Stargazer
12-06-2012, 06:17 AM
Hiya,
I'm trying to get a small project working but am struggling to make it do exactly what I want. Having completely run out of talent, I feel it is time I ask for some assistance.
As a Flight Simmer, I often have lots of procedures to work through. Though I know a lot of what I need to do, I'd still like to have an interactive checklist to make sure that I get it right. Kind of a virtual co-pilot.
The worksheet contains several columns of data. Each column is a different checklist. Each line in the column contains an entry that I need to pay attention to.
So far, I have written code that does easy stuff like stepping down the checklist reading out the items and when it gets to the last entry, moves to the top line of the next column until all entries have been read.
The tricky bit I'm having trouble with is getting it act like a co-pilot.
The ideal behaviour would be for it to read out the command and then wait for my 'Check' signal (which I'll come back to in a moment). However, the only ways I know to make the code halt and await input from a user, is to show a message box that has to be OK'd to continue which is far from ideal, or use application.wait which puts the whole of excel into lockdown for a set amount of time and then resumes regardless.
As for the 'Check' signal I need to give to make it move on, I was hoping originally to use a voice interface so I can use my headset and give a verbal "Check" or "Set", however, this is well beyond me and I've had trouble finding much about it on the internet.
I have programmed a keypress recognition event, however, the problem with this is that excel needs to be the active application for it to work. If I have flight sim open and I'm adjusting knobs and pressing buttons in the cockpit, it would be an absolute ballache to keep switching back and forth from the 3D engine to the Workbook.
Flight Sim is also a bit of a cow with regards to full screened graphics and alt-tabbing and I wouldn't even dare attempt to create a userform that attempts to stay top-most. Anything that takes the focus off the Sim is likely to cause severe side effects.
So to sum it up, the two questions in brief are:-
1) How to pause the code without message boxing or application.wait so that it will only continue on my input.
2) How to make Excel listen for keypress events at a system level instead of an application one.
I have some neat ideas on how to avoid the awful Microsoft Sam (and other similar) voice and can code them if I can overcome these two hurdles, but these ones have me properly stumped.
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated,
Kind regards,
Rob.
I'm trying to get a small project working but am struggling to make it do exactly what I want. Having completely run out of talent, I feel it is time I ask for some assistance.
As a Flight Simmer, I often have lots of procedures to work through. Though I know a lot of what I need to do, I'd still like to have an interactive checklist to make sure that I get it right. Kind of a virtual co-pilot.
The worksheet contains several columns of data. Each column is a different checklist. Each line in the column contains an entry that I need to pay attention to.
So far, I have written code that does easy stuff like stepping down the checklist reading out the items and when it gets to the last entry, moves to the top line of the next column until all entries have been read.
The tricky bit I'm having trouble with is getting it act like a co-pilot.
The ideal behaviour would be for it to read out the command and then wait for my 'Check' signal (which I'll come back to in a moment). However, the only ways I know to make the code halt and await input from a user, is to show a message box that has to be OK'd to continue which is far from ideal, or use application.wait which puts the whole of excel into lockdown for a set amount of time and then resumes regardless.
As for the 'Check' signal I need to give to make it move on, I was hoping originally to use a voice interface so I can use my headset and give a verbal "Check" or "Set", however, this is well beyond me and I've had trouble finding much about it on the internet.
I have programmed a keypress recognition event, however, the problem with this is that excel needs to be the active application for it to work. If I have flight sim open and I'm adjusting knobs and pressing buttons in the cockpit, it would be an absolute ballache to keep switching back and forth from the 3D engine to the Workbook.
Flight Sim is also a bit of a cow with regards to full screened graphics and alt-tabbing and I wouldn't even dare attempt to create a userform that attempts to stay top-most. Anything that takes the focus off the Sim is likely to cause severe side effects.
So to sum it up, the two questions in brief are:-
1) How to pause the code without message boxing or application.wait so that it will only continue on my input.
2) How to make Excel listen for keypress events at a system level instead of an application one.
I have some neat ideas on how to avoid the awful Microsoft Sam (and other similar) voice and can code them if I can overcome these two hurdles, but these ones have me properly stumped.
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated,
Kind regards,
Rob.