OpenOffice.org BASIC Guide.pdf - OpenOffice.org wiki

Other Instructions 40
Other Instructions
Type. . . End Type
A struct is a collection of data fields, that can be manipulated as a single item. In older
terms, you may think of a struct as a record, or part of a record.
The → API often uses pre-defined structs, but these are UNO structs, a higly-specialized
kind of struct.
Definition
With the Type...End Type statements, you can define your own (non-UNO) structs:
Type aMenuItem 'assign the name of the type
'Define the data fields within the struct. Each
' definition looks like a Dim statement, without the "Dim".
aCommand as String
aText as String
End Type 'close the definition
Instance
The Type definition is only a pattern or template, not a set of actual variables. To make an
instance of the type, actual variables that can be read and stored, use the Dim As New
statement:
Scope
Dim maItem as New aMenuItem
As shown in the example below, the Type definition may be written at the start of a module
(before the first Sub or Function). The definition will then be available to all routines in the
module.
As of OpenOffice.org Version 3.0, unlike variables, there is no way to make the definition
accessible outside of the module.
An instance of the new type is a variable, and follows the usual rules for variable scope.
An example of how to use the definition, and how to reference the fields within an instance,
appears in the section on With...End With.