ActiveX Syntax for Word Tables (Cursor Position, Sub-tables, etc.)

I'm trying to automatically create a set of Word Tables from data. I'm almost there, but need a few additional ActiveX commands/procedures to accomplish what I want to do. I assume that whatever we can do manually in Word should be possible through equivalent ActiveX commands?

First of all, is there a set of formal documentation on the ActiveX syntax? I've seen tons of samples/examples here and elsewhere which hints at quite a lot more commands than what I've found here (Mathworks).

For example, what are the ActiveX Word syntax (to use in a MATLAB script) that are equivalent to pressing either End or Home on a keyboard (i.e. to position the cursor at either the beginning or end of a line of text/cell entry in a table)?

Also, I need to create a series of smaller "sub-tables" in certain cells in a parent Table. I can do this fine manually, but trying to automate what is quickly becoming a very arduous (and error-prone) task. What is the correct ActiveX command sequence to do this?

Thanks in advanced!

Jonathan D. Stevenson, Ph.D. Pratt and Whitney Canada

Answer 1

[Nagarjuna Manchineni]

Hi Johnathan,

'actxserver(progid)' MATLAB command creates a local OLE Automation server, where progid is the programmatic identifier (ProgID) of an OLE-compliant COM server. The function returns a handle to the default interface of the server.

As an info, the Microsoft® Component Object Model (COM) provides a framework for integrating reusable, binary software components into an application. A COM object has properties, methods, events, and interfaces. Vendor documentation (in your case Microsoft word) describes these features.

The following link provides the different references of the MS word object model. You can use the methods that are exposed on the object to achieve the desired workflow:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vba/word-vba/articles/object-model-word-vba-reference

You can also learn about your object using MATLAB® commands.

Exploring Properties

Exploring Methods

Exploring Events

Exploring Interfaces

Identifying Objects and Interfaces

Example of writing to word from MATLAB:

There is an example that is a MATLAB Central Submission. The submission can be found at the link below.

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/9112-writetowordfrommatlab/content/WriteToWordFromMatlab.m

The submission also shows how to insert figures, tables, headers and footers, etc.

[chris]

Seems to me like ~90% of the functionality described in https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vba/word-vba/articles/object-model-word-vba-reference cannot be utilized from MATLAB. Almost every property throws an error in MATLAB saying "Unrecognized function or variable". What am I missing?

[Steven Lord]

Can you show us a small example of how you are trying to call these COM interface functions? Are you calling them in a manner similar to the examples on the pages linked in the Microsoft Office section on the Using COM Objects in MATLAB documentation page? Or are you trying to call them directly as though they were regular MATLAB functions, potentially without a COM object instance as input?

The former I would expect to work; the latter I would not necessarily expect to work (if they do work, they may be calling a MATLAB function that shares a name with a COM function but is a different implementation entirely.)

[chris]

I have opened up a new question on this topic with a particular example relating to tabels, but my question is more general than just tabels. See my question: https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/2009417-how-to-use-activex-to-change-ms-word-table-properties