autoload vba

I want to load some VBA routines each time a drawing is opened (without
using an "acad.dvb" file).
I know I can do this in an "acaddoc.lsp" file with a few lines that look
something like this:

(if (findfile "perry.dvb")
(command "_-vbaload" "perry")
(alert "personal VBA not loaded.")
)

The problem with this approach is that upon opening subsequent drawings I
get an alert box stating that the vba module is already loaded.
With autolisp files I can use a line like this:
(defun C:LM () (if (not c:lman)(load "lman"))(c:lman))
which will fist check if the routine is already loaded, then load and
execute if it is not. So my question is can I do something similiar with
VBA?
Something along the line of:
(if (not VBAPROJECTNAME)(vbaload "VBAPROJECTNAME"))(macroname))

Thanks

 

Use (command "VBARUN" ...) instead of "VBALOAD" in your ACADDOC.LSP

 

Hi Perry,

As you would expect there is a collection of loaded programs which can be
investigated, but there is no point in going to all that trouble.

The VBARUN command and it's variants will load (if necessary) and run the
program. The best way to run your VBA macros, is to define lisp functions
to run them. Put the lisp programs in your custom menu file, say PERRY.MNL
.. These functions get loaded when you load the PERRY.MNU, or PERRY.MNS, or
PERRY.MNC file as the case may be.

A typical example is:

(setq sLandToolboxPath
(strcat
(vl-registry-read
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\CADApps\\LandToolbox" "VBA Program Path")
"\\"
)
)
In this case the program is installed by "Inno Setup" which writes the
installation path to the registry. The code above reads the registry and
gets the path. You could easily simply hard code a path here.

The code below adds the file and macro name to the path and then uses
vl-vbarun to run the function. vl-vbarun runs the macro, loading it if
necessary.

(defun C:CA_DuplicatePointsAbout ()
(setq sLandToolboxFunction (strcat sLandToolboxPath
"CADApps_DuplicatePointsL3.dvb!DuplicatePointsAbout"))
(vl-vbarun sLandToolboxFunction)
(CADApps_BlankCommandLine sLandToolboxFunction)
)

The code below tidies up the command line when you run the macro

(defun CADApps_BlankCommandLine (spString)
(setq n (strlen spString))
(repeat n(prompt(chr 8)))
(repeat n(prompt(chr 32)))
(princ)
)

The MNU (or MNS) file contains
CA_DupPts [ About Duplicate Points]^C^C^CCA_DuplicatePointsAbout;

Advantages of this process are that you can:
press <Enter> to repeat the menu command.
type the "CA_DuplicatePointsAbout " command at the keyboard.
the macro is only loaded if used.
the lisp is only loaded if you load the menu.
by having the path in the registry it's easy to maintain the system if you
wish to make changes to the program location with an installation program..


--


Laurie Comerford
CADApps
www.cadapps.com.au

 

Well, that doesnt quite work, it will look for a macro to run, not a project
to load. If I give it a macro name it will still fail because the
project the macro resides in isnt yet loaded.

 

Sorry, it worked for me because my project is named ACAD.DVB

 

Yeah, I was trying to get away from using the "acad.dvb" (easy to
loose/overwrite), but I may have to

 

Hey Perry, check out AutoCAD's online help for the VBARUN command. I think you can still use that command to achieve what you want.

 

My ACADDOC.LSP has the following line in S::STARTUP

(command "VBARUN" "L:\\CAD\\VBA\\ACAD.DVB!DwgMod.DwgStartup")

You can use the full path to your project, the bang (exclamation point), the module name, and the macro name. I assure you the project will load if it is not loaded.

 

Yes, I did see that and it is another alternative, I was avoiding it for
reasons similar to the acad.dvb issues. Its easy to overwrite or mess up
the acaddoc/s::startup routines.
I guess I'll just settle on using an acad.dvb file.
Thanks for the tips D

--
Perry Leets
Inovec Optimization and Control Systems
Eugene, Oregon

the module name, and the macro name. I assure you the project will load if
it is not loaded.

 

Well, Im not real happy with any of these methods. My first method worked
with the one exception I mentioned.
Using an acad.dvb file, I dont even know if it actually loads as the code
doesnt execute.
To clarify, this is a small vb project which simply "hooks" the endsave
event and creates a .dwf file of the current .dwg.
If an "acad.dvb" file exists, must you do something else to initialize the
VB environment?
What would be really helpful would be a way to determine if a particular vba
project or macro is loaded, then I could test for this
in my inital code snippent and not issue the "vbaload" if its already
loaded.
This is all so ridiculously easy with lisp...

 

I imagine you already know this, but just in case, do you have an acad.rx
file in support path?
with one of the following lines
acadvba.arx ;(if 2002)
;acvba.arx ;(if 2004)

that initializes vba before any macros run

 

Yeah, I was just about to make a post on that Mark.
My "acad.dvb" file wasnt working cuz I didnt have an "acad.rx" file, so I
created said file containing
just one line "acadvba.arx", now the code in my acad.dvb DOES load and
execute properly (hooking the save event).
I guess if I wanted to distribute this my setup program would have to check
for the existance of both an acad.dvb and
acad.rx file and create/modify them accordingly.
Thanks

 

Glad ya got it!
~
plus you'd have to check acadver if you were writing an .rx in a setup
routine to determine which line to put in it! and if they have both
installed on same machine you'd have to get support path for each one and
write two .rx's, one for each path, (unless there's a way to write an if
statement in the rx to read acadver...I have no idea how .rx is actually
read and if you can include a conditional loop in it)

 

Search the lisp discussion group for a thread "DVB file already loaded" dated Jan/30/02 by Menzi, Jürg

He has a lisp function to return a list of all loaded dvb projects so you can use

(if (not (member "MyVbaProjectName" (VxGetLoadedVbaPojs)))
(vl-vbaload "MyVbaProjectName.dvb")
)