Microsoft Excel Samples ®

Microsoft Excel '97 has a new interface for macro

development, the Visual Basic Integrated Development
Environment (IDE). If you have developed macros in
Excel before, you will notice that the macro modules Worksheet Functions Data Access
are now displayed in the IDE instead of as sheets in
the workbook.
Working with Arrays Office Automation
In this samples file, there are worksheets that explain
procedures you can use to automate a variety of
common tasks in Microsoft Excel. From each Repeating Tasks Event Handling
worksheet, you can jump to the IDE to view the code.
The procedures can be copied into your own modules,
and modified to meet your needs. Adding Labels to Charts

To Start, click on one of the areas at the right.

Microsoft provides examples of Visual Basic for Applications procedures for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of
merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. The Visual Basic procedures in this workbook are provided 'as is' and Microsoft does not guarantee that they can be used in all situations.
While Microsoft AnswerPoint Engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular macro, they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality, nor will they help you construct
macros to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to consult one of the Microsoft Solution Providers.
 Samples

Data Access

Office Automation

Event Handling

xpressed or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of

is' and Microsoft does not guarantee that they can be used in all situations.
ese examples to provide added functionality, nor will they help you construct
Microsoft Solution Providers.
 Worksheet Functions

Worksheet Function Examples

This worksheet contains sample formulas you can use to complete common spreadsheet tasks.
Cells containing formulas are blue. To view a sample formula, hover your mouse cursor over the cell
to display the comment. Or, press CTRL+` to switch between displaying values and displaying
formulas on the worksheet. For more information about a worksheet function, select the cell
containing the function, then click the Edit Formula (=) button on the Standard toolbar.

Suppressing the Display of Error Values

It is common for worksheet formulas to return an error value
(#DIV/0!, #N/A, #VALUE!,#REF!, and #NUM!) if they are based on
an unexpected value. An Example is a simple division formula. If
the source cell contains a zero, and #DIV/0! Error will be returned.

Source A Source B Original Formula New Formula

25 0 #DIV/0!

A general way to express this is:

=IF(ISERROR(<formula>),"",<formula>)
where <formula> is the formula for which you want to suppress the
error value. If <formula> returns an error, this statement returns ""
(a null character), otherwise it returns the result of <formula>.

Page 3
 Worksheet Functions

Another way to suppress the display of error values is to use the

Conditional Formatting Feature, new to Excel '97. The Conditional
Formatting feature allows you to have a cell display different
formats depending on the contents of the cell. For error values, you
need to follow these steps:
1. Select the cell to be formatted (in this case $F$19)
2. Click Conditional Formatting on the Format Menu
3. In the first dropdown box, select "Formula Is"
4. In the edit box next to it, type: =ISERROR($F$19)
5. Click on the format button, and select a format,
in this case, a blue background and the same
blue font was used.
6. Click OK
The result is that for error values, the font color is the same
as the background, and nothing will be displayed.

Source A Source B Original Format New Format

25 0 #DIV/0! #DIV/0!

Indexing, Matching, and Looking Up Values

One of the most common List Management tasks is to find the
value at the intersection of a column and a row in a rectangular
range of cells on a worksheet. The Lookup Wizard helps you to
write formulas to accomplish this task.

To use this feature, select a cell within the data range that you
would like to use, then select Tools / Wizard / Lookup, and follow
the steps in the wizard.

For additional information, use the assistant and search using the
words "Lookup Wizard".

Conditional Sum Formulas

Another common task in Excel is to calculate the sum of the values
meeting the conditions you specify. The Conditional Sum Wizard
helps you write formulas that accomplish this task.

To use this feature, select a cell within the list that you would like to
summarize, then select Tools / Wizard / Conditional Sum, and
follow the steps in the wizard. Page 4

For additional information, use the assistant and search using the
words "Conditional Sum".
Another common task in Excel is to calculate Worksheet
the sum of Functions
the values
meeting the conditions you specify. The Conditional Sum Wizard
helps you write formulas that accomplish this task.

To use this feature, select a cell within the list that you would like to
summarize, then select Tools / Wizard / Conditional Sum, and
follow the steps in the wizard.

For additional information, use the assistant and search using the
words "Conditional Sum".

Page 5
Working with Arrays
SUMMARY
The most common way to transfer the contents of an array to a worksheet is through a loop, such
as a For...Next loop. A For...Next loop allows you to index into the array and transfer elements of
the array to their destination address one at a time. You can accomplish this same result without
a loop using the Visual Basic, Applications Edition, FormulaArray property of the Range object.
In Visual Basic, Applications Edition, the orientation of a one-dimensional array is horizontal.
Therefore, if the range of cells on a worksheet that are to receive the contents of an array are also
in the same orientation (that is, one row by several columns), the contents can be transferred with
a single FormulaArray statement. For example:

Sub ArrayDump1() 'For a One dimensional horizontal array

Dim x(1 To 10) As Double 'Declares an array of size 10
For j = 1 To 10 'Calculates random values
x(j) = j * j
Next j
'Transfers array contents to a horizontal area
Range(Cells(2, 1), Cells(2, 10)).FormulaArray = x Goto ArrayDump1
End Sub Sample Code
The above example works fine when the destination worksheet cells involve only one row.
However, when the contents of an array need to be transferred to a range of cells with a vertical,
as opposed to a horizontal orientation (that is, one column by several rows), the above example is
no longer valid.
In the event that multiple rows of data are within the two-dimensional array, you must change the
orientation of the array. To do this, you can declare the array a two-dimensional array with
dimensions of several rows by one column. For example:

Sub arraydump2() 'For a two dimensional vertical array

'Declares an array ten rows by one column
Dim x(1 To 10, 1 To 1) As Double Goto ArrayDump2
'Calculates random values Sample Code
For j = 1 To 10
x(j, 1) = j * j
Next j
'Transfers array contents to a vertical area
Range(Cells(1, 2), Cells(10, 2)).FormulaArray = x
End Sub

The two-dimensional array shown in this example allows Visual Basic to set the orientation of the
array as vertical; therefore, the array can be transferred to a worksheet without a loop.
Goto ArrayDump1
Sample Code

Goto ArrayDump2
Sample Code
Repeating Tasks
Often it is necessary to perform the same task on a group of items. These items may be cells in a
range, worksheets in a workbook, workbooks in the Application.
Although the macro recorder cannot record loops, the recorder can still be used to record the main
task to be repeated. Then, with some minor modifications to the recorded code, various types of
loops can be created depending on what is needed for an individual project.

The samples below focus on a scenario where the programmer has a range of cells in column A
containing numbers, and depending on the value of the cell, wishes to change the color of the
corresponding cell in column B.

First, we can record the single step process of changing the color of the background of a cell:
(To record: From the Tools Menu, click Macro, then click Record New Macro)
While recording, from the Format menu, click Cells. Then, click the Patterns tab and select a color.
This sample uses Yellow (.ColorIndex=6). Now stop the recorder using the Stop button on the
Stop Recording Toolbar.
The currently selected cell will change color and the following macro will have been recorded:

Sub Recorded_Macro()
'
' Macro recorded 6/30/97
' Goto Recorded_Macro
With Selection.Interior Sample Code
.ColorIndex = 6
.Pattern = xlSolid
End With
End Sub

Note: If, while recording, you selected a cell, your macro may contain something similar to
Range("A3").Select. You may want to remove this line, since every time the macro is run,
this line will force the cell specified in the Range object to be selected. If you want that cell to be
selected first then leave that line in the macro.

Now, we can modify the code slightly and add one of the various looping structures to the recorded code.

For Each...Next Loop

If we know what range of cells to which we want to apply the recorded action, we can use a For Each…Next loop.
In this example, we also want to only affect the cell in column B if the cell in A is greater than 20.
To do this we add an If statement around our recorded With statement. This will ensure the color
will be changed only if the If statement's condition is true.
Lastly, because we are wanting to change the corresponding cell one column to the right of
column A (column B), we will replace the Selection property in the recorded code with the Offset
method of the looping cell object (cell_in_loop).
The resulting code might look like this:

Sub For_Each_Next_Sample()
'
' Macro recorded 6/30/97
'
For Each cell_in_loop In Range("A1:A5")
If cell_in_loop.Value > 20 Then Goto For Each..Next
With cell_in_loop.Offset(0, 1).Interior Sample Code
.ColorIndex = 6
.Pattern = xlSolid
End With
End If
Next
End Sub

For…Next Loop

If you know how many times you wish to loop through your code you can use a For..Next loop.
Using our example, if you want to only check 10 cells down, starting from the selected cell, then
your modified recorded code might look like this:

Sub For_Next_Sample()

For Counter = 0 To 9
If Selection.Offset(Counter, 0).Value > 20 Then
With Selection.Offset(Counter, 1).Interior
.ColorIndex = 6 Goto For..Next Sample
.Pattern = xlSolid Code
End With
End If
Next
End Sub

Here the Selection object is being used so that the code is not specific to any given range, but will
always loop through ten (0 to 9 as a counter) cells below the active cell. The Counter variable
increments each time through the loop and can be used within the looping structure. Here it is
used as an Offset argument to indicate how many rows to offset from Selection (the current cell).
So, if we start this macro and the active cell is A1, the first time through the loop the Counter
variable will equal 0, therefore we will Offset 0 rows from A1 as shown in the
Selection.Offset(Counter, 0).Value statement.

Do…Loop

To determine whether or not to stop a loop based on a certain condition, a Do…Loop might be
appropriate. This looping structure allows you to check properties or variable conditions before the
loop is executed. In the sample below, we continue to loop until the referenced cell's row number,
Selection.Offset(Counter, 0).Row, has exceeded 100. This can be useful if you never
want to perform the looping task below row 100.

Sub Do_Loop_Sample()

Counter = 0
Do Until Selection.Offset(Counter, 0).Row > 100
If Selection.Offset(Counter, 0).Value > 20 Then
With Selection.Offset(Counter, 1).Interior Goto Do…Loop Sample
Code
 Goto Do…Loop Sample
.ColorIndex = 6 Code
.Pattern = xlSolid
End With
End If
Counter = Counter + 1
Loop

Note: There are three more types of Do…Loops available. The various forms offer more flexibility
when needed in various circumstances.

To find more information about these, and more detail about the other looping structures, please
access Help from within the Visual Basic Environment and use the keyword looping.
ach…Next loop.
Attaching Labels to an XY (Scatter) Chart
Labels X Values Y Values
Datapoint1 2 5 Place Labels on Reset Chart
Datapoint2 9 7 Chart
Datapoint3 5 3
Datapoint4 4 8
8
Datapoint5 1 4
7.5

7
In Microsoft Excel, there is no built-in way to
automatically attach text labels to an xy 6.5
(scatter) chart. You can use a macro to
accomplish this. 6

The attached macro demonstrates how to 5.5

Y Values
apply labels to an xy (scatter) chart, and
assumes that your data and associated 5
labels are arranged on your worksheet in the
same fashion as the shaded cells above. 4.5

To apply the data point labels, press the 4

"Place Labels on Chart" Button.
3.5
To remove the labels for another demo,
3
press the "Reset Chart" button.
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

To view the macro code attached to the

sheet, press the "View Code" button.
View Code
Data Access
SUMMARY
Data Access Objects (DAO) allow direct manipulation of a database. You must reference the Microsoft DAO 3.5 Object
Library (References dialog, Tools menu) in VBE in order to use DAO. You must have the appropriate ISAM or ODBC
drivers installed as well. For information on installing ODBC drivers, see "Install an ODBC driver so you can access an
external data source" in the help file. To install DAO or ISAMs, see the help topic "Install or remove individual components
of Microsoft Office or Microsoft Excel." The paths used in the examples point to the default installation location. If
Microsoft Office was installed to a different location, modify the paths in VBE prior to running it.
RDO EXAMPLE

This example retrieves data from a dBase file using RDO, and places the recordset in a Query Table on a new worksheet.
Use this method when connecting to SQL databases. RDO bypasses DAO which decreases the overhead in memory.
Sub RDOExample()
Dim ws As Workspace
Dim rs As Recordset
Dim qt As QueryTable
Dim c As Connection
Dim ConnectStr As String
Dim NewSheet As Object
'If Microsoft Office was not installed to the default location,
'change the path to the appropriate folder prior to running the code
ConnectStr = "odbc;Driver={Microsoft dBase Driver (*.dbf)};DBQ=c:\program
files\microsoft office\office;"
'Creates a workspace that bypasses DAO
Set ws = CreateWorkspace("w1", "admin", "", dbUseODBC)
'Opens the connection to the directory containing DBF files
Set c = ws.OpenConnection("", 1, 0, ConnectStr)
'Gets all records from the table, and allows forward movement only
'through the records (fastest type)
Set rs = c.OpenRecordset("select * from orders", dbOpenForwardOnly)
'Insert a new worksheet in the active workbook
Set NewSheet = Worksheets.Add
'Puts a new Query Table based on the recordset on the new sheet
Set qt = NewSheet.QueryTables.Add(rs, Range("a1"))
'Performs a synchronous refresh on the Query Table
qt.Refresh False
'Close the recordset
rs.Close
'Close the connection
c.Close
End Sub

RESETTING A DAO RECORDSET

This example uses the Microsoft Access sample database Northwind.mdb to create a Query Table on a new worksheet,
then reset the recordset to a different table within the database.

R
Sub ResettingDAORecordset() R
Dim db As Database
Dim rs As Recordset
Dim qt As QueryTable
Dim NewSheet As Object
Dim nwind As String
'Default path to Northwind.mdb sample database
nwind = "C:\Program files\microsoft office\office\samples\Northwind.mdb"
'Opens the Northwind.mdb sample database
Set db = DBEngine.Workspaces(0).OpenDatabase(nwind)
'Opens a recordset containing all records from the customers table
Set rs = db.OpenRecordset("customers")
'Insert a new worksheet in the active workbook
Set NewSheet = Worksheets.Add
'Insert a Query Table containing the recordset information on the new sheet
Set qt = NewSheet.QueryTables.Add(rs, Range("a1"))

'Performs a synchronous refresh on the Query Table

qt.Refresh False
'Close the recordset
rs.Close
'Opens a recordset containing all records from the orders table
Set rs = db.OpenRecordset("orders")
'Changes the recordset for the existing Query Table
Set qt.Recordset = rs
'Synchronous refresh the Query Table to display the data
qt.Refresh False
'Close the recordset
rs.Close
'Close the database
db.Close
End Sub

RETRIEVING DATA FROM MICROSOFT ACCESS

This example uses DAO to create a query based on two tables in the Northwind.mdb sample file. If the query already
exists, the error handling routine deletes it.

Sub RetrieveAccessData()
Dim Nsql As String, Ncriteria As String, Njoin As String
Dim nwind As String
Dim h As Integer
Dim db As Database, qry As Object
Dim rec As Recordset, NewSheet As Object
'Default installation location of Northwind.mdb database
nwind = "C:\Program files\microsoft office\office\samples\Northwind.mdb"
'When an error is encountered go to the label errorhandler:
On Error GoTo errorhandler
'Open database
Set db = DBEngine.Workspaces(0).OpenDatabase(nwind)
'SQL statements for query (copied from MS Query's SQL window)
Nsql = "SELECT DISTINCTROW Categories.CategoryName, Products.ProductName,
Products.QuantityPerUnit, Products.UnitPrice "
 Njoin = "FROM Categories INNER JOIN Products ON Categories.CategoryID =
Products.CategoryID "
Ncriteria = "WHERE ((([Products].Discontinued)=No) AND
(([Products].UnitsInStock)>20));"
'Create a query named TempQuery
Set qry = db.CreateQueryDef("TempQuery")
'Send SQL statement to TempQuery
qry.sql = Nsql & Njoin & Ncriteria
'Open the resulting recordset created by TempQuery
Set rec = qry.OpenRecordset()
'Add a new worksheet to the workbook containing this code
Set NewSheet = ThisWorkbook.Sheets.Add(after:=Worksheets("Data Access"),
Type:=xlWorksheet)
'Put field names in row 1 of the new worksheet
For h = 0 To rec.Fields.Count - 1
NewSheet.[a1].Offset(0, h).Value = rec.Fields(h).Name
Next h
'Copy the dynaset to excel
NewSheet.[a2].CopyFromRecordset rec
'Delete temporary query
db.QueryDefs.Delete "TempQuery"
'Close the database
db.Close
'If no errors encountered, stop executing code
Exit Sub
'Error handler to delete the query if it already exists
errorhandler:
If DBEngine.Errors(0).Number = 3012 Then
db.QueryDefs.Delete "TempQuery"
'Begins executing code at the line that caused the error
Resume
Else
MsgBox Error(Err)
End If
End Sub

RETRIEVE DATA VIA ISAM DRIVERS

This example retrieves data from a dBase file, and places the results in a new worksheet. You must have the appropriate
ISAM drivers installed.
Sub RetrieveISAMdata()
Dim Db As database, rec As Recordset
dPath As String
Dim h As Integer, NewSheet As Object
'Default installation path for dbf files
dPath = "C:\Program files\microsoft office\office"
'Opens the database
Set Db = DBEngine.Workspaces(0).OpenDatabase(dPath, 0, 0, "dBase III")
 'Opens a recordset with all records from orders.dbf
Set rec = Db.OpenRecordset("SELECT * FROM orders")
'Add a new worksheet to the workbook containing this code
Set NewSheet = ThisWorkbook.worksheets.Add(after:=Worksheets("Data Access"))
'Loop through fields, and return field names to worksheet
For h = 0 To rec.Fields.Count - 1
NewSheet.[a1].Offset(0, h).Value = rec.Fields(h).Name
Next h
'Copy the dynaset to excel
NewSheet.[a2].CopyFromRecordset rec
'Close the database
Db.Close
End Sub

LIST TABLES IN DATABASE

This example lists the table names in the Microsoft Access sample database Northwind.mdb.
NOTE: Microsoft Access 97 must be installed in order to run this code.

Sub ListTables()
Dim db As Database, TableCount As Long, i As Long
Dim dPath As String
'Default location of Northwind.mdb
dPath = "C:\Program files\microsoft office\office\samples\Northwind.mdb"
'Open nwind.mdb
Set db = DBEngine.Workspaces(0).OpenDatabase(nwind)
'Set a variable to number of tables
TableCount = db.TableDefs.Count
'Loop through all tables
For i = 0 To TableCount - 1
'Display the table name
MsgBox db.TableDefs(i).Name
Next
'Close the database
db.Close
End Sub

LIST FIELDS IN DATABASE

This example lists the field names from the Customer table. If you do not have customer.dbf installed, please refer to Help
topic "Install or remove individual components of Microsoft Office or Microsoft Excel."
Sub List_Fields()
Dim db As Database, rec As Recordset
Dim fieldcount As Long, i As Long, dPath As String
'Default location of sample dbf files
dPath = "C:\Program files\microsoft office\office"
'Open the database
Set db = OpenDatabase(dPath, 0, 0, "dBase III")
'Open all records from customer.dbf
Set rec = db.OpenRecordset("SELECT * FROM customer")
'Count the number of fields
fieldcount = rec.Fields.Count
'Loop same num. times as num. of fields
For i = 0 To fieldcount - 1
'Display the field names
MsgBox rec.Fields(i).Name
Next
'Close the database
db.Close
End Sub

CONNECT TO SQL DATABASE

This example returns the table names in an SQL database. You must have access to a SQL database, and have a valid
DSN created. For more information on DSNs, click the 32bit ODBC icon in the Windows Control Panel.

Sub ODBC_Connection()
Dim db As Database, i As Long
'Displays the DSN dialog box allowing the user to select the dsn,
'then prompts for additional information if necessary
Set db = DBEngine.Workspaces(0).OpenDatabase("", , , "ODBC;")
'Count the number of tables
TableCount = db.TableDefs.Count
'Loop to display all table names
For i = 0 To TableCount - 1
MsgBox db.TableDefs(i).Name
Next
'Closes the database
db.Close
End Sub

TRAPPING DAO ERRORS

The following example demonstrates trapping DAO errors. Displaying the error description often provides useful
information to the user. Knowing the error number allows the programmer to trap and handle specific errors.
Sub Trap_DAO_Error()
Dim d As database, r As Recordset
'When an error is encountered go to the label errorhandler:
On Error GoTo errorhandler
'Don't display built in error messages
Application.DisplayAlerts = False
'Attempt to open non-existent DB
Set d = DBEngine.Workspaces(0).OpenDatabase("c:\xl95\db4.mdb")
Exit Sub 'Exit the sub if no errors encountered
errorhandler:
MsgBox DBEngine.Errors(0).Description 'Text of error message
MsgBox DBEngine.Errors(0).Number 'Error number
MsgBox DBEngine.Errors(0).Source 'Where error occurred
MsgBox DBEngine.Errors(0).HelpContext
End Sub

CREATING A TABLE
This example demonstrates how to create a new table within an existing database. The following example uses the
Northwind sample database installed with Microsoft Access 97.

Sub Create_Table()
Dim t As Object, f As Object, d As Database
Dim dPath As String
'When an error is encountered go to the label errorhandler:
On Error GoTo errorhandler
'Default path for Northwind.mdb sample database
dPath = "C:\Program files\microsoft office\office\samples\Northwind.mdb"
'Open the Northwind database
Set d = DBEngine.Workspaces(0).OpenDatabase(dPath)
'Create new TableDef
Set t = d.CreateTableDef("NewTable")
' Add fields to NewTable.
Set f = t.CreateField("Field1", dbDate)
t.Fields.Append f 'Adds field to the field collection
Set f = t.CreateField("Field2", dbText)
t.Fields.Append f
Set f = t.CreateField("Field3", dbLong)
t.Fields.Append f
' Save TableDef definition by appending it to TableDefs collection.
d.TableDefs.Append t
'Close the database
d.Close
Exit Sub
errorhandler:
MsgBox DBEngine.Errors(0)
End Sub
Goto
GotoRetrieve
RDO Example
Access
Data
Sample
SampleCode
Code

Goto
GotoRetrieve
Resetting
Access
DAO
Recordset
Data Sample
Sample
Code
Code
Goto
GotoRetrieve
Resetting
Access
DAO
Recordset
Data Sample
Sample
Code
Code

Goto
GotoRetrieve
RetrieveAccess
Access
Data
DataSample
SampleCode
Code
Goto Retrieve ISAM Data
Sample Code
Goto List Tables Sample
Code

Goto List Fields Sample

Code
Goto List Fields Sample
Code

Goto ODBC Connection

Sample Code
Goto Trap DAO Error
Sample Code

Goto Create Table

Sample Code
Office Automation
SUMMARY
Automation is a feature of the Component Object Model (COM), a technology that applications use to expose their
objects to development tools, macro languages, and other applications that support Automation. For example, a
spreadsheet application may expose a worksheet, chart, cell, or range of cells each as a different type of object. A
word processor might expose objects such as an application, a document, a paragraph, a sentence, a bookmark, or
a selection. The following examples demonstrate automating tasks between Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft
applications.
For more information on Automation, refer to Understanding Automation in the VBA help file.
MICROSOFT ACCESS
This example returns the location of the Microsoft Access sample databases.
Goto MS_Access
Sub MS_Access()
Sample Code
Dim AccDir As String
Dim acc As Object
'OLE automation to Access
Set acc = CreateObject("access.application")
'Return the path for msaccess.exe
AccDir = acc.SysCmd(Action:=acSysCmdAccessDir)
'Display the path
MsgBox "MSAccess.exe is located in " & AccDir
'Free up variable storage space
Set acc = Nothing
End Sub
MICROSOFT WORD
This example copies the chart from the Chart Labels sheet into a new Microsoft Word document.
Sub MS_Word() Goto MS_Word
Dim wd As Object Sample Code
'Create a Microsoft Word session
Set wd = CreateObject("word.application")
'Copy the chart on the Chart Labels sheet
Worksheets("Chart Labels").ChartObjects(1).Chart.ChartArea.Copy
'Make document visible
wd.Visible = True
'Activate MS Word
AppActivate wd.Name
With wd
'Create a new document in Microsoft Word
.Documents.Add
'Insert a paragraph
.Selection.TypeParagraph
'Paste the chart
.Selection.PasteSpecial link:=True, DisplayAsIcon:=False, Placement:=wdInLine
End With
Set wd = Nothing
End Sub
MICROSOFT POWERPOINT
This example copies the chart from the Chart Labels sheet into a new Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.
Sub MS_PowerPoint() Goto MS_PowerPoint
Dim ppt As Object, pres As Object Sample Code
'Create a Microsoft PowerPoint session
Set ppt = CreateObject("powerpoint.application")
'Copy the chart on the Chart Labels Demo sheet
Worksheets("Chart Labels").ChartObjects(1).Copy
'Create a new document in Microsoft PowerPoint
Set pres = ppt.Presentations.Add
'Add a slide
pres.Slides.Add 1, ppLayoutBlank
'Make PowerPoint visible
ppt.Visible = True
'Activate PowerPoint
AppActivate ppt.Name
'Paste the chart
ppt.ActiveWindow.View.Paste
Set ppt = Nothing
End Sub
MICROSOFT OUTLOOK
This example creates and adds information to a new Outlook task. Run Outlook and click Tasks on the Outlook bar
to see the new task.
NOTE: It may take a few minutes for the task to appear.
Sub MS_Outlook()
Goto MS_Outlook Sample
Dim ol As Object, myItem As Object
Code
'Create a Microsoft Outlook session
Set ol = CreateObject("outlook.application")
'Create a task
Set myItem = ol.CreateItem(olTaskItem)
'Add information to the new task
With myItem
.Subject = "New VBA task"
.Body = "This task was created via Automation from Microsoft Excel"
.NoAging = True
.Close (olSave)
End With
'Remove object from memory
Set ol = Nothing
End Sub
MICROSOFT BINDER
This example creates a new Microsoft Binder file, adds sections, manipulates the Microsoft Excel section, and then
saves the file.
Sub MS_Binder()
Goto MS_Binder Sample
Dim MyBinderNew As Object, Section As Object
Code
Dim MyVar As String, MyFile As String
'Create a Microsoft Office Binder session
Set MyBinder = CreateObject("office.binder")
'Make binder session visible
MyBinder.Visible = True
'Add a new Word section
MyBinder.Sections.Add Type:="word.document"
'Add an existing Excel file before the first section
MyFile = Application.Path & "\examples\solver\solvsamp.xls"
Set NewSection = MyBinder.Sections.Add(FileName:=MyFile, Before:=1)
 With NewSection
'Change the name of the section
.Name = "Solver Samples"
'Get the value in cell A2 on the 3rd sheet in the workbook
MyVar = .Object.Worksheets(3).Range("A2").Value
End With
'Save the binder as mybinder.obd, overwriting if it exists already
MyBinder.SaveAs Application.Path & "\mybinder.obd", bindOverwriteExisting
'Hide the binder
MyBinder.Visible = False
'Disassociates the object, releasing the resources
Set MyBinder = Nothing
'Shows the value from A2 on the 3rd sheet in the Excel section
MsgBox "The following data is from cell A2 in the Solver Samples section." &
Chr(10) & Chr(10) & MyVar
End Sub
Programming with Events
Often programmers wish to have a certain event trigger a macro to perform some task. Microsoft
Excel 97 now offers this capability. Events are always associated with an object. Examples of
these might be a worksheet, or a workbook. In this sample file we will only discuss a few of the
events available and use a MsgBox as a filler to demonstrate where regular code could go. To find
out more about any of these and other events, click on the assistant while in the VBE and use the
object name and the word "events" as your keywords. (e.g. worksheet events).

BeforeDoubleClick

A very popular type of Event is the BeforeDoubleClick event on a worksheet. A very simple
example may look like:

Private Sub Worksheet_BeforeDoubleClick(ByVal Target As Excel.Range, Cancel As Boolean)

MsgBox "You double clicked on cell " & Target.Address
Cancel = True
End Sub

This event will fire whenever the user double clicks a cell in the worksheet. The parameter Target
is passed into the macro so the programmer will know what cell has been double clicked. The
Cancel argument has a default value of False but can be changed to True within the code. Setting
Cancel to True will cancel the default action for the event. In this case, the default action for a
double click on a cell is to switch to edit mode on the cell. Since we set Cancel to True, this will
not occur. If you want to still have the default action occur, then the Cancel=True line can be
removed.

Change

Another very useful event is the Change event for a worksheet. Any time the user enters a new
value in any cell this event fires.

Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Excel.Range)

MsgBox "This sheet has changed in cell " & Target.Address
End Sub

Note: This event does not occur if the sheet has just been recalculated. There is an event called
Calculate which will fire when the worksheet recalculates.

BeforeClose

A useful Workbook related event is BeforeClose. These events can be used to perform
"housekeeping" tasks before a file is saved or closed.

Sub Workbook_BeforeClose(Cancel As Boolean)

a = MsgBox("Do you really want to close the workbook?", vbYesNo)
If a = vbNo Then Cancel = True
End Sub
In this example, the user is prompted to close the file regardless if the file has been saved or not.

Using Events with the Application Object

Before you can use events with the Application object, you must create a new class module and
declare an object of type Application with events. For example, assume that a new class module is
created and called EventClassModule. The new class module contains the following code.

Public WithEvents App As Application

After the new object has been declared with events, it appears in the Object drop-down list box in
the class module, and you can write event procedures for the new object. (When you select the
new object in the Object box, the valid events for that object are listed in the Procedure drop-down
list box.)

Before the procedures will run, however, you must connect the declared object in the class module
with the Application object. You can do this with the following code from any module.

Dim X As New EventClassModule

Sub InitializeApp()
Set X.App = Application
End Sub

After you run the InitializeApp procedure, the App object in the class module points to the
Microsoft Excel Application object, and the event procedures in the class module will run when the
events occur.

Note: To find out more information on all events, please consult the Help file for further information.
cel As Boolean)