OL98: How to Programmatically Set TextBox and CheckBox Values (182365)
The information in this article applies to:
This article was previously published under Q182365 SUMMARY
You can customize Microsoft Outlook forms by using Microsoft Visual Basic
Scripting Edition (VBScript) and/or ActiveX controls. This article
illustrates how to add Outlook form controls and VBScript to an Outlook
form. The example in this article uses the TextBox and CheckBox controls,
and with VBScript programmatically populates those controls when you open
the form.
MORE INFORMATION
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implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular
purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming
language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug
procedures. Microsoft Support professionals can help explain the functionality
of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to
provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific
needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact
the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more
information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see
the following page on the World Wide Web:
Customizing the Form and Adding Controls
The following steps demonstrate how to customize a message form by making a
new page visible and adding a TextBox and CheckBox control on the new page:
- In Outlook, open a new mail message. On the Tools menu, point to Forms
and then click Design This Form.
- Click the (P.2) tab to select the second page of the form. On the Form
menu, click "Display This Page." This will remove the parentheses from
around P.2 and make the P.2 page viewable when the form is done.
- On the Form Design toolbar, click "Control Toolbox" and on the Controls
tab click the TextBox control. Drag a TextBox onto the form. Repeat
the process to place a CheckBox on the form.
Binding a Field to Each Control
While you can manipulate the appearance of a control (color, font, etc.)
with Advanced Properties, you must use a field to manipulate the value of a
control. (Is the CheckBox checked? What text appears inside the TextBox?)
The following steps bind custom fields to each control. In this case
TextBoxField is the name of the field bound to the TextBox control.
CheckBoxField is the name of the field bound to the CheckBox control.
- On the form, right-click the TextBox and on the shortcut menu, click
Properties.
- Under the Value tab, click New.
- In the Name box, type TextBoxField. By default, the Type and Format
lists should display Text.
- Click OK and OK to close the Properties dialog box for the TextBox
control.
- On the form, right-click the CheckBox and on the shortcut menu, click
Properties.
- Under the Value tab, click New.
- In the Name box, type CheckBoxField. In the Type list, click Yes/No.
In the Format list, click True/False.
- Click OK and OK to close the Properties dialog box for the CheckBox
control.
Adding VBScript to Populate the Controls
The following steps programmatically change each control when the form
opens by changing the value of the fields to which each control is bound.
The value of TextBoxField changes to: "New text." The value of
CheckBoxField changes to True. Therefore, the CheckBox appears checked.
- On the Form Design toolbar, click View Code to display the Script
Editor. On the Script menu, click Event Handler and click to select
Open in the Events list and then click Add.
- Type the following code between "Function Item_Open()" and "End
Function":
Set MyTextBoxField = Item.UserProperties.Find("TextBoxField")
If MyTextBoxField.Value = "" Then MyTextBoxField.Value = "New text"
Set MyCheckBoxField = Item.UserProperties.Find("CheckBoxField")
If MyCheckBoxField.Value = 0 Then MyCheckBoxField.Value = 1
NOTE: The names used in quotation marks are the names of the fields
which you bound to each control. The value assigned to the TextBoxField
field determines what appears inside the TextBox control. The value
assigned to the CheckBoxField field determines if the CheckBox control
has a check.
- On the Script Editor's File menu, click Close.
Publishing the Form
Because the programming code in this example is in the Item_Open function,
it executes when you open the form. You should publish the form so that you
can see the results when you open a new form.
You can publish forms several ways. This example shows how to publish your
form in your Inbox folder. Follow these steps to publish the form:
- On the form's Tools menu, point to Forms and then click Publish Form As.
- In the Look In dropdown, select Inbox.
- In the Display Name box, type MyForm.
- Click Publish to publish MyForm in your Inbox folder.
- On the form's File menu, click Close. When prompted, "Do you want to
save changes?" click No.
Using the Form
You published the form in your Inbox folder, so you must open your Inbox to
use the form. Follow these steps to use the form:
- Open your Inbox.
- On the Actions menu, click New MyForm.
- Inside the form, click the P.2 tab.
The TextBox should contain the text "New text" and the CheckBox should
contain a check.
REFERENCES
For more information about creating solutions with Microsoft Outlook 98,
please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
180826 Resources for Custom Forms and Programming
182349 Questions About Custom Forms and Outlook Solutions
Modification Type: | Minor | Last Reviewed: | 3/1/2004 |
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Keywords: | kbdtacode kbhowto kbProgramming KB182365 |
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