Passing arrays of controls

[Pallex]

Hi.

I can pass an array of a variable created in the function i`m passing from, but i cant pass an array from a form. Ie.

dim test(10) as SSCommand ' sheridan active threed control
call AFunc(test)

works ok, but if `test` is the name of a control on a form, i get :

`Type mismatch: array or user-defined type expected`

Is there any reason why controls (from forms) are treated differently?

Thanks,
Alex.

[MartinLiss]

I don't know if anyone has ever figured out a way to do what you want, but the reason you see the different behavior is that an array of controls (a control array) is not the same as an array of data.

[Serge]

First of all your array is declared on General Declaration, therefore is accessible to every other function or sub.
Make sure you have parameter in the function defined with the different name. For example if I have a parameter in my function or sub I always follow this naming convention:

'p_Parameter: - p stands for parameter
Public Function MyFunction(p_Parameter As DataType) As Boolean

End Function

[PaulLewis]

In that the two Arrays are quite different. I think you will find that Control arrays are collections in fact.

You may be able to emulate this by the following code.

'in a module:
Option Explicit

Public Function AFunc(vdata As Variant) As String
  Dim c As Integer
  Dim res As String
  Dim val As String
  Dim myControl As Control
  
  Select Case TypeName(vdata)
  Case "Object" ' possibly a collection but be careful
    
    For Each myControl In vdata
      ' is this item a text box?
      If TypeName(myControl) = "TextBox" Then
        val = myControl.Text
        res = res & vdata(c).Text
        If c < vdata.Count Then res = res & vbCrLf
      End If
    Next
    
  Case "String()" ' it's an array of string
    For c = LBound(vdata) To UBound(vdata)
      val = vdata(c)
      res = res & vdata(c)
      If c < UBound(vdata) Then res = res & vbCrLf
    Next
  
  Case Else
    Debug.Print TypeName(vdata)
  End Select
  
  AFunc = res
End Function

'in form1 which has a control array of text boxes called Text1
' it also has 2 command buttons and a multiline text box called text2

Option Explicit

Private Sub Command1_Click()
  Text2.Text = AFunc(Text1)
End Sub

Private Sub Command2_Click()
  Dim testData(5) As String
  Dim c As Integer
  For c = 0 To 5
    testData(c) = "test data " & c
    
  Next
  Text2.Text = AFunc(testData)
End Sub

I think there is enough in there to get you going.

Cheers

[Pallex]

Martin+Serge: I WAS passing a control, from a form (not just data). (SSCommand is a control).

PaulLewis: Thanks a lot for the example code! Didnt know about TypeName - i`ve been putting chars into the Tag field for identification purposes! Anyway, i added an array of SSCommand controls to the form, and a command3 button and added a `SSCommand` case (acually elseif) to the container code, and it worked fine, so i`ll go back now and see how that differs from what i`m doing at the moment in my code.

Thanks,
Alex.

[Pallex]

Yeah, that works. The trick is not to receive an array, but a single instance of a varient. So much for typing in VB!

Thanks again,
Alex.