are several optional parameters (not shown) for the
CreateBlend
method that control the acceleration of the blend, as well as set the path along which the blend is created.
The
Effect
object returned by the preceding code is a reference to the blend. By setting the properties of the
Blend
property of the
Effect
object, the blend can be fine-tuned. The
Effect
object itself has a member function
Separate
for separating the
Blend
effect, as well as
Clear
for removing it.
Creating contours
Contours can be created with the
CreateContour
member function of the
Shape
object. The following code creates a
3
-step contour at a
5
millimeter spacing:
Dim eff As Effect
ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter
Set eff = ActiveShape.CreateContour(cdrContourOutside, 5, 3)
There are several optional parameters (not shown) for the
CreateContour
method that control the colors and acceleration of the contour shapes.
Creating other effects
The
Shape
object has several other functions for creating effects:
CreateDropShadow
,
CreateEnvelope
,
CreateExtrude
,
CreateLens
,
CreatePerspective
,
CreatePushPullDistortion
,
CreateTwisterDistortion
, and
CreateZipperDistortion
. For more information on these, access the VBA
Help system from the Object Browser.
Appendix: Understanding the CorelDRAW object model 87
Glossary
array
A set of sequentially indexed elements of the same data type. By default, array indexes are zero-based.
automation
The process of recording or scripting a macro class
The definition (that is, description) of an object class module
A module that contains the definition of a class , including its property and method definitions collection
A set of objects constant
A named item that keeps a constant value while a macro is being executed enumerated type (enumeration)
A data type that lists all the possible values for the variables that use it event
An action that is recognized by a form or control event handler
A subroutine that is programmed to cause the application to respond to a specific event function
A procedure that performs a given task in a macro and that can be used to return a value. A function procedure begins with a
Function
statement and ends with an
End Function
statement. In VBA, functions do not need to be declared before they are used, nor before they are defined.
global value
A value that applies to a given project in its entirety macro
A scripted or recorded set of actions that can be repeatedly invoked within an application
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 Programming Guide for VBA 88
method
An operation that an object can have performed on itself modal dialog box
A dialog box that must be acted upon before the user can resume the macro . The application is locked until the dialog box is dismissed, either by submitting it or by cancelling it. Built-in dialog boxes that you can control with VBA are almost always modal.
modeless dialog box
A dialog box that does not lock the application, such that it can be left open while the user continues working in the application. In this way, modeless dialog boxes behave like dockers.
module
A set of declarations followed by procedures object
An instance of a class . An object can be a parent to child objects.
object model
A high-level structure of the relationship between parent and child objects . Without an object model, VBA cannot gain access to the objects in the document, nor query or change an application’s documents.
passing by reference
The act of passing an argument to a function or subroutine by using a reference to the original. By default, function and subroutine parameters are passed by reference, but if you want to explicitly annotate the code to indicate that an argument is being passed by reference, you can prefix the argument with
ByRef
.
passing by value
The act of passing an argument to a function or subroutine by using a copy of the original. To indicate that you want to pass an argument by value, prefix the argument with
ByVal
.
property
A characteristic of a class . Properties that are fixed by the design of the class are called “read-only.” scope
The visibility of a data type, procedure, or object shortcut object
A syntactical replacement for the long-hand version of an object subroutine (sub)
A procedure that performs a given task in a macro but that cannot be used to return a value. A subroutine procedure begins with a
Sub
statement and ends with an
End Sub
statement. In VBA, subroutines do not need to be declared before they are used, nor before they are defined.
Glossary 89
variable
An item that can be created (or “declared”) for the purposes of storing data. The built-in data types are
Byte
,
Boolean
,
Integer
,
Long
,
Single
,
Double
,
String
,
Variant
, and several other less-used types including
Date
,
Decimal
, and
Object
. If a variable is not declared before it is used, the compiler interprets it as a
Variant
.
Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)
A built-in programming language that can automate repetitive functions and create intelligent solutions in
CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT
Glossary 90
Index
A activating layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
adding captions to macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
modules to projects
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
tooltips to macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
applying effects to shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
arrays
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
associating images or icons with macros
automatic completion
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
automation definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 ,
B bitwise operators
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Boolean comparison and assignment
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
breakpoints
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
building functions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
subroutines
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
buttons
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
creating for macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
C
C and C++
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Call Stack window
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
captions, adding to macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
capturing coordinates for macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
mouse actions for macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
changing content in documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
shape properties
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
checking syntax automatically
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
class definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
class modules definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
classes definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
closing documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
code formatting automatically
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
stepping through
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Code window
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
coding dialog boxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
collections counting items in
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
parsing items in
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
referencing in macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
referencing items in
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
coloring shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
syntax automatically
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
combination boxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
comments
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
constants definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
content, changing in documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
contextual pop-up lists
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
converting coordinates
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
coordinates capturing for macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
converting
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
testing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Corel Corporation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 13
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 Programming Guide for VBA 91
installing VBA
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 13 about
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
about this manual
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
about VBA in
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
for more information
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
installing VBA
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
CorelDRAW object model
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
pages
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
counting items in a collection
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
creating buttons for macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
curves
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
dialog boxes for macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
ellipses
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
forms
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
GMS files
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
pages
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
project files
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
projects
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
rectangles
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
text objects
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
toolbars for macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 ,
curves
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
D debugging macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
setting breakpoints
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
stepping through code
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
using the windows
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
declaring arrays
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
enumerated types
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
strings
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
variables
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
defining scope
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
definitions, jumping to
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
deleting layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
pages
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
deploying
GMS files
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
project files
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
workspaces
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
designing dialog boxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
determining shape type
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
dialog boxes choosing between modal and modeless
coding
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
creating for macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
designing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
setting up
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
docking toolbars
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
documentation conventions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
changing content in
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
closing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
creating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
exporting files from
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
importing files into
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
opening
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
printing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
publishing to PDF
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
setting Undo string for
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
switching between
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
viewing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
duplicating shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
E effects, applying to shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
ellipses
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
ending lines
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
enumerated types
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
enumerations. See enumerated types.
event handlers definitions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
providing in macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
events definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
exporting
Index 92
files from documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
workspace features
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
F files exporting from documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
importing into documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
importing into layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
filling shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
floating toolbars
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Form Designer
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
formatting code automatically
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
forms buttons
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
combination boxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
creating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
images
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
list boxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
testing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
text boxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
functions building
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
G global values definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
GMS files creating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
deploying
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
H help, providing for macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
hiding layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
I icons associating images with
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
associating with macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
images associating with macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
providing in forms
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Immediate window
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
importing files into documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
files into layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
workspace features
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
including comments
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
input boxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
installing VBA
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
J
Java and JavaScript
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
jumping to definitions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
L layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
activating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
creating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
deleting
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
importing files into
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
locking and hiding
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
renaming
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
reordering
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
lines, ending
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
list boxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Locals window
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
locking layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
logical operators
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
M macros adding captions to
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
adding tooltips to
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
associating images with
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
capturing coordinates for
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
capturing mouse actions for
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
creating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
creating buttons for
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
creating dialog boxes for
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
creating toolbars for
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
debugging
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
deploying
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
organizing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
providing event handlers in
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
providing help for
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Index 93
providing user interaction for
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
recording
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
referencing collections in
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
referencing objects in
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
running
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
writing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
memory allocation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
memory pointers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
message boxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
methods definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 ,
modal dialog boxes creating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
modeless dialog boxes creating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
modules
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
adding to projects
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
mouse actions, capturing for macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
N non-programmers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
O
Object Browser
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Class list
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Information window
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Member list
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
search controls
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
object model
CorelDRAW
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 ,
objects definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 ,
hierarchy
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
parent/child relationship
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
referencing in macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
opening documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
operators
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 ,
organizing macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
outlining shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
P pages creating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
deleting
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
reordering
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
resizing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
switching
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
panning
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
parsing items in a collection
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
passing by reference
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
passing by value
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
PDF, publishing documents to
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
pop-up lists, contextual
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
positioning shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
printing documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
programmers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
programming languages
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Project Explorer
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
project files creating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
project files, deploying
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
projects adding modules to
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
creating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
renaming
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
properties definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Properties window
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
providing event handlers in macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
help for macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
input boxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
message boxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
user interaction for macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
publishing documents to PDF
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
R recording macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
rectangles
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
referencing
Index 94
collections in macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
items in a collection
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
objects in macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
renaming projects
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
renaming layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
reordering layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
pages
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
resizing pages
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
rotating shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
running macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
S scaling shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
scope defining
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
selecting shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
setting breakpoints
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Undo string
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
setting up dialog boxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
applying effects to
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
changing properties
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
coloring
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
creating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
determining type
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
duplicating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
filling
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
outlining
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
positioning
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
rotating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
scaling
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
selecting
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
sizing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
skewing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
stretching
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
shortcut objects
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 ,
sizing shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
skewing shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
starting the VB Editor
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
stepping through code
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
stretching shapes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
strings
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
subroutines building
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
switching documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
pages
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
syntax checking automatically
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
coloring automatically
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
T testing coordinates
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
forms
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
text boxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
text objects
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
toolbars creating for macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
docking
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
floating
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
VB Editor
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
VBA
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
tooltips, adding to macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
U
Undo string
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
user interaction (for macros)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
capturing coordinates
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
mouse actions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
V variables declaring
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
VB Editor
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Code window
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
debugging windows
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Form Designer
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Object Browser
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Index 95
Project Explorer
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Properties window
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
starting
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
toolbars
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
VBA code structure
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
compared with C and C++
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
compared with Java and JavaScript
compared with Windows Script Host
definition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 ,
for non-programmers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
for programmers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
installing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
main elements of
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
operators
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 ,
toolbars
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
viewing documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
views
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Visual Basic for Applications. See VBA.
W
Watches window
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
windows
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Windows Script Host
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
workspaces deploying
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
exporting features
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
importing features
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
writing macros
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Z zooming
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Index 96
Copyright 2002–2005 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved.
CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X3 Programming Guide for VBA
Protected by U.S. Patents 5652880; 5347620; 5767860; 6195100; 6385336; 6552725; 6657739; 6731309;
6825859; 6633305; Patents Pending.
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Corel, the Corel logo, Corel DESIGNER, CorelDRAW, Corel PHOTO-PAINT, Corel SCRIPT, Painter, Paint
Shop Pro, and WordPerfect are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in Canada, the U.S., and/or other countries.
Adobe, Acrobat, PostScript, and Reader are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United
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011115
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