Get existing IE via VBA

Question

My goal is to scrape data off multiple webpages on the same site into Excel. I have these pages open in tabs within IE8. I have no other IE windows open.

I have trie

Answer 1

I figured it out! Thanks to this thread, the following works:

               AppActivate " - Microsoft Internet Explorer provided by [my company]"
               AppActivate " - Microsoft Internet Explorer provided by [my company]"

And it is able to bring forward any site, no matter the naming scheme. Granted, it looks clumsy, but I can't complain if it works.

Happy day!

Answer 2

Follow this link to see the code to use an open IE window. http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/excel-questions/553580-visual-basic-applications-macro-already-open-ie-window.html

Answer 3

Made some changes and it works now

         Function GetIE() As Object

            Dim ShellApp As Object, ShellWindows As Object
            Dim IEObject As Object

            Set ShellApp = CreateObject("Shell.Application")

            Set ShellWindows = ShellApp.Windows()

            Dim item As Object
            On Error GoTo 0
            Dim sName As String

               For Each ObjWind In ShellWindows
                'On Error Resume Next
                 If (Not ObjWind Is Nothing) Then
                    sName = ObjWind.Name
                     If sName = "Internet Explorer" Then
                        Set IEObject = ObjWind
                        Exit For  'No need to continue....
                     End If
                 End If

                Next

            If IEObject Is Nothing Then Set IEObject = CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application")

            Set ShellApp = Nothing

            Set GetIE = IEObject

            End Function

Answer 4

OK, so I notice a potential problem with the first method you attempt using the Shell object.

You may have an incorrect value for the .FullName property. (when I debug and examin the ShellWindows collection, I see path ""C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\"

Function GetIE() As Object

Dim ShellApp as Object, ShellWindows as Object, i as Long 
Dim IEObject As Object

Set ShellApp = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
Set ShellWindows = ShellApp.Windows()

For i = 0 To ShellWindows.Count - 1
    If InStr(ShellWindows.Item(i).FullName, "C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE") <> 0 Then
       Set IEObject = ShellWindows.Item(i)
       Exit For  'No need to continue....
    End If
Next

If IEObject Is Nothing Then Set IEObject = CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application")

Set GetIE = IEObject

End Function

You can put this function in your code, just tuck it away somewhere, then whenever you need IE you can call it like:

Answer 5

A compressed combination of the above answers, here's what works for me.

---

GetIE Function

(No references required.)

Function GetIE() As Object
'return an object for the open Internet Explorer window, or create new one
  For Each GetIE In CreateObject("Shell.Application").Windows() 'Loop to find
    If (Not GetIE Is Nothing) And GetIE.Name = "Internet Explorer" Then Exit For 'Found!
  Next GetIE
  If GetIE Is Nothing Then Set GetIE=CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application") 'Create
  GetIE.Visible = True 'Make IE window visible
End Function

Example Usage:

Sub demo()
    Dim ie As Object
    Set ie = GetIE                                        'get new/existing IE object
    ie.Navigate "http://stackoverflow.com", 2             '2=don't keep history
    Do: DoEvents: Loop While ie.Busy or ie.ReadyState <> 4'wait til loaded
    Stop                                                  'do your stuff
    ie.Quit                                               'close IE
    Set ie = Nothing                                      'clean up
End Sub