Visual Basic Q&A

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This article demonstrates how to create and manipulate Excel by using Automation from Visual Basic.
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There are two ways to control an Automation server: by using either late binding or early binding. With late binding, methods are not bound until run-time and the Automation server is declared as Object. With early binding, your application knows at design-time the exact type of object it will be communicating with, and can declare its objects as a specific type. This sample uses early binding, which is considered better in most cases because it affords greater performance and better type safety.
To early bind to an Automation server, you need to set a reference to that server’s type library. In Visual Basic, this is done through the References dialog box found under the Project | References menu. For this sample, you will need to add a reference to the type library for Excel before you can run the code. See the steps below on how to add the reference.

Building the Automation SampleStart Visual Basic and create a new Standard EXE project. Form1 is created by default.ClickProject and then click References. The References dialog box appears. Scroll down the list until you find Microsoft Excel object library, and then select the item to add a reference to Excel. If the correct object library for your version of Excel does not appear in the list, make sure that you have your version of Excel properly installed.
NotesIf you are automating Microsoft Office Excel 2007, the type library appears as Microsoft Excel 12.0 Object Library in the References list.If you are automating Microsoft Office Excel 2003, the type library appears as Microsoft Excel 11.0 Object Library in the References list.If you are automating Microsoft Excel 2002, the type library appears as Microsoft Excel 10.0 Object Library in the References listIf you are automating Microsoft Excel 2000, the type library appears as Microsoft Excel 9.0 Object Library in the References list.If you are automating Microsoft Excel 97, the type library appears as Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library in the References listClick OK to close the References dialog box.Add a CommandButton to Form1.In the code window for Form1, insert the following code:

Option ExplicitPrivate Sub Command1_Click()Dim oXL As Excel.ApplicationDim oWB As Excel.WorkbookDim oSheet As Excel.WorksheetDim oRng As Excel.Range’On Error GoTo Err_Handler’ Start Excel and get Application object.Set oXL = CreateObject(“Excel.Application”)oXL.Visible = True’ Get a new workbook.Set oWB = oXL.Workbooks.AddSet oSheet = oWB.ActiveSheet’ Add table headers going cell by cell.oSheet.Cells(1, 1).Value = “First Name”oSheet.Cells(1, 2).Value = “Last Name”oSheet.Cells(1, 3).Value = “Full Name”oSheet.Cells(1, 4).Value = “Salary”‘ Format A1:D1 as bold, vertical alignment = center.With oSheet.Range(“A1″, “D1″).Font.Bold = True.VerticalAlignment = xlVAlignCenterEnd With’ Create an array to set multiple values at once.Dim saNames(5, 2) As StringsaNames(0, 0) = “John”saNames(0, 1) = “Smith”saNames(1, 0) = “Tom”saNames(1, 1) = “Brown”saNames(2, 0) = “Sue”saNames(2, 1) = “Thomas”saNames(3, 0) = “Jane”saNames(3, 1) = “Jones”saNames(4, 0) = “Adam”saNames(4, 1) = “Johnson”‘ Fill A2:B6 with an array of values (First and Last Names).oSheet.Range(“A2″, “B6″).Value = saNames’ Fill C2:C6 with a relative formula (=A2 & ” ” & B2).Set oRng = oSheet.Range(“C2″, “C6″)oRng.Formula = “=A2 & “” “” & B2″‘ Fill D2:D6 with a formula(=RAND()*100000) and apply format.Set oRng = oSheet.Range(“D2″, “D6″)oRng.Formula = “=RAND()*100000″oRng.NumberFormat = “$0.00″‘ AutoFit columns A:D.Set oRng = oSheet.Range(“A1″, “D1″)oRng.EntireColumn.AutoFit’ Manipulate a variable number of columns for Quarterly Sales Data.Call DisplayQuarterlySales(oSheet)’ Make sure Excel is visible and give the user control’ of Microsoft Excel’s lifetime.oXL.Visible = TrueoXL.UserControl = True’ Make sure you release object references.Set oRng = NothingSet oSheet = NothingSet oWB = NothingSet oXL = NothingExit SubErr_Handler:MsgBox Err.Description, vbCritical, “Error: ” & Err.NumberEnd SubPrivate Sub DisplayQuarterlySales(oWS As Excel.Worksheet)Dim oResizeRange As Excel.RangeDim oChart As Excel.ChartDim iNumQtrs As IntegerDim sMsg As StringDim iRet As Integer’ Determine how many quarters to display data for.For iNumQtrs = 4 To 2 Step -1sMsg = “Enter sales data for” & Str(iNumQtrs) & ” quarter(s)?”iRet = MsgBox(sMsg, vbYesNo Or vbQuestion _Or vbMsgBoxSetForeground, “Quarterly Sales”)If iRet = vbYes Then Exit ForNext iNumQtrssMsg = “Displaying data for” & Str(iNumQtrs) & ” quarter(s).”MsgBox sMsg, vbMsgBoxSetForeground, “Quarterly Sales”‘ Starting at E1, fill headers for the number of columns selected.Set oResizeRange = oWS.Range(“E1″, “E1″).Resize(ColumnSize:=iNumQtrs)oResizeRange.Formula = “=”"Q”" & COLUMN()-4 & CHAR(10) & “”Sales”"”‘ Change the Orientation and WrapText properties for the headers.oResizeRange.Orientation = 38oResizeRange.WrapText = True’ Fill the interior color of the headers.oResizeRange.Interior.ColorIndex = 36′ Fill the columns with a formula and apply a number format.Set oResizeRange = oWS.Range(“E2″, “E6″).Resize(ColumnSize:=iNumQtrs)oResizeRange.Formula = “=RAND()*100″oResizeRange.NumberFormat = “$0.00″‘ Apply borders to the Sales data and headers.Set oResizeRange = oWS.Range(“E1″, “E6″).Resize(ColumnSize:=iNumQtrs)oResizeRange.Borders.Weight = xlThin’ Add a Totals formula for the sales data and apply a border.Set oResizeRange = oWS.Range(“E8″, “E8″).Resize(ColumnSize:=iNumQtrs)oResizeRange.Formula = “=SUM(E2:E6)”With oResizeRange.Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlDouble.Weight = xlThickEnd With’ Add a Chart for the selected dataSet oResizeRange = oWS.Range(“E2:E6″).Resize(ColumnSize:=iNumQtrs)Set oChart = oWS.Parent.Charts.AddWith oChart.ChartWizard oResizeRange, xl3DColumn, , xlColumns.SeriesCollection(1).XValues = oWS.Range(“A2″, “A6″)For iRet = 1 To iNumQtrs.SeriesCollection(iRet).Name = “=”"Q” & Str(iRet) & “”"”Next iRet.Location xlLocationAsObject, oWS.NameEnd With’ Move the chart so as not to cover your data.With oWS.Shapes(“Chart 1″).Top = oWS.Rows(10).Top.Left = oWS.Columns(2).LeftEnd With’ Free any references.Set oChart = NothingSet oResizeRange = NothingEnd Sub Press F5 to run the project.

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This article describes how to use the Microsoft Outlook 2002 Object Library or the Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 Object Library to force a Send/Receive action by using Microsoft Visual Basic .NET.
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To use the Outlook 2002 Object Library or the Outlook 2003 Object Library to force a Send/Receive action in a Visual Basic .NET project, follow these steps: Start Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Project. Under Project Types, click Visual Basic Projects.Under Templates, click Console Application, and then click OK.
By default, Module1.vb is created.Add a reference to either the Outlook 2002 Object Library or the Outlook 2003 Object Library: On the Project menu, click Add Reference.On the COM tab, click Microsoft Outlook 11.0 Object Library if you are using Outlook 2003, or click Microsoft Outlook 10.0 Object Library if you are using Outlook 2002, and then click Select. In the Add References dialog box, click OK to accept your selections. If you receive a prompt to generate wrappers for the libraries that you selected, click Yes.In the code window, replace all the code with:

‘TO DO: If you use the Microsoft Outlook 11.0 Object Library, uncomment the following line.’Imports Outlook = Microsoft.Office.Interop.OutlookModule Module1Sub Main()’ Create an Outlook application.Dim oApp As Outlook._Application = New Outlook.Application’ Create the name space.Dim oNS As Outlook._NameSpace = oApp.GetNamespace(“mapi”)Dim oSyncs As Outlook.SyncObjectsDim oSync As Outlook.SyncObjectTry’ Reference SyncObjects.oSyncs = oNS.SyncObjectsoSync = oSyncs.Item(“All Accounts”)’ Send and receive.oSync.Start()Catch ex As ExceptionConsole.WriteLine(ex.Message)End Try’ Clean up.oSync = NothingoSyncs = NothingoNS = NothingoApp = NothingEnd SubEnd ModulePress F5 to build and run the program.