I've written a program that runs and messages Skype with information when if finishes. I need to add a reference for Skype4COM.dll
in order to send a message through Skype. We have a dozen or so computers on a network and a shared file server (among other things). All of the other computers need to be able to run this program. I was hoping to avoid setting up the reference by hand. I had planned on putting the reference in a shared location, and adding it programmatically when the program ran.
I can't seem to figure out how to add a reference programmatically to Excel 2007 using VBA. I know how to do it manually: Open VBE --> Tools --> References --> browse --_> File Location and Name
. But that's not very useful for my purposes. I know there are ways to do it in Access Vb.net and code similar to this kept popping up, but I'm not sure I understand it, or if it's relevant:
ThisWorkbook.VBProject.References.AddFromGuid _
GUID:="{0002E157-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}", _
Major:=5, Minor:=3
So far, in the solutions presented, in order to add the reference programmatically I will need to add a reference by hand and change the Trust Center - which is more than just adding the reference. Though I guess if I follow through with the solutions proposed I will be able to add future references programmatically. Which probably makes it worth the effort.
Any further thoughts would be great.
Browsing the registry for guids or using paths, which method is best. If browsing the registry is no longer necessary, won't it be the better way to use guids? Office is not always installed in the same directory. The installation path can be manually altered. Also the version number is a part of the path. I could have never predicted that Microsoft would ever add '(x86)' to 'Program Files' before the introduction of 64 bits processors. If possible I would try to avoid using a path.
The code below is derived from Siddharth Rout's answer, with an additional function to list all the references that are used in the active workbook. What if I open my workbook in a later version of Excel? Will the workbook still work without adapting the VBA code? I have already checked that the guids for office 2003 and 2010 are identical. Let's hope that Microsoft doesn't change guids in future versions.
The arguments 0,0 (from .AddFromGuid) should use the latest version of a reference (which I have not been able to test).
What are your thoughts? Of course we cannot predict the future but what can we do to make our code version proof?
Sub AddReferences(wbk As Workbook)
' Run DebugPrintExistingRefs in the immediate pane, to show guids of existing references
AddRef wbk, "{00025E01-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}", "DAO"
AddRef wbk, "{00020905-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}", "Word"
AddRef wbk, "{91493440-5A91-11CF-8700-00AA0060263B}", "PowerPoint"
End Sub
Sub AddRef(wbk As Workbook, sGuid As String, sRefName As String)
Dim i As Integer
On Error GoTo EH
With wbk.VBProject.References
For i = 1 To .Count
If .Item(i).Name = sRefName Then
Exit For
End If
Next i
If i > .Count Then
.AddFromGuid sGuid, 0, 0 ' 0,0 should pick the latest version installed on the computer
End If
End With
EX: Exit Sub
EH: MsgBox "Error in 'AddRef'" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & err.Description
Resume EX
Resume ' debug code
End Sub
Public Sub DebugPrintExistingRefs()
Dim i As Integer
With Application.ThisWorkbook.VBProject.References
For i = 1 To .Count
Debug.Print " AddRef wbk, """ & .Item(i).GUID & """, """ & .Item(i).Name & """"
Next i
End With
End Sub
The code above does not need the reference to the "Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Extensibility" object anymore.
There are two ways to add references using VBA. .AddFromGuid(Guid, Major, Minor)
and .AddFromFile(Filename)
. Which one is best depends on what you are trying to add a reference to. I almost always use .AddFromFile
because the things I am referencing are other Excel VBA Projects and they aren't in the Windows Registry.
The example code you are showing will add a reference to the workbook the code is in. I generally don't see any point in doing that because 90% of the time, before you can add the reference, the code has already failed to compile because the reference is missing. (And if it didn't fail-to-compile, you are probably using late binding and you don't need to add a reference.)
If you are having problems getting the code to run, there are two possible issues.
Aside from that, if you can be a little more clear on what your question is or what you are trying to do that isn't working, I could give a more specific answer.
Here is how to get the Guid's programmatically! You can then use these guids/filepaths with an above answer to add the reference!
Reference: http://www.vbaexpress.com/kb/getarticle.php?kb_id=278
Sub ListReferencePaths()
'Lists path and GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) for each referenced library.
'Select a reference in Tools > References, then run this code to get GUID etc.
Dim rw As Long, ref
With ThisWorkbook.Sheets(1)
.Cells.Clear
rw = 1
.Range("A" & rw & ":D" & rw) = Array("Reference","Version","GUID","Path")
For Each ref In ThisWorkbook.VBProject.References
rw = rw + 1
.Range("A" & rw & ":D" & rw) = Array(ref.Description, _
"v." & ref.Major & "." & ref.Minor, ref.GUID, ref.FullPath)
Next ref
.Range("A:D").Columns.AutoFit
End With
End Sub
Here is the same code but printing to the terminal if you don't want to dedicate a worksheet to the output.
Sub ListReferencePaths()
'Macro purpose: To determine full path and Globally Unique Identifier (GUID)
'to each referenced library. Select the reference in the Tools\References
'window, then run this code to get the information on the reference's library
On Error Resume Next
Dim i As Long
Debug.Print "Reference name" & " | " & "Full path to reference" & " | " & "Reference GUID"
For i = 1 To ThisWorkbook.VBProject.References.Count
With ThisWorkbook.VBProject.References(i)
Debug.Print .Name & " | " & .FullPath & " | " & .GUID
End With
Next i
On Error GoTo 0
End Sub
Source: Stackoverflow.com