FAQ

Frequently asked questions for self help.

Please take a quick look at common questions (and answers) in the default list. If you can't find what you're looking for, start off by selecting your Ability Office version and then narrow it down by entering search text and/or category.

Knowledge base article 104

How to create a toolbar button to start external applications

You can use the macro facilities in Write, Spreadsheet, Database and Photopaint to run external programs from toolbar buttons. The following example will show how to set this up to start Spreadsheet. All you need to change is the name of the exe (the prog= line) in step 3:

  1. Select Tools/Macro/Macros
  2. Enter a meaningful name, for example "StartSpreadsheet", in the Macro Name box and click Create
  3. Edit the macro so it looks like this:

    Sub StartSpreadsheet
        prog = "abspread.exe"
        Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
        WshShell.Exec(prog)
    End Sub

  4. Close the macro Window and select Tools/Customize
  5. Select the Macro tab and drag and drop the StartSpreadsheet macro to a toolbar (you can create a new toolbar if you prefer).
  6. Without closing the Customize dialog, right-click over the button you just added. Select Edit button image to give it your own icon or select Text Only or Image and Text to show the name of the macro as part of the button.