WD98: Creating Hyperlink Deletes Object Reference

• Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

When your Visual Basic for Applications macro creates an object variable that is set to reference a picture object, and if your macro later anchors a hyperlink to the picture object, the object reference is deleted and you receive the following error:

   Run-time error '5825': Object has been deleted.

   Sub DoInLineShapeHyperlink()
      Dim oDoc As Document
      Dim oILPic As InlineShape
      Dim oHLink As Hyperlink
      Dim sPicFile As String
      Dim sLinkFile as String
      sPicFile = "<Your Graphic File Path and Name>"
      sLinkFile = "<Your HyperLink File Path and Name>"
      ' Create new document.
      Set oDoc = Documents.Add
      ' Insert a picture.
      Set oILPic = oDoc.InlineShapes.AddPicture _
         (Range:=oDoc.Content, FileName:=sPicFile, LinkToFile:=True)
      ' Add a hyperlink for the picture.
      oDoc.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=oILPic.Range, Address:=sLinkFile
      ' The error occurs here because oILPic is no longer valid.
      Set oHLink = oILPic.Hyperlink
   End Sub '

CAUSE

You receive the "Object has been deleted" error message because the macro has attempted to access an object that has been deleted. The object may have been deleted deliberately, such as with the Delete method. Or, it may have been deleted as a side effect of another operation, such as when a frame is added around an inline shape, When adding a frame around an inline shape, the original inline shape is deleted and a copy of the shape is created inside the frame.

WORKAROUND

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the 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 engineers 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:

   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/default.asp

   Private Sub DoInLineShapeHyperlink()
      Dim oDoc As Document
      Dim oILPic As InlineShape
      Dim oHLink As Hyperlink
      Dim sPicFile As String
      Dim sLinkFile as String
      sPicFile = "<Your Graphic File Path and Name>"
      sLinkFile = "<Your HyperLink File Path and Name>"
      ' Create new document.
      Set oDoc = Documents.Add
      ' Insert a picture.
      Set oILPic = oDoc.InlineShapes.AddPicture _
      (Range:=oDoc.Content, FileName:= sPicFile, LinkToFile:=True)
      ' Add a hyperlink for the picture.
      oDoc.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=oILPic.Range, Address:=sLinkFile 
      ' Use the InlineShapes Property to reference the object.
      Set oHLink = oDoc.InlineShapes(1).Hyperlink
   End Sub

MORE INFORMATION

You can use the IsObjectValid method to verify that an object still exists. The following example demonstrates the use of this method:

   Sub testObject()
      Dim ilShp As InlineShape
      Set ilShp = ActiveDocument.InlineShapes.Add("C:\Windows\bubbles.bmp")
      MsgBox IsObjectValid(ilShp)     ' This will display True.
      a.Delete
      MsgBox IsObjectValid(ilShp)     ' This will display False.
   End Sub

REFERENCES

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q181058
   TITLE     : OFF98: How to Run Sample Code from Knowledge Base Articles

   ARTICLE-ID: Q163435
   TITLE     : VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for 
               Applications