Running a macro on multiple docs at the same time (Word 97 SR2)

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We have about 1500 documents that we are adding a watermark to. We have recorded a macro to add the watermark to the document. We open the document, run the macro, save, and close the document. This is getting very boring. Is there a way to run the macro on all documents or multiple documents at the same time?

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Here’s a stripped-down means to do this:

Public Sub InsertWatermarksInMultipleDocs()
Dim sPath As String
Dim i As Long

sPath = InputBox("Type Path for Folder to be Searched")

With Application.FileSearch
    .NewSearch
    .LookIn = sPath
    .FileType = msoFileTypeWordDocuments
    If .Execute > 0 Then
        For i = 1 To .FoundFiles.Count
            Documents.Open (.FoundFiles(i))
                'Your code to insert watermarks here
                '#################################
            ActiveDocument.Close (wdSaveChanges)
        Next 'i
    Else:
        MsgBox prompt:="Folder not found. Check path and try again."
        Exit Sub
    End If
End With
End Sub

Gary

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I tried the macro after inserting my watermark macro, but I get a compile error. What am I doing wrong? Attached is your macro with my macro inserted.

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I’m no expert, but it looks to me as if there is a space before the first parenthesis (after “.Open”) in the line
Documents.Open (.FoundFiles(i))
Would that cause a compile error?

Rick Ellrod

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You have a Sub within a Sub. Remove the “Sub WaterMark ()” line and the first “End Sub” line (the one right before Activedocument.Close (wdSaveChanges)).

HTH,

Chris

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Thanks for the help everyone! It works like a charm!

Can the macro be modified to not add the watermark if it is already there?

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The following is a very quick and dirty amendment to your code so that it will only run if there is no graphic object (Shape) in the header/footer:

                If ActiveWindow.View.SplitSpecial  wdPaneNone Then
                ActiveWindow.Panes(2).Close
                End If
                If ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.Type = wdNormalView Or ActiveWindow. _
                ActivePane.View.Type = wdOutlineView Or ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.Type _
                  = wdMasterView Then
                    ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.Type = wdPageView
                End If
                ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = wdSeekCurrentPageHeader
                If Selection.HeaderFooter.IsHeader = True Then
                    ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = wdSeekCurrentPageFooter
                Else
                    ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = wdSeekCurrentPageHeader
                End If
                Dim rngTemp As Range
                Selection.WholeStory
                Set rngTemp = Selection.Range
                On Error Resume Next
                If rngTemp.ShapeRange.Count = 0 Then
                    Selection.HeaderFooter.Shapes.AddTextbox(msoTextOrientationHorizontal, _
                        72#, 676.8, 468#, 115.2).Select
                    Selection.ShapeRange.TextFrame.TextRange.Select
                    Selection.Collapse
                    Selection.ShapeRange.Fill.Visible = msoFalse
                    Selection.ShapeRange.Line.Visible = msoFalse
                    Selection.HeaderFooter.Shapes.AddTextEffect(msoTextEffect2, "History", _
                    "Times New Roman", 96#, msoFalse, msoFalse, 161.7, 401.15).Select
                    Selection.ShapeRange.Fill.ForeColor.RGB = RGB(192, 192, 192)
                    Selection.ShapeRange.Fill.Visible = msoTrue
                    Selection.ShapeRange.Fill.Solid
                    Selection.ShapeRange.Select
                    Selection.ShapeRange.IncrementLeft 11.1
                    Selection.ShapeRange.IncrementTop -98.75
                End If
                Set rngTemp = Nothing
                ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = wdSeekMainDocument

Gary

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hi, what are the changes in code for the macro(s) to run in 2000?

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Hi Kathleen,

It looks like this code should run in 2000 as well without revision.

Gary

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OK, i’m on a network, i typed in the entire path and the macro had a good time looking for documents. it listed a bunch as it went thru them, but none were known to me nor the ones in the path i gave it.

long prelude, question-is it because i’m on a network and there are like several shared directories?

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Hi Kathleen,

It’s really hard to tell what’s going on in that case.
When you say it listed the docs as it went through them, what do you mean? – do you mean the name of the document displays on the status bar, or what exactly?

I’m not much of a network whiz so am not sure what effect shared directories would have.
Try the following: try having the macro search for files in a directory that’s on your local drive.
If it works OK to find files on your local drive, but not on a networked drive, then that would point to a network issue.

Hope that helps,
Gary

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OK, cool. the status bar says ‘opening’ then lists the files its going thru; on the network directory it listed main.htm and panasonic.html. no clue what they are. i tried it on the c drive and (after deleting one line of duplicate rngTemp) it whipped thru the files stamping history and a box! really cool! i’ll fiddle to see what else i can do in place of the graphic! since most docs are in the network, i’d really like ideas for using on that!

thanks for the help!

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I tried the macro on the network too. It still put a graphic on the documents that already contained the watermark. I am not sure why it puts the gray box on the docs. I am going to redo the watermark part, since I may have made a mistake when I recorded it. Why would it still put the watermark on docs that already contain it? I will be using this on the network though, if that makes a difference.

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I can’t get the ShapeRange property of the Selection object to work either.

The following property gives an accurate count, but you need to find a way to know where you are (header or footer and which one):

Selection.Range.Sections(1).Headers(wdHeaderFooterFirstPage).Shapes.Count

Too late tonight to figure it out.

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Thanks Gary. I will give it a try.

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One other thing. When I run the macro, it opens the file and places the watermark on the document, but it doesn’t close the file before going on to the next file. Am I missing something?

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Hi again,

The statement towards the beginning of the procedure:

Documents.Open(.FoundFiles(i))

opens the document, and the statement towards the end:

ActiveDocument.Close (wdSaveChanges)

should be serving to close it.
That’s usually a reliable enough way to specify the correct document you want the code to be working on, but if it’s not working, a couple of other means can be used:

Documents.Close(.FoundFiles(i))

should work more reliably since it refers to the document by index (caveat that I haven’t tested it with your procedure).

An even more reliable method is to create an object variable and set it to equal the document as it opens:

Dim objDoc As Document
Set objDoc = Documents.Open (.FoundFiles(i))

and then later one you use:
objDoc.Close (wdSaveChanges)
Set objDoc = Nothing

With regard to the other post about the watermark getting inserted in documents that already have it – the code I suggested relied on getting a count of existing shapes in the header or footer.
This isn’t really reliable – as Jeff pointed out in his note – as it’s hard to get a count of shapes, particularly if the code isn’t specific as to whether you’re in the header or footer.
So the code would need to be more specific that way.

Probably a more reliable way to test for the existence of a watermark in the document, would be to have the insert watermark code finish by adding either a bookmark or custom document property to the document (for example adding a boolean (Yes or No) “HasWatermark” custom document property and setting its value to Yes.

Then, the insert watermark procedure would first test for the existence of this custom document property, and whether its property was set to Yes.

There’s been some code posted here recently for adding custom doc props as well as testing whether one already exists – a search on this forum (or possibly the VBA forum) should turn up more info.

Gary

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Hi Gary

Just like to say a big thank you for putting up the batch operation macro. I’ve never understood public macros and furthermore I have a huge number of docs where the paper source box has to be changed to Auto. I have just inserted my own box-change macro and whizzed through nearly half of them.

Many thanks.

David Solomon

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