Using Shell Statement to Access MS-DOS Prompt from WinWord

ID: Q79696

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

From within Microsoft Word, you can use the WordBasic or Visual Basic for Applications Shell statement to access the MS-DOS prompt. You can assign this macro to a key, a menu, or a button.

MORE INFORMATION

The following steps create a macro to access the MS-DOS prompt from within Word.

Word 97

1. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros.

2. In the Macro Name box, type "dosprompt" (without the quotation 

   marks), and click Create.
3. In the macro editing window, type the following macro text: 

      Shell "command.com", 1
4. On the File menu, click "Close and Return to Microsoft Word."

For more information about adding macros to toolbars, menus, or keystrokes: from the Visual Basic Editor, click the Office Assistant, type "add toolbar keyboard menu command," click Search, and then click to view the appropriate topic.

Word for Windows Versions 6.0, 7.0

1. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros.

2. In the Macro Name box, type "dosprompt" (without the quotation 

   marks), and click Create.
3. In the macro editing window, type the following macro text: 

      Shell "command.com", 1
4. On the File menu, click Close. Click Yes when prompted to save changes 
   to the macro.
5. On the Tools menu, point to Customize, and select the Keyboard, 
   Menu, or Toolbar Category to assign this macro to a key
   combination, menu, or toolbar button.

Word for Windows Version 2.0

1. From the Tools menu, choose Macro.

2. In the Macro Name box, type "dosprompt" (without the quotation 

   marks), and then choose the Edit button.
3. In the macro editing window, type the following macro text: 

      Shell "command.com", 1
4. From the File menu, choose Close. Choose the Yes button when 
   prompted to save changes to the macro.
5. From the Tools menu, choose Options, and select the Keyboard, Menu, 
   or Toolbar Category to assign this macro to a key combination, menu
   or tool bar button.
For more information on the Shell statement, search for "WordBasic Programming Language" and "Shell" using the Help menu.

Word for Windows Version 1.x

1. From the Macro menu, choose Edit.

2. In the Edit Macro Name box, type "dosprompt" (without the quotation 

   marks), and press the OK button.
3. In the macro editing window, type the following macro text: 

      Sub MAIN
      Shell "command.com", 1
      End Sub

   Note: In the Shell line, the following arguments can be used:

      0 for minimized window
      1 for normal window
      3 for maximized window
      4 for deactivated window
4. From the File menu, choose Close. Choose the Yes button when 
   prompted to save changes to the macro.
5. From the Macro menu, you can choose the Assign to Key, or Assign to 
   Menu commands to assign this macro to a key sequence or menu.

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word for Windows and OS/2 Technical Reference," page 257

Kbcategory: kbusage kbmacro KBSubcategory: Additional query words: 1.x 2.0 2.0a word6 7.0 word95 winword word7 winword 2.0a-CD winword2 2.0b 2.0c 6.0 6.0a 6.0c word8 word97 8.0 

Version           : 1.x 2.x 6.0 6.0a 6.0c 7.0 7.
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: July 30, 1997