How to paste into IE textbox?

Hi Norie!

I have had all the time problems with SendKeys when trying to send with this or that combination
to IE of code around it. Here is the current code but the same problem with SendKeys seems to
follow along all the way. Of course that might be the setup of my computer, but anyway.
I seems to work a little bit better when sending the hole string instead of one character at time,
When sending a long string (once) the possibility for success is much bigger, if we consider
SendKeys to be unreliably.

Doesn't anybody know a better way/ more reliably than SendKeys is ???????

Is there in the existing DLLs any function that could maybe do the same thing?
Does anybody know where one could find a list what each DLL includes? I have
tried to search around the internet but haven't been able to find any good sites about this.

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regards
keymuu

Hi again Norie!

that is just the beginning, first log on and then
there is a lot to do after the logon. But that is chapter 2,
I need to get those small routines to work without failures.
If I succeed here there should not be any reasons why not that would
be the case after the login.

But what I am trying to do at this point (logon page) is to make sure all
will work in the future also. That is that everything works correct:

Set focus to IE or to Excel - that works nice a
copy from IE to Excel - works fine
copy from Excel to IE - is the problematic thing, SendKeys does not work reliably, and I have to write to a textbox,

I Can't use HTLM tags to do it just for a small reason, that if the HTML code changes in the future, and specially
one or more used tag-names then, the software failes. This is the reason I desperately would like to have a "better SendKeys"

regards
keymuu

Thank you Norie,

you did what you could, thank you very much!

However, as I said earlier, I would like have some help from anybody who has some knowledge about
a better SendKeys! How to write to IE. How to write surely to a textbox or what ever in EE, but have
to sure that written text is correct, that text what was intended to write there.

Anybody, please help if you can, if you have a knowledge how to write securely to a textbox or
...whatever... into IE. That will be very flexible in the future if the HTML code has changed, that
would then no matter.

As in mine first mail, the ExecWB has a copy function, but, one would expect that there also
is a paste function, but not, I haven't find such a function. So, please if anybody have
any knowledge of any methods, functions or whatever, so please be so kind and
share that information. Thank you in advance

Or, any other methods that could do the same thing....

Kind regards
keymuu

Hi Norie!

Maybe I was a little bit unclear when saying "... how to write securely to a textbox ..."
I used the word securely - not refer to secure or data security or anything into that direction,
what I meant is that if I try to write ABCDEF... there also is the same ABCDEF... instead of ABCCDEEF...
Sorry for misunderstanding I caused

Still looking for a way to write to IE so one can be sure it is correctly written.
Of course you can read it back and then compare it to the original but what then
when you have, let's say over 1000 chars, and you don't get it correct even when
you try it maybe hundred times and still not able to paste/write it correct. As the
case with SendKeys seems to be.

There is a lot of DLLs but haven't been able to find listings of what functions
are inside those DLLs ?

As long as you do not find those listings, you cannot know if there somewhere
in some DLL would be a better "send to keyboard buffer" or something like that.

For example kernel32.dll has Sleep and user32.dll has function BringWindowToTop
but what else is just in those DLL not to talk about all the other DLLs? Where could
one find such listing. If you can find user32.h (h=header) then there should all be listed,
but the problem is to find them. When you google around for example kernel32.h
you find this and that around internet but haven't so far seen Sleep.

regards
keymuu

Hi Norie!

I'm not very familiar with DOM or direct accessing HTML code, but as I earlier said
I need to find a way to write to a TextBox without having to know the name of that
TextBox. That way it doesn't matter what the name of it is or changes, i.e. user_name,
username, name, user or whatever.
Here is, as I see it, a good page about all that:
http://www.access-programmers.co.uk/...d.php?t=176968

Do you or anybody know where (what site) one could find info about
what all functions are in which DLL.

Maybe somebody has made a DLL or an exe-file that takes
a string and sends it to the keyboard buffer and would be willing
to share it to those who might need it. Just wondering

regards
keymuu

Hi Norie, again

As I told earlier, I don't feel like trusting the HTML-code will stay forever intact.
However, I succeeded to solve this mystical thing (missing paste function), thank you Norie
for directing me to the API page where I found keybd_event which do the trick almost perfectly,
the failure percent is under 2%. Can't understand how/why I haven't found that page earlier.
To check if a failure has happened I select all, then copy it back and compare it with the original
text.

This code works in my PC:

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So, now it's working as one would suppose, almost perfectly. The thing that it is not 100% sure
seems to me again like something like "Welcome to the Windows world". As earlier said, nobody
knows exactly what is going on behind your back, one thing working in one place but not in a
other place etc.

When you do copy/paste with your fingers on the keyboard I can only remember one time when
it has failed and thought about it, but when it happens in such a situation nobody is upset
about that and does paste (Ctrl-V) again/once more not even thinking the fault is a windows
fault.

regards
keymuu

Originally Posted by Norie

keymuu

Why not post your working code?

Hi Norie!

Am I missing something here? That is the working code (at least in my PC).
That code in my previous mail is the missing PASTE I was looking for. Try it, I think
it should work in your computer also.

The other part, more or less, is in the first listing in this thread. The real
failure percent is slightly lower than 0,4% and not 2% as I claimed in my
previous mail. That was achieved by waiting for IE to be ready before every
get or put clipboard. However, this paste method is not tested more than
3000 rounds so far.

regards
keymuu

Hi Norie

Just set it in a sub for example like this:

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As you know how to use the keyboard copy/paste (Ctrl-A, Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V)
How do you know when you use Ctrl-V where you want to paste that data?
The same goes for that code, first you put the focus where you want to paste
for example notepad, put the focus to notepad:

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then just paste whatever is in clipboard, easy, isn't it?

regards
keymuu

Hi Norie!

I'm not aware if it is possible to find input boxes with FindWindows on a web page.
The name of the function FindWindows does not suggest such a functionality for it.
It would nice to have a function that would do that job. Maybe somebody could
help on this one, please share the information if you know how to do that.

I have been testing the copy/paste thing with IE and run to some kind of memory error
after 720951 copy/pastes. The clipboards goes to a mode where you can't use it any more.
I believe the memory used by DataObject is not totally freed after the use.
They look like this:

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So, the question is something like this
When you have
New DataObject you would need to free the memory after the use
Set clipData = Nothing is not enough (?), maybe it should also have clipData.Quit
Have to test that next. However, if somebody knows if there should be
some other things to do than the Quit method, please share that info.

regards
keymuu

Hi Norie!

I'm not aware if it is possible to find input boxes with FindWindows on a web page.
The name of the function FindWindows does not suggest such a functionality for it.
It would nice to have a function that would do that job. Maybe somebody could
help on this one, please share the information if you know how to do that.

I have been testing the copy/paste thing with IE and run to some kind of memory error
after 720951 copy/pastes. The clipboards goes to a mode where you can't use it any more.
I believe the memory used by DataObject is not totally freed after the use.
They look like this:

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So, the question is something like this
When you have
New DataObject you would need to free the memory after the use
Set clipData = Nothing is not enough (?), maybe it should also have clipData.Quit
Have to test that next. However, if somebody knows if there should be
some other things to do than the Quit method, please share that info.

regards
keymuu

Hi Norie!

The only ways I know is to use the tabulator,
or knowing the coordinates of a textbox and then clicking on the texcbox in question.

Yes it might very well be EmptyClipBoard, the Quit method was not accepted. Have to test that next.
Then there are also OpenClipboard and CloseClipboard. What for are the open and close functions ?
As I look at it, the clipboard seems to work all the time without any specific open or close things...

regards
keymuu

PS I don't get it how it is possible to send twice a reply as my previous was

Of course, EmptyClipboard did not help...it clears the data stored in the clipboard,
not the memory the object=motor use.

So, I'm still confused,
When you have
Set X = New DataObject
then you have also
Set X = Nothing <<<<< Am I missing after this (or before) something?
The first one reserves memory and
the second one should release it, however, not totally, not to my experience.

I know I'm harping, but this annoys me when I don't grasp what happening.
In my computer after about 720000 copy/pastes I got Out of memory error,
and the clipboard in Excel doesn't work any more. This is not a big deal, but
on the other hand it would be very nice to know what causes this.

The clipboard is specific to Excel and is not "a global clipboard". To get the
clipboard work again, you only need to restart Excel, that is resetting the
clipboard and again I can copy/paste over 700000 times. However there
should be an API function that would the same job (=reset clipboard),
but haven't find one yet.

If you know how to reset clipboard, please share that info.

regards
keymuu

Hi Norie!

Here is a working paste:

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It will paste whatever text to the active page (focused) and there to the focused textbox or whatever can accept
as text as input. Maybe it can paste other things also like pictures etc, but I haven't tested that,

Here is copy IE:

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here is select all, IE focused textbox:

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The above trio is really much better approach than SendKeys can ever be. On the other hand never say never or ever say ever,
today that is the fact.

I'm still missing a function that would do a complete RESET to the clipboard. As long as I have this small memory (somebody
is eating it).

Norie, is this solved as long as I have the memory problem?

regards
keymuu

Hello Norie!

Yes it might look like that, but as told earlier you have TAB and the mouse. And sure,
I will have more than 15 textboxes and other input fields after the log on page,
but I do not worry about that before all problems are solved at this first stage.
Again, on the other hand, there is not infinitely time for this thing, so you can't
stay forever on the same spot.

regards
keymuu

Hi Norie!

What you see on the screen is simpler to incorporate to a schedule what to follow.
If a new version is launched and the tab stop coordinates changes then....
I will have have a schedule for every page where every object on that page is
like this:
to the left tab stop, to the right the text for it
1 write A
2 write B
3 write C
....
16 write D
17 write E = the last one
Lets now say there pops up a new input between the first and second stops,
no matter where they are on the screen layout. Now we have then 18 input points
and have to write "that schedule" again, however, not so much to do when it is
on an Excel sheet.

I admit it is as easy to do that in the HTLM code (DOM) and you don't need to worry
about any other thing than the unfortunate situation where a new version is done
by an other programmer who has changed a lot, in the worst case all tag names
are new. That then about the adaptable nature of it. This is of course only
speculation, this would probably newer happen On the other hand,
what does Murphy's law say? If it can happen then it also will happen sooner
or later.

When you do copy/paste for enough many times you will end up with out of memory
for copy or paste. I claimed earlier that it is a Excel thing but have to correct that
a little bit, it seems to be more on the Excel side but I aren't so sure any more,
had to boot here one day before I could get it to work again reliably. So why
sometimes it is enough to just to restart Excel and the next time you need
to boot the PC. This is Microsoft Windows, can't trust on almost anything.

Doesn't anybody know any function that would be something like
reset clipboard, or any other aid to get rid of the memory decrease
problem? Please share that information if you have it.

regards
keymuu