How to avoid runtime error 5152 when trying to add a URL as shape to a Word document - vba

Question

I am trying to place a QR code generated through an API (api.qrserver,com) in a Word table using VBA. For certain reasons, the option of simply using "DisplayBarcode" is not possible.
This is the call to the API:
sURL = "https://api.qrserver.com/v1/create-qr-code/?data=" & UTF8_URL_Encode(VBA.Replace(QR_Value, " ", "+")) & "&size=240x240"
It seems to work well. I tried with a GET command and retrieved a string that - as I interpret - contains the QR code in png format.
Now, when I try to add the picture as a shape using
Set objGrafik = ActiveDocument.Shapes.AddPicture(sURL, True)
the call fails with runtime error 5152. As far as I could determine until now, the Addpicture method expects a pure filename and does not allow any of the following characters: /|?*<>:".
I also tried to store the GET result in an object variable:
Set oQRCode = http.responseText
but there I get the error "object required".
Research on the internet regarding a solution to either make the URL assignment work or to store the result as a picture didn't retrieve any useful results. Thanks in advance for your support

Answer 1

I am not sure that any of the ways you could insert something into Word (e.g. Shapes.AddPicture, InlineShapes.AddPicture, Range.InsertFile etc. will let you do that from any old https Url, although it seems to work for some Urls.
However, as it happens, you can use an INCLUDEPICTURE field to do it. FOr example
{ INCLUDEPICTURE https://api.qrserver.com/v1/create-qr-code/?data=Test&size=100x100 }
Here's some sample VBA to do that
Sub insertqrcode()
Dim sUrl As String
Dim f As Word.Field
Dim r1 As Word.Range
Dim r2 As Word.Range
' This is just a test - plug your own Url in.
sUrl = "https://api.qrserver.com/v1/create-qr-code/?data=abcdef&size=100x100"
' Pick an empty test cell in a table
Set r1 = ActiveDocument.Tables(1).Cell(5, 4).Range
' We have to remove the end of cell character to add the field to the range
' Simplify
Set r2 = r1.Duplicate
r2.Collapse WdCollapseDirection.wdCollapseStart
Set f = r2.Fields.Add(r2, WdFieldType.wdFieldIncludePicture, sUrl, False)
' If you don't want the field code any more, do this
f.Unlink
' check that we have a new inline shape that we could work with more
' if necessary
Debug.Print r1.InlineShapes.count
Set f = Nothing
Set r2 = Nothing
Set r1 = Nothing
End Sub
Using INCLUDEPICTURE works even on the current version of Mac Word (although I haven't tested that specific piece of VBA on Mac).
The only other way I have seen to do it uses WinHTTP to get the result from the web service, ADODB to stream it out to a local disk file, then AddPicture or whatever to include that file, so much more complicated and won't work on Mac either.