Run an AppleScript with VB

Office 2013 and later
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Call an AppleScript file from a VB macro in Office 2016 for Mac.

Last modified: January 26, 2016

Applies to: Excel for Mac | PowerPoint for Mac | Word for Mac | Office 2016 for Mac

The AppleScriptTask command executes an AppleScript script file located outside the sandboxed app.

The following code shows how to call AppleScriptTask from VB.

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    Dim myScriptResult as String
    myScriptResult = AppleScriptTask ("MyAppleScriptFile.applescript", "myapplescripthandler", "my parameter string")

The MyAppleScript.applescript file must be in ~/Library/Application Scripts/[bundle id]/. The .applescript extension is not required; you can also use the .scpt extension.

"Myapplescripthandler" is the name of a script handler in the MyAppleScript.applescript file. "My parameter string" is the single input parameter to the "myapplescripthandler" script handler.

The following are the [bundle id] values for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word:

  • com.microsoft.Word
  • com.microsoft.Excel
  • com.microsoft.Powerpoint

For example, the corresponding AppleScript for Excel would be in a file named "MyAppleScriptFile.applescript" that is in ~/Library/Application Scripts/com.microsoft.Excel/.

The following is an example of a handler.

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    on myapplescripthandler(paramString) 

    #do something with paramString 
    return "You told me " & paramString 

    end myapplescripthandler

The MacScript command that supports inline AppleScripts in Office for Mac 2011 is deprecated. Due to sandbox restrictions, the MacScript command cannot invoke other applications, such as Finder, in Office 2016 for Mac. We recommend that you use the AppleScriptTask command instead of the MacScript command in apps for Office 2016 for Mac.

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