Global confusion

[Gaetan Corneau]

Hello,

I often use scripts like this:

n = "Hello!"

def F():
    print n

F()


Today, a friend of mine (a newbie) who is trying to use Python with word,
wrote the following:

import win32com.client.dynamic

Srv = win32com.client.dynamic.Dispatch("word.application")

Srv.Documents("Document1").Activate # Word must already be running and have
document1 open

nbPar = Srv.ActiveDocument.Paragraphs.Count
Srv.ActiveDocument.Paragraphs(nbPar).Range.InsertParagraphAfter()


# Function to add a paragraph
def AddParagraph(style, text):
    Srv.ActiveDocument.Paragraphs[nbPar].Range.InsertParagraphAfter()
    Srv.ActiveDocument.Paragraphs[nbPar].Range.Style =
Srv.ActiveDocument.Styles(style)
    Srv.ActiveDocument.Paragraphs[nbPar].Range.InsertAfter(text)
    nbPar = nbPar + 1

# Create a section
def AddObjectSection(objName):
    AddParagraph("Heading 1", objName)


AddObjectSection("Customer")

and he got the following:

Traceback (innermost last):
  File "D:\harddisk\temp\dantest.py", line 24, in ?
    AddObjectSection("Customer")
  File "D:\harddisk\temp\dantest.py", line 21, in AddObjectSection
    AddParagraph("Heading 1", objName)
  File "D:\harddisk\temp\dantest.py", line 14, in AddParagraph
    Srv.ActiveDocument.Paragraphs[nbPar].Range.InsertParagraphAfter()
NameError: nbPar

I looked in my "Learning Python" book and told my friend to insert  "global
nbPar" as the first line of the "AddParagraph" function.
It works, but I don't understand why he has to do that...

Anybody who can exlain?

TIA,
______________________________________________________
   Gaetan Corneau
   Software Developer (System Integration Team)
   BaaN  Supply Chain Solutions  
   E-mail: Gaetan_Corneau at baan.com        
   Compuserve: Gaetan_Corneau at compuserve.com  
   ICQ Number: 7395494             
   Tel: (418) 266-8252          
______________________________________________________
"Profanity is the one language all programmers know best"