WD97: Sample VBA Code to Set, Retrieve .ini File or Registry Information (160132)

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The following macro examples use the PrivateProfileString property to set or return a string from a settings file or the Windows registry.

NOTE: If the file, section, or key do not exist, they are created when you run the macro.

The following macro creates a file ("Test.ini"), section ("MySection"), and key ("MyKey") and sets the value of the key to "7."

Sub SetInfo()
   System.PrivateProfileString("Test.ini", "MySection", "MyKey") = "7"
End Sub
				

The following macro returns the value set in the previous macro.

Sub GetInfo()
   MsgBox System.PrivateProfileString("Test.ini", "MySection", "MyKey")
End Sub
				

You cannot delete a key using the PrivateProfileString property, but you can set its argument to an empty string. The following macro deletes the value, but it does not delete the MySection section or the MyKey entry from the Test.ini file.

Sub DelInfo()
   System.PrivateProfileString("Test.ini", "MySection", "MyKey") = ""
End Sub
				

The following macro displays the default user name setting from the Windows registry:

Sub GetUserInfo()
   aName = System.PrivateProfileString("", _
   "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MS Setup (ACME)\User Info", _
   "DefName")
   MsgBox aName
End Sub
				

For more information about PrivateProfileString, while in the Visual Basic for Applications Editor, click the Office Assistant, type "PrivateProfileString" (without the quotation marks), click Search, and then click to view "PrivateProfileString Property."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If Microsoft Visual Basic Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

For information about how to do this in earlier versions of Word, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: