Word Macro: Pausing and then Creating a PDF File

Ah, forgot about the Stop / F5 approach. Should have listed that. Thanks, Chris.

Good suggestions.  I also assumed the PDF would accept my string the same way Word does, but no such luck.  Seems the PDF save as dialogue is a different beast.  It did not take my string I've commented out above:  "wr_setup_r" & MyValue & ".doc".  I did try placing that between the "" in Application.PrintOut FileName:="", but received an error.  Oh crum, just realized I may have left .doc in there instead of .pdf.  Let me give it a try.

Actually, I didn't make a dumb mistake.  The PDF "FileName" is looking for the file to open.  "OutputFileName" is the PDF code for saving the file.  Also,
1. Tried the mssg box, but it won't let me edit Word while it is open.  So I put a Stop in and added a message box (see below); however the stop command opens the VB editor, which I don't want to do if I pass this on to someone less technical.

2. For some reason, the Word doc saves both my rec number and Property Value, but the PDF does not save the recvalue.  Can you see where my code might be off below?  I couldn't find it.

----------------------

'Save As Without Rent Roll (In order to convert to PDF and publish publicly).
    ChangeFileOpenDirectory "R:\fmExports\Uploads\UPC_SETUPS\"
   
    Dim dlg As Dialog
    Set dlg = Dialogs(wdDialogFileSaveAs)
    dlg.Name = "upc_setup_r" & MyValue & PropValue & "test.doc" 'defined and captured at beginning.
    dlg.Show 'later remove this step.
   
    Message = "Make all changes to generic Setup before it auto saves to a PDF.  Press OK now.  To Resume Macro, Press F5."
    Title = "PAUSE FOR EDITS"
    MyValue = InputBox(Message, Title)
   
    Stop
   
    ChangeFileOpenDirectory "R:\fmExports\Uploads\UPC_SETUPS\PDFs\"
    ActivePrinter = "CutePDF Writer"
    Application.PrintOut OutputFileName:="upc_setup_r" & MyValue & PropValue & "test.pdf", Range:=wdPrintAllDocument, Item:= _
        wdPrintDocumentContent, Copies:=1, Pages:="", PageType:=wdPrintAllPages, _
        ManualDuplexPrint:=False, Collate:=True, Background:=True, PrintToFile:= _
        False, PrintZoomColumn:=0, PrintZoomRow:=0, PrintZoomPaperWidth:=0, _
        PrintZoomPaperHeight:=0

Yes, sorry, MyValue is the Value of the Record#.   Yes, I do invite the user to type the value in.  As for the PropValue, I get that from the tab del file itself.  

Thanks.  I really don't need an input box, so either take away the MyValue = or look up a straight message box (It's been awhile since I've been in Word).

OK, really dumb question; I'm sure this is easy.  I tried to create a message box, but keep getting a Type Mismatch error on the last line below.  I'm guessing Response needs to be dimmed as a string, integer, etc., but nothing works.  Following is my code copied directly from VB Help.

    Dim Response
    Message = "Make all changes to generic Setup before it auto saves to a PDF.  Press OK now.  To Resume Macro, Press F5."
    Title = "PAUSE FOR EDITS"
    Response = MsgBox(Message, Title)

Oops, having said that about being anal about variable names, I forgot to modify them in the code I pasted. Sorry. Try this:

Dim iResponse As Integer, sMessage As String, sTitle As String

    sMessage = "Make all changes to generic Setup before it auto saves to a PDF.  Press OK now.  To Resume Macro, Press F5."
    sTitle = "PAUSE FOR EDITS"
    iResponse = MsgBox(prompt:=sMessage, Title:=sTitle)

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Thanks, it worked, but not sure why.  See comparison of your code with mine below.  Message and Title had already been Defined before but with no "as" statement.  However, I thought that it assumed a string as default.  No?

    Dim iResponse As Integer, sMessage As String, sTitle As String
    sMessage = "Make all changes to generic Setup before it auto saves to a PDF.  Press OK now.  To Resume Macro, Press F5."
    sTitle = "PAUSE FOR EDITS"
    iResponse = MsgBox(prompt:=sMessage, Title:=sTitle)

   
    'Dim Response As Integer
    'Message = "Make all changes to generic Setup before it auto saves to a PDF.  Press OK now.  To Resume Macro, Press F5."
    'Title = "PAUSE FOR EDITS"
    'Response = MsgBox(Message, Title)

Regarding using the dimmed dialogue, tried it, but received an error "Object does not support this method" on the Application.Printout section.  If in the set dlg line, I put wdDialog SaveAs instead of FilePrint, it works, but I get the Word SaveAs dialog box come up and then the PDF SaveAs dialog box come up right afterwards with the correct dlg.Name, so we are almost there.  (Remember, creating a PDF is a Print function and not a SaveAs function.)

    ChangeFileOpenDirectory "R:\fmExports\Uploads\UPC_SETUPS\PDFs\"
    Dim dlg As Dialog
    Set dlg = Dialogs(wdDialogFilePrint)
    ActivePrinter = "CutePDF Writer"
    Application.PrintOut OutputFileName:=dlg.Name, Range:=wdPrintAllDocument, Item:= _
        wdPrintDocumentContent, Copies:=1, Pages:="", PageType:=wdPrintAllPages, _
        ManualDuplexPrint:=False, Collate:=True, Background:=True, PrintToFile:= _
        False, PrintZoomColumn:=0, PrintZoomRow:=0, PrintZoomPaperWidth:=0, _
        PrintZoomPaperHeight:=0
       
        dlg.Name = "upc_setup_r" & MyValue & PropValue & ".pdf"
        dlg.Show

Regarding the difference between your code and mine two comments back: The explicit naming of the parameters, rather than the declaration of the variables, was almost definitely the difference. Look closely at the Word Help file, which you've referenced, and you'll see that the second parameter of a MsgBox is not Title, but Buttons:

MsgBox(prompt[, buttons] [, title] [, helpfile, context])

As I indicated, I'm pretty anal about using indicators to remind me exactly what I'm trying to do, mainly so I can make sense of my code quickly when I have to come back to it months or years later. However, if you want to reference the Title parameter of a MsgBox without explicitly referencing the parameter name, you can do that by inserting a comma to define the end of each preceding parameter:

Response = MsgBox(Message, , Title)

As you probably know, the square brackets around the parameters indicate that the parameters are optional. However, and this is key, the only unnamed parameters that can be ignored are those that follow the last submitted parameter; in your case, everything up to and including the Title parameter has to be acknowledged, if only by placing a comma to indicate that you're moving on.
Finally, I'll just point out that, if you don't plan to do anything with the return value from the MsgBox, you don't have to use it at all. The following will work just as well, if you don't use the parentheses:
MsgBox Message, , Title
or
MsgBox prompt:=Message, Title:=Title

As to your last question, perhaps we can skip the SaveAs dialog completely? It seems to me that you already know where to save the file and what to call it, and it certainly looks as if the saved filename is appearing correctly in the PrintOut command...or is it? I'm getting confused.

I'd be inclined to try something like this:

Public Sub savetest()
    ' Defining and populating variables for test purposes; you probably already have these handled'
    Dim sFileOpenDirectory As String, sFileName As String, MyValue As Integer, PropValue As String
    sFileOpenDirectory "R:\fmExports\Uploads\UPC_SETUPS\"
    MyValue = 1
    PropValue = "_99"
    ' Here is the real code. Note that I have removed the file extension ".doc", so we can reuse the sFileName value for the PDF:'
    sFileName = "upc_setup_r" & MyValue & PropValue & "test"
    ActiveDocument.SaveAs sFileOpenDirectory & sFileName & ".doc"
    
    ' Finally, we get to the PDF printing part, which seems to be working:'
    ChangeFileOpenDirectory "R:\fmExports\Uploads\UPC_SETUPS\PDFs\"
    ActivePrinter = "CutePDF Writer"
    Application.PrintOut OutputFileName:=sFileName, Range:=wdPrintAllDocument, Item:= _
        wdPrintDocumentContent, Copies:=1, Pages:="", PageType:=wdPrintAllPages, _
        ManualDuplexPrint:=False, Collate:=True, Background:=True, PrintToFile:= _
        False, PrintZoomColumn:=0, PrintZoomRow:=0, PrintZoomPaperWidth:=0, _
        PrintZoomPaperHeight:=0

End Sub

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Great stuff, it worked.  However, as for the Word Save As, I want to leave it with the dlg.Show to give me one last chance to think whether I want to save over a finalized doc.  Lastly, is there any way around the Stop command as it pulls up Visual Basic.  Another way to give the user a pause as they finalize the Word doc and before the save to PDF (in case I turn this over to someone else)?

Oh, and is there an input box that has two fields and takes two inputs (as in Filemaker)?  I also want to separate out the PDF script as its own self-contained code and need to capture both the rec# and Prop Code.  I also see your code above for adding these two pieces of data to a custom document property -- a great idea, but I think I need it explained in English.  I think I have too many different script projects at once and my brain's not inputting the data.

I know what you mean about the brain processing the data...I'm a bit on overload today, myself. Just in case it helps....

Here's the deal with custom document properties, as used in the code sample earlier in this thread. We want to create a place in the document to keep information that will remain there even after the macros have been run. I like to use custom document properties (CDPs) for this purpose because they don't appear in the document text anywhere (unless you want them to) and so are not prone to accidental erasure.

Creating a CDP is easy, with a simple Add to the CustomDocumentProperties collection:
ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties.Add _
            Name:=sMyCDP, LinkToContent:=False, Value:="upc_setup_r" & MyValue & PropValue & "test.doc", _
            Type:=msoPropertyTypeString

Parameters:
* The Name parameter can be anything (no reason not to hardcode it, if you're only going to be working with the one CDP).
* LinkToContent ties it to a value in the document, which I never do. I set it to False based on a choice I made in the late 90s, but you can probably just ignore it. (I don't remember anymore why I did that.)
* Value is what it says it is.
* Type is where you declare it as a string (you can also choose dates, numbers, etc.).

So, that much is easy. I've run into problems, though, trying to Add a CDP that already exists, so I've gotten into the habit of always checking whether it exists, first. I do this by cycling through all the CDPs in the collection and comparing each name to the one I want to Add (or Update):

    Dim xx As DocumentProperty
    For Each xx In ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties
        If LCase(xx.Name) = LCase(sMyCDP) Then
            bCDPFound = True
        End If ' xx.Name <> CdpName
    Next xx

As before, you can hardcode the name if you prefer (I'm using the string variable sMyCDP in the example). There's also no particular reason to use a boolean to track whether the CDP was found; that's another bit of legacy code that follows me around. To ditch it, you can replace the "bCDPFound = True" statement with the code that sets the value of an existing CDP:

ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties(sMyCDP) = "upc_setup_r" & MyValue & PropValue & "test.doc"

In that case (skipping the boolean), you'd want to put the CDP creation code in the Else side of the If..Then..Else..End If section. Here's the whole thing in that format:

   Dim xx As DocumentProperty
    For Each xx In ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties
        If LCase(xx.Name) = LCase(sMyCDP) Then
            ' Populate the CDP with the current name:
            ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties(sMyCDP) = "upc_setup_r" & MyValue & PropValue & "test.doc"
        Else
           ' Didn't find one, so Add it and populate it
            ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties.Add _
                Name:=sMyCDP, LinkToContent:=False, Value:="upc_setup_r" & MyValue & PropValue & "test.doc", _
                Type:=msoPropertyTypeString
       End If
    Next xx
   

Of course, you can use a variable for the Value parameter, such as sFileName...but you know all that.

The code snippet I've attached is a routine I use to create/add a CDP and give it a value. You'll pass in the CDP name and the value, and it does the rest. Since it refers to yet another routine (CdpExists), I've included that, too. Finally, I'm throwing in the one I use to create a CDP with a numerical value instead of a string (I didn't even remember I had this, so I can't say why I chose Currency).

'--------------
Public Sub CreateAndPopulateOneCDP(ByVal psCdpName As String, ByVal psCdpValue As String)
        If CdpExists(psCdpName) Then
            ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties(psCdpName) = psCdpValue
        Else ' CdpExists(psCdpName) = False
            ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties.Add _
                Name:=psCdpName, LinkToContent:=False, Value:=psCdpValue, _
                Type:=msoPropertyTypeString
        End If ' CdpExists(psCdpName)
End Sub ' CreateAndPopulateOneCDP(ByVal psCdpName As String, ByVal psCdpValue As String)
'--------------
Public Function CdpExists(ByVal CdpName As String) As Boolean
Dim xx As DocumentProperty
    For Each xx In ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties
            If LCase(xx.Name) = LCase(CdpName) Then
                CdpExists = True
                Exit Function
            End If ' xx.Name <> CdpName
    Next xx
    CdpExists = False
End Function
'--------------
Public Sub CreateAndPopulateOneCDP_Number(ByVal psCdpName As String, ByVal pcurCdpValue As Currency)
        If mxcCdpExists(psCdpName) Then
            ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties(psCdpName) = psCdpValue
        Else ' CdpExists(psCdpName) = False
            ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties.Add _
                Name:=psCdpName, LinkToContent:=False, Value:=pcurCdpValue, _
                Type:=msoPropertyTypeNumber
        End If ' CdpExists(psCdpName)
End Sub ' CreateAndPopulateOneCDP_Number(ByVal psCdpName As String, ByVal pcurCdpValue As Currency)
'--------------

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One last thing: Watch out for that last routine in the snippet above...I see I have it calling a function called "mxcCdpExists" instead of CdpExists -- I must have done that for disambiguation at some point and forgot to clean it out. If you use it, fix it. Have fun!

Okay, THIS is the last thing (probably). You asked a question I never answered:

"Message and Title had already been Defined before but with no "as" statement.  However, I thought that it assumed a string as default.  No?"

Answer: No. The variables will be defined as Variant by default, which allocates twice as much memory as a String (if I remember correctly, a String requires 8 bytes, a Variant 16 bytes). A Variant can take all types of, well, Types, but if memory is an issue it's to be avoided. Also, explicitly typing your variables can help avoid puzzling Type Mismatch errors, like that one that nailed you when you tried to apply a string value (Title) to an integer parameter (Buttons).

And did I mention I'm a little anal about that sort of thing? ;~)