KnowledgeBase Archive

An Archive of Early Microsoft KnowledgeBase Articles

View on GitHub

Q142193: HOWTO: Use OLE Automation to Add Data to Excel Sheet

Article: Q142193
Product(s): Microsoft FoxPro
Version(s): WINDOWS:3.0,3.0b,5.0,6.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbcode kbinterop kbExcel kbvfp300 kbvfp500 kbvfp600
Last Modified: 20-OCT-2000

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, versions 3.0, 3.0b, 5.0, 6.0 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY
=======

OLE Automation provides a way for Visual FoxPro for Windows to interact with
other OLE-compliant applications. Using OLE, the Visual FoxPro program can start
a Microsoft Excel session, open a workbook, select a worksheet from the
workbook, place data into a cell or range of cells, print a worksheet, save the
updated workbook, and close the Microsoft Excel session. This article shows by
example how to do just that.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Step-by-Step Example
--------------------

1. Open a new workbook in Microsoft Excel 5.0 or Microsoft Excel 7.0 (part of
  Office 95) or Microsoft Excel 97 (part of Office 97), so that the program
  example in this article will work.

2. Select sheet 3 by clicking the tab at the bottom of the worksheet, and enter
  the following data into the spreadsheet:

     Enter         In Cells
     ----------------------------
     Part #        A1
     Sales YTD     B1
     1             A2 through A4
     2             A5 through A7
     3             B2 through B7

3. On the Microsoft Excel Data menu, click Subtotal. The resulting dialog box
  should show that at each change in Part #, the function 'SUM' adds the
  subtotal to 'Sales YTD' and display that summary below the data. If so, click
  OK.

4. Click the tab at the bottom of the worksheet for Sheet 1 to restore the
  workbook's default page to Sheet 1.

5. Save the workbook. Then close the workbook, and exit from Microsoft Excel.
  For the following example code, the workbook has been saved as

     C:\XLSheets\Testbook.xls.

6. In Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, create the following program named
  oleExcel.prg:

  *** Program oleExcel.prg *****
  #DEFINE xlLandscape 2
  #DEFINE xlDoNotSaveChanges 2

  DIMENSION laDemoData(4)      && For some Visual FoxPro users, data
  laDemoData(1)= 1024          && could come from table or view
  laDemoData(2)= 2048
  laDemoData(3)= 5120
  laDemoData(4)= "The Sample Message"

  loExcel = CREATEOBJECT("Excel.application") 

  WITH loExcel
     .Application.Workbooks.Open("C:\XLSheets\testbook.xls")
     .Application.Worksheets("Sheet3").Activate  && Select sheet
     
     .Range("b2").Value = 14444          && constants as data
     .Range("b3").Value = 25555
     .Range("b4").Value = 30001

     .Range("b6").Value = laDemoData(1)  && variables as data
     .Range("b7").Value = laDemoData(2)
     .Range("b8").Value = laDemoData(3)
     .Range("a12").Value = laDemoData(4)

     .Worksheets("Sheet3").PageSetup.Orientation = xlLandscape
     .ActiveSheet.PrintOut  && Example of printing the worksheet

     .Visible = .t. && See the results
     =MESSAGEBOX("Click OK to close Excel.") && Keep the program running, 
                                             && so Excel isn't stranded

     .ActiveWindow.Close(xlDoNotSaveChanges)
     .Quit()
  ENDwith

REFERENCES
==========

Examine the Microsoft Excel Help topic "Application Object" and the many topics
that are introduced in the Properties and Methods lists of that topic.

For more information about many of the concepts in the example program, please
see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q139051 HOWTO: Select Cells in Microsoft Excel by Using OLE Automation

  Q132535 PRB: Releasing Object Variable Does Not Close Microsoft Excel

  Q138398 PRB: Release may not Remove OLE Objects from Memory

  Q130809 INFO: KB List: OCX, OLE, ODBC, & 3rd-party Interoperability

Additional query words: Interoperability printing

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbcode kbinterop kbExcel kbvfp300 kbvfp500 kbvfp600 
Technology        : kbVFPsearch kbAudDeveloper kbVFP300 kbVFP300b kbVFP500 kbVFP600
Version           : WINDOWS:3.0,3.0b,5.0,6.0
Issue type        : kbhowto

=============================================================================

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.