How to Use the MacID Function (138822)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition
This article was previously published under Q138822 SUMMARY
The Visual Basic for Applications MacID function is unique to the
Macintosh platform and can be used when you use the Kill, Shell, Dir, and
AppActivate functions. Because the Macintosh does not support wild cards,
you can instead use the MacID function to specify the file type of a group
of files.
MORE INFORMATION
The following macro code examples use the MacID function, as well as the
equivalent Microsoft Excel for Windows code.
Note, in each of the four examples below, the argument for the MacID
function should be a text string (note that this string is case sensitive).
Also, you may want to rebuild your desktop if the MacID function does not
work as you expect.
For more information about Rebuilding the Desktop, please see the following
article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
82980 Excel: Unexpected Quit Under Macintosh System 7.0.x
Kill Statement
Macintosh Kill MacID("TEXT")
Windows Kill "*.txt"
This will delete all text files in the current directory.
Dir Function
Macintosh myfile = Dir("HD:MyFolder:", MacID("XLS5"))
Windows myfile = Dir("c:\mydir\*.xls")
This will return the name of the first Microsoft Excel file in the
specified folder to the variable "myfile." Note that in the Macintosh
example, you need to follow the specified folder with a colon.
Shell Function
Macintosh myprog = Shell(MacID("MSWD"))
Windows myprog = Shell("C:\Msoffice\Winword\Winword.exe")
This will start Microsoft Word from within your Microsoft Excel macro, and
in the Windows example, assumes that Microsoft Word is in the
C:\Msoffice\Winword folder. If the Shell function successfully runs the
named file, it returns the task identification (ID) of the started program
to the variable "myprog". The task ID is a unique number that identifies
the running program.
AppActivate Statement
Macintosh AppActivate MacID("MSWD")
Windows AppActivate "Microsoft Word"
This will activate Microsoft Word from within you Microsoft Excel macro.
NOTE: In order for the AppActivate Statement to work, you must first have
the application started.
REFERENCES
For more information about the MacID Function, click the Index tab in
Microsoft Excel Help, type the following text
macid
and then double-click the selected text.
Modification Type: | Minor | Last Reviewed: | 8/19/2003 |
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Keywords: | kbhowto kbinfo KB138822 |
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