VBA pass cell value to Print dialogue box - vba

Question

This is the Sub that I have built so far:
Sub Grab_Screencap()
'Open URL
With CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application")
.Visible = True
.Navigate _
Worksheets("Queue").Range("A3").Value
Application.Wait (Now + #12:00:02 AM#)
SendKeys "^p", True
Application.Wait (Now + #12:00:02 AM#)
SendKeys "{UP}", True
SendKeys "{UP}", True
SendKeys "~", True
Application.Wait (Now + #12:00:02 AM#)
SendKeys "+{TAB}", True
SendKeys "+{TAB}", True
SendKeys "+{TAB}", True
SendKeys "+{TAB}", True
SendKeys "+{TAB}", True
SendKeys "~", True
End With
End Sub
I am sure there are much better ways to do it, but I am still on the kiddie side of the pool.
This takes a URL that I have in a spreadsheets, and then opens IE, navigates to that page, opens the Print dialogue box, selects XPS Document Writer, navigates to the pathway field, and then highlights the value.
Now I want to pass a base directory, and a file name from a cell, something like
"C:\users\user1\desktop\" & Worksheets("Queue").Range("A5").Value
Tinkering around but cant find any existing documentation that lines up with what I'm trying to do that I can comprehend.

Answer 1

In order to print the content of the external file (for example, C:\Temp\TestFile.txt) from Excel VBA macro you can use ShellExecute() function as shown below.
First, insert the VBA Module (e.g. Module1) and place the following declarations and Sub into that Module1:
Public Declare Function ShellExecute Lib "shell32.dll" Alias _
"ShellExecuteA" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal lpOperation _
As String, ByVal lpFile As String, ByVal lpParameters _
As String, ByVal lpDirectory As String, ByVal nShowCmd _
As Long) As Long
Public Const SW_SHOWNORMAL = 1
Public Sub ShellExecuteSample()
'shown as example: it will open the text file C:\Temp\TestFile.txt
OpenFile = ShellExecute(hwnd, "open", "C:\Temp\TestFile.txt", "", "C:\", SW_SHOWNORMAL)
'this will print the content of the text file C:\Temp\TestFile.txt
PrintFile = ShellExecute(hwnd, "print", "C:\Temp\TestFile.txt", "", "C:\", SW_SHOWNORMAL)
End Sub
When called, this Sub ShellExecuteSample() will print the content and (optionally) open the text file: C:\Temp\TestFile.txt. Pertinent to your case, it could be the file specified by your string:
"C:\users\user1\desktop\" & Worksheets("Queue").Range("A5").Value
Apparently, you do not need a PrintDialog to complete this task.
Hope this may help.

Answer 2

So, im sure this isn't nearly the most elegant way to achieve the task, but this is what I was able to write that does what I want it to do:
Sub Grab_Screencap()
Dim i As Integer
i = 3
Do Until IsEmpty(Cells(i, 2))
'Copy Screencap Name
Sheets("Queue").Cells(i, 6).Copy
'Open URL
Set IE = CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application")
With IE
.Visible = True
.Navigate _
Worksheets("Queue").Cells(i, 2).Value
Application.Wait (Now + #12:00:02 AM#)
SendKeys "^p", True
Application.Wait (Now + #12:00:02 AM#)
SendKeys "{UP}", True
SendKeys "{UP}", True
SendKeys "~", True
Application.Wait (Now + #12:00:02 AM#)
SendKeys "{TAB}", True
SendKeys "{TAB}", True
SendKeys "{TAB}", True
SendKeys "{TAB}", True
SendKeys "{TAB}", True
Application.Wait (Now + #12:00:02 AM#)
SendKeys "~", True
SendKeys "C:\Users\Johnny\Desktop\Job Listings\"
Application.Wait (Now + #12:00:02 AM#)
SendKeys "+{TAB}", True
SendKeys "+{TAB}", True
SendKeys "+{TAB}", True
SendKeys "+{TAB}", True
SendKeys "+{TAB}", True
Application.Wait (Now + #12:00:02 AM#)
SendKeys "^v", True
Application.Wait (Now + #12:00:02 AM#)
SendKeys "%s", True
Application.Wait (Now + #12:00:02 AM#)
IE.Quit
End With
i = i + 1
Loop
End Sub
The 101 lesson was that SendKeys can send an entire string, not just a single key. I didnt need to merge the file name with the pathway. I just needed to drop the pathway, tab back to file name, and drop the file name, which I could copy before opening IE.
I think there is a way to do this task just by opening the print dialogue and activating print to file, but I have not tried to figure that out yet.