WD98: Sample VBA Code to Set, Retrieve Summary Information

ID: Q181441

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Word, you can use Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications to access the summary information in the Document Properties dialog box (on the File menu, click Properties) and then display the information in a message box, insert the information into the active document, or store the values within a variable.

MORE INFORMATION

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   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/
To retrieve or set values on the Summary tab of the Document Properties dialog box, use the following literal string arguments or property constants with either of the two methods below. 

   Literal String Arguments             Property Constants
   ------------------------             ------------------
   Title                                wdPropertyTitle
   Subject                              wdPropertySubject
   Author                               wdPropertyAuthor
   Manager                              wdPropertyManager
   Company                              wdPropertyCompany
   Category                             wdPropertyCategory
   Keywords                             wdPropertyKeywords
   Comments                             wdPropertyComments
   Hyperlink base                       wdPropertyHyperlinkbase

Method 1: Use the BuiltInDocumentProperties Property

Use the BuiltInDocumentProperties property to set and return summary information for the active document. You can specify which value to set or retrieve by referencing the argument through a built-in constant or a literal string. The following sample code uses the wdPropertyTitle constant to retrieve the title for the active document and displays the result in a message box. 

   Sub GetSetDocProps()

      If Documents.Count > 0 Then

         Dim dp As Object
         Set dp = ActiveDocument.BuiltInDocumentProperties

         ' Retrieve and display the active document's
         ' title by using the constant "wdPropertyTitle."
         MsgBox dp(wdPropertyTitle)

      End If

   End Sub
The following sample code uses a literal string to define the keywords for the active document: 

   Sub SetDocProps()

      If Documents.Count > 0 Then

         Dim dp As Object
         Set dp = ActiveDocument.BuiltInDocumentProperties

         ' Set KeyWords for the active document by
         ' using a literal string.
         dp("KeyWords") = "Summary Information Example Macro"
         ActiveDocument.Save

      End If

   End Sub

Method 2: Use the Dialogs Collection to Set and Return Values

Use the Dialogs collection to set and return values for the active document's summary information.

Before you return or change a built-in dialog box setting, you need to identify the individual dialog box. To do this, use the Dialogs collection and a WdWordDialog constant that identifies the dialog box. The following Visual Basic statement returns the Dialog object that refers to the Summary tab of the Document Properties dialog box. 

   Set myDialog = Dialogs(wdDialogFileSummaryInfo)
You can set or retrieve the following literal string arguments without displaying the Summary tab when a document is open. 

   Title
   Subject
   Author
   Manager
   Company
   Category
   Keywords
   Comments
   Hyperlinkbase
The following sample macro retrieves the current value of the Title string, places this value in a variable string, and sets a new value without displaying the Properties dialog box. 

   Sub SetSummaryInfo()

      If Documents.Count > 0 Then

         Dim dp As Object
         Set dp = Dialogs(wdDialogFileSummaryInfo)

         ' Retrieve value of Title and store in a variable.
         a$ = dp.Title

         ' Set Title to a new value.
         dp.Title = "My Title"

         ' Set the value without showing the dialog box.
         dp.Execute

         ' Save the changes.
         ActiveDocument.Save

      End If

   End Sub
The following sample macro sets a new value for Title and displays the Properties dialog box. 

   Sub SetSummaryInfo()

      If Documents.Count > 0 Then

         Dim dp As Object
         Set dp = Dialogs(wdDialogFileSummaryInfo)

         ' Set Title to a new value.
         dp.Title = "My Title"

         ' Set the value.
         dp.Execute

         ' Save the changes.
         ActiveDocument.Save

         ' Display the dialog box.
         ' Note: Using the Display method will not keep changes
         ' manually entered into the dialog box. To keep changes
         ' manually entered in the dialog box, use the Show method.
         dp.Display

      End If

   End Sub
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 displaying, setting, or retrieving values in Word dialog boxes, click Office Assistant while in the Visual Basic Editor, type "Displaying dialog boxes" (without the quotation marks), click Search, and then click Displaying built-in Word dialog boxes.

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

   ARTICLE-ID: Q85168
   TITLE     : WD: How to Access the Summary Info Dialog Box from a Macro
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: 
Keywords          : kbdta kbdtacode OffVBA 
Version           : MACINTOSH:98
Platform          : MACINTOSH
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: April 7, 1999