Word Document Properties

Part III: Expanding Your VBA Horizons 
14_046500 ch08.qxp 12/5/06 5:36 PM Page 194

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AbortRetryIgnore = 2
YesNoCancel = 3
YesNo = 4
RetryCancel = 5
End Enum
You assign values to each of the constants within the enumeration. The
values don’t have to follow any particular order, and you don’t have to start
with 0. It helps to order the enumeration in some way. The example uses the
help topic order to make it easier to compare the help files with the values
that the code contains. You can also order the entries alphabetically or in
order of usage frequency. When a class uses an enumeration for a particular
value, VBA displays the acceptable values.
Look at the 
MsgObj.Buttons
line of code shown in Listing 8-6. When you
type 
=
at this line, you see a list of acceptable values for that property. The
list contains the acceptable button values for the example. The advantage of
this technique is that you don’t have to remember the individual values, and
the probability of providing an incorrect value drops dramatically. Always
use enumerated constants, when you can, to reduce errors and typing time.
Defining initialization
Every class should provide property and local variable initialization. Adding
initialization ensures that your class won’t fail because of a lack of input. In
addition, initialization can help you create objects with less code because
many of the values are already defined. The 
Class_Initialize
method
performs all the initialization tasks for any class. See Listing 8-5 for the 
initialization code used for the example.
Listing 8-5
Initializing a Class
Private Sub Class_Initialize()
‘ Set the initial prompt.
ThePrompt = “Hello World”
‘ Define a simple title.
TheTitle = “”
‘ Don’t include a default help file or context.
TheHelpFile = “”
TheHelpContext = 0
‘ Initialize the variables.
‘ Use the Information icon.
(continued)
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