WD: Incorrect Calculation in Drop-Down Form Field Using Macro

ID: Q121712

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
Microsoft Word for Windows NT, version 6.0
Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1

SYMPTOMS

When you perform a calculation in a drop-down form field using the SetFormResult statement in a macro, the results are incorrect.

CAUSE

Numbers entered in the list are not treated as numeric values; instead, they are considered text strings. Because the macro is performing a calculation on text not numbers, the results are incorrect.

WORKAROUND

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/supportnet/refguide/

To work around this problem, you can modify your macro to include the GetFormResult statement in addition to the SetFormResult statement. This allows the macro to obtain the current values of the drop-down form field. You must then convert the text strings into numeric values before you can perform your calculations. Finally, the macro converts the number back to a string so that the value is displayed correctly in the destination. The following is a simple macro that demonstrates the use of both GetFormResult and SetFormResult.

   Sub Main
      'Assigns DROPDOWN1 text to the variable A$
      A$ = GetFormResult$("DROPDOWN1")
      'Assigns DROPDOWN2 text to the variable B$
      B$ = GetFormResult$("DROPDOWN2")
      'Converts string into a number
      A = Val(A$) + Val(B$)
      ' Set the result to the "Text4" FormField and
      ' converts the value back into a string
      SetFormResult "TEXT4", Str$(A)
   End Sub

Note: To insure that leading or trailing characters do not display, in the formfield result, do the following in the TextForm Field Options dialog box: 1.Select Number under Type. 2.Select Zero(0) under Number Format.

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word Developer's Kit," version 6.0, pages 494-495 and 681

"Microsoft Word Developer's Kit," version 6.0, 2d ed., pages 523-524 and 702

Additional query words: setformresult getformresult macro calculate calcuation add sum formfield form field dropdown drop down strange

Keywords          : kbmacro wordnt winword ntword macword word6 word7 word95 
Version           : WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a; MACINTOSH:6.0,6.0.1,6.0.1a
Platform          : MACINTOSH Win95 WINDOWS winnt
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: April 9, 1999