Fellow monks,
I seek your wisdom with the following problem. I have created a package with a single sub that I call from the main script. I pass a reference to a hash structure that is built in the main script to the sub when it is called. The hash is built like this: 
$vars = {
    'script'    => "template.pl",
    'filenumber'    => $filenumber,
    'results'    => $results_hash_ref,
};

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and is passed like this: 
ATGF::PDF::Charges::write_excel($vars);

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The error I am receiving is "Can't use an undefined value as a HASH reference at C:/projects/metrosearch//ATGF/PDF/Charges.pm line 47."
Here's a snippet of the sub: 
sub write_excel {
    my $var_ref = shift;
    #print_debug(Dumper $var_ref);
    my $Excel = Win32::OLE->new('Excel.Application', 'Quit')
        or die Win32::OLE->LastError;

    $Excel->{Visible} = 1;

    my $Book = $Excel->Workbooks->Open(
    # Filename,[UpdateLinks],[ReadOnly],[Format],[Password],[WriteResP
+assword],
    # [IgnoreReadOnlyRecommended],[Origin],[Delimiter],[Editable],[Not
+ify],[Converter],[AddToMru]
        $ExcelFile,undef,0,undef,undef,undef, 
        undef,undef,undef,undef,0,undef,0
    );

    my $Sheet = $Book->Worksheets(1);

    # Subject Property Column
    my $address  = "$var_ref->{results}{'Street'}\n";
    $address    .= "$var_ref->{results}{'Street2'}\n" if (length($var_
+ref->{results}{'Street2'}) > 0 );
    $address    .= "$var_ref->{results}{'City'}, " if (length($var_ref
+->{results}{'City'}) > 0 );
    $address    .= "$var_ref->{results}{'State'} " if (length($var_ref
+->{results}{'State'}) > 0 );
    $address    .= "$var_ref->{results}{'Zip5'}" if ($var_ref->{result
+s}{'Zip5'} != 0 );
    $address    .= "-$var_ref->{results}{'Zip4'}" if ($var_ref->{resul
+ts}{'Zip4'}!= 0 );
    
    $Sheet->Range("A3")->{'Value'}  = $address;
    ##########################################################
    # line 47 from error message above is the following line #
    ##########################################################
    $Sheet->Range("A6")->{'Value'}  = $var_ref->{results}{'Legal'};
    $Sheet->Range("B8")->{'Value'}  = $var_ref->{results}{'PIN'};
    $Sheet->Range("B9")->{'Value'}  = $var_ref->{results}{'PIN2'};
    $Sheet->Range("B10")->{'Value'} = $var_ref->{results}{'PIN3'};
    ...
}

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As stated in the above snippet, this line: $Sheet->Range("A6")->{'Value'}  = $var_ref->{results}{'Legal'}; is the offending line (as are most of the rest below it if I comment them out one by one). However, if I were to modify it like so. 
my $legal = $var_ref->{results}{'Legal'};
$Sheet->Range("A6")->{'Value'}  = $legal;

[download]
It works just fine. I don't understand why these are different in any other way than the style in which they are written. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?
TIA
ryddler

In reply to undefined value as a HASH reference?? by ryddler

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