Have you ever wanted to delete the document currently open in Word? I find I often want to do this when I’m trying to clean out a whole bunch of old documents: I open each one, check the contents and, if I no longer need it, delete it on the spot.

Word won’t normally let you do this: you must first close the document, then delete it. That’s a sensible safeguard, but sometimes it gets in the way of what you want to do.

Using a macro, you can get around this restriction and delete the active document. Note that because you cannot undelete any document you eliminate using this macro, it takes some preliminary precautions:

• First, the macro checks that there is, in fact, an open document to delete.
• If there is an open document, it checks that the user really wants to delete it. If not, the macro ends without doing anything else.
• If the user gives the go ahead to delete the document, the macro checks to see whether the open document has already been saved. If it has, the document is closed and then deleted. If it has not yet been saved, it is simply closed without saving any changes.

To create the macro:

1. Press Alt+F8 to open the Macros dialog.
2. Type DeleteActiveDocument in the Name box and click Create.
3. Copy and paste the following code between the Sub DeleteActiveDocument()and the End Sub statements (Note: if you want, you can download a full text copy of the code, complete with comments describing what it’s doing at each stage):
   

Dim strFileToDelete As String
Dim docOpen As Document
Dim intDocCount As Integer

intDocCount = 0

For Each docOpen In Documents
   intDocCount = intDocCount + 1
Next docOpen

If intDocCount > 0 Then

   If MsgBox(“Are you sure you want to delete the open document permanently? ” & _
   “You won’t be able to undo this action.”, vbYesNo) = vbYes Then

      If Len(ActiveDocument.Path) <> 0 Then

         strFileToDelete = ActiveDocument.FullName
         ActiveDocument.Close SaveChanges:=False
         Kill strFileToDelete

      Else

         ActiveDocument.Close SaveChanges:=False

      End If

   End If

Else

   MsgBox “There is no open document to delete.”, vbOKOnly

End If

End Sub

4. Close the Visual Basic editor.

Add it to Word’s toolbar

To make the macro easily accessible, add it to the Quick Access Toolbar in Word 2007:

1. Click the arrow at the right end of the Quick Access Toolbar and select More Commands.
2. In the Choose Commands From box, select Macros from the drop-down list.
3. Click the newly created macro (it’s full name is Normal.NewMacros.DeleteActiveDocument) and then click the Add button.
4. Click the Modify button, select an appropriate icon for the macro (there’s a handy one with a cross in a red circle that fits well), type Delete This Doc in the Display Name box and click OK.

To add the macro to a Word 2003 toolbar:

1. Right-click any toolbar and click Customize.
2. On the Commands tab in the Categories list click Macros.
3. Locate Normal.NewMacros.DeleteActiveDocument in the Commands list and click-and-drag it onto a toolbar.
4. Right-click the new button you’ve created, in the Name box type Del (or something else short and descriptive), then click Text Only. If you’d prefer to use a graphic icon instead of a text-label, although none of the default icons is particularly apt you can create your own by selecting Default (instead of Text Only). Then click Edit Button Image, then Clear and then do a quick paint job (a red X works well).
5. Click Close in the Customize dialog box.

If you have any problems running the macro, take a look at the code in the Visual Basic editor and make sure you don’t have any broken lines. That’s the usual cause of problems.

I am back to the salt mines after a day of booth babin' at XNA Gamefest.

It was very cool to see all the MVPS again, hear from customers about what they hope we can do for them in the future, and chat a bit about peer review (no, it's not the same thing as certification and TCRs). 

It was also cool to be in the keynote audience and see Boyd and Chris talk about what we've been waiting waiting waiting to talk about: you guys getting paid to make games for the Xbox. The Web site FAQ goes into even more detail: http://creators.xna.com/en-us/XboxLIVECommunityGames.

I'll be watching the blogosphere and the forums to see what you guys think.

Oh yeah, George Clingerman double-dog-dared me to put the  When Cods Collide Game up through the submission process. I guess it's a good thing peer review isn't really a quality measure, cause one thing you will notice is that it's labeled for the wrong platform. I'm not offended if you mock it. I think.

But anyway, watch for it. Music by Mad Malcolm is probably the only thing worthwhile in there. :)

My blog is boring these days. Most of my writing energy is being spent on my dissertation. And I promise, none of you want to hear details of how I fine-tune my methodology chapter. I can't even keep you entertained with outrageous tales of sordid trysts because, well, there aren't any. Hell, I barely leave the house. The most exciting moments in my life occur when my cat snarls at the neighbor cat who tries to steal her food. And, well, that minutia is better left for Twitter. I could blog the dreams I've been having that involve Marx and Engels yelling at each other, but those make me look psychotic. So I'd rather not. That pretty much leaves grocery lists, health rants, and detailed discussions of the variability in Los Angeles weather.

Part of the problem is that I've been pretty disengaged with everything but my dissertation. I don't keep up with blogs or gossip and I have been dreadful at making it to events that would normally stimulate me to comment on events out in the world. Most likely, you're more engaged with social media these days than I am. Or you're here accidentally. And really bored. Presumably, if you keep coming back, you're waiting for me to say something interesting. Or maybe you're just sick and twisted.

So how about we make a deal... Why don't you help me find fodder to ramble and I'll try to be provocative in return? (Or at least more entertaining than I am now.)

If you've got something you want me to comment on, leave a comment. Write questions, share links, whatever. I can't promise that I'll get to everything nor can I promise that I'll want to comment on everything, but at least that'll give me a sense of what you might find interesting and it'll give me something other than my dissertation to think about. Being a hermit makes it hard to determine what is interesting. Anyhow, let's just give this a try... Perhaps it'll be an abysmal failure but perhaps it'll be an interesting experiment.

So what's on YOUR mind these days?

Paul has made some interesting observations about lessons he’s learned in his life.

1. The 80/20 rule.
2. Parkinson’s Law.
3. Batching.
4. First, give value. Then, get value. Not the other way around.
5. Be proactive. Not reactive.
6. Mistakes and failures are good.
7. Don’t beat yourself up.
8. Your attitude changes your reality.
9. Don’t compare yourself to others.
10. 80-90% of what you fear will never really come into reality.
11. Don’t take things too seriously.
12. Write everything down.
13. There are opportunities in just about every experience.

In addition to his 13 ideas and the fact that I’m uneasy about having 13 on the list, here are 2 of mine: that I try to use every day.

14: Smiles are infectious.  Spread them. When you’re happy, you smile, and when you smile, you are happy. (nod to Anand here)

15: Believe in yourself – because if you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will.

What’s your best lesson you’ve learned?…