WD97: Sample VBA Code to Set, Retrieve .ini File or Registry Information

ID: Q160132

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

In a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro, you can use the PrivateProfileString property to store and retrieve settings from an .ini file or the Windows registry.

MORE INFORMATION

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http://www.microsoft.com/mcsp/

For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

The following macro examples use the PrivateProfileString property to set or return a string from a settings file or the Windows registry.

NOTE: If the file, section, or key do not exist, they are created when you run the macro.

The following macro creates a file ("Test.ini"), section ("MySection"), and key ("MyKey") and sets the value of the key to "7."


Sub SetInfo()
   System.PrivateProfileString("Test.ini", "MySection", "MyKey") = "7"
End Sub

The following macro returns the value set in the previous macro.


Sub GetInfo()
   MsgBox System.PrivateProfileString("Test.ini", "MySection", "MyKey")
End Sub

You cannot delete a key using the PrivateProfileString property, but you can set its argument to an empty string. The following macro deletes the value, but it does not delete the MySection section or the MyKey entry from the Test.ini file.


Sub DelInfo()
   System.PrivateProfileString("Test.ini", "MySection", "MyKey") = ""
End Sub

The following macro displays the default user name setting from the Windows registry:


Sub GetUserInfo()
   aName = System.PrivateProfileString("", _
   "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MS Setup (ACME)\User Info", _
   "DefName")
   MsgBox aName
End Sub

For more information about PrivateProfileString, while in the Visual Basic for Applications Editor, click the Office Assistant, type "PrivateProfileString" (without the quotation marks), click Search, and then click to view "PrivateProfileString Property."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If Microsoft Visual Basic Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q120802 Office: How to Add/Remove a Single Office Program or Component

For information about how to do this in earlier versions of Word, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q81792 Using Windows Calls to Write to a Private Text File

Additional query words: wordcon word8 word97 8.0 vb vba vbe


Keywords          : kbdta kbwordvba 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: July 30, 1999