OpenOffice.org OpenOffice - 3.0 Quick Start Guide download pdf (Page 372)

• Another kind of subroutine is called a function. A function is a

subroutine that returns a value. The keyword FUNCTION is used

rather than SUB to define a function. Generated macros are

always of type SUB.

Defining variables using DIM

You can write information on a piece of paper so that you can look at it

later. A variable, like a piece of paper, contains information that can be

changed and read. The DIM statement is similar to setting aside a

piece of paper to be used to store a message or note.

The EnterMyName macro defines the variables

document

and

dispatcher

as type

object

. Other common variable types include

string

integer

, and

date

. A third variable, named

args1,

is an array of

property values. A variable of type

array

allows a single variable to

contain multiple values, similar to storing multiple pages in a single

book. Values in an array are usually numbered starting from zero. The

number in the parentheses indicates the highest usable number to

access a storage location. In this example, there is only one value, and

it is numbered zero.

Pulling the macro together

The following details are very complete; it is not important to

understand all of the details. The first line defines the start of the

macro.

sub EnterMyName

Declare two variables:

dim document as object

dim dispatcher as object

ThisComponent refers to the current document.

The CurrentController property of a document refers to a service that

“controls” the document. For example, when you type, it is the current

controller that notices. The current controller then dispatches the

changes to the document’s frame.

The Frame property of a controller returns a main frame for a

document. Therefore, the variable named

document

refers to a

document’s frame, which receives dispatched commands.

document = ThisComponent.CurrentController.Frame

Most tasks in OpenOffice.org are accomplished by dispatching a

command. OOo version 2.0 introduced the dispatch helper service,

which does most of the work to use dispatches in macros. The method

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