Writing a macro

Any SOLIDWORKS VBA macro with an argument-less Sub main works. There is no SwMacroFlow-specific code to add, no library to reference, and no result object to fill in. A macro written for SwMacroFlow still runs by hand in the VBA editor exactly as it always did.

Option Explicit

Sub main()
    Dim swApp As SldWorks.SldWorks
    Dim model As SldWorks.ModelDoc2

    Set swApp = Application.SldWorks
    Set model = swApp.ActiveDoc      ' the file SwMacroFlow just opened

    If model Is Nothing Then Exit Sub

    ' Restrict to the document type this macro makes sense for, if needed:
    ' If model.GetType <> swDocDRAWING Then
    '     MsgBox "Not a drawing, skipped"
    '     Exit Sub
    ' End If

    ' ---- your per-file work here ----
    ' If you change the document, save it before returning.
    ' Report with MsgBox - see Reporting a result.
End Sub

Inputs are declared as Const values with "@Name" tokens - see Adding inputs. For the complete contract in one place (including property placeholders), see Macro authoring spec.

The entry point

SwMacroFlow looks for a Sub that takes no arguments:

• A Sub named main is preferred, whatever standard module it is in. Case does not matter.
• If there is no main, the first argument-less Sub is used - and which one that is depends on the order SOLIDWORKS happens to list them, which you do not control.

Always name your entry point main. It is the only way to be sure which procedure runs.

A macro with no argument-less Sub at all is rejected when you add it, with "This macro has no runnable procedure".

How your macro sees the file

SwMacroFlow opens the file, makes it the active document, and calls your Sub. The file is never passed in as an argument - swApp.ActiveDoc is how you reach it.

Guard for Nothing and exit cleanly. It costs one line and it is the difference between a clear row and Error 91: Object variable or With block variable not set.

model.GetType tells you what you were handed, if the macro only makes sense for one kind of document:

If model.GetType <> swDocDRAWING Then
    MsgBox "Not a drawing, skipped"
    Exit Sub
End If

Your macro runs once per file

The same Sub is called again for the next file, in the same VBA session. That has two consequences worth knowing:

• Do not cache per-file state in a module-level variable unless you reset it at the top of main. Whatever the last file left behind is still there.
• Save what you change. SwMacroFlow closes the document when the chain is done with it, and closing discards unsaved changes.

When several macros are in the chain, each file is opened once. Every ticked macro runs against that open document in list order, then the file closes. Do not open or close documents yourself in batch mode - the host does it.

Running with no document

A macro that does its own work needs no document at all. Leave out ActiveDoc, tick Run once without opening any files in the Scope panel, and the macro runs a single time with nothing opened or closed - useful for a report, a folder walk, or setting application options.

Inputs and MsgBox reporting work exactly the same. ActiveDoc returns Nothing in this mode, so a macro that needs a document will simply exit at its guard.

Do not use {Property} placeholders in input values in this mode - there is no document to resolve them against. See Adding inputs.

Your .swp is never modified

Each run works on a throwaway copy in %TEMP%\SwMacroFlow\. That copy is where SwMacroFlow puts your input values and the machinery that captures your results. Open your own macro in the VBA editor any time and it is exactly as you wrote it.

Two things follow from this:

• GetCurrentMacroPathName inside your macro reports that temporary location, not where you saved it. Do not use it to find files next to your macro - use a FilePath or FolderPath input instead.
• The copy is deleted at the end of the batch. Copies left behind by a crash are swept up an hour later, on the next run.

Checking it works

1. Run the macro once by hand from the VBA editor before batching it. It behaves identically there, with one difference: MsgBox shows a real dialog instead of writing to the results list.
2. Add it to a job with a single file in scope and run that. If it is going to fail, it should fail on one file, not on four hundred.
3. Use Option Explicit and compile with Debug → Compile in the VBA editor so load-time surprises are fewer.

For how to expose typed inputs and {Property} patterns, see Adding inputs. For how results become green, amber or red rows, see Reporting a result.