WD97: Macro to Determine If File Is Already Open

ID: Q159345

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

The "More Information" section of this article describes how to create a Visual Basic for Applications macro that determines if a specified file is already open.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. 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/refguide/

This macro example loops through each document in the Documents collection, and determines if the path and name of the document you want to open matches the path and name of a file already open in Word. If there is a match, then the macro will display a message box stating that the document is currently open in Word. If there is no match, then the macro will open the document.

   Sub IsDocAlreadyOpen()
      Dim sDocToOpen As String
      Dim dDoc As Document
      ' Replace the following example document path and file
      ' with the path and file you want to open.
      sDocToOpen = "C:\My Documents\MyDoc.Doc"
      ' Loop through all open documents.
      For Each dDoc In Documents
         'Test for match.
         If UCase(sDocToOpen) = UCase(dDoc.Path & "\" & dDoc.Name) Then
            ' If open, display a message.
            MsgBox sDocToOpen & " is already open."
            Exit Sub
         Else
            On Error Resume Next
            ' Open the document.
            Documents.Open (sDocToOpen)
            ' If the document does not exist or the path/name is
            ' incorrect an error will occur. This error trap
            ' displays the error information.
            If Err <> 0 Then
               MsgBox Err.Description
            End If
            Exit Sub
         End If
      ' Loop to next document.
      Next dDoc
   End Sub

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

   ARTICLE-ID: Q89429
   TITLE     : WD: Macro to Determine If File Is Already Open

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q173707
   TITLE     : OFF97: How to Run Sample Code from Knowledge Base Articles

REFERENCES

For more information about getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q163435
   TITLE     : VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for
               Applications

Additional query words: wordcon vb vba vbe

Keywords          : kbdta kbdtacode word8 kbwordvba word97 
Version           : 97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: April 6, 1999