OpenOffice.org BASIC Guide - OpenOffice.org wiki

XML File Format
The StarDesktop
OpenOffice.org documents are based on the XML file format. XML-based files can be opened and edited with
other programs.
Compression of Files
Since XML is based on standard text files, the resultant files are usually very large. OpenOffice.org therefore
compresses the files and saves them as a ZIP file. By means of a storeAsURL method option, the user can save
the original XML files directly. See storeAsURL Method Options, below.
Creating, Opening and Importing Documents
Documents are opened, imported and created using the method StarDesktop.loadComponentFromURL(URL,
Frame, SearchFlags, FileProperties) The first parameter of loadComponentFromURL specifies the URL of the
associated file.
As the second parameter, loadComponentFromURL expects a name for the frame object of the window that
OpenOffice.org creates internally for its administration. The predefined _blank name is usually specified here,
and this ensures that OpenOffice.org creates a new window.
Using these parameters, the user can open a OpenOffice.org document, since place holders (dummy values) can
be assigned to the last two parameters:
Dim Doc As Object
Dim Url As String
Dim Dummy() 'An (empty) array of PropertyValues
Url = "file:///C:/test.odt"
Doc = StarDesktop.loadComponentFromURL(Url, "_blank", 0, Dummy)
The preceding call opens the test.odt file and displays this in a new window.
Any number of documents can be opened in this way in OpenOffice.org Basic and then edited using the returned
document objects.
Note – StarOffice 5 : StarDesktop.loadComponentFromURL supersedes the Documents.Add and
Documents.Open methods from the old OpenOffice.org API.
Replacing the Content of the Document Window
The named _blank value for the Frame parameter ensures that OpenOffice.org creates a new window for every
call from loadComponentFromURL. In some situations, it is useful to replace the content of an existing window.
In this case, the frame object of the window should contain an explicit name. Note that this name must not begin
with an underscore. Furthermore, the SearchFlags parameter must be set so that the corresponding framework
is created, if it does not already exist. The corresponding constant for SearchFlags is:
SearchFlags = com.sun.star.frame.FrameSearchFlag.CREATE + _
com.sun.star.frame.FrameSearchFlag.ALL
The following example shows how the content of an opened window can be replaced with the help of the frame
parameter and SearchFlags:
Dim Doc As Object
Dim Dummy()
Dim Url As String
Dim SearchFlags As Long
SearchFlags = com.sun.star.frame.FrameSearchFlag.CREATE + _
com.sun.star.frame.FrameSearchFlag.ALL
Url = "file:///C:/test.odt"
Doc = StarDesktop.loadComponentFromURL(Url, "MyFrame", SearchFlags, Dummy)
Chapter 5 · Working with Documents 61