Copyright: DirChanger v0.5a, G.B. Kennedy, 1993


Contents
Directory Changer Help Contents

The contents lists Help topics available for Directory Changer. Use the scroll bar to see entries not currently visible in the Help window.

To learn how to use help, press F1 or choose Using Help from the Help menu.

General

About

Getting Started

Assigning Directories to Buttons

Installation

Pictorial Map

WORDIR.INI

Commands

Action Options

Change Context

Default Action (Change, Open, Save As)

Directory Buttons

Modify Selections


About Directory Changer

DirChanger Macro v 0.5a

Directory Changer Help v 0.5

Thanks to V. Chen, W. Leonhard, G. Gallo, S. Kreuger, E. Wharmby, P. O'Rourke and the rest of the gang on the Compuserve PROGMSA and MSWORD forums.

You may freely copy or modify this macro and its support files for business or personal use, you may not copy it for sale.

For questions or comments on this macro, the author may be reached on Compuserve, ID # 70412.1721., Copyright © 1992, 1993 Gibson B. Kennedy, all rights reserved.


Action Option Buttons

These option buttons control what happens after you click one of the directory buttons. In every case the current directory will be changed to the one you've assigned to the button.

Change Dir: Simply changes the current directory and returns you to your document.

Change + File Open: Changes the current directory and opens the File Open dialog box.

Change+File Save As: Changes the current directory and opens the File Save As dialog box.

Related Topics:

Setting the Default Action


Pictorial Map
Directory Changer Commands At A Glance

Click the part of Directory Changer you want to know more about.


Directory Buttons

Directory Buttons: Eight user definable pushbuttons which determine which directory is to be made current; plus a ninth button which "remembers" the directory which was current before the last use of the DirChanger macro. Pressing any of the directory buttons causes the current directory to be changed and the Directory Changer dialog box to close. Depending on the Action option button chosen, the File Open or File Save As dialog boxes may open.


Current Directory
Current Directory: When Word is running it always keeps track of the last directory you have explicitly chosen with either the File Open or File Save (As) dialog box. By default, when Word starts, the current directory is the same directory the WINWORD.EXE program resides in.


Features
Getting Started With Directory Changer

Directory Changer gives you one click access to eight of your 'favorite' directories from any Word document. If your document is based on a template other than NORMAL.DOT, you have rapid access to up to sixteen directories. (See Change Context)

After installing the DirChanger macro and its support files (see Installation) run the macro either by using the key or menu assignment you chose or by choosing Tools, Macro from the menu bar, then clicking on DirChanger, and then Run.

The dialog box which appears gives you some information about your current directory and template, and has eight buttons labeled 'None'. The first thing you'll want to do is assign some directories to those buttons so click on 'Modify' and follow the directions.

When you're finished making assignments (you don't have to use all eight buttons) you'll find yourself back at the original Directory Changer dialog box. Now you can click on one of the buttons which has your name and directory assignment.

Depending on which action option button you have chosen, Directory Changer will close and do one of three things:

a) Switch directories in the background and display a message in the status bar at the bottom of your screen.

b) Same as above plus present the File Open dialog box.

c) Same as above plus present the File Save As dialog box.

If you take advantage of the 'hot key' feature in assigning button names, you can switch directories with as few as two key presses without ever displaying the Directory Changer dialog box.

If, for example, you've assigned the DirChanger macro to Ctrl + Shift+ D, and you've assigned a particular directory to a key with the letter M as a 'hot' letter (e.g. "New &Memos"), then you switch to that directory by pressing Ctrl + Shift + D, then M. Directory Changer will display a message in the status bar at the bottom of your screen confirming what your new directory is.

Directory Changer also includes a 'Go Back' button which remembers the directory you were in before the last time you used the macro. This can have been ANY directory, not just one you've assigned a button to. This feature makes it simple to toggle repeatedly between two directories.

If, as in the example above, you've assigned the DirChanger macro to Ctrl + Shift+ D, then you can toggle two directories by pressing Ctrl + Shift + D, then B over and over. This won't work if you have assigned the letter B as a 'hot' letter for one of your own buttons because Directory Changer's Go Back uses that letter for itself, and your key assignments take precedence over Directory Changer's.


Installation
Installing Directory Changer and its Support Files

DirChanger Macro: Open WORDIR05.DOC and double click on the word "here" as instructed in the first paragraph of the document. This will copy the DirChanger macro to your NORMAL.DOT template. Macros copied to NORMAL.DOT are considered to be global and are available for your use at all times in Word.

After the macro has been copied, close WORDIR05.DOC and open a new document based on NORMAL. Choose Tools, Options, Keyboard and click the Show Macros and Context Global option buttons. Select DirChanger from the list of macros and give it a key assignment like "Ctrl + Shift + D". This will let you quickly access the macro any time you're using Word (even if you have no documents open!) You may also want to assign the macro to one of Word's menus by Choosing Tools, Options, Menus.

DDEBROWS.EXE: Copy this program to the same directory your Word templates are stored in. (With default non-network installations of Word this is usually the same directory the WINWORD.EXE program is stored in. If you're not sure where your templates are, look for a series of files with the extension ".DOT" and the file "NORMAL.DOT" in particular.) This small program is activated by the browse button in the Make Changes dialog box. While Directory Changer will run without DDEBROWS, using it simplifies choosing directories you want to assign to buttons in the Modify dialog box. DDEBROWS requires that the Visual Basic file VBRUN300.DLL be installed somewhere on your path, preferably in your Windows System directory.

VBRUN300.DLL: Required by DDEBROWS.EXE above. Copy to your Windows System directory.

WORDIR.INI: This support file will automatically be created in your templates directory the first time you use Directory Changer. (More Info)

WORDRHLP.HLP: (This help file) Copy this file to the same directory your Word templates are stored in.


Modify Selections
Assigning Directories to Buttons (Modify Selections Dialog)

The first time you use Directory Changer, you'll see eight buttons labeled 'none'. To assign a directory to a button, click on 'Modify Selections' at the bottom of the dialog box.

Next, in the Modify Selections dialog box, click the button you want to make an assignment to. The Make Changes dialog will appear which prompts you for a path name and a button name. Directory Changer checks the path you assign for validity before it commits it to its 'memory' so you can't make a mistake. The macro also checks how many characters you use in naming your buttons. Because of Word limitations on custom dialog boxes, you can't have a total of more than 90 characters allotted between the eight directory buttons in Directory Changer.

The Make Changes dialog includes a Browse button to help you locate different drives and directories. This button calls the DDEBROWS Visual Basic program you should have installed in your template directory. (See Installation for more information.)

Hot Keys

Putting an ampersand character (&) in front of any letter in the button name makes the button 'hot' so that you can 'click' it just by pressing the associated letter.

The Modify Selections dialog also includes a button for choosing which action Directory Changer will take by default when one of the directory buttons is clicked.


Default Action (change, open, save as)
Default Action

Clicking this button in the Modify Selections dialog box lets you choose which of three Action option buttons is selected by default when the initial Directory Changer dialog opens.


WORDIR.INI File
The WORDIR.INI File

The DirChanger macro "remembers" your button assignments and default action preferences by consulting a file named WORDIR.INI. This file is created in the directory where you keep your document templates. If you happen to look at this file (with a text editor only please!) you'll see a [heading] for each template that you have assigned buttons for.


Context Button
Change Context Button

For a thorough explanation of the GLOBAL vs. TEMPLATE contexts see your Word manual. The simple explanation as far as Directory Changer is concerned is that directory button assignments under GLOBAL are available to you in any document; ones assigned under TEMPLATE are only available if your active document is based on a particular template.

Directory Changer remembers button assignments for each different template you use them with. If you run Directory Changer while your active document is based on a template other than NORMAL you can choose from up to sixteen different directories. Eight associated with NORMAL.DOT and eight associated with the template the active document is based on.


Current Template
Current Template: Indicates the template the active document is based on. That is, the document which you were working in at the time you called Directory Changer.


Current Directory Defined
Current Directory: The directory which Word will use by default when you call up the File, Save As, or File,Open dialog boxes. Choosing a directory in either of those dialogs causes Word to "remember" that directory.


New Directory Will Be ...
New Directory Will Be: Shows you an abbreviated version of the path associated with the button to the left. After you click one of the buttons this will be your current directory.


Help Button: How you got here in the first place!