The central properties are: The following example creates a text frame using the properties described previously: The example creates a TextCursor as the insertion mark for the text frame. The execute method of the dialog returns the value 0, which is the same as when you click Cancel. The following example uses a recursive function to calculate the factorial of the numbers 42, -42, and 3.14: The example returns the factorial of the number 42 by recursively calling the CalculateFactorial function until it reaches the base condition of 0! The StyleFamilies are accessed by means of the document object: The example uses the StyleFamilies property of a spreadsheet document to establish a list containing all available cell styles. LibreOffice Basic recognizes the following mouse events: Note: Functions and procedures can only be called up if all the necessary parameters are passed during the call. Character sets match characters in a string with a corresponding code (numbers and characters) in a table that describes how the computer is to display the string. You can write it more easily, this way: Notice that the With construct must be entirely outside of the Select construct. This is positioned between the first and second word of the text. In addition to these "real" properties, there are also properties in LibreOffice Basic which consist of two methods at the UNO level. It returns the string produced in this way as the result of the replacement process. Essential parameters must be enclosed in parentheses after the function or procedure names. The Asc and Chr functions allow the Unicode value belonging to a character to be established and/or the corresponding character to be found for a Unicode value. The text field is then inserted in the document using the insertTextContent method. Here we rename the first sheet of the spreadsheet document. The com.sun.star.view.XPrintable interface, which contains the methods for printing documents. The SQL language is provided as a query language for users of SDBC. All of these charts support the com.sun.star.chart.StackableDiagram service, which in turn provides the following properties: Line charts (com.sun.star.chart.LineDiagram) support two X-axes, two Y-axes and one Z-axis. The Format Cells dialog in LibreOffice Calc provides an overview of the different formatting options for cells. It first creates the com.sun.star.frame.Desktop service and then displays the supported properties and methods in message boxes. The interface (com.sun.star.sheet.XCellRangeMovement) is available through the spreadsheet object and provides four methods for modifying cell content. If you want to use an external bitmap file, you can specify its URL in the FillBitmapURL property. To make your code easier to read, you should assign meaningful names to these procedures. No action is performed to check if the status of the control element has actually changed. LibreOffice Basic lets you define parameters as optional, that is, if the corresponding values are not included in a call, LibreOffice Basic passes an empty parameter. They can be displayed as 2D or 3D graphics (com.sun.star.chart.Dim3Ddiagram service). Most word processing programs now finally provide the option of placing drawing objects, text frames and other objects within a text. If nothing is assigned, the function returns a zero value (number 0 for numerical values and a blank for strings). The following list describes the most important properties: Formatting information that does not refer to individual characters, but to the entire paragraph is considered to be a paragraph property. The following example shows a loop that passes through all the cells of a table and enters the corresponding row and column numbers into the cells. If you use ReDim with Preserve, you must use the same data type as specified in the original data field declaration. The Val function is different from the Csng, Cdbl and Cstr methods. can define the digits after the decimal point in an expression: In the same way, zeros can be added in front of a number to achieve the desired length: A , represents the character that the operating system uses for a thousands separator, and the # stands for a digit or place that is only displayed if it is required by the input string. Through these, you then have access to the subordinate objects. The Exit Do command can exit at loop at any point within the loop. Write it before the inner name, and separate it by a period: Since containers may hold other containers, you may need more than one qualifier. The com.sun.star.frame.Desktop service, which is similar to the core service of LibreOffice. The loadComponentFromURL function introduced in the previous section returns a document object. The formatting properties can be found in each object (Paragraph, TextCursor, and so on) and can be applied directly. storeAsURL provides the following options: The following example shows how the Overwrite option can be used in conjunction with storeAsURL: The example then saves Doc under the specified file name if a file already exists under the name. Note: The Assign Action dialog lists all the available Events. The program now checks whether the ResultSet actually exists and traverses the data records using a loop. Fill and line properties (com.sun.star.drawing.FillProperties and com.sun.star.drawing.LineProperties services) as well as the character properties (com.sun.star.style.CharacterProperties service) are provided for further formatting of the elements. All occurrences of the name, The character $ marks a paragraph end. To create a text field, a text field of the type required should first be created and initialized using the properties required. The Sheet object that is obtained by the getByName method supports the com.sun.star.sheet.Spreadsheet service. Example declarations of currency variables: The handling of Basic Currency type is not reliable. An object which supports the com.sun.star.sdb.QueryDefinition service is concealed behind a query. If a dialog contains an OK or a Cancel button, the dialog is automatically closed when you click one of these buttons. StarOffice 5: The name of the StarDesktop object dates back to StarOffice 5, in which all document windows were embedded in one common application called StarDesktop. The decimal point is fixed and is followed by four decimal places. Accessing databases is often a matter of critical speed. To improve clarity, you should avoid using Option Base 1. LibreOffice Basic lets you use whole numbered hexadecimal values, so long as they are preceded by &H. LibreOffice Basic also understands the octal system (base 8 system), which uses the numbers 0 to 7. Basic Guide - Computer Science and Engineering | Engineering A global Dlg variable that references an open dialog must be included to make this example possible. To display all information available from an object and link to the corresponding API documentation, use instead the Development Tools built into LibreOffice or MRI extension. The descriptor objects are created using the document object, completed in accordance with the relevant requests, and then transferred back to the document object as parameters for the search methods. If the calls to SetModuleB and ShowVarB are independent, e.g. If you want to administer a numerical value (for example a database ID) in addition to the natural language text, you must create an auxiliary data field that administers in parallel to the list box. Microsoft based its Windows product on the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) character set, which was gradually extended to include characters that are missing from the ASCII character set. If you want to find other matches for the string, the function also provides the opportunity to specify an optional start position from which LibreOffice Basic begins the search. The following example also shows a correct declaration, but with negative data field limits: It declares an integer data field with 6 values that can be addressed using the indexes -10 to -5. If you want to use such a name, you must tell Basic where to look. The previous examples are based on data fields of a specified dimension. But text documents may also contain other objects. Sunday is considered the first day of the week. The code is first checked for obvious errors and then executed line by line. LibreOffice treats cell content that is entered using the String property as text, even if the content is a number. The most important interface of the StarDesktop is com.sun.star.frame.XComponentLoader. Note: LibreOffice Basic belongs to the family of Basic languages. The following example shows how the rows of a table can be retrieved and formatted. Even though you can use these procedures in any module, it is best to limit their use to two modules. For a detailed description please refer to the LibreOffice Basic Guide which is available separately. VBA: The options provided in VBA for searching through directories specifically for files with the concealed, system file, archived, and volume name properties does not exist in LibreOffice Basic because the corresponding file system functions are not available on all operating systems. The main properties of this service are described in the following sections. An A stands for the decimal number 10, while the letter F represents the decimal number 15. The method for accessing the shape objects of a control element also uses the corresponding drawing level of the document. Let us first take the properties of the table itself. The control elements available in forms are similar to those of dialogs. This uses the query window to check the SQL commands typed and corrects simple syntax errors, such as those associated with uppercase and lowercase characters. Paragraphs provide their own Enumeration object for this purpose. A SearchDescriptor is an object which supports the com.sun.star.util. = 1. The following example shows how all text fields of a text document can be traversed in a loop and checked for their relevant type. Unlike the data sources presented in the previous section, the database connection must therefore be re-established every time the program is restarted. The following values are included in this structure: The completed CellRangeAddress structure must be passed as the first parameter to the insertCells method. However, these speed considerations no longer apply, reducing the need for single variables. If you close a dialog by clicking the OK button, the Execute method returns a return value of 1, otherwise a value of 0 is returned. The Expand parameter is a Boolean value which specifies whether the area passed over during navigation is to be highlighted. The Sheets container of a spreadsheet document is also used to create and delete individual sheets. The FileExists function can be used to check whether a file exists: When working with files, it is sometimes important to be able to establish the file properties, the time the file was last changed and the length of the file. If the corresponding sheet does not exist, it is created by the createInstance call and inserted in the spreadsheet document by the insertByName method. A text document can essentially contain four types of information: This section concentrates on the text and associated formatting options. Each of these sub-objects contains its own formatting information. Every UNO object knows what properties, methods and interfaces it already contains. An ma unit is defined as being one eighth of the average height of a character from the system font defined in the operating system and one quarter of its width. The replaceByName line changes the object behind ChangingStyle into NewStyle. However, whether the corresponding settings are based on template or direct formatting in the text is still unclear. Here are a few examples: The following example shows how all empty lines in a text document can be removed with the help of the regular expression ^$: So far, this chapter has only dealt with text paragraphs and their portions. All the named objects return an object that supports the com.sun.star.sheet.HeaderFooterContent service. A ResultSet is a type of marker that indicates a current set of data within a volume of results obtained using the SELECT command. Note: The cursor then inserts the text required at this point. The WaitUntil statement provides a greater degree of compatibility with VBA parameter usage. The control codes are defined in the com.sun.star.text.ControlCharacter group of constants. Unicode increases the length of a character to four bytes and combines different character sets to create a standard to depict as many of the world's languages as possible. Changes made to the variables are retained when the procedure or function is exited: In this example, the value A that is defined in the Test function is passed as a parameter to the ChangeValue function. The following keyboard events are available in LibreOffice Basic: Both events relate to logical key actions and not to physical actions. In the hexadecimal system, the numbers 0 to 9 and the letters A to F are used as numbers. Several common examples to tell users how to write macros in different applications. Slide 3 will be changed into Slide 4, etc. VBA: Whereas the structure of an object in VBA is defined by the class to which it belongs, in LibreOffice Basic the structure is defined through the services which it supports. The CellInsertMode enumeration recognizes the following values: The removeRange method is the counterpart to the insertCells method. The entire LibreOffice API is based on these interfaces, which are described in more detail in the following chapters of this document. Here are the central methods of the com.sun.star.table.XtableRows interface: Whereas the getByIndex and getCount methods are available in all tables, the insertByIndex and removeByIndex methods can only be used in tables that do not contain merged cells. In LibreOffice Basic, use the keyword Const to declare a constant. So Replace("This is a test", " ", "_") yields "This_is_a_test" :D. Warning: The following example combines two drawing objects: This code creates a rectangle and a circle and inserts them into a page. In many situations, it is useful to group several individual drawing objects together so that they behave as a single large object. The status information remains valid until the program encounters a Resume or On Error command, whereupon the information is reset. This chapter describes how to control the relevant services, methods and properties of spreadsheet documents: The first section addresses the basic structure of spreadsheet documents and shows you how to access and to edit the contents of individual cells. LibreOffice Basic ensures that variable B is converted to a string during assignment to variable A. Alternatively, you can change the start index for all data field declarations to the value 1 by using the call: The call must be included in the header of a module if you want it to apply to all array declarations in the module. You can define modules to be global or part of a document. VBA: While the type of a field in VBA is specified by a parameter of the Document.Fields.Add method, the name of the service that is responsible for the field type in question defines it in LibreOffice Basic. This can be compared with highlighting a point in the text using the mouse. Some interfaces of LibreOffice can be found in many parts of the LibreOffice API. The same interface provides the method remove to delete (remove) a page: A copy of a given page is created, not from the DrawPages container, but from the drawing document itself with the method duplicate. The argument of the method is the position, counted from 0, of the existing page after which the new page will be inserted. Note: The Dir function in LibreOffice Basic is responsible for searching through directories for files and sub-directories. You can access the individual sheets of a spreadsheet document through the Sheets list. To convert a URL into a local file name, LibreOffice provides the ConvertFromUrl function: The example converts a local file name into a URL and displays it in a message box. Predefined queries can be assigned to a data source. The method getByName() is mandatory, and should always be available. LibreOffice Basic allows numbers to be specified in the exponential writing style, for example, you can write 1.5e-10 for the number 1.5 x 10-10 (0.00000000015). When working with 3D charts, a Z-axis is also sometimes provided. Until Basic encounters the End With statement, it looks for partly-qualified names: names that begin with a period (unary dot-operator). The following example creates and inserts a rectangle in a drawing document: The Point and Size structures with the point of origin (left hand corner) and the size of the drawing object are then initialized. The question remains as to which objects or services if we are going to remain with UNO terminology support which properties, methods and interfaces and how these can be determined. This is not the case for new documents. The ShapeCollection is added to the page using the Group method and returns the actual Group object that can be edited like an individual Shape. There is, however, one main difference: a Universal Network Object may support several services at the same time. The loop counter defines the number of times that the loop is to be executed. A TextCursor in the LibreOffice API is comparable with the visible cursor used in a LibreOffice document. 257x267px However, in drawing documents the descriptor objects for searching and replacing are not created directly through the document object, but rather through the associated character level. If you click a button that has this property set to the value of 1, the dialog is closed, and the Execute method of the dialog returns the value 1 (dialog sequence has been ended correctly). Each major type of LibreOffice document has its own associated template type. An example of how to use the definition, and how to reference the fields within an instance, appears in the section on WithEnd With. You will find a range of examples which use these methods in the following sections. The bookmark is then assigned a name and is inserted in the document through insertTextContent at the cursor position. To avoid such blind events, save the old control element value in a global variable, and then check to see if the value has changed when an event is executing. In addition to pure strings, text documents also contain formatting information. The False parameter in the previous function call specifies whether the area passed over with the cursor movement is highlighted. The following example creates an object that references the top left cell and inserts a text in the cell: In addition to numerical coordinates, each cell in a sheet has a name, for example, the top left cell (0,0) of a spreadsheet is called A1. In this case, the member PopupTrigger of the event passed to your macro function will be TRUE. The following expressions assign the various Unicode values to the code variable: ensures that the MyString string is initialized with the value of the number 13, which stands for a hard line break. To open a file so that it can be written as a text file, the Open call is: Filename is a string containing the name of the file. Note: Calculations with long integer variables are very fast and are particularly useful for loop counters. VBA: The VBA option for issuing list entries with a numerical additional value (ItemData) does not exist in LibreOffice Basic. VBA: When porting VBA applications, ensure that the maximum allowed string length in LibreOffice Basic is observed (65535 characters). The following example uses the String property to display the first words of a sentence in a message box: The first word of each sentence can be modified in the same way using the String property: If the TextCursor contains a highlighted area, an assignment to the String property replaces this with the new text. Note: Correct handling of error situations is one of the most time-consuming tasks of programming. In Example 1, the page is accessed by its number (counting begins at 0). The Option Explicit switch should be included in all Basic modules. Similar to saving, documents are printed out directly by means of the document object. The LibreOffice Basic programmer can access the values through the Position property. BASIC Files BASIC Runtime Library BASIC Runtime parameters BASIC Structured Data Types Andrew Pitonyak Latest Macro Guide LibreOffice and OpenOffice.org share the same Basic macro language and API (Application Programming Interface). Example declarations for single variables: Double variables can store any positive or negative floating point numbers between 1.79769313486232 x 10308 and 4.94065645841247 x 10-324. This is probably not what you want. The service term used in LibreOffice Basic therefore corresponds to the type and class terms used in other programming languages. The following example uses this method to create an object of cell C3. Note the last line in the example: Once the text is changed, the TextContent object must be assigned to the header again so that the change is effective. If it encounters a corresponding paragraph portion, it deletes the direct formatting using the setPropertyToDefault method and assigns a MyBold character template to the corresponding paragraph portion. It passes through a complete document and formats the first word of every sentence in bold type. More information about working with these buttons is discussed in #Control Elements in Detail. Documents are opened, imported and created using the method StarDesktop.loadComponentFromURL(URL, Frame, SearchFlags, FileProperties) The first parameter of loadComponentFromURL specifies the URL of the associated file. This example shows how to connect to an existing data source. Public domain variables are defined in the header section of a module by the keyword Dim. At the end, the drawing object is assigned to a page using a Page.add call. In draft mode, the position of control elements can be changed and their properties can be edited using a properties window. 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