Microsoft KB Archive/59755

Using the Topic “System” to Obtain Word System Information

PSS ID Number: Q59755 Article last modified on 06- 5-1992

1.00 WINDOWS

Summary: To request system information from Microsoft Word version 1.0 for Windows in a Microsoft Excel macro, use the topic “System” when you initiate a DDE channel. Once a channel has been opened with the topic “System,” Word for Windows will recognize the topics “SysItems,” “Topics,” and “Formats.” - “SysItems” returns a list of the system topics. - “Topics” returns a list of the currently open documents. - “Formats” returns a list of the Clipboard formats that Word for Windows supports.

More Information: The Excel macro below does the following: 1. Initiates a DDE channel using the topic “System.” 2. Uses the topic “Formats” to get the first three formats supported by Word for Windows. 3. Places the list into cells A10:A11. The macro is as follows: A1 DDE_Example A2 =INITIATE(“Winword”,“System”) A3 =INDEX(REQUEST(A2,“Formats”),1) A4 =FORMULA(A3,A10) A5 =INDEX(REQUEST(A2,“Formats”),2) A6 =FORMULA(A5,A11) A7 =INDEX(REQUEST(A2,“Formats”),3) A8 =FORMULA(A7,A12) A9 =RETURN A10 Rich Text Format A11 TEXT A12 METAFILEPICT

Additional reference words: 1.00 w4wmacro