how do you automatically generate a letter on certain dates

bsd

I would like to automatically generate a birthday greeting letter in
word2000 to my friends a day before their birthdays wich I have a tendecy to
forget

Jay
Mon Jul 14 10:21:36 PDT 2008

Solly wrote:
> bsd
>
> I would like to automatically generate a birthday greeting letter in
> word2000 to my friends a day before their birthdays wich I have a
> tendecy to forget

Word can't automatically start itself on particular dates. It would be
possible to write an AutoExec macro to check the current date each time you
start Word, to see if it's in a list of dates on which to print letters --
but if you forgot to start Word on the proper day, then nothing would
happen. And if you keep Word running all the time, then the AutoExec macro
doesn't run after the initial startup. That doesn't seem to me to be a good
scheme.

Do you use Outlook? It has a calendar feature with reminders, all built in
and ready to use. You can put in all your friends' birthdays, and have a
reminder for each one pop up a few days ahead.

If you don't use Outlook, check Google for free or low-cost calendar
programs -- or just hang a paper calendar on the wall and enter all the
birthdays on it.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

stevencraigmiller(at)comcast(dot)net>
Mon Jul 14 11:18:03 PDT 2008

To: Jay Freedman,

<< ... or just hang a paper calendar on the wall and enter all the birthdays
on it. >>

If I hang a paper calendar on the wall, is there any way I can get a Word
macro to enter all the dates for me?

Steven Craig Miller

Jay
Mon Jul 14 12:16:01 PDT 2008

StevenM wrote:
> To: Jay Freedman,
>
> << ... or just hang a paper calendar on the wall and enter all the
> birthdays on it. >>
>
> If I hang a paper calendar on the wall, is there any way I can get a
> Word macro to enter all the dates for me?
>
> Steven Craig Miller

:-)

I'm thinking of the scene in Start Trek IV when Scotty picks up the
computer's mouse and starts to give it voice commands...

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

Solly
Mon Jul 14 17:02:01 PDT 2008

i open word almost every day
i wolud like these letters
generate automatically
what's wrong with that?

"Jay Freedman" wrote:

> Solly wrote:
> > bsd
> >
> > I would like to automatically generate a birthday greeting letter in
> > word2000 to my friends a day before their birthdays wich I have a
> > tendecy to forget
>
> Word can't automatically start itself on particular dates. It would be
> possible to write an AutoExec macro to check the current date each time you
> start Word, to see if it's in a list of dates on which to print letters --
> but if you forgot to start Word on the proper day, then nothing would
> happen. And if you keep Word running all the time, then the AutoExec macro
> doesn't run after the initial startup. That doesn't seem to me to be a good
> scheme.
>
> Do you use Outlook? It has a calendar feature with reminders, all built in
> and ready to use. You can put in all your friends' birthdays, and have a
> reminder for each one pop up a few days ahead.
>
> If you don't use Outlook, check Google for free or low-cost calendar
> programs -- or just hang a paper calendar on the wall and enter all the
> birthdays on it.
>
> --
> Regards,
> Jay Freedman
> Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
> all may benefit.
>
>
>

gordon(dot)bentleymix(at)gmail(dot)com>
Mon Jul 14 18:04:03 PDT 2008

Solly,

To paraphrase George W, I think you misunderestimate the complexity of the
task. I suggest you start by trying to put together something yourself and if
you get stuck then post back here. These forums are here to help to those who
are willing to help themselves, but they're not a source for free services.
All of the people who offer their assistance do so voluntarily and receive no
compensation other than the gratitude of those they help - and sometimes a
bit of reciprocity when they run into problems themselves. To ask someone to
develop a complete solution for you - for free - is unfair, and the responses
you have received are, IMHO, fitting.

If you don't have the skills to at least make an attempt to solve the
problem yourself then either hire someone to do it for you or accept Jay's
recommendation to use a tool better suited to the job - such as Outlook, some
sort of free or shareware utility or a paper calendar.

If you do want to take a stab at it, here's what you will need:

* A list of your friends' birthdays
* A form letter of some sort - with or without additional automation to
customise the letter
* Sufficient understanding of VBA (and, by extension, Word) to write a
macro that will look at the date list and generate a document using the form
letter

Jay has suggested an AutoExec macro, which of course has the limitation that
it will run only when Word starts. I suppose this could also be done using
some sort of "manually invoked" macro as well - e.g. click a button and the
macro checks the date against the list and either generated the appropriate
letter or (as a nice to have feature) displays a message telling you that
there are no letters to print today.

However, I still think you'd be better off using some sort of tool that
offers a calendaring function natively...
--
Cheers!
Gordon

Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post all
follow-ups to the newsgroup.


"Solly" wrote:

> i open word almost every day
> i wolud like these letters
> generate automatically
> what's wrong with that?
>
> "Jay Freedman" wrote:
>
> > Solly wrote:
> > > bsd
> > >
> > > I would like to automatically generate a birthday greeting letter in
> > > word2000 to my friends a day before their birthdays wich I have a
> > > tendecy to forget
> >
> > Word can't automatically start itself on particular dates. It would be
> > possible to write an AutoExec macro to check the current date each time you
> > start Word, to see if it's in a list of dates on which to print letters --
> > but if you forgot to start Word on the proper day, then nothing would
> > happen. And if you keep Word running all the time, then the AutoExec macro
> > doesn't run after the initial startup. That doesn't seem to me to be a good
> > scheme.
> >
> > Do you use Outlook? It has a calendar feature with reminders, all built in
> > and ready to use. You can put in all your friends' birthdays, and have a
> > reminder for each one pop up a few days ahead.
> >
> > If you don't use Outlook, check Google for free or low-cost calendar
> > programs -- or just hang a paper calendar on the wall and enter all the
> > birthdays on it.
> >
> > --
> > Regards,
> > Jay Freedman
> > Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
> > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
> > all may benefit.
> >
> >
> >

Greg
Mon Jul 14 19:59:59 PDT 2008

Well said. But as a whimsical exercise:

Sub autoexec()
Dim myArray(5, 1) As Variant
Dim oDoc As Word.Document
Dim i As Long
For i =3D 0 To 5
myArray(i, 0) =3D Choose(i, "Mary", "Bill", "Bob", "Susie", "Sally",
"Fred")
myArray(i, 1) =3D Choose(i, "07/14", "07/18", "09/01", "10/13",
"03/19", "06/12")
Next i
For i =3D 0 To 5
If myArray(i, 1) Like Format(Date, "MM/dd") Then
Set oDoc =3D Documents.Add
With oDoc
.Range.Text =3D "Happy birthday to you, happy Birthday to you." _
& " happy birthday dear " & myArray(i, 0) & ",
happy birthday to you!!"
End With
End If
Next i
End Sub
On Jul 14, 9:04=A0pm, Gordon Bentley-Mix
<gordon(dot)bentleymix(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
> Solly,
>
> To paraphrase George W, I think you misunderestimate the complexity of th=
e
> task. I suggest you start by trying to put together something yourself an=
d if
> you get stuck then post back here. These forums are here to help to those=
who
> are willing to help themselves, but they're not a source for free service=
s.
> All of the people who offer their assistance do so voluntarily and receiv=
e no
> compensation other than the gratitude of those they help - and sometimes =
a
> bit of reciprocity when they run into problems themselves. To ask someone=
to
> develop a complete solution for you - for free - is unfair, and the respo=
nses
> you have received are, IMHO, fitting.
>
> If you don't have the skills to at least make an attempt to solve the
> problem yourself then either hire someone to do it for you or accept Jay'=
s
> recommendation to use a tool better suited to the job - such as Outlook, =
some
> sort of free or shareware utility or a paper calendar.
>
> If you do want to take a stab at it, here's what you will need:
>
> * =A0 A list of your friends' birthdays
> * =A0 A form letter of some sort - with or without additional automation =
to
> customise the letter
> * =A0 Sufficient understanding of VBA (and, by extension, Word) to write =
a
> macro that will look at the date list and generate a document using the f=
orm
> letter
>
> Jay has suggested an AutoExec macro, which of course has the limitation t=
hat
> it will run only when Word starts. I suppose this could also be done usin=
g
> some sort of "manually invoked" macro as well - e.g. click a button and t=
he
> macro checks the date against the list and either generated the appropria=
te
> letter or (as a nice to have feature) displays a message telling you that
> there are no letters to print today.
>
> However, I still think you'd be better off using some sort of tool that
> offers a calendaring function natively...
> --
> Cheers!
> Gordon
>
> Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post a=
ll
> follow-ups to the newsgroup.
>
>
>
> "Solly" wrote:
> > i open word almost every day
> > i wolud like these letters
> > generate automatically
> > what's wrong with that?
>
> > "Jay Freedman" wrote:
>
> > > Solly wrote:
> > > > bsd
>
> > > > I would like to automatically generate a birthday greeting letter i=
n
> > > > word2000 to my friends a day before their birthdays wich I have a
> > > > tendecy to forget
>
> > > Word can't automatically start itself on particular dates. It would b=
e
> > > possible to write an AutoExec macro to check the current date each ti=
me you
> > > start Word, to see if it's in a list of dates on which to print lette=
rs -- =A0
> > > but if you forgot to start Word on the proper day, then nothing would
> > > happen. And if you keep Word running all the time, then the AutoExec =
macro
> > > doesn't run after the initial startup. That doesn't seem to me to be =
a good
> > > scheme.
>
> > > Do you use Outlook? It has a calendar feature with reminders, all bui=
lt in
> > > and ready to use. You can put in all your friends' birthdays, and hav=
e a
> > > reminder for each one pop up a few days ahead.
>
> > > If you don't use Outlook, check Google for free or low-cost calendar
> > > programs -- or just hang a paper calendar on the wall and enter all t=
he
> > > birthdays on it.
>
> > > --
> > > Regards,
> > > Jay Freedman
> > > Microsoft Word MVP =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0FAQ:http://word.mvps.org
> > > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsg=
roup so
> > > all may benefit.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Gregory
Mon Jul 14 20:04:30 PDT 2008

To spare a bit of complexity, the dates used in the code are "the day
before" the recipients birthday ;-)


Greg Maxey wrote:
> Well said. But as a whimsical exercise:
>
> Sub autoexec()
> Dim myArray(5, 1) As Variant
> Dim oDoc As Word.Document
> Dim i As Long
> For i = 0 To 5
> myArray(i, 0) = Choose(i, "Mary", "Bill", "Bob", "Susie", "Sally",
> "Fred")
> myArray(i, 1) = Choose(i, "07/14", "07/18", "09/01", "10/13",
> "03/19", "06/12")
> Next i
> For i = 0 To 5
> If myArray(i, 1) Like Format(Date, "MM/dd") Then
> Set oDoc = Documents.Add
> With oDoc
> .Range.Text = "Happy birthday to you, happy Birthday to you." _
> & " happy birthday dear " & myArray(i, 0) & ",
> happy birthday to you!!"
> End With
> End If
> Next i
> End Sub
> On Jul 14, 9:04 pm, Gordon Bentley-Mix
> <gordon(dot)bentleymix(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
>> Solly,
>>
>> To paraphrase George W, I think you misunderestimate the complexity
>> of the task. I suggest you start by trying to put together something
>> yourself and if you get stuck then post back here. These forums are
>> here to help to those who are willing to help themselves, but
>> they're not a source for free services. All of the people who offer
>> their assistance do so voluntarily and receive no compensation other
>> than the gratitude of those they help - and sometimes a bit of
>> reciprocity when they run into problems themselves. To ask someone
>> to develop a complete solution for you - for free - is unfair, and
>> the responses you have received are, IMHO, fitting.
>>
>> If you don't have the skills to at least make an attempt to solve the
>> problem yourself then either hire someone to do it for you or accept
>> Jay's recommendation to use a tool better suited to the job - such
>> as Outlook, some sort of free or shareware utility or a paper
>> calendar.
>>
>> If you do want to take a stab at it, here's what you will need:
>>
>> * A list of your friends' birthdays
>> * A form letter of some sort - with or without additional automation
>> to customise the letter
>> * Sufficient understanding of VBA (and, by extension, Word) to write
>> a
>> macro that will look at the date list and generate a document using
>> the form letter
>>
>> Jay has suggested an AutoExec macro, which of course has the
>> limitation that it will run only when Word starts. I suppose this
>> could also be done using some sort of "manually invoked" macro as
>> well - e.g. click a button and the macro checks the date against the
>> list and either generated the appropriate letter or (as a nice to
>> have feature) displays a message telling you that there are no
>> letters to print today.
>>
>> However, I still think you'd be better off using some sort of tool
>> that offers a calendaring function natively...
>> --
>> Cheers!
>> Gordon
>>
>> Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please
>> post all follow-ups to the newsgroup.
>>
>>
>>
>> "Solly" wrote:
>>> i open word almost every day
>>> i wolud like these letters
>>> generate automatically
>>> what's wrong with that?
>>
>>> "Jay Freedman" wrote:
>>
>>>> Solly wrote:
>>>>> bsd
>>
>>>>> I would like to automatically generate a birthday greeting letter
>>>>> in word2000 to my friends a day before their birthdays wich I
>>>>> have a tendecy to forget
>>
>>>> Word can't automatically start itself on particular dates. It
>>>> would be possible to write an AutoExec macro to check the current
>>>> date each time you start Word, to see if it's in a list of dates
>>>> on which to print letters -- but if you forgot to start Word on
>>>> the proper day, then nothing would happen. And if you keep Word
>>>> running all the time, then the AutoExec macro doesn't run after
>>>> the initial startup. That doesn't seem to me to be a good scheme.
>>
>>>> Do you use Outlook? It has a calendar feature with reminders, all
>>>> built in and ready to use. You can put in all your friends'
>>>> birthdays, and have a reminder for each one pop up a few days
>>>> ahead.
>>
>>>> If you don't use Outlook, check Google for free or low-cost
>>>> calendar programs -- or just hang a paper calendar on the wall and
>>>> enter all the birthdays on it.
>>
>>>> --
>>>> Regards,
>>>> Jay Freedman
>>>> Microsoft Word MVP FAQ:http://word.mvps.org
>>>> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
>>>> newsgroup so all may benefit.- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -

gordon(dot)bentleymix(at)gmail(dot)com>
Mon Jul 14 20:24:00 PDT 2008

How did I know you were going to get involved in this? You really _do_ need
to get out more! ;-D

(BTW, I was going to have a go at this myself...)
--
Cheers!
Gordon

Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post all
follow-ups to the newsgroup.


"Gregory K. Maxey" wrote:

> To spare a bit of complexity, the dates used in the code are "the day
> before" the recipients birthday ;-)
>
>
> Greg Maxey wrote:
> > Well said. But as a whimsical exercise:
> >
> > Sub autoexec()
> > Dim myArray(5, 1) As Variant
> > Dim oDoc As Word.Document
> > Dim i As Long
> > For i = 0 To 5
> > myArray(i, 0) = Choose(i, "Mary", "Bill", "Bob", "Susie", "Sally",
> > "Fred")
> > myArray(i, 1) = Choose(i, "07/14", "07/18", "09/01", "10/13",
> > "03/19", "06/12")
> > Next i
> > For i = 0 To 5
> > If myArray(i, 1) Like Format(Date, "MM/dd") Then
> > Set oDoc = Documents.Add
> > With oDoc
> > .Range.Text = "Happy birthday to you, happy Birthday to you." _
> > & " happy birthday dear " & myArray(i, 0) & ",
> > happy birthday to you!!"
> > End With
> > End If
> > Next i
> > End Sub
> > On Jul 14, 9:04 pm, Gordon Bentley-Mix
> > <gordon(dot)bentleymix(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
> >> Solly,
> >>
> >> To paraphrase George W, I think you misunderestimate the complexity
> >> of the task. I suggest you start by trying to put together something
> >> yourself and if you get stuck then post back here. These forums are
> >> here to help to those who are willing to help themselves, but
> >> they're not a source for free services. All of the people who offer
> >> their assistance do so voluntarily and receive no compensation other
> >> than the gratitude of those they help - and sometimes a bit of
> >> reciprocity when they run into problems themselves. To ask someone
> >> to develop a complete solution for you - for free - is unfair, and
> >> the responses you have received are, IMHO, fitting.
> >>
> >> If you don't have the skills to at least make an attempt to solve the
> >> problem yourself then either hire someone to do it for you or accept
> >> Jay's recommendation to use a tool better suited to the job - such
> >> as Outlook, some sort of free or shareware utility or a paper
> >> calendar.
> >>
> >> If you do want to take a stab at it, here's what you will need:
> >>
> >> * A list of your friends' birthdays
> >> * A form letter of some sort - with or without additional automation
> >> to customise the letter
> >> * Sufficient understanding of VBA (and, by extension, Word) to write
> >> a
> >> macro that will look at the date list and generate a document using
> >> the form letter
> >>
> >> Jay has suggested an AutoExec macro, which of course has the
> >> limitation that it will run only when Word starts. I suppose this
> >> could also be done using some sort of "manually invoked" macro as
> >> well - e.g. click a button and the macro checks the date against the
> >> list and either generated the appropriate letter or (as a nice to
> >> have feature) displays a message telling you that there are no
> >> letters to print today.
> >>
> >> However, I still think you'd be better off using some sort of tool
> >> that offers a calendaring function natively...
> >> --
> >> Cheers!
> >> Gordon
> >>
> >> Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please
> >> post all follow-ups to the newsgroup.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> "Solly" wrote:
> >>> i open word almost every day
> >>> i wolud like these letters
> >>> generate automatically
> >>> what's wrong with that?
> >>
> >>> "Jay Freedman" wrote:
> >>
> >>>> Solly wrote:
> >>>>> bsd
> >>
> >>>>> I would like to automatically generate a birthday greeting letter
> >>>>> in word2000 to my friends a day before their birthdays wich I
> >>>>> have a tendecy to forget
> >>
> >>>> Word can't automatically start itself on particular dates. It
> >>>> would be possible to write an AutoExec macro to check the current
> >>>> date each time you start Word, to see if it's in a list of dates
> >>>> on which to print letters -- but if you forgot to start Word on
> >>>> the proper day, then nothing would happen. And if you keep Word
> >>>> running all the time, then the AutoExec macro doesn't run after
> >>>> the initial startup. That doesn't seem to me to be a good scheme.
> >>
> >>>> Do you use Outlook? It has a calendar feature with reminders, all
> >>>> built in and ready to use. You can put in all your friends'
> >>>> birthdays, and have a reminder for each one pop up a few days
> >>>> ahead.
> >>
> >>>> If you don't use Outlook, check Google for free or low-cost
> >>>> calendar programs -- or just hang a paper calendar on the wall and
> >>>> enter all the birthdays on it.
> >>
> >>>> --
> >>>> Regards,
> >>>> Jay Freedman
> >>>> Microsoft Word MVP FAQ:http://word.mvps.org
> >>>> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
> >>>> newsgroup so all may benefit.- Hide quoted text -
> >>
> >> - Show quoted text -
>
>
>

JeanGuyMarcil
Tue Jul 15 04:51:01 PDT 2008

"Gordon Bentley-Mix" wrote:

> Solly,
>
> To paraphrase George W, I think you misunderestimate the complexity of the

"misunderestimate" I love that word!

Hmm. I would sure love to receive one of those preprinted birthday letter...
I'd put it next to the one I get from my dentist... which also has such a
personal touch...

JeanGuyMarcil
Tue Jul 15 04:52:00 PDT 2008

"Greg Maxey" wrote:

> Well said. But as a whimsical exercise:
>
> Sub autoexec()
> Dim myArray(5, 1) As Variant
> Dim oDoc As Word.Document
> Dim i As Long
> For i = 0 To 5
> myArray(i, 0) = Choose(i, "Mary", "Bill", "Bob", "Susie", "Sally",
> "Fred")
> myArray(i, 1) = Choose(i, "07/14", "07/18", "09/01", "10/13",
> "03/19", "06/12")
> Next i
> For i = 0 To 5
> If myArray(i, 1) Like Format(Date, "MM/dd") Then
> Set oDoc = Documents.Add
> With oDoc
> .Range.Text = "Happy birthday to you, happy Birthday to you." _
> & " happy birthday dear " & myArray(i, 0) & ",
> happy birthday to you!!"
> End With
> End If
> Next i
> End Sub

Very nice, but can you make it sing as well?

;-)

Greg
Tue Jul 15 14:27:21 PDT 2008

On Jul 14, 11:24=A0pm, Gordon Bentley-Mix
<gordon(dot)bentleymix(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
> How did I know you were going to get involved in this? You really _do_ ne=
ed
> to get out more! ;-D
>
> (BTW, I was going to have a go at this myself...)
> --
> Cheers!
> Gordon
>
> Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post a=
ll
> follow-ups to the newsgroup.
>
>
>
> "Gregory K. Maxey" wrote:
> > To spare a bit of complexity, the dates used in the code are "the day
> > before" the recipients birthday ;-)
>
> > Greg Maxey wrote:
> > > Well said. =A0But as a whimsical exercise:
>
> > > Sub autoexec()
> > > Dim myArray(5, 1) As Variant
> > > Dim oDoc As Word.Document
> > > Dim i As Long
> > > For i =3D 0 To 5
> > > =A0 myArray(i, 0) =3D Choose(i, "Mary", "Bill", "Bob", "Susie", "Sall=
y",
> > > "Fred")
> > > =A0 myArray(i, 1) =3D Choose(i, "07/14", "07/18", "09/01", "10/13",
> > > "03/19", "06/12")
> > > Next i
> > > For i =3D 0 To 5
> > > =A0 If myArray(i, 1) Like Format(Date, "MM/dd") Then
> > > =A0 =A0 Set oDoc =3D Documents.Add
> > > =A0 =A0 With oDoc
> > > =A0 =A0 =A0 .Range.Text =3D "Happy birthday to you, happy Birthday to=
you." _
> > > =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 & " happy birthday dear " & m=
yArray(i, 0) & ",
> > > happy birthday to you!!"
> > > =A0 =A0 End With
> > > =A0 End If
> > > Next i
> > > End Sub
> > > On Jul 14, 9:04 pm, Gordon Bentley-Mix
> > > <gordon(dot)bentleymix(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
> > >> Solly,
>
> > >> To paraphrase George W, I think you misunderestimate the complexity
> > >> of the task. I suggest you start by trying to put together something
> > >> yourself and if you get stuck then post back here. These forums are
> > >> here to help to those who are willing to help themselves, but
> > >> they're not a source for free services. All of the people who offer
> > >> their assistance do so voluntarily and receive no compensation other
> > >> than the gratitude of those they help - and sometimes a bit of
> > >> reciprocity when they run into problems themselves. To ask someone
> > >> to develop a complete solution for you - for free - is unfair, and
> > >> the responses you have received are, IMHO, fitting.
>
> > >> If you don't have the skills to at least make an attempt to solve th=
e
> > >> problem yourself then either hire someone to do it for you or accept
> > >> Jay's recommendation to use a tool better suited to the job - such
> > >> as Outlook, some sort of free or shareware utility or a paper
> > >> calendar.
>
> > >> If you do want to take a stab at it, here's what you will need:
>
> > >> * A list of your friends' birthdays
> > >> * A form letter of some sort - with or without additional automation
> > >> to customise the letter
> > >> * Sufficient understanding of VBA (and, by extension, Word) to write
> > >> a
> > >> macro that will look at the date list and generate a document using
> > >> the form letter
>
> > >> Jay has suggested an AutoExec macro, which of course has the
> > >> limitation that it will run only when Word starts. I suppose this
> > >> could also be done using some sort of "manually invoked" macro as
> > >> well - e.g. click a button and the macro checks the date against the
> > >> list and either generated the appropriate letter or (as a nice to
> > >> have feature) displays a message telling you that there are no
> > >> letters to print today.
>
> > >> However, I still think you'd be better off using some sort of tool
> > >> that offers a calendaring function natively...
> > >> --
> > >> Cheers!
> > >> Gordon
>
> > >> Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please
> > >> post all follow-ups to the newsgroup.
>
> > >> "Solly" wrote:
> > >>> i open word almost every day
> > >>> i wolud like these letters
> > >>> generate automatically
> > >>> what's wrong with that?
>
> > >>> "Jay Freedman" wrote:
>
> > >>>> Solly wrote:
> > >>>>> bsd
>
> > >>>>> I would like to automatically generate a birthday greeting letter
> > >>>>> in word2000 to my friends a day before their birthdays wich I
> > >>>>> have a tendecy to forget
>
> > >>>> Word can't automatically start itself on particular dates. It
> > >>>> would be possible to write an AutoExec macro to check the current
> > >>>> date each time you start Word, to see if it's in a list of dates
> > >>>> on which to print letters -- but if you forgot to start Word on
> > >>>> the proper day, then nothing would happen. And if you keep Word
> > >>>> running all the time, then the AutoExec macro doesn't run after
> > >>>> the initial startup. That doesn't seem to me to be a good scheme.
>
> > >>>> Do you use Outlook? It has a calendar feature with reminders, all
> > >>>> built in and ready to use. You can put in all your friends'
> > >>>> birthdays, and have a reminder for each one pop up a few days
> > >>>> ahead.
>
> > >>>> If you don't use Outlook, check Google for free or low-cost
> > >>>> calendar programs -- or just hang a paper calendar on the wall and
> > >>>> enter all the birthdays on it.
>
> > >>>> --
> > >>>> Regards,
> > >>>> Jay Freedman
> > >>>> Microsoft Word MVP FAQ:http://word.mvps.org
> > >>>> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
> > >>>> newsgroup so all may benefit.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > >> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Well. It was something to do after work on a rainy day ;-)

Solly
Wed Jul 16 08:50:01 PDT 2008

bsd

perhaps us ungeeks do have some good ideas which you geeks can use to make
really useful templates for us ungeeks to use
(in Word which most people i think still use) perhaps your dentist or carpet
cleaner could use such a Word template too?
But remember the KISS word (Keep It Simple Stupid)

"Greg Maxey" wrote:

> Well said. But as a whimsical exercise:
>
> Sub autoexec()
> Dim myArray(5, 1) As Variant
> Dim oDoc As Word.Document
> Dim i As Long
> For i = 0 To 5
> myArray(i, 0) = Choose(i, "Mary", "Bill", "Bob", "Susie", "Sally",
> "Fred")
> myArray(i, 1) = Choose(i, "07/14", "07/18", "09/01", "10/13",
> "03/19", "06/12")
> Next i
> For i = 0 To 5
> If myArray(i, 1) Like Format(Date, "MM/dd") Then
> Set oDoc = Documents.Add
> With oDoc
> .Range.Text = "Happy birthday to you, happy Birthday to you." _
> & " happy birthday dear " & myArray(i, 0) & ",
> happy birthday to you!!"
> End With
> End If
> Next i
> End Sub
> On Jul 14, 9:04 pm, Gordon Bentley-Mix
> <gordon(dot)bentleymix(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
> > Solly,
> >
> > To paraphrase George W, I think you misunderestimate the complexity of the
> > task. I suggest you start by trying to put together something yourself and if
> > you get stuck then post back here. These forums are here to help to those who
> > are willing to help themselves, but they're not a source for free services.
> > All of the people who offer their assistance do so voluntarily and receive no
> > compensation other than the gratitude of those they help - and sometimes a
> > bit of reciprocity when they run into problems themselves. To ask someone to
> > develop a complete solution for you - for free - is unfair, and the responses
> > you have received are, IMHO, fitting.
> >
> > If you don't have the skills to at least make an attempt to solve the
> > problem yourself then either hire someone to do it for you or accept Jay's
> > recommendation to use a tool better suited to the job - such as Outlook, some
> > sort of free or shareware utility or a paper calendar.
> >
> > If you do want to take a stab at it, here's what you will need:
> >
> > * A list of your friends' birthdays
> > * A form letter of some sort - with or without additional automation to
> > customise the letter
> > * Sufficient understanding of VBA (and, by extension, Word) to write a
> > macro that will look at the date list and generate a document using the form
> > letter
> >
> > Jay has suggested an AutoExec macro, which of course has the limitation that
> > it will run only when Word starts. I suppose this could also be done using
> > some sort of "manually invoked" macro as well - e.g. click a button and the
> > macro checks the date against the list and either generated the appropriate
> > letter or (as a nice to have feature) displays a message telling you that
> > there are no letters to print today.
> >
> > However, I still think you'd be better off using some sort of tool that
> > offers a calendaring function natively...
> > --
> > Cheers!
> > Gordon
> >
> > Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post all
> > follow-ups to the newsgroup.
> >
> >
> >
> > "Solly" wrote:
> > > i open word almost every day
> > > i wolud like these letters
> > > generate automatically
> > > what's wrong with that?
> >
> > > "Jay Freedman" wrote:
> >
> > > > Solly wrote:
> > > > > bsd
> >
> > > > > I would like to automatically generate a birthday greeting letter in
> > > > > word2000 to my friends a day before their birthdays wich I have a
> > > > > tendecy to forget
> >
> > > > Word can't automatically start itself on particular dates. It would be
> > > > possible to write an AutoExec macro to check the current date each time you
> > > > start Word, to see if it's in a list of dates on which to print letters --
> > > > but if you forgot to start Word on the proper day, then nothing would
> > > > happen. And if you keep Word running all the time, then the AutoExec macro
> > > > doesn't run after the initial startup. That doesn't seem to me to be a good
> > > > scheme.
> >
> > > > Do you use Outlook? It has a calendar feature with reminders, all built in
> > > > and ready to use. You can put in all your friends' birthdays, and have a
> > > > reminder for each one pop up a few days ahead.
> >
> > > > If you don't use Outlook, check Google for free or low-cost calendar
> > > > programs -- or just hang a paper calendar on the wall and enter all the
> > > > birthdays on it.
> >
> > > > --
> > > > Regards,
> > > > Jay Freedman
> > > > Microsoft Word MVP FAQ:http://word.mvps.org
> > > > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
> > > > all may benefit.- Hide quoted text -
> >
> > - Show quoted text -
>
>

Gregory
Wed Jul 16 14:40:20 PDT 2008

Solly,

<But remember the KISS word (Keep It Simple Stupid)

????

Here is another old saw: Don't bite the hand that feeds you."

Seriously. The short coming with any attempt to achieve your goal with Word
is limited by the fact, as Jay pointed out, that if won't work if you don't
remember to start Word. My example was provided as an illustration to show
that it could be done using AutoExec, but as Gordon pointed out most of us
aren't committed to providing a fully functional application a) for free,
b) to someone that hasn't shown us what they have tried, or c) someone
calling us names.

The code I provided could be simplified greatly:

Sub autoexec()
Msgbox "Look at your calender and then start typing birthday letters to all
the people that you normally forget."
End Sub

It could also be made more functional by extracting the list of names and
dates from an external file and then populating fields in a dedicated
birthday letter template based on information from that file.

Regardless of which extreme you take both fail if the user doesn't start
Word.

I will be happy to assist you further if you wish. Just contact me via the
feedback link on my website.






"Solly" <Solly@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:386266C6-F361-41AB-ACDE-36A79D0D5F2F@microsoft.com...
> bsd
>
> perhaps us ungeeks do have some good ideas which you geeks can use to make
> really useful templates for us ungeeks to use
> (in Word which most people i think still use) perhaps your dentist or
> carpet
> cleaner could use such a Word template too?
> But remember the KISS word (Keep It Simple Stupid)
>
> "Greg Maxey" wrote:
>
>> Well said. But as a whimsical exercise:
>>
>> Sub autoexec()
>> Dim myArray(5, 1) As Variant
>> Dim oDoc As Word.Document
>> Dim i As Long
>> For i = 0 To 5
>> myArray(i, 0) = Choose(i, "Mary", "Bill", "Bob", "Susie", "Sally",
>> "Fred")
>> myArray(i, 1) = Choose(i, "07/14", "07/18", "09/01", "10/13",
>> "03/19", "06/12")
>> Next i
>> For i = 0 To 5
>> If myArray(i, 1) Like Format(Date, "MM/dd") Then
>> Set oDoc = Documents.Add
>> With oDoc
>> .Range.Text = "Happy birthday to you, happy Birthday to you." _
>> & " happy birthday dear " & myArray(i, 0) & ",
>> happy birthday to you!!"
>> End With
>> End If
>> Next i
>> End Sub
>> On Jul 14, 9:04 pm, Gordon Bentley-Mix
>> <gordon(dot)bentleymix(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
>> > Solly,
>> >
>> > To paraphrase George W, I think you misunderestimate the complexity of
>> > the
>> > task. I suggest you start by trying to put together something yourself
>> > and if
>> > you get stuck then post back here. These forums are here to help to
>> > those who
>> > are willing to help themselves, but they're not a source for free
>> > services.
>> > All of the people who offer their assistance do so voluntarily and
>> > receive no
>> > compensation other than the gratitude of those they help - and
>> > sometimes a
>> > bit of reciprocity when they run into problems themselves. To ask
>> > someone to
>> > develop a complete solution for you - for free - is unfair, and the
>> > responses
>> > you have received are, IMHO, fitting.
>> >
>> > If you don't have the skills to at least make an attempt to solve the
>> > problem yourself then either hire someone to do it for you or accept
>> > Jay's
>> > recommendation to use a tool better suited to the job - such as
>> > Outlook, some
>> > sort of free or shareware utility or a paper calendar.
>> >
>> > If you do want to take a stab at it, here's what you will need:
>> >
>> > * A list of your friends' birthdays
>> > * A form letter of some sort - with or without additional automation
>> > to
>> > customise the letter
>> > * Sufficient understanding of VBA (and, by extension, Word) to write
>> > a
>> > macro that will look at the date list and generate a document using the
>> > form
>> > letter
>> >
>> > Jay has suggested an AutoExec macro, which of course has the limitation
>> > that
>> > it will run only when Word starts. I suppose this could also be done
>> > using
>> > some sort of "manually invoked" macro as well - e.g. click a button and
>> > the
>> > macro checks the date against the list and either generated the
>> > appropriate
>> > letter or (as a nice to have feature) displays a message telling you
>> > that
>> > there are no letters to print today.
>> >
>> > However, I still think you'd be better off using some sort of tool that
>> > offers a calendaring function natively...
>> > --
>> > Cheers!
>> > Gordon
>> >
>> > Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post
>> > all
>> > follow-ups to the newsgroup.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > "Solly" wrote:
>> > > i open word almost every day
>> > > i wolud like these letters
>> > > generate automatically
>> > > what's wrong with that?
>> >
>> > > "Jay Freedman" wrote:
>> >
>> > > > Solly wrote:
>> > > > > bsd
>> >
>> > > > > I would like to automatically generate a birthday greeting letter
>> > > > > in
>> > > > > word2000 to my friends a day before their birthdays wich I have a
>> > > > > tendecy to forget
>> >
>> > > > Word can't automatically start itself on particular dates. It would
>> > > > be
>> > > > possible to write an AutoExec macro to check the current date each
>> > > > time you
>> > > > start Word, to see if it's in a list of dates on which to print
>> > > > letters --
>> > > > but if you forgot to start Word on the proper day, then nothing
>> > > > would
>> > > > happen. And if you keep Word running all the time, then the
>> > > > AutoExec macro
>> > > > doesn't run after the initial startup. That doesn't seem to me to
>> > > > be a good
>> > > > scheme.
>> >
>> > > > Do you use Outlook? It has a calendar feature with reminders, all
>> > > > built in
>> > > > and ready to use. You can put in all your friends' birthdays, and
>> > > > have a
>> > > > reminder for each one pop up a few days ahead.
>> >
>> > > > If you don't use Outlook, check Google for free or low-cost
>> > > > calendar
>> > > > programs -- or just hang a paper calendar on the wall and enter all
>> > > > the
>> > > > birthdays on it.
>> >
>> > > > --
>> > > > Regards,
>> > > > Jay Freedman
>> > > > Microsoft Word MVP FAQ:http://word.mvps.org
>> > > > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
>> > > > newsgroup so
>> > > > all may benefit.- Hide quoted text -
>> >
>> > - Show quoted text -
>>
>>

JeanGuyMarcil
Thu Jul 17 09:08:01 PDT 2008

"Solly" wrote:

> bsd
>
> perhaps us ungeeks do have some good ideas which you geeks can use to make
> really useful templates for us ungeeks to use
> (in Word which most people i think still use) perhaps your dentist or carpet
> cleaner could use such a Word template too?
> But remember the KISS word (Keep It Simple Stupid)
>

Hmm, I thought it was "Keep It Short and Simple"....

Solly
Fri Jul 18 12:17:05 PDT 2008

bsd

OK OK my appol.
but you also have to start your calendar program or turn the page to next
month on the wall.... so let's say that i start word and close it every time
i use it (which i do about 5-10 times a week) and use a button to start the
macro.

i also have a mail merge data table file which word helped me make in word
(so i don't need to open other programs) to which i can add a birthday column.

How do i get word to read this file and extract the right info?

What is your feedback link please?




"Gregory K. Maxey" wrote:

> Solly,
>
> <But remember the KISS word (Keep It Simple Stupid)
>
> ????
>
> Here is another old saw: Don't bite the hand that feeds you."
>
> Seriously. The short coming with any attempt to achieve your goal with Word
> is limited by the fact, as Jay pointed out, that if won't work if you don't
> remember to start Word. My example was provided as an illustration to show
> that it could be done using AutoExec, but as Gordon pointed out most of us
> aren't committed to providing a fully functional application a) for free,
> b) to someone that hasn't shown us what they have tried, or c) someone
> calling us names.
>
> The code I provided could be simplified greatly:
>
> Sub autoexec()
> Msgbox "Look at your calender and then start typing birthday letters to all
> the people that you normally forget."
> End Sub
>
> It could also be made more functional by extracting the list of names and
> dates from an external file and then populating fields in a dedicated
> birthday letter template based on information from that file.
>
> Regardless of which extreme you take both fail if the user doesn't start
> Word.
>
> I will be happy to assist you further if you wish. Just contact me via the
> feedback link on my website.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "Solly" <Solly@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:386266C6-F361-41AB-ACDE-36A79D0D5F2F@microsoft.com...
> > bsd
> >
> > perhaps us ungeeks do have some good ideas which you geeks can use to make
> > really useful templates for us ungeeks to use
> > (in Word which most people i think still use) perhaps your dentist or
> > carpet
> > cleaner could use such a Word template too?
> > But remember the KISS word (Keep It Simple Stupid)
> >
> > "Greg Maxey" wrote:
> >
> >> Well said. But as a whimsical exercise:
> >>
> >> Sub autoexec()
> >> Dim myArray(5, 1) As Variant
> >> Dim oDoc As Word.Document
> >> Dim i As Long
> >> For i = 0 To 5
> >> myArray(i, 0) = Choose(i, "Mary", "Bill", "Bob", "Susie", "Sally",
> >> "Fred")
> >> myArray(i, 1) = Choose(i, "07/14", "07/18", "09/01", "10/13",
> >> "03/19", "06/12")
> >> Next i
> >> For i = 0 To 5
> >> If myArray(i, 1) Like Format(Date, "MM/dd") Then
> >> Set oDoc = Documents.Add
> >> With oDoc
> >> .Range.Text = "Happy birthday to you, happy Birthday to you." _
> >> & " happy birthday dear " & myArray(i, 0) & ",
> >> happy birthday to you!!"
> >> End With
> >> End If
> >> Next i
> >> End Sub
> >> On Jul 14, 9:04 pm, Gordon Bentley-Mix
> >> <gordon(dot)bentleymix(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
> >> > Solly,
> >> >
> >> > To paraphrase George W, I think you misunderestimate the complexity of
> >> > the
> >> > task. I suggest you start by trying to put together something yourself
> >> > and if
> >> > you get stuck then post back here. These forums are here to help to
> >> > those who
> >> > are willing to help themselves, but they're not a source for free
> >> > services.
> >> > All of the people who offer their assistance do so voluntarily and
> >> > receive no
> >> > compensation other than the gratitude of those they help - and
> >> > sometimes a
> >> > bit of reciprocity when they run into problems themselves. To ask
> >> > someone to
> >> > develop a complete solution for you - for free - is unfair, and the
> >> > responses
> >> > you have received are, IMHO, fitting.
> >> >
> >> > If you don't have the skills to at least make an attempt to solve the
> >> > problem yourself then either hire someone to do it for you or accept
> >> > Jay's
> >> > recommendation to use a tool better suited to the job - such as
> >> > Outlook, some
> >> > sort of free or shareware utility or a paper calendar.
> >> >
> >> > If you do want to take a stab at it, here's what you will need:
> >> >
> >> > * A list of your friends' birthdays
> >> > * A form letter of some sort - with or without additional automation
> >> > to
> >> > customise the letter
> >> > * Sufficient understanding of VBA (and, by extension, Word) to write
> >> > a
> >> > macro that will look at the date list and generate a document using the
> >> > form
> >> > letter
> >> >
> >> > Jay has suggested an AutoExec macro, which of course has the limitation
> >> > that
> >> > it will run only when Word starts. I suppose this could also be done
> >> > using
> >> > some sort of "manually invoked" macro as well -