WD2000: How to Implement a Delay in Visual Basic for Applications

ID: Q212667

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word 2000

SUMMARY

Word does not have a built-in method of delaying execution of a macro, but workarounds can be used to achieve this effect.

MORE INFORMATION

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http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

You can use one of the following methods to delay execution of a macro using Visual Basic for Applications.

Method 1: Use an Empty For...Next Loop

A disadvantage to this method is that there is no direct way to determine the exact amount of time the program takes to run the loop. The amount of time depends upon the speed of the user's computer. The following code runs a loop that does nothing but take up some time.


   For iCount = 1 to 1000
   Next iCount

Method 2: Use an API Call to Suspend Word Execution

Use an API call to suspend the execution of Word for a fixed amount of time.

The Kernel32 contains a function that pauses an application's execution for a specified amount of time, specified in milliseconds. For you to use the function, it must first be declared in the General Declarations section of the module in which it will be used:


   Declare Sub Sleep Lib "kernel32" Alias "Sleep" _
   (ByVal dwMilliseconds As Long)

Use the following syntax to call the Sleep function:


   Sleep (1000)   '1 second delay

Method 3: Use the OnTime Method

Use the OnTime method to set an amount of time to pause.

The OnTime method uses the following syntax:


   expression.OnTime(When, Name, Tolerance)

Because the Name argument requires the name of a macro to run, you must create two macros: the first macro to contain the OnTime method call and other commands relevant to your macro, and the second macro to run when the allotted time has passed. The second macro can be a "dummy" macro that does nothing.

This example runs the macro named "DummyMacro" 15 seconds from the time the example is run.


Sub MyMainMacro()
   ' Pause for 15 seconds.
   Application.OnTime When:=Now + TimeValue("00:00:15"), _
      Name:="DummyMacro"
End Sub

Public Sub DummyMacro()
   ' This macro does nothing.
End Sub

For more information about the OnTime method, in the Visual Basic Editor, click Microsoft Visual Basic Help on the Help menu, type the OnTime method in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

For more information about using the sample code in this article, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q212536 OFF2000: How to Run Sample Code from Knowledge Base Articles

REFERENCES

For more information about getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q226118 OFF2000: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for Applications

Additional query words: vb vba vbe

Keywords : kbdta kbdtacode kbmacroexample kbwordvba wd2000
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto