Hi all,

I have a question that i've yet to be able to find the answer to. I work in
the entertainment industry and we have a large upcoming show where we have
50+ people that are allocated to various places around a convention center.

There is one central hub where information will go out to various people via
msn messenger at different times. I've set up a spreadsheet (in excel 07) on
where everyone will be at what times and what they are in charge of, but i'm
wondering if its possible to do programming so if there's a message that
needs to go out to a certain person, the person sitting at the central hub
location can simply look up on the spreadsheet who is there, click on the
box(or do some kind of action), and it will automatically open up a msn
window addressed to that person and they can type the message (this would be
assuming msn messenger is up and running and all names have been added so it
would be just like double clicking a name in msn messenger and a box opening
up).

Does anyone out there have the knowhow to do somethinglike that? is it
possible?

Of course there's always the old-school way of just looking up the name on
msn and typing it but i'm trying to make this as seamless as possible since
there will be a lot of information flowing out.

I really appreciate it if anyone could help me with this! Unfortunately i'm
waiting until the last second as I'll need to get this out to people by
Tuesday!

Thanks a lot in advance for the advice!

Well you can launch any .exe file with Excel, however to launch a
messenger window you will have to know the trigger for that and insert
it in this code, although i do not think you will be able to open the
window as a certain username.

You say you want to open the messenger window to a certain contact and
then someone will type the information, it seems like you're re
inventing the wheel....msn does this beautifully, lists all the names
too (if they are already added friends or contacts of yours.

That said here's the code i promised
Code:
--------------------
Private Declare Function ShellExecute Lib "shell32.dll" Alias "ShellExecuteA" (ByVal hWnd As Long, ByVal lpOperation As String, ByVal lpFile As String, ByVal lpParameters As String, ByVal lpDirectory As String, ByVal nShowCmd As Long) As Long
Sub test()
ShellExecute 0, vbNullString, "MyExe.exe", vbNullString, "C:\", 1
End Sub
--------------------


Dan;422592 Wrote:
Hi all,

I have a question that i've yet to be able to find the answer to. I
work in
the entertainment industry and we have a large upcoming show where we
have
50+ people that are allocated to various places around a convention
center.

There is one central hub where information will go out to various
people via
msn messenger at different times. I've set up a spreadsheet (in excel
07) on
where everyone will be at what times and what they are in charge of,
but i'm
wondering if its possible to do programming so if there's a message
that
needs to go out to a certain person, the person sitting at the central
hub
location can simply look up on the spreadsheet who is there, click on
the
box(or do some kind of action), and it will automatically open up a msn
window addressed to that person and they can type the message (this
would be
assuming msn messenger is up and running and all names have been added
so it
would be just like double clicking a name in msn messenger and a box
opening
up).

Does anyone out there have the knowhow to do somethinglike that? is it
possible?

Of course there's always the old-school way of just looking up the name
on
msn and typing it but i'm trying to make this as seamless as possible
since
there will be a lot of information flowing out.

I really appreciate it if anyone could help me with this! Unfortunately
i'm
waiting until the last second as I'll need to get this out to people by
Tuesday!

Thanks a lot in advance for the advice!


--
Simon Lloyd

Regards,
Simon Lloyd
'The Code Cage' (http://www.thecodecage.com)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Simon Lloyd's Profile: http://www.thecodecage.com/forumz/member.php?userid=1
View this thread: http://www.thecodecage.com/forumz/sh...d.php?t=117531

But in the short, what i'm looking to do is impossible?

I understand the re-inventing the wheel, but its really not, its saving a
step that could ultimately save a lot of time. Lets say someone needs to
message the person in charge of one of the rooms that goes at 1:30PM. They
look it up in excel find that person and click on them to open a message box
in msn and tell them what they need to say.

If not they'd have to look up the name in excel, open msn messenger, search
for the name (out of over 50 contacts) and double click on the name then time
the message.

Now repeat this action 100's of times a day we're talking possibly over an
hours worth of work saved.

Let me know if anyone else knows how to do this or if this is possible!

Thanks for the help!


"Simon Lloyd" wrote:


Well you can launch any .exe file with Excel, however to launch a
messenger window you will have to know the trigger for that and insert
it in this code, although i do not think you will be able to open the
window as a certain username.

You say you want to open the messenger window to a certain contact and
then someone will type the information, it seems like you're re
inventing the wheel....msn does this beautifully, lists all the names
too (if they are already added friends or contacts of yours.

That said here's the code i promised
Code:
--------------------
Private Declare Function ShellExecute Lib "shell32.dll" Alias "ShellExecuteA" (ByVal hWnd As Long, ByVal lpOperation As String, ByVal lpFile As String, ByVal lpParameters As String, ByVal lpDirectory As String, ByVal nShowCmd As Long) As Long
Sub test()
ShellExecute 0, vbNullString, "MyExe.exe", vbNullString, "C:\", 1
End Sub
--------------------


Dan;422592 Wrote:
Hi all,

I have a question that i've yet to be able to find the answer to. I
work in
the entertainment industry and we have a large upcoming show where we
have
50+ people that are allocated to various places around a convention
center.

There is one central hub where information will go out to various
people via
msn messenger at different times. I've set up a spreadsheet (in excel
07) on
where everyone will be at what times and what they are in charge of,
but i'm
wondering if its possible to do programming so if there's a message
that
needs to go out to a certain person, the person sitting at the central
hub
location can simply look up on the spreadsheet who is there, click on
the
box(or do some kind of action), and it will automatically open up a msn
window addressed to that person and they can type the message (this
would be
assuming msn messenger is up and running and all names have been added
so it
would be just like double clicking a name in msn messenger and a box
opening
up).

Does anyone out there have the knowhow to do somethinglike that? is it
possible?

Of course there's always the old-school way of just looking up the name
on
msn and typing it but i'm trying to make this as seamless as possible
since
there will be a lot of information flowing out.

I really appreciate it if anyone could help me with this! Unfortunately
i'm
waiting until the last second as I'll need to get this out to people by
Tuesday!

Thanks a lot in advance for the advice!


--
Simon Lloyd

Regards,
Simon Lloyd
'The Code Cage' (http://www.thecodecage.com)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Simon Lloyd's Profile: http://www.thecodecage.com/forumz/member.php?userid=1
View this thread: http://www.thecodecage.com/forumz/sh...d.php?t=117531

"Simon Lloyd" wrote:


Well you can launch any .exe file with Excel, however to launch a
messenger window you will have to know the trigger for that and insert
it in this code, although i do not think you will be able to open the
window as a certain username.

You say you want to open the messenger window to a certain contact and
then someone will type the information, it seems like you're re
inventing the wheel....msn does this beautifully, lists all the names
too (if they are already added friends or contacts of yours.

That said here's the code i promised
Code:
--------------------
Private Declare Function ShellExecute Lib "shell32.dll" Alias "ShellExecuteA" (ByVal hWnd As Long, ByVal lpOperation As String, ByVal lpFile As String, ByVal lpParameters As String, ByVal lpDirectory As String, ByVal nShowCmd As Long) As Long
Sub test()
ShellExecute 0, vbNullString, "MyExe.exe", vbNullString, "C:\", 1
End Sub
--------------------


Dan;422592 Wrote:
Hi all,

I have a question that i've yet to be able to find the answer to. I
work in
the entertainment industry and we have a large upcoming show where we
have
50+ people that are allocated to various places around a convention
center.

There is one central hub where information will go out to various
people via
msn messenger at different times. I've set up a spreadsheet (in excel
07) on
where everyone will be at what times and what they are in charge of,
but i'm
wondering if its possible to do programming so if there's a message
that
needs to go out to a certain person, the person sitting at the central
hub
location can simply look up on the spreadsheet who is there, click on
the
box(or do some kind of action), and it will automatically open up a msn
window addressed to that person and they can type the message (this
would be
assuming msn messenger is up and running and all names have been added
so it
would be just like double clicking a name in msn messenger and a box
opening
up).

Does anyone out there have the knowhow to do somethinglike that? is it
possible?

Of course there's always the old-school way of just looking up the name
on
msn and typing it but i'm trying to make this as seamless as possible
since
there will be a lot of information flowing out.

I really appreciate it if anyone could help me with this! Unfortunately
i'm
waiting until the last second as I'll need to get this out to people by
Tuesday!

Thanks a lot in advance for the advice!


--
Simon Lloyd

Regards,
Simon Lloyd
'The Code Cage' (http://www.thecodecage.com)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Simon Lloyd's Profile: http://www.thecodecage.com/forumz/member.php?userid=1
View this thread: http://www.thecodecage.com/forumz/sh...d.php?t=117531

Hi Dan,

If you want to start a Messenger chat from within the Excel, you need to
write some VBA code.

First you need to add a reference to the Messenger API from your Excel VBA
project.

1. Open the Microsoft Visual Basic IDE in Excel (Alt + F11).
2. From the Main menu, choose Tools - References
3. In the References - VBAProject dialog, check the "Messenger API Type
Library" (You'll need Messenger installed to get this).
4. Click OK to close the dialog.
5. Add the a new Module to your VBA project.
6. Add the following code:

Sub StartChat(ByVal contact As String)
Dim messenger As MessengerAPI.messenger

Set messenger = New MessengerAPI.messenger

messenger.InstantMessage contact
End Sub

Now you can call the StartChat Sub passing in the contact address like:

Call ")

The Messenger chat window will popup as you wanted.

Hope this helps. If you have any further questions, please kindly let me
know.

Thanks,

Jie Wang

Microsoft Online Community Support

Delighting our customers is our #1 priority. We welcome your comments and
suggestions about how we can improve the support we provide to you. Please
feel free to let my manager know what you think of the level of service
provided. You can send feedback directly to my manager at:
.

==================================================
Get notification to my posts through email? Please refer to
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subs...#notifications.

Note: MSDN Managed Newsgroup support offering is for non-urgent issues
where an initial response from the community or a Microsoft Support
Engineer within 2 business days is acceptable. Please note that each follow
up response may take approximately 2 business days as the support
professional working with you may need further investigation to reach the
most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
that require urgent, real-time or phone-based interactions. Issues of this
nature are best handled working with a dedicated Microsoft Support Engineer
by contacting Microsoft Customer Support Services (CSS) at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subs.../aa948874.aspx
==================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Wow This is great, but not working due to my lack of knowledge. Could you
help or someone advise just a little bit more? See comments below:

""Jie Wang [MSFT]"" wrote:

Hi Dan,

If you want to start a Messenger chat from within the Excel, you need to
write some VBA code.

First you need to add a reference to the Messenger API from your Excel VBA
project.

1. Open the Microsoft Visual Basic IDE in Excel (Alt + F11).
2. From the Main menu, choose Tools - References
3. In the References - VBAProject dialog, check the "Messenger API Type
Library" (You'll need Messenger installed to get this).
4. Click OK to close the dialog.

^^^ Got that part done, nice easy for dummies walkthrough!

5. Add the a new Module to your VBA project.
6. Add the following code:

Sub StartChat(ByVal contact As String)
Dim messenger As MessengerAPI.messenger

Set messenger = New MessengerAPI.messenger

messenger.InstantMessage contact
End Sub



^^^ OK, this was not explained, but I went to insert-module and pasted in
the above. The strange thing is when I went to save it told me I didn't
assign a macro to it. let me give you exact message:

"The following features cannot be saved in macro-free workbooks:

* VB Project

To Save a file with these features, click No, and then choose a
macro-enabled file type in the File Type list.

To continue saving as a macro-free workbook, click Yes."

No i'm almost positive this is where i'm messing up, but I clicked yes and
saved as a slightly renamed file.


Now you can call the StartChat Sub passing in the contact address like:

Call ")

The Messenger chat window will popup as you wanted.



^^^ In a cell I have the person's name. How would I add that Call
") so that when they click on the name the
messenger will pop up? is it like a =MACRO(etc etc etc)? or something like
that?

Hope this helps. If you have any further questions, please kindly let me
know.


I love this and I would love to get this to work! If you could explain it
for dummies i'd love it even more! I simply dont do much programming in Excel.

Thanks!


Thanks,

Jie Wang

Microsoft Online Community Support

Delighting our customers is our #1 priority. We welcome your comments and
suggestions about how we can improve the support we provide to you. Please
feel free to let my manager know what you think of the level of service
provided. You can send feedback directly to my manager at:
.

==================================================
Get notification to my posts through email? Please refer to
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subs...#notifications.

Note: MSDN Managed Newsgroup support offering is for non-urgent issues
where an initial response from the community or a Microsoft Support
Engineer within 2 business days is acceptable. Please note that each follow
up response may take approximately 2 business days as the support
professional working with you may need further investigation to reach the
most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
that require urgent, real-time or phone-based interactions. Issues of this
nature are best handled working with a dedicated Microsoft Support Engineer
by contacting Microsoft Customer Support Services (CSS) at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subs.../aa948874.aspx
==================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

OK I actually understand the message I was getting, I just need to save my
excel with a different extension since i'm using code. I'm still not able to
get it to work though.

Even if I put Call ") into a cell when i click
it just pulls up outlook to email the person.

I'm sure i'm missing something basic here, but here's what I want to do if
possible

Show the persons name. Let's say the name is Dan the cell would just show
Dan but it would be clickable and if they click it it would pull up the
messenger box associated with Dan's email.


I think i'm close here thanks to your help, can you help me finish this deal?

Thanks a lot!


"Dan" wrote:

Wow This is great, but not working due to my lack of knowledge. Could you
help or someone advise just a little bit more? See comments below:

""Jie Wang [MSFT]"" wrote:

Hi Dan,

If you want to start a Messenger chat from within the Excel, you need to
write some VBA code.

First you need to add a reference to the Messenger API from your Excel VBA
project.

1. Open the Microsoft Visual Basic IDE in Excel (Alt + F11).
2. From the Main menu, choose Tools - References
3. In the References - VBAProject dialog, check the "Messenger API Type
Library" (You'll need Messenger installed to get this).
4. Click OK to close the dialog.

^^^ Got that part done, nice easy for dummies walkthrough!

5. Add the a new Module to your VBA project.
6. Add the following code:

Sub StartChat(ByVal contact As String)
Dim messenger As MessengerAPI.messenger

Set messenger = New MessengerAPI.messenger

messenger.InstantMessage contact
End Sub



^^^ OK, this was not explained, but I went to insert-module and pasted in
the above. The strange thing is when I went to save it told me I didn't
assign a macro to it. let me give you exact message:

"The following features cannot be saved in macro-free workbooks:

* VB Project

To Save a file with these features, click No, and then choose a
macro-enabled file type in the File Type list.

To continue saving as a macro-free workbook, click Yes."

No i'm almost positive this is where i'm messing up, but I clicked yes and
saved as a slightly renamed file.


Now you can call the StartChat Sub passing in the contact address like:

Call ")

The Messenger chat window will popup as you wanted.



^^^ In a cell I have the person's name. How would I add that Call
") so that when they click on the name the
messenger will pop up? is it like a =MACRO(etc etc etc)? or something like
that?

Hope this helps. If you have any further questions, please kindly let me
know.


I love this and I would love to get this to work! If you could explain it
for dummies i'd love it even more! I simply dont do much programming in Excel.

Thanks!


Thanks,

Jie Wang

Microsoft Online Community Support

Delighting our customers is our #1 priority. We welcome your comments and
suggestions about how we can improve the support we provide to you. Please
feel free to let my manager know what you think of the level of service
provided. You can send feedback directly to my manager at:
.

==================================================
Get notification to my posts through email? Please refer to
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subs...#notifications.

Note: MSDN Managed Newsgroup support offering is for non-urgent issues
where an initial response from the community or a Microsoft Support
Engineer within 2 business days is acceptable. Please note that each follow
up response may take approximately 2 business days as the support
professional working with you may need further investigation to reach the
most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
that require urgent, real-time or phone-based interactions. Issues of this
nature are best handled working with a dedicated Microsoft Support Engineer
by contacting Microsoft Customer Support Services (CSS) at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subs.../aa948874.aspx
==================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.