Modify embedded Excel workbook in Word document via VBA - excel

Question

I have a Word document with two embedded Excel files (added using Insert -> Object -> Create From File) which I wish to modify using Word VBA. I have got to the point where I am able to open the embedded files for editing (see code below), but am unable to get a handle on the Excel workbook using which I can make the modifications and save the embedded file. Does anyone have a solution for this? Thanks in advance.
Sub TestMacro()
Dim lNumShapes As Long
Dim lShapeCnt As Long
Dim xlApp As Object
Dim wrdActDoc As Document
Set wrdActDoc = ActiveDocument
For lShapeCnt = 1 To 1 'wrdActDoc.InlineShapes.Count
If wrdActDoc.InlineShapes(lShapeCnt).Type = wdInlineShapeEmbeddedOLEObject Then
If wrdActDoc.InlineShapes(lShapeCnt).OLEFormat.ProgID = "Excel.Sheet.8" Then
'This opens the embedded Excel workbook using Excel
wrdActDoc.InlineShapes(lShapeCnt).OLEFormat.Edit
End If
End If
Next lShapeCnt
End Sub

Answer 1

Yikes, don't do what you're suggesting in your comment. You'll probably end up with multiple instances of Excel (check Task Manager and see how many there are after executing your code).
Firstly, add a reference to the Excel object library (Project->References & choose Microsoft Excel Object Library). Now you can declare your objects as bona-fide Excel types and use early binding rather than declaring them as "Object" and using late binding. This isn't strictly necessary, but apart from anything else it means you get Intellisense when editing your code.
You're doing the right thing right up until you do .OleFormat.Edit. (I would personally use .OleFormat.Activate but since I've never tried using .Edit I couldn't say that it makes a difference).
Having done .Activate (or, presumably, .Edit), you can then access the OleFormat.Object member. Since the embedded Object is an Excel chart, the "Object" will be the Excel Workbook, so you can do this:
Dim oOleFormat as OleFormat
Set oOleFormat = ...
oOleFormat.Activate
Dim oWorkbook As Excel.Workbook
Set oWorkbook = oOleFormat.Object
' Do stuff with the workbook
oWorkbook.Charts(1).ChartArea.Font.Bold = True
Note that you do NOT need to close Excel, and indeed you cannot - Word "owns" the instance used for an edit-in-place, and will decide when to close it. This is actually something of a problem, since there's no obvious way to force the embedded object to be de-activated, so the chart would stay open after you execute the code above.
There is a hack-y way to get the chart to close, though. If you add tell Word to activate it as something else, it'll de-activate it first. So, if you tell it to activate it as something non-sensical, you'll achieve the right result because it'll de-activate it and then fail to re-activate it. So, add the following line:
oOleFormat.ActivateAs "This.Class.Does.Not.Exist"
Note that this will raise an error, so you'll need to temporarily disable error handling using On Error Resume Next. For that reason, I normally create a Deactivate method, to avoid disrupting the error handling in my main method. As in:
Private Sub DeactivateOleObject(ByRef oOleFormat as OleFormat)
On Error Resume Next
oOleFormat.ActivateAs "This.Class.Does.Not.Exist"
End Sub
Hope this helps.
Gary

Answer 2

I have a solution to my own problem. Any further comments will be appreciated -
Sub TestMacro()
Dim lNumShapes As Long
Dim lShapeCnt As Long
Dim xlApp As Object
Dim wrdActDoc As Document
Set wrdActDoc = ActiveDocument
For lShapeCnt = 1 To 1 'wrdActDoc.InlineShapes.Count
If wrdActDoc.InlineShapes(lShapeCnt).Type = wdInlineShapeEmbeddedOLEObject Then
If wrdActDoc.InlineShapes(lShapeCnt).OLEFormat.ProgID = "Excel.Sheet.8" Then
wrdActDoc.InlineShapes(lShapeCnt).OLEFormat.Edit
Set xlApp = GetObject(, "Excel.Application")
xlApp.Workbooks(1).Worksheets(1).Range("A1") = "This is A modified"
xlApp.Workbooks(1).Save
xlApp.Workbooks(1).Close
xlApp.Quit
End If
End If
Next lShapeCnt
End Sub

Answer 3

Have another hackey way to get the chart to close: Simply use the find function to find something in the document that is not there.
EG
With Selection.Find
.ClearFormatting
.Text = "wiffleball"
.Execute Forward:=True
End With
This will take you out of the embedded file, close the instance and back to the main document, you can just code from there.
Hope this helps, this problem was driving me crazy.

Answer 4

When you grad the xlApp, you don't grab a specific workbook. So if you refer to a number, you may not be on the embeded file. Better use Activeworkbook.
For me workbook(1) turns out to be my personnal hidden xl file containing my personnal macros.
I don't do the tests as I only have one shape in my .docx but I think the number "Excel.Sheet.8" is rather .12 for me.
Sub TestMacro()
Dim lNumShapes As Long
Dim lShapeCnt As Long
Dim xlApp As Object
Dim wrdActDoc As Document
Set wrdActDoc = ActiveDocument
For lShapeCnt = 1 To 1 'wrdActDoc.InlineShapes.Count
If wrdActDoc.InlineShapes(lShapeCnt).Type = wdInlineShapeEmbeddedOLEObject Then
If wrdActDoc.InlineShapes(lShapeCnt).OLEFormat.ProgID = "Excel.Sheet.8" Then
wrdActDoc.InlineShapes(lShapeCnt).OLEFormat.Edit
Set xlApp = GetObject(, "Excel.Application")
xlApp.ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets(1).Range("A1") = "This is A modified"
'xlApp.ActiveWorkbook.Save
'xlApp.ActiveWorkbook.Close
xlApp.Quit
End If
End If
Next lShapeCnt
End Sub
When I quit xlApp, the focus gets out of the embeded xl. No problem with that.