Using ArcCatalog

Creating and
running macros
ArcCatalog comes with Visual
Basic for Applications. VBA is
not a standalone program. It
provides an integrated programming
environment, the Visual
Basic Editor (VBE), that lets you
write a VB macro and debug
and test it right away in the
Catalog. A macro is a few lines
of code that run in the Catalog;
for example, the macro might
analyze the currently selected
coverage. A macro can integrate
some or all of VB’s functionality,
such as using message
boxes for input, with the
functionality available in
ArcCatalog.
When you create a macro,
you’re creating a VB Sub
procedure. The procedure’s
name is the name you assign to
the macro. You add code to the
procedure in a Code window
just as you would in VB. When
you create a new macro in the
Macros dialog box, precede the
macro’s name with the name of
the module to store it in. To
save your macro as part of the
Catalog, you would type a name
such as
“ThisDocument.myMacro”.
You can also organize your
macros into different modules;
each module has its own Code u
Creating a macro
1. Click the Tools menu, point to
Macros, then click Macros.
2. Type the name of the macro
you want to create in the
Macro name text box.
To place the macro in a
specific location, type
“ThisDocument” or the
module’s name and a period
(.) before the new macro’s
name; otherwise, the macro
will be added to the
NewMacros module.
3. Click Create or press Enter.
The Code window appears
containing a stub for the new
Sub procedure.
4. Type the code for the macro.
5. Click the VBE File menu and
click Save Project.
6. Click the Close button in the
VBE.
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When you type a macro name
without specifying which module to
put it in, the macro is placed in the
NewMacros module.
248 USING ARCCATALOG