VB-Script Text Processor

Wednesday, 16 April 2008 03:11 by Frimbob

Project Reasons

As part of my current work at Australasian Investment Review, I need to post articles sent to me by the editor onto their web-site. Their CMS is not what I would qualify as words best. Like many web-posters we are forced to use inline styles. Simply Setting a few global style parameters in an opening div tag can waste, many minutes per article. Their CMS does allow images to be pasted directly in the story however the graphs are sent separately to the story. there need to be a way to group images per story and the ability to transform text into basic html with some opening style parameters. This script processor is the result and it my favourite program and a raising success.

Project Aim

  • Remove all formatting characters that MS-word products that confuse the CMS Java Applet, Notepad us perfect program for the job
  • Ensure consistent results in text, (remove MS_word formatting characters)
  • Global Style Parameters
  • Use Active-X objects to manipulate files
  • Using HTA with scripting language (VB-Script)
  • Display List of Images based on their Date-Created
  • Using this master list group images to a particular article
  • Image Preview that can by right Clicked > copy to clipboard.
  • Process Text (Insert extra line break)
  • Convert some pre-defined text-sequences into html e.g '......'  into <hr>. 

Results

What is a HTA:  HTAs pack all the power of Internet Explorer—its object model, performance, rendering power and protocol support—without enforcing the strict security model and user interface of the browser. They are basically a sandbox version of Internet Explorer they make very useful script font-ends with the ability to use HTML to render the controls.

I was able to meet all my requirements, this project took me around a month to write  in November-December 2007. I will cover a class over-view in this review at 1327 lines of code not including the HTML it just shorter this way.

Classes 

Class Name Description
Class TextFile Represents a single TextFile
Class FileList Wrapps Dictionary object to store Text-File object
Class CreateOpenTextFile Contains the code that Uses WSH active X object to open and create text files
Class RegexFilters Contains a number of Test methods used in the HTML conversion process.

Class ProcessTextFiles

Contains all the logic to transform a text file into html.
Class ImageFiles Represents a single image File
Class ImageOutput Wrapper for a dictionary object of Image Files
Global Declarations No constructor is supported must use global variables instead to initialise the above classes
Event Handlers UI Code for the font end

 

WSH objects used 

 

Namespace Use

Scripting.FileSystemObject

return File System Information
Wscript.Shell Open Notepad
Scripting.Dictionary Dictionary Collection

 

Language Tricks

While VB-Script does support basic class encapsulation with properties and methods, it does not support any class inheritance.  Another major shortcoming is functions are not allowed to return an object only a value type. However there is a lonely document but usable way to force object returns from functions.

VB-script is a garbage-collection language so orphaned objects will be re-claimed after the garbage collection cycle and since we can pass object references as function parameters we are able to use scope to our advantage. In our calling function we can create a new instance of the class , empty of data, this empty object can be then passed to a function, the function is able then to set the object's reference to that of another object of same type. As this object is in scope and NOT disposed by either function will have an object with a reference to and existing object returned. Effectively we have returned an object from a function not using the (return) statement but scope. 

General Code 

   1: Option Explicit

   2: '------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

   3: 'Indiviudal File object'

   4: Class TextFile

   5:   

   6:   'declare Constances'

   7:   Private strExtension

   8:   Private strBaseName

   9:   

  10:   'Class Initilize'

  11:   Private Sub Class_Initialize

  12:     strExtension = ".txt"  

  13:     strBaseName = "Article"

  14:   End Sub

  15:  

  16:   'Class Terminate'

  17:   'Private Sub Class_Terminate

  18:     

  19:   'End Sub

  20:   'Declare the Instance Varibales'

  21:   Private strFileName

  22:   Private intNumber

  23:   Private strRead

  24:   Private strFinal

  25:   

  26:    

  27:   'Public Property Let (Write- Statements)'

  28:   Public Property Let FileName(strName)

  29:     If IsNumeric(strName) = false Then

  30:       Err.Raise 91, "TextFile", "The FileName is invalid"

  31:     End if

  32:     'set the values'

  33:     strFileName = CStr(strBaseName & strName & strExtension)   

  34:   End Property 

  35:   

  36:   Public Property Let  FileNumber(intNum) 

  37:     If IsNumeric(intNum) = False Then

  38:       Err.Raise 91, "TextFile", "The FileNumber is invalid"

  39:     End if 

  40:     'set the property Value'

  41:     intNumber = intNum

  42:   End Property

  43:   

  44:   Public Property Let Read(str)

  45:     strRead = str

  46:   End Property

  47:   

  48:   Public Property Let Final(str)

  49:     strFinal = str

  50:   End Property

  51:     

  52:   'public Property Get (Read-Statements)'

  53:   Public Property Get FileName 

  54:     FileName = strFileName 

  55:   End Property

  56:   Public Property Get FileNumber

  57:     FileNumber = intNumber 

  58:   End Property

  59:   

  60:   Public Property Get Extension 

  61:     Extension = strExtension

  62:   End Property

  63:   

  64:   Public Property Get BaseName 

  65:     BaseName = strBaseName

  66:   End Property

  67:   

  68:   Public Property Get Read

  69:     Read = strRead 

  70:   End Property

  71:   

  72:   Public Property Get Final

  73:     Final = strFinal 

  74:   End Property

  75:   

  76:   'methods'

  77:   Public Sub DisplayEntry

  78:   MsgBox " File List Entry:" & vbNewLine &_

  79:          "Extension:" & strExtension & _

  80:          "BaseName:" & strBaseName & _

  81:          "FileName:" & strFileName & _

  82:          "Number:" & intNumber 

  83:   End Sub

  84: End Class

  85: '------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

  86: '------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

  87: 'storage object for TextFile objects'

  88: Class FileList

  89:     

  90:     'Inistance Varaibles'

  91:     Private objDict

  92:     

  93:     'class Initilize'

  94:     Private Sub Class_Initialize

  95:        Set objDict = CreateObject("Scripting.Dictionary")

  96:     End Sub

  97:     

  98:     'class Terminate'

  99:     Private Sub Class_Terminate

 100:         Set objDict = Nothing

 101:     End Sub

 102:   

 103:     'wrapper for dictionary count'

 104:     Public Property Get ListCount

 105:         ListCount = objDict.Count

 106:     End Property

 107:     

 108:     'Wrapper for dictionary exists'

 109:     Public Function EntryExists(strFileName)

 110:       EntryExists = objDict.Exists(strFileName)

 111:     End Function 

 112:   

 113:     'Methods'

 114:     'Wrapper for the dictionary add method'

 115:     Public Sub AddEntry(objTextfile)

 116:       If TypeName(objTextfile) = "TextFile" Or TypeName(objTextfile) = "ImageFiles"  Then 'test if the object is the one expected'

 117:           objDict.Add objTextfile.FileName , objTextfile 'adds the file name as key and the object as the array value So have an array of objects' 

 118:       Else

 119:           Err.Raise 3200, "FileList", "Only TextFile objects can be stored"

 120:       End if

 121:      'use the file name as the key'

 122:      

 123:     End Sub

 124:     

 125:     'Wrapper for RemoveAll entry'

 126:     Public Sub ClearAll

 127:       objDict.RemoveAll 'clears the dictionary' 

 128:     End Sub 

 129:     

 130:     Public Function DisplayEntry(thefile,strFileName)

 131:       If  objDict.Exists(strFileName) Then

 132:           Set thefile = objDict.Item(strFileName)

 133:           'DisplayEntry=Cstr(objTFile.FileName) ' returns the file name as a string'

 134:       Else

 135:          Err.Raise 32002, "FileList" , "The filename " & strFileName &"not in the list"

 136:       End if

 137:     End Function

 138:     

 139:     'Matches index number to a key pair and returns the object'

 140:     Public Function MatchIndex(thefile,keynumber)

 141:       Dim arykey 

 142:       Dim i

 143:       arykey = objDict.Keys 'array with the keys'

 144:      'return the key at particular value'

 145:        For i = 0 to objDict.count -1 

 146:          If i = keynumber Then

 147:            'return the key which is the file name

 148:           Set theFile =  objDict.Item(arykey(i))

 149:           'Set MatchIndex =  theFile 

 150:          'Else ' not in index' 

 151:            'MatchIndex = null 'return a null object'

 152:          End if

 153:        Next

 154:     End Function

 155: End Class

 156: '------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

 157: '------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

 158: ' Methods to Open,Create,Delete,and Iterate through Physical Files'

 159: Class CreateOpenTextFile

 160:    'Class Initilize'

 161:    Private Sub Class_Initialize

 162:      Set objFSO       = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

 163:      Set wshSHELL     = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")

 164:    End Sub

 165:  

 166:    'Class Terminate'

 167:    Private Sub Class_Terminate

 168:      Set objFSO = Nothing

 169:      Set wshSHELL = Nothing

 170:      Set objFileList = Nothing

 171:    End Sub

 172:  

 173:    'Class Varaibles'

 174:    'Private FileSystemObject'

 175:    Private objFSO

 176:    Private wshSHELL

 177:    Private objFileList

 178:    Private strActiveFile

 179:    Private strCurrentFileIndex

 180:    

 181:    

 182:    'Write statements   

 183:    Public Property Set FileLists(obj) 

 184:       Set objFileList  = obj 

 185:    End Property

 186:    

 187:    'read statement'     

 188: '    Public Property Get FileList  

 189: '       FileList = objFileList

 190: '    End Property

 191:    

 192:    Public Property Get CurrentFileIndex 

 193:       CurrentFileIndex = strCurrentFileIndex

 194:    End Property

 195:    

 196:    Public Property Get ActiveFileName

 197:       ActiveFileName = strActiveFile 

 198:    End Property

 199:    

 200:    'returns an object from the file list' 

 201:   Public Property Get ReturnObject(ByVal number) 

 202:    Dim thefile 

 203:    Set thefile = New TextFile 

 204:    Call objFileList.MatchIndex(thefile,number)

 205:    ReturnObject = Cstr(thefile.FileName) 

 206:   End Property

 207:   

 208:   'read statement'

 209:   Public Property Get ReturnTheObject(thefile,number) 

 210:     Call objFileList.MatchIndex(thefile,number)

 211:   End Property

 212:    

 213:    

 214:    'Define Public Methods'

 215:    Function CreateFiles(number) 

 216:      'data Type Test'

 217:      If Not IsNumeric(number) Then

 218:        Msgbox("Invalid Number of Files")

 219:      Else

 220:         'constants'

 221:         Const ForReading = 1

 222:            Const ForWriting = 2

 223:          

 224:         'varaibles'

 225:         Dim Filepointer  'file Pointer'  

 226:         Dim intNumFiles  'Loop Counter'

 227:         Dim intCounter   'loop counter'

 228:         Dim blnSucessful 'return value'

 229:         Dim objTextFile

 230:         

 231:         'set varaible Values'

 232:         intNumFiles = number

 233:         blnSucessful = False

 234:        

 235:          'create the Files'

 236:          For intCounter = 1 to intNumFiles

 237:                 'Create the file object'

 238:            Set objTextFile = New TextFile 'declared the class'

 239:            objTextFile.FileName = intCounter ' only part needed'

 240:            objTextFile.FileNumber = intCounter ' index in the For loop'

 241:            

 242:            'create the file' 

 243:            Set Filepointer = objFSO.OpenTextFile(objTextFile.FileName, ForWriting, True)

 244:                 Filepointer.Close()

 245:               Set Filepointer = Nothing

 246:             'Check if operation completed successfully

 247:                 

 248:             If objFSO.FileExists (objTextFile.FileName) Then 

 249:                      blnSucessful = True

 250:                     'store the file info into objFileList'

 251:               objFileList.AddEntry(objTextFile) 

 252:               

 253:             Else

 254:               blnSucessful = False

 255:               Set objTextFile = Nothing 'remove till next instance'

 256:               Exit for ' stop if a file not sucessfuly created'

 257:             End If  

 258:             

 259:             strCurrentFileIndex = intCounter

 260:             strActiveFile  =Cstr(objTextFile.BaseName &  strCurrentFileIndex & objTextFile.Extension)

 261:             Set objTextFile = Nothing 'remove till next instance'

 262:           Next

 263:       End if

 264:    CreateFiles = blnSucessful

 265:    End Function

 266:    'Open a Text File'

 267:    Public Sub Open

 268:       'test is file exists

 269:           If objFSO.FileExists(strActiveFile) Then

 270:               'open file in text editor

 271:               wshSHELL.Run strActiveFile

 272:           Else

 273:               'report error

 274:               MsgBox ("Error File NOT found Please start Process again")

 275:           End If

 276:    End Sub

 277:  

 278:   'next file'

 279:   Public Function NextFile 

 280:     'create new TextFile object to reternve the 2 class values of BaseName and Extension'

 281:     Dim objTextFile

 282:     Set objTextFile = New TextFile 'declared the class'

 283:     

 284:     If objFSO.FileExists(objTextFile.BaseName &  (strCurrentFileIndex+1) & objTextFile.Extension) Then

 285:        strActiveFile =Cstr(objTextFile.BaseName &  (strCurrentFileIndex+1) & objTextFile.Extension)

 286:        'add one increment the counter'

 287:        strCurrentFileIndex =(strCurrentFileIndex +1) 'increment the value'

 288:       NextFile = True

 289:     Else

 290:       NextFile = False

 291:       

 292:     End if

 293:     'delete the object for next occurance' 

 294:     Set objTextFile = Nothing

 295:   End Function

 296:   

 297:   

 298:   Public Function PrevFile

 299:   'create new TextFile object to reternve the 2 class values of BaseName and Extension'

 300:     Dim objTextFile

 301:     Set objTextFile = New TextFile 'declared the class'

 302:     

 303:     If objFSO.FileExists(objTextFile.BaseName &  (strCurrentFileIndex-1) & objTextFile.Extension) Then

 304:        strActiveFile =Cstr(objTextFile.BaseName &  (strCurrentFileIndex-1) & objTextFile.Extension)

 305:        'add one increment the counter'

 306:        strCurrentFileIndex =(strCurrentFileIndex -1) 'increment the value'

 307:       PrevFile = True

 308:     Else

 309:       PrevFile = False

 310:       

 311:     End if

 312:     'delete the object for next occurance' 

 313:     Set objTextFile = Nothing

 314:     

 315:   End Function

 316:   

 317:   'Function to clear the disctionary and delete the files'

 318:   Public Function DeleteTheFiles 

 319:    Dim intCount

 320:    Dim intCounter

 321:    'test the index number'

 322:      If (objFileList.ListCount > 0)  Then

 323:         intCounter =  (objFileList.ListCount-1) 

 324:            For intCount = 0 to intCounter 

 325:               Dim thefile 

 326:               Set thefile = New TextFile 

 327:             Call objFileList.MatchIndex(thefile,intCount) 'get the physical object'

 328:               objFSO.DeleteFile(thefile.FileName)            'Delete the physical Files'

 329:               Set thefile = Nothing                          'Reset for next instance'

 330:           Next 

 331:         DeleteTheFiles = True   

 332:      Else

 333:         DeleteTheFiles = False

 334:      End if

 335:    

 336:    'clear the dict'