OOoBasic crash course: Adding GUI goodness
Some OpenOffice.org macros have rudimentary dialog boxes that allow you to define a few parameters. If you're ready to take your macro programming skills to a new level, you can learn how to create graphical interfaces for your macros. Once you know how to do that, you can build advanced macros that are close to full-blown applications.
Previously, we created a simple macro that allows you to look up the currently selected word in online references. While the macro is useful as it is, it has one serious drawback: since the user can't interact with it, you need to create a separate routine for each online reference. This means that if you wish to have 10 online references, you are looking at creating 10 different macros where the only difference is the URL of the online references. Obviously, a more efficient solution would be a macro that allows users to choose a reference from a list and then pick up the appropriate URL.
OOoBasic keeps macros and dialogs (which act as the macros' GUI) separately, so to keep things tidy, start by creating a new library for a new lookup macro and its dialog. To do this, choose Tools -> Macros -> Organize Macros -> OpenOffice.org Basic, press the Organizer button, select My Macros, and create a new library called GUI. Press the Edit button to open the OOoBasic IDE.
Before you start writing the actual macro, you have to build a dialog.
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