"Built-in Constants in Visual Basic for Applications" (WC0993)

ID: Q112671

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0

The Application Note "Built-in Constants in Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications," (WC0993) provides a complete list of the constants that are included in Microsoft Office 97 programs and Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0 and 7.0, for use in Visual Basic for Applications.

This Application Note contains the Microsoft Excel 97, Microsoft Access 97, Microsoft Office Binder 97, Microsoft Office 97, Microsoft Outlook 97, Microsoft PowerPoint 97, Visual Basic for Applications, Microsoft Word 97, and Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0 and 7.0, constants files. You can use these files in Visual Basic 3.0 or later projects. These files provide the definitions of these constants so that you can use the name of the constants in your Visual Basic modules. This Application Note also includes a Microsoft Excel 5.0 workbook file, Constants.xls, which includes lists of the constants that you can sort alphabetically or numerically.

To Obtain This Application Note

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Software Library:

 ~ Wc0993.exe (size: 288903 bytes)

For more information about downloading files from the Microsoft Software Library, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q119591
   TITLE     : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

THE TEXT OF WC0993

        Microsoft(R) Technical Support Application Note (Text File)
         WC0993: BUILT-IN CONSTANTS IN MICROSOFT VISUAL BASIC(R)
                             FOR APPLICATIONS

                                                   Revision Date: 3/97

The following information applies to Microsoft Office 97, Microsoft Excel for Windows(R), versions 5.0 and 7.0.

| INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT AND ANY SOFTWARE THAT MAY     |
| ACCOMPANY THIS DOCUMENT (collectively referred to as an Application |
| Note) IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER      |
| EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED      |
| WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR       |
| PURPOSE. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and    |
| the use of this Application Note. This Application Note may be      |
| copied and distributed subject to the following conditions: 1) All  |
| text must be copied without modification and all pages must be      |
| included; 2) If software is included, all files on the disk(s) must |
| be copied without modification (the MS-DOS(R) utility diskcopy is   |
| appropriate for this purpose); 3) All components of this            |
| Application Note must be distributed together; and 4) This          |
| Application Note may not be distributed for profit.                 |
|                                                                     |
| Copyright (C) 1994-1997 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. |
| Microsoft, MS-DOS, and Visual Basic are registered trademarks and   |
| Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.                    |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|

OVERVIEW

This Application Note provides a complete list of the constants that are included in Microsoft Office 97 programs and Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0 and 7.0, for use in Visual Basic for Applications. The following files are included.

   Filename            Function
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------

   Constant.xls        Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0, workbook
                       that contains a complete list of all the built-in
                       constants discussed in this document
   Ac97cons.bas        Constants file for Microsoft Access 97
   Bd97cons.bas        Constants file for Microsoft Office Binder 97 for
                       Windows
   Of97cons.bas        Constants file for common Microsoft Office 97 for
                       Windows features
   Ol97cons.bas        Constants file for Microsoft Outlook 97
   Pp97cons.bas        Constants file for Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for
                       Windows
   Vbacons.bas         Constants file for common Visual Basic for
                       Applications features
   Wd97cons.bas        Constants file for Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
   Xl57cons.bas        Constants file for Microsoft Excel for Windows,
                       versions 5.0 and 7.0
   Xl97cons.bas        Constants file for Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

You can use the BAS files with Microsoft Visual Basic, versions 3.0 and later, or with any other program that supports Visual Basic or Visual Basic for Applications. Each BAS file contains a complete set of constants for a specific program. If you include the BAS file in a Visual Basic project, you can use constant names (instead of typing the values) in Visual Basic modules.

Constant.xls is a Microsoft Excel 5.0 workbook that contains a complete, easy-to-use listing of all the constants in the BAS files.

WHAT ARE BUILT-IN CONSTANTS?

When you create a procedure using Visual Basic for Applications, you can use constants to represent values that you use frequently. Using constants makes your code easier to read and maintain. For example, if you use the value 5.67 frequently, you can define a constant called MyValue as 5.67, and then use MyValue in your procedure everywhere you would use the value 5.67.

Programs that can use Visual Basic for Applications include built-in constants that you can use in Visual Basic functions, methods, objects, and properties. The built-in constants for a specific program begin with the same two-letter prefix. The prefixes for the Office programs are listed in the following table.

   Prefix         Program
   --------------------------------------

   xl             Microsoft Excel
   wd             Microsoft Word
   ac             Microsoft Access
   pp             Microsoft PowerPoint
   bind           Microsoft Office Binder
   ol             Microsoft Outlook
   mso            Microsoft Office
   vb             Visual Basic

Built-in constants make it easier for you to create procedures in Office programs with Visual Basic and Visual Basic for Applications. For example, to change the orientation of an active Microsoft Excel worksheet to landscape or to check whether a cell is center-aligned, you could use the following Visual Basic code:

   ActiveWorksheet.PageSetup.Orientation = xlLandscape

   If Range("A1").HorizontalAlignment = xlCenter Then
      MsgBox "Cell A1 is centered!"
   End If

The built-in constants in this example (xlLandscape and xlCenter) are easier to remember than the numeric values they represent. Also, when you use built-in constants, it is easier to read the code and understand the function the code performs. For example, without built-in constants, you use the following code to change the orientation of an active Microsoft Excel worksheet to landscape or to check whether a cell is center-aligned:

   ActiveWorksheet.PageSetup.Orientation = 2

   If Range("A1").HorizontalAlignment = -4108 Then

Note that it is difficult to understand what these lines do without first knowing what the values 2 and -4108 represent.

Using Built-in Constants in Microsoft Office 97 Programs

When you write a Visual Basic for Applications macro in a program, built- in constants that belong to that program are automatically available. For example, if you write a Visual Basic for Applications macro in Microsoft Excel, all of the Microsoft Excel constants are automatically available to the macro.

However, when you use one program (for example, Microsoft Access) to control another program (for example, Microsoft Excel), and you use the constants for the program you want to control in the macro, you must add the constants to the controlling program. To make the constants available to a program, do either of the following:

Load the BAS file for the program that you want to control to the project.
Create a reference to the program that you want to control.

Loading a BAS File into a Visual Basic for

Applications Project in a Microsoft Office 97 Program

To load the BAS file, use the following steps:

1. In the Visual Basic Editor (press ALT+F11), click Module on the Insert

   menu to create a new module.

2. On the Insert menu, click File. In the Insert File dialog box, open the

   folder that contains the BAS file you want to add. In the Files of Type
   list, click Basic Files (*.bas).

3. Click the BAS file you want, and then click Open.

It may take a few seconds for the Visual Basic Editor to load the BAS file. After you load the file, the module contains many Global Const statements. Each statement declares a single constant.

NOTE: Do not add both the Xl57cons.bas and the Xl97cons.bas files to your project. These files are similar but provide constants for different versions of Microsoft Excel.

Creating a Reference to the Program That You Want to Control

To create a reference to the program, use the following steps:

1. In the Visual Basic Editor (press ALT+F11), click References on the

   Tools menu.

2. In the Available References list, click to select the check box to the

   left of the object library that contains the constants that you want to
   use. For example, if you want to use constants that belong to Microsoft
   Word 97, click to select the check box to the left of Microsoft Word
   8.0 Object Library.

   Note In this dialog box, "8.0" and "97" are synonymous. Therefore, the
   Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library provides the constants for Microsoft
   Excel 97.

3. After you finish selecting the libraries you want to use, click OK.

You can now use the constants that belong to the referenced programs in the Visual Basic for Applications macro.

USING BUILT-IN CONSTANTS IN MICROSOFT VISUAL BASIC

If you write a Microsoft Visual Basic program that uses Automation to control an Office program, you may want to use the constants that belong to that program. Depending on the version of Microsoft Visual Basic you are using, use one of the following methods to make the constants available:

Load the BAS file for the program that you want to control to the project.
NOTE: This method works for any version of Microsoft Visual Basic.
Create a reference to the program that you want to control.

Loading a BAS File into a Code Module

Visual Basic 5.0:

To load the BAS file, use the following steps:

1. In the development environment, click Add Module on the Project menu.

   On the New tab, click Module, and then click Open.

   This step adds an empty code module to the project.

2. Verify that the module is the active window. On the Edit menu, click

   Insert File.

3. In the List Files of Type box, click Basic Files (*.bas).

4. Click the BAS file and click Open.

Visual Basic 4.0:

To load the BAS file, use the following steps:

1. In the development environment, click Module on the Insert menu.

   This adds an empty code module to your project.

2. Verify that the module is the active window. On the Insert menu, click

   File.

3. In the List Files of Type box, click Basic Files (*.bas).

4. Select the BAS file and click Open.

Visual Basic 3.0:

To load the BAS file, use the following steps:

1. In the development environment, click New Module on the File menu.

   This step adds an empty code module to the project.

2. Verify that the module is the active window. On the File menu click

   Load Text.

3. In the List Files of Type box, click Basic Files (*.bas).

4. Click the BAS file, and click Replace. If you want to add the BAS file

   to a module that contains other code or declarations, click Merge.

Creating a Reference to the Program That You Want to Control

Visual Basic 5.0:

To create a reference to the program, use the following steps:

1. On the View menu, click Project Explorer.

2. On the Project menu, click References. If the References command

   appears dimmed, the project is running. To make the command available,
   end program execution.

3. In the Available References list, select the check box to the left of

   the object library that contains the constants you want to access. For
   example, if you want to access constants that belong to Microsoft Word
   97, select the check box to the left of Microsoft Word 8.0 Object
   Library.

   Note In this dialog box, "8.0" and "97" are synonymous. Therefore, the
   Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library provides the constants for Microsoft
   Excel 97.

4. After you finish selecting the libraries you want to use, click OK.

Visual Basic 4.0:

To create a reference to the program, use the following steps:

1. On the View menu, click Project.

2. On the Tools menu, click References. If the References command appears

   dimmed, the project is running. To make the command available, end
   program execution.

3. In the Available References list, click to select the check box to the

   left of the object library that contains the constants you want to
   access. For example, if you want to access constants that belong to
   Microsoft Word 97, click to select the check box to the left of
   Microsoft Word 8.0 Object Library.

   Note In this dialog box, "8.0" and "97" are synonymous. Therefore, the
   Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library provides the constants for Microsoft
   Excel 97.

4. After you finish selecting the libraries you want to use, click OK.

WHERE ARE BUILT-IN CONSTANTS LISTED IN MICROSOFT OFFICE PROGRAMS?

The built-in constants that are available for a program are listed in Help or in the Object Browser. If you want to determine which built-in constants are available for a particular function, look them up in Help or use the Object Browser.

Looking Up a Built-in Constant in Help

Microsoft Office 97 Programs:

1. Start the Visual Basic Editor (press ALT+F11).

2. On the Standard toolbar, click Office Assistant.

3. Type the name of the function you want to view in the box and click

   Search.

4. In the list of topics, click the button for the function you want to

   view.

Microsoft Excel 7.0:

1. In a Visual Basic module, click Microsoft Excel Help Topics on the Help

   menu.

2. Click the Index tab.

3. Type the name of the function you want to view in the box and click

   Display.

Any built-in constants that are available to the function appear in bold in the Help topic text for that function. For example, the ConvertFormula method uses the following six built-in constants. These constants are listed in bold, for example: xlA1, xlR1C1, xlAbsolute, xlAbsRowRelColumn, xlRelRowAbsColumn, and xlRelative.

Microsoft Excel 5.0

1. On the Help menu, click Contents.

2. In the Microsoft Excel Help Contents window, click Programming with

   Visual Basic.

3. In the Visual Basic Reference window, click Search and click the Index

   tab.

4. Type the name of the function you want to view in the box and click

   Display.

Looking Up Constants with the Object Browser

Microsoft Office 97 Programs:

1. Start the Visual Basic Editor (press ALT+F11).

2. On the View menu, click Object Browser.

3. In the Project/Library box, click the library that contains the

   constants you want to view (for example, click Excel).

   Note Click <All Libraries> to browse through a list of all libraries.

4. In the Classes list, click Constants.

   The constants are listed in the Members of 'Constants' box.

Microsoft Excel 5.0 and 7.0:

1. In a Visual Basic module, click Object Browser on the View menu.

2. In the Libraries/Workbooks list box, click Excel.

3. In the Objects/Modules list, click Constants.

   A list of the built-in constants appears in the Methods/Properties
   list.

For a complete list of the built-in constants, see the Constant.xls file that is included with this Application Note.

USING THE LISTS IN CONSTANT.XLS

The Constant.xls workbook contains a complete list of the built-in constants. These lists are designed so that you can easily sort them in alphabetical or numerical order.

When you open the workbook in Microsoft Excel, the Contents worksheet is displayed. This worksheet contains basic information about the workbook, including instructions for moving between worksheets and information about library files.

Additional query words: xlconstants wdconstants acconstants ppconstants msoconstants bindconstants olconstants vbconstants

Keywords          : kbfile kbprg
Version           : WINDOWS:7.0,97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: August 28, 1998