[V8i VBA/MDL] Is it possible to use mdlStringList_getMember with VBA?

I'm attempting to enumerate an MDL StringList obtained using mdlLineStyle_nameGetStringList from VBA.  As far as I can tell,I've successfully obtained a StringList, but am stuck on how to use mdlStringList_getMember with VBA.

Here's the MDL function prototype in C...

long               mdlStringList_getMember  
( 
char**             ppString , 
long**             ppInfoFields , 
StringList const*  pStringList , 
long               memberIndex  
); 

Which I've translated to this function declaration in VBA...

Declare Function mdlStringList_getMember Lib "stdmdlbltin.dll" ( _
        ByRef pString As Long, _
        ByRef pInfo As Long, _
        ByVal list As Long, _
        ByVal n As Long) As Long 

The problem lies in the first parameter, which in MDL is the address of a char pointer.  As you know, VBA doesn't do pointers, so I've passed ByRef a VBA Long.  That is, the VBA variable now contains the address of a C-style string.  The MDL function is not filling a text buffer, but passing a the address of a text buffer stored in the StringList.

What I can't find is a way to tell VBA to read the C string into a VBA String variable.  Does anyone have any ideas on how to make an MDL StringList readable in VBA?

  • Hi Jon,

    I have tested this and started using your declaration example and could get a complete list of the names from line styles available in the active designfile:

    Declare Function mdlStringList_getMember Lib "stdmdlbltin.dll" ( _
            ByRef pString As Long, _
            ByRef pInfo As Long, _
            ByVal list As Long, _
            ByVal n As Long) As Long
            
    Declare Function mdlLineStyle_nameGetStringList Lib "stdmdlbltin.dll" ( _
            ByVal pAuxInfo As Long, _
            ByVal options As Long) As Long
    Declare Function SysAllocString Lib "oleaut32" (ByVal CharPtr As Long) As String
    
    '  Creates a String from a char *
    Function CharPtrToString(CharPtr As Long) As String
        If CharPtr = 0 Then
            CharPtrToString = ""
        Else
            CharPtrToString = SysAllocString(CharPtr)
        End If
    End Function
    Sub StringListMemberTest()
    Dim i As Long
    Dim j As Long
    Dim l As Long
    Dim s As String
    Dim lStringlist As Long
    Dim ppstring As Long
    Dim ppinfofields As Long
            lStringlist = mdlLineStyle_nameGetStringList(0, 0)
            i = 0
            Do While (0 = mdlStringList_getMember(ppstring, ppinfofields, lStringlist, i))
                s = CharPtrToString(ppstring)
                j = InStr(1, s, vbNullChar)
                If j > 0 Then s = Left$(s, InStr(1, s, vbNullChar) - 1)
                Debug.Print s
                i = i + 1
            Loop
    End Sub
    
    

     

    I hope this helps?

    Best regards,
    Artur

    Answer Verified By: Jon Summers 

  • Unknown said:
    CharPtrToString = SysAllocString(CharPtr)

    Thanks for that insight!

    We've written an article about line styles and VBA.  That article includes a link to download a VBA project.  The project includes VBA class clsLineStyleList. That class wraps several MDL functions that deal with line styles, and includes your hint about reading a VBA String from a C pointer..

     
    Regards, Jon Summers
    LA Solutions