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Passing argument on call to the app

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    Passing argument on call to the app

    I know it's possible to pass an argument using a function within an application. Is it possible to specify an argument when calling an application?

    What I want to accomplish specifically is to write a stock number and quantity to a text file with an application but allow the user to choose the item by clicking a button on a power point slide.
    They could potentially select many items and I do not want to write an app. for each item.

    Thanks to all for creativity.

    Gene

    #2
    Re: Passing argument on call to the app

    Yes, you can specify arguments when calling an application. However the application developer controls what arguments are allowed . In the instance of Alpha.exe there are a limited set of arguments that can be passed.

    https://documentation.alphasoftware....%20Options.xml

    Not fully understanding the process of steps and the order of operations I am afraid that I can only assume and guess at possible solutions. Would it be possible for the button on the power point slide to append the data to a text file then have the Alpha database read the text file?
    Andrew

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Passing argument on call to the app

      So you have a way for a click on PowerPoint to capture the value and do something with it?

      Please share that.
      Al Buchholz
      Bookwood Systems, LTD
      Weekly QReportBuilder Webinars Thursday 1 pm CST

      Occam's Razor - KISS
      Normalize till it hurts - De-normalize till it works.
      Advice offered and questions asked in the spirit of learning how to fish is better than someone giving you a fish.
      When we triage a problem it is much easier to read sample systems than to read a mind.
      "Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler."
      Albert Einstein

      http://www.iadn.com/images/media/iadn_member.png

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Passing argument on call to the app

        Powerpoint buttons can be setup to: go to the next slide, run a program, run a macro, or play an audio clip. I think one would be able to take advantage of that functionality to capture values.

        https://support.office.com/en-us/art...b-8ac2b6b5f6ce
        Andrew

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Passing argument on call to the app

          I can write to a text file by placing a bat file as an action connected to a picture. That works fine during the build/test process. However, after I create a stand alone exe, it no longer works. When entering the slide, I play a wave file which has my narration. If I click a picture of an item on the slide, which has the bat file as an action, while the wav file is playing, the bat file will not run. I have yet to try it after the wav file completes. Stay tuned. I'll keep you all posted.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Passing argument on call to the app

            So you can write a file from Powerpoint with the information that you need.

            You can have an Alpha program running that includes a file.watch_create() so when a file from PowerPoint appears in the designated directory, a process reads it, does it's thing, and then moves the file to an archive directory.
            Al Buchholz
            Bookwood Systems, LTD
            Weekly QReportBuilder Webinars Thursday 1 pm CST

            Occam's Razor - KISS
            Normalize till it hurts - De-normalize till it works.
            Advice offered and questions asked in the spirit of learning how to fish is better than someone giving you a fish.
            When we triage a problem it is much easier to read sample systems than to read a mind.
            "Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler."
            Albert Einstein

            http://www.iadn.com/images/media/iadn_member.png

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Passing argument on call to the app

              Great info Al! Thanks.

              My current PP task needs to run without A5 on the users system as it is a training class. However, it's great to learn of the interface between the two. Future ideas are not limited!

              For those that can use it, here is the batch file, with considerations remarked, that I run under every slide item picture.

              @echo off

              REM Every component in a powerpoint show must be in the same directory
              REM and that dirve/directory must exist on every viewers machine.
              REM Therefore, it is wise to make that drive C: to ensure it can be found.

              REM I run this from behind a picture of the
              REM item on the slide as an action item when the
              REM slide viewer clicks the picture.

              REM It asks for the quantity of 'item'
              REM and writes item,qty to the items.txt file

              REM Once the text file is populated with every item
              REM the viewer wants to order, I provide a link
              REM to the vendors order site where they can
              REM upload their list to place the order.

              REM This link is under a text line on the last slide.

              REM This code is under every slide item with the only
              REM change being the definition of item (i.e. vendors stock number)

              set item=3113
              set filename=C:\BHS_Order\items.txt
              if exist C:\BHS_Order (
              goto :done
              )
              mkdir C:\BHS_Order

              :done

              if not exist %filename% (
              @echo off
              break>%filename%
              )
              set /P qty=How many would you like?
              set line=%item%,%qty%
              echo %line% >> %filename%

              Gene

              Comment

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