Answered! - laptop signature grabber

<VBA Question>

Hiya World,

I hope someone out there will be able to answer this..


I have a laptop with one of those square "drag-your-finger" mouse pad built in at the bottom. What I want to do is create a procedure (in EXCEL) which will open up a box and allow the user to "draw" with it. This is in aid of obtaining signatures.

There are a few questions with this.....

1) What else can I use to move the cursor (other than my finger) - I have tried using the soft end of my glasses but this doesn't work. (I know it's not a VB question but I might as well ask)

2) What would the code be.

I need it to open up a "paint" like box. As soon as contact is made with the mouse pad, a line will need to be drawn (I was thinking along the lines of:

Timer - set to minimal interval
Look for mouse movement
if mouse movement = true
then get mouse position & draw black pixel at that point

If the timer is set to a small amount - a smooth line should (hopefully) be drawn.

Then after which I need to code the mouse buttons so that "left" will clear the image so the user can try again, and "Right" will save that image and store is in the excell spreadsheet....


Is it possible....????

:confused:


Monkey
----x----

There's these pen-shaped things you can buy, it's a pen with a weight (Flat at the end) at the end that you can use with writting programs to, well "write" ;) Check you local computer store, or see if one came with your computer. Might even be able to find one on the internet.

Hope I helped :)

As for the code do a search for paint programs what you'd basically be doing is using the mouse move event on a form or picture that has a white background.

About those touchpad things, as far as I know (and the current standard could be different as I'm basing this comment on my own laptop, which is now 5 years old, but has a touchpad), they work on a principle of difference in electrical fields. There is a field set up throughout the plate in a thin wafer, and when you touch it with your finger, which itself has an electrical field (all organisms do), the interference of the two fields can be measured and monitored. If you've ever noticed, sometimes if your finger isn't dry, it makes the pad operate in one manner, but when dry, it works much better. Sometimes you can even make the pointer move without actually touching the plate, but you have to get very close. So for using anything other than your finger, you'll probably need something that can either generate its own electrical field comparable to the plate, or something that can interfere with the plate's field enough to cause the system to think something is trying to move the pointer. You should be careful though, as the touchplates are designed for being contacted with soft flesh, not someone jabbing it with a pen or other instrument :). You may be able to get one of the actual devices used in the signature writing you mentioned and adapt that since they're designed to be used with some other instrument.

Cheers people,

I thought that would be the answer - the code I've figured would be the easy thing. Finding something to use with the pad which will be more precise than the finger, impossible..


But thanks anyway,

:(

Monkey
----x----