Feature specification limits

[JMS]

How can one programmatically reference the operating parameters and/or
specification limits for the various Office products? For example, Word Help
has "Limits for Word," Excel Help has "Microsoft Excel Specifications,"
Access Help has "Microsoft Access Specifications." Shouldn't there be some
constants or properties centrally located somewhere so that code has an
improved chance of being version independent?
Thanks in advance.
ps. For the record: (1) I'm not big on handling needless runtime errors, and
(2) I really was surprised that I couldn't find a FAQ that had already
addressed this issue.

 

[Jonathan West]

How can one programmatically reference the operating parameters and/or
specification limits for the various Office products? For example, Word
Help
has "Limits for Word," Excel Help has "Microsoft Excel Specifications,"
Access Help has "Microsoft Access Specifications." Shouldn't there be
some
constants or properties centrally located somewhere so that code has an
improved chance of being version independent?
Thanks in advance.
ps. For the record: (1) I'm not big on handling needless runtime errors,
and
(2) I really was surprised that I couldn't find a FAQ that had already
addressed this issue.

Hi JMS,

If you want to maximise your chances of code working on multiple versions of
your Office app, develop it on the oldest version you want to support, and
test it on all the newer versions. Generally (though not always) the changes
in the object models between versions are extensions, so old stuff continues
to work on newer versions. Where is *doesn't* work between versions, this is
often unintended by Microsoft themselves, and so hardly likely to be
well-documented.

 

[JMS]

Mr West,
I'm new at this and obviously didn't make myself clear. As you are a Word
MVP, let's use Word examples. KB article 168804 lists a page full of
operating parameters for WD97. KB article 211489 is a similar page for Word
2000, 2002, and 2003. Note that the number of words in a custom dictionary
changed from 5000 to 10000. I'm not looking to code for the lowest common
denominator so much as I want to take advantage of whatever information I can
get from an API or some such mechanism--thus allowing the code I write to
adapt to its environment.
It's not that I can't hardcode the maximum length of a bookmark name to 40
characters because it doesn't seem to have changed in awhile. But why should
I have to hardcode it at all? My question remains: Where can a program go to
get various Office application limits like the ones referenced in the KB
articles above?

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

To see what the program itself makes available, use the Object Browser in the VBA
IDE for that program. Rightclick and choose Show Hidden for the most complete
list.

If it's not there, it's not available to your code. You'll have to hardcode the
limits you've gotten from the documentation or store it in an external table of
some sort (of your own devising).

 

[JMS]

Mr Rindsberg,
You've precisely described what I've already been doing...and what I had
hoped to stop doing. Mostly, I feel compelled to congratulate you on a most
ironic reference to the IDE as I find nothing remotely integrated in the idea
of replicating Office-related information from an external source, naming it,
storing it, and referencing it myself. Can I be the only one who feels this
is restrictive, error-prone, and unnecessary?

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Mr Rindsberg,
You've precisely described what I've already been doing...and what I had
hoped to stop doing. Mostly, I feel compelled to congratulate you on a most
ironic reference to the IDE as I find nothing remotely integrated in the idea
of replicating Office-related information from an external source, naming it,
storing it, and referencing it myself. Can I be the only one who feels this
is restrictive, error-prone, and unnecessary?

If there are others who feel that way, they haven't brought it up in any of the
newsgroups I normally read, admittedly a limited sampling. I can't speak for the
others. Google might shed light on that.

On the other hand, it is what it is, and doesn't seem to have changed in Office 2007
and seems very likely to change in any previous version, so we live with what we have,
good, bad or indifferent.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

On the other hand, it is what it is, and doesn't seem to have changed in Office 2007
and seems very likely

Sorry, make that UNlikely.

to change in any previous version, so we live with what we have,

 

[JMS]

Mr Rindsberg,
Thanks for trying. Feel free to cut and paste the following in any file or
database you choose:
"Steve's post was very helpful and answered my question to my satisfaction."