VB Tutorial

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 01: Introduction to Microsoft Excel
http://www.functionx.com/vbaexcel/Lesson01.htm
Introduction to Microsoft Excel

Using Microsoft Excel
Introduction
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application used to create lists, perform calculations, and analyze numbers. It can be used in business, economics, or accounting, etc.
While the default features of Microsoft Excel should be enough in most scenarios, in some cases you will want more complex functionality to perform advanced operations. To make this possible, Microsoft Excel is accompanied by Microsoft Visual Basic, a programming environment that allows you to use the Visual Basic language to enhance the usefulness and functionality of a spreadsheet.
Introduction to Microsoft Excel

To use Microsoft Excel, you can launch like any regular Microsoft Windows application. You can click Start -> (All) Programs -> Microsoft Office -> Microsoft Office Excel 2007. If you have a Microsoft Excel document in Windows Explorer, in My Documents, or in an email, etc, you can double-click it. This would also start Microsoft Excel and would open the document. The classic way users launch Microsoft Excel is from the Start menu on the task bar. You can also start the application from a shortcut on the desktop. There are many ways you can create a shortcut on your desktop. To create a Microsoft Excel shortcut on the desktop, do one of the following:
Practical Learning: Starting Microsoft Excel

To start Microsoft Excel, from the Taskbar, click Start -> (All) Programs -> Microsoft Office -> Microsoft Office Excel
The Office Button

Introduction
When Microsoft Excel opens, it displays an interface divided in various sections. The top section
displays the title bar which starts on the left side with the Office Button mouse on it, a tool tip would appear:
. If you position the
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The Options of the Office Button

When clicked, the Office Button displays a menu:
As you can see, the menu of the Office Button allows you to perform the routine Windows operations of a regular application, including creating a new document, opening an existing file, or saving a document, etc. If you right-click the office button, you would get a short menu:
We will come back to the options on this menu.
The Quick Access Toolbar

Introduction
The Quick Access Toolbar is on the right side of the Office Button. It displays a few buttons. If you right-click the Quick Access toolbar, a menu would appear:
To hide the Quick Access toolbar, you can right-click it and click Remove Quick Access Toolbar. If you position the mouse on a button, a tool tip would appear.
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In the beginning, the Quick Access toolbar displays only three buttons: Save, Undo, and Redo. If you want more buttons than that, you can right-click the Quick Access toolbar and click Customize Quick Access Toolbar... This would display the Excel Options dialog box:
To add a button to the Quick Access toolbar, on the left list of Add, click an option and click Add. After making the selections, click OK. To remove a button from the Quick Access toolbar, right-click it on the Quick Access toolbar and click Remove From Quick Access Toolbar.
The Quick Access Button

A button with a down-pointing arrow displays on the right side of the Quick Access toolbar. You can click or right-click that button to display its menu:
The role of this button is to manage some aspects of the top section of the Microsoft Excel interface, including deciding what buttons to display on the Quick Access toolbar. For example, instead of using the Customize Quick Access Toolbar menu item as we saw previously, you can click an option from that menu and its corresponding button would be added to the Quick Access toolbar. If the options on the menu are nor enough, you can click either Customize Quick Access Toolbar or More Commands... This would open the Excel Options dialog box. The main or middle area of the top section displays the name of the application: Microsoft Excel. You can right-click the title bar to display a menu that is managed by the operating system. On the right side of the title bar, there are three system buttons that allow you to minimize, maximize, restore, or close Microsoft Access. Under the title bar, there is another bar with a Help button on the right side.
The Ribbon
Introduction
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Under the title bar, Microsoft Excel displays the Ribbon:
By default, the Ribbon displays completely in the top section of Microsoft Excel under the title bar. One option is to show it the way the main menu appeared in previous versions of Microsoft Excel. To do this: Right-click the Office Button, the Quick Access toolbar, or the Ribbon itself, and click Minimize the Ribbon Click or right-click the button on the right side of the Quick Access toolbar:
This would display the Ribbon like a main menu:
To show the whole Ribbon again: Right-click the Office Button, the Quick Access toolbar, or one of the Ribbon menu items, and click Minimize the Ribbon to remove the check mark on it Click or right-click the button on the right side of the Quick Access toolbar and click Minimize the Ribbon to remove the check mark on it Double-click one of the menu items of the Ribbon
Changing the Location of the Ribbon

By default, the Quick Access toolbar displays on the title bar and the Ribbon displays under it. If you want, you can switch their locations. To do that, right-click the Office Button, the Quick Access toolbar, or the Ribbon, and click Show Quick Access Toolbar Below the Ribbon:
To put them back to the default locations, right-click the Office Button, the Quick Access toolbar, or the Ribbon, and click Show Quick Access Toolbar Above the Ribbon.
The Tabs of the Ribbon
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The ribbon is a type of property sheet made of various property pages. Each page is represented with a tab. To access a tab: You can click its label or button, such as Home or Create You can press Alt or F10. This would display the access key of each tab:
To access a tab, you can press its corresponding letter on the keyboard. For example, when the access keys display, if you press Home, the Home tab would display If your mouse has a wheel, you can position the mouse anywhere on the ribbon, and role the wheel (on the mouse). If you role the wheel down, the next tab on the right side would be selected. If you role the wheel up, the previous tab on the left side would be selected. You can keep rolling the wheel until the desired tab is selected To identify each tab of the Ribbon, we will refer to them by their names.
The Sections of a Tab

Each tab of the ribbon is divided in various sections, each delimited by visible borders of vertical lines on the left and right. Each section displays a title in its bottom side. In our lessons, we will refer to each section by that title. For example, if the title displays Font, we will call that section, "The Font Section". Some sections of the Ribbon display a button would open a dialog box or a window. . If you see such a button, you can click it. This
The Buttons of the Ribbon

Since there are various buttons and sometimes they are unpredictable, to know what a particular button is used for, you can position your mouse on it and a tool tip would appear:
You can also use context sensitive help in some cases to get information about an item. You can add a button from a section of the Ribbon to the Quick Access toolbar. To do that, right-click the button on the Ribbon and click Add to Quick Access Toolbar:
Remember that, to remove a button from the Quick Access toolbar, you can right-click it on the Quick Access toolbar and click Remove From Quick Access Toolbar.
The More Buttons of the Ribbon

In some sections of the Ribbon, on the lower-right corner, there is a button:
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That button is used to display an intermediary dialog box for some actions.
The Size of the Ribbon

When Microsoft Excel is occupying a big area or the whole area of the monitor, most buttons of the Ribbon appear with text. Sometimes you may need to use only part of the screen. That is, you may need to narrow the Microsoft Excel interface. If you do, some of the buttons may display part of their appearance and some would display only an icon. Consider the difference in the following three screenshots:
In this case, when you need to access an object, you can still click it or click its arrow. If the item is supposed to have many objects, a new window may appear and display those objects: From this:
To this:
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The Work Area

The Name Box
Under the Ribbon, there is a white box displaying a name like A1 (it may not display A1...), that small box is called the Name Box:
The Insert Function Button

On the right side of the Name box, there is a gray box with an fx button. That fx button is called the Insert Function button.
The Formula Bar

On the right side of the Insert Function button is a long empty white box or section called the Formula Bar:
You can hide or show the Formula Bar anytime. To do this, on the Ribbon, click View. In the Show/Hide section: To hide the Formula Bar, remove the check mark on the Formula Bar check box To show the Formula Bar, check the Formula Bar check box
The Column Headers

Under the Name Box and the Formula bar, you see the column headers. The columns are labeled A, B, C, etc:
There are 255 of columns.
The Row Headers

On the left side of the main window, there are small boxes called row headers. Each row header is labeled with a number, starting at 1 on top, then 2, and so on:
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The Cells
The main area of Microsoft Excel is made of cells. A cell is the intersection of a column and a row:
A cell is identified by its name and every cell has a name. By default, Microsoft Excel appends the name of a row to the name of a column to identify a cell. Therefore, the top-left cell is named A1. You can check the name of the cell in the Name Box.
The Scroll Bars

On the right side of the cells area, there is a vertical scroll bar that allows you to scroll up and down in case your document cannot display everything at a time:
In the lower right section of the main window, there is a horizontal scroll bar that allows you to scroll left and right if your worksheet has more items than can be displayed all at once:
Sometimes the horizontal scroll bar will appear too long or too narrow for you. If you want, you can narrow or enlarge it. To do this, click and drag the button on the left side of the horizontal scroll bar:
The Sheet Tabs

On the left side of the horizontal scrollbar, there are the worksheet tabs:
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By default, Microsoft Excel provides three worksheets to start with. You can work with any of them and switch to another at any time by clicking its tab.
The Navigation Buttons

On the left side of the worksheet tabs, there are four navigation buttons:
If you happen to use a lot of worksheets or the worksheet names are using too much space, which would result in some worksheets being hidden under the horizontal scroll bar, you can use the navigation buttons to move from one worksheet to another.
The Status Bar

Under the navigation buttons and the worksheet tabs, the Status Bar provides a lot of information about the job that is going on.
Microsoft Excel File Operations

Saving a File
A Microsoft Excel file gets saved like any traditional Windows file. To save a file: You can press Ctrl + S On the Quick Access Toolbar, you can click the Save button You can click the Office Button and click Save Two issues are important. Whenever you decide to save a file for the first time, you need to provide a file name and a location. The file name helps the computer identify that particular file and register it. A file name can consist of up to 255 characters, you can include spaces and dashes in a name. Although there are many characters you can use in a name (such as exclamation points, etc), try to avoid fancy names. Give your file a name that is easily recognizable, a little explicit. For example such names as Time Sheets, Employee's Time Sheets, GlobalEX First Invoice are explicit enough. Like any file of the Microsoft Windows operating systems, a Microsoft Excel file has an extension, which is .xls but you don't have to type it in the name. The second important piece of information you should pay attention to when saving your file is the location. The location is the drive and/or the folder where the file will be saved. By default, Microsoft Excel saves its files in the My Documents folder. You can change that in the Save As dialog box. Just click the arrow of the Save In combo box and select the folder you want. Microsoft Excel allows you to save its files in a type of your choice. To save a file in another format: Press F12 or Shift + F12 You can click the Office Button and position the mouse on Save As and select the desired option:
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On the Quick Access Toolbar, you can click the Save button . Then, in the Save As dialog box, click the arrow of the Save As Type combo box and select a format of your choice There are other things you can do in the Save As dialog box:
Saving under a Different Name and New Folder

You can save a file under a different name or in another location, this gives you the ability to work on a copy of the file while the original is intact. There are two primary techniques you can use to get a file in two names or the same file in two locations. When the file is not being used by any application, in Windows Explorer (or in My Computer, or in My Network Places, locate the file, right-click it and choose Copy. To save the file in a different name, right-click in the same folder and choose Paste. The new file will be named Copy Of... You can keep that name or rename the new file with a different name (recommended). To save the file in a different location, right-click in the appropriate folder and click Paste; in this case, the file will keep its name. In Microsoft Excel, you can use the Save As dialog box to save a file in a different name or save the file with the same name (or a different name) in another folder. The Save As dialog box also allows you to create a new folder while you are saving your file (you can even use this technique to create a folder from the application even if you are not saving it; all you have to do is create the folder, click OK to register the folder, and click Cancel on the Save As dialog box).
Opening a File
The files you use could be created by you or someone else. They could be residing on your computer, on another medium, or on a network. Once one of them is accessible, you can open it in your application. You can open a document either by double-clicking its icon in Windows Explorer, in My Computer, from the Find Files Or Folders window, in My Network Places, or by locating it in the Open dialog box. To access the open dialog box, on the main menu, click File -> Open... You can also click the Open button on the Standard toolbar. A shortcut to call the Open dialog box is Ctrl + O.
Files Properties
Every file has some characteristics, attributes, and features that make it unique; these are its properties. You can access a file's properties from three main areas on the computer: If the file is saved on the desktop and/or it has a shortcut on the desktop, if you open My Computer, Windows Explorer, or the folder (as a window) where the file is stored, right-click the file and click Properties. If the file were saved on the desktop, you would see only some of its properties, the most you can do there is to assign a Read-Only attribute. In My Computer and Windows Explorer, you will be able to change the file's properties. Before opening a file or while in the Open dialog box, you can view some of the file's properties although you won't be able to change them. When the file is opened in Microsoft Excel, you can click the Office Button, position the mouse on Prepare, and click Properties. This would display some of the most common attributes of the file:
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To change an item, you can click its text box and edit or replace the content. To get more options, you can click the Document Properties button and click Advanced Properties... A file's properties are used for various reasons. For example, you can find out how much size the file is using, where it is located (the hosting drive and/or folder), who created the file, or who was the last person to access or modify it. The Properties dialog box is also a good place to leave messages to other users of the same file, about anything, whether you work as a team or you simply want to make yourself and other people aware of a particular issue regarding the file.
Practical Learning: Closing Microsoft Excel

To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office Button and click Exit Excel. If you are asked whether you want to save the file, click No
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Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 02: Introduction to VBA Code
Introduction to VBA
Microsoft Visual Basic Fundamentals
Introduction
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application that provides simple to advanced means of creating and managing any type of list. To enhance it beyond its default function, it ships with a language called Microsoft Visual Basic or simply Visual Basic. Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is a computer language based on Microsoft Visual Basic. It allows you to write code that can automatically perform actions on a document and/or its content. When using that language, you write pieces of code, using an external environment.
Microsoft Visual Basic is a programming environment that gets automatically installed when you setup Microsoft Excel. It stays apart because most people would not need or use it. This means that, if you want to use the Microsoft Visual Basic programming environment that ships with Microsoft Excel, you must ask for it, which can be easily done.
Launching Microsoft Visual Basic

In our lessons, we will learn how to use both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Visual Basic to create and manage spreadsheets. The Microsoft Visual Basic programming environment we will use depends on Microsoft Excel. As a result, to use Microsoft Visual Basic, you must first open Microsoft Excel. Then, to write code, you must open Microsoft Visual Basic. There are various ways you can do this, depending on your intention. Before using code, you should add a new tab, the Developer tab, to the Ribbon. To do this, you can click the Office Button and click Excel Options. In the Excel Options dialog box, click the Show Developer tab in the Ribbon check box and click OK. The Ribbon would become equipped with a new tab:
From the Developer tab of the Ribbon, to launch Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click the Visual Basic button.
Practical Learning: Starting Microsoft Visual Basic

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. Click the Office Button and click Excel Options 3. In the Excel Options dialog box, click the Show Developer tab in the Ribbon check box:
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4. Click OK 5. In the Code section of the Developer tab of the Ribbon, to launch Microsoft Visual Basic, click Visual Basic:
The Microsoft Visual Basic Interface

Introduction
When it opens, like any regular Windows application, Microsoft Visual Basic displays a title bar in the top section. Under the title bar, the application displays a menu, followed by a Standard toolbar. To assist you with your development, Microsoft Visual Basic can display various windows.
The Project Explorer

The Project Explorer window shows a list of the code segments that are available to your worksheet. It is usually available whenever you open Microsoft Visual Basic. It is usually positioned in the top-left section. If it is not present, to display it, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click View -> Project Explorer. To close it, you can click its Close button . You can move the Project Explorer to another section of the interface. To do this, click its title bar and drag it away it from there:
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To put the window back where it was previously, you can double-click its title bar.
The Project Explorer

The Properties window is usually positioned in the bottom-left section of the screen. When it does not appear, to display it, on the main menu, click View -> Properties Window:
The Properties Window shows the characteristics of an object that is selected. Like any other window, to move the Properties window from its position, drag its title bar:
The main area of Microsoft Visual Basic uses a gray background. This area is gray because, in reality, Microsoft Visual Basic is a multiple document interface (MDI) that can be used to display
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various windows at the same time. At times, this gray area will be occupied with other windows.
Modules
A module is a blank window that resembles a piece of paper on which you write code. When you use Microsoft Excel and work on a document, a default module is automatically allocated for it, whether you use it or not. You can also create a module that is independent of any worksheet. To create a module, on the main menu of Visual Basic, you can click Insert -> Module.
Practical Learning: Creating a Module

1. On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Insert -> Module 2. Notice that a blank window with a blinking caret appears
The Immediate Window

To help you test code, Microsoft Visual Basic provides a special window called the Immediate Window. To display it, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click View -> Immediate Window.
Practical Learning: Displaying the Immediate Window

1. To display the Immediate Window, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click View -> Immediate Window 2. Notice that a window with an Immediate title bar appears at the bottom with a blinking caret
3. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the Standard toolbar of Visual Basic, click the View Microsoft
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Excel button 4. To close Microsoft Visual Basic, on the main menu, click File -> Close and Return to Microsoft Excel
VBA in Visual Basic

Introduction
In the spreadsheet you will create, you use Microsoft Excel to create normal documents using the default settings of the application. To apply some advanced features to a spreadsheet, you can use Microsoft Visual Basic that is automatically installed with Microsoft Excel. To create a spreadsheet with functionality beyond the defaults, you write code. Microsoft Visual Basic is a programming environment that uses a computer language. That language is called Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Although VBA is a language of its own, it is in reality derived from the big Visual Basic computer language developed by Microsoft. In our lessons, we will learn how to use VBA in Microsoft Excel. To take advantage of the functionalities of the Microsoft Visual Basic environment, there are many suggestions you can use or should follow. Because VBA is normal computer language, there are various rules you must follow for the language to work.
Using VBA
In our lessons, we will use the word VBA sometimes but most of the time, we use the expression "Visual Basic Language". When we use "Visual Basic language", we refer to a concept that is recognized by all child languages of Visual Basic, including VBScript and VBA. When we will use the word VBA, we refer to a concept that either is proper to VBA as a language and is not necessarily applied to some other flavors of Visual Basic, or to the way the Visual Basic language is used in Microsoft Excel. For example, the word String is used in all Visual Basic languages but the word Variant is not used in the 2008 version of the Visual Basic language.
Macros
Creating a Macro
To launch Microsoft Visual Basic using the default installation of Microsoft Excel and launching from a macro: On the Ribbon, you can click View. In the Macros section, click the arrow under the Macros button and click Record a Macro:
Click Developer. In the Code section, click the Record Macro button In each case, the Record Macro dialog box would come up:
On the Record Macro dialog box, accept or enter a name for the macro. As an option, you can type
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a description of the macro in the bottom text box. Once you are ready, click OK. This would bring you to the document in Microsoft Excel where you can do what you want. After doing what is necessary, to end the creation of the macro, on the Ribbon: Click View. In the Macros section, click the the arrow of the Macros button and click Stop Recording:
Click Developer. In the Code section, click the Stop Recording button
Practical Learning: Creating a Macro

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. On the Ribbon, click Developer. In the Code section, click Record Macro 3. Set the Name of the macro as Variables
4. Click OK 5. In the document, whatever box is selected (don't click any), type =2 6. On the Formula Bar, click the Enter button 7. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Stop Recording
The Skeleton Code of a Macro

When you create a macro, skeleton code is generated for you. To access the code generated for a macro, on the Ribbon:
Click View. In the Macros section, click Macros button and click View Macros
or click the the arrow of the Macros
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Click Developer. In the Code section, click the Macros button Any of these actions would open the Macros dialog box that would display the list of macros in the current document:
To see the code of a macro, click its name and click Edit.
Practical Learning: Viewing the Code of a Macro

1. To open Microsoft Visual Basic, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros 2. In the Macros dialog box, make sure Exercise1 is selected and click Edit
VBA in a Macro
We will try to reduce as much as possible the code that will be written for you. Still, there are some lines and words we will keep or use but will ignore them for now. As we move on in our lessons, you will understand what everyone of those words means. The code generated in the above Practical Learning section was: Sub Exercise() ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "=2" End Sub The first line of code has the word Sub. We will introduce it later on. Exercise1 is the name of the macro we created. We will come back to names in a few sections in this lesson. We will also come back to the role of parentheses. The section of code ends with the End Sub line. We will come back to it when we study the procedures. For now, consider the Sub Exercise1() and End Sub lines as the minimum requirements we need as this time, that we don't need to be concerned with, but whose roles we can simply ignore at this time. The most important line of our code, and the only line we are concerned with, is: ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "=2" This line has three main sections: ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1, =, and "=2". For now, understand that the ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 expression means "whatever box is selected in the document". The = sign is called the assignment operator. As its name indicates, the assignment operator is used to assign something to another, to give a value to something, or more precisely to store something somewhere. The thing on the right side of = is called a value. Therefore, "=2" is a value. Based on this, the expression ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "=2" means "Assign the thing on the right side of = to the thing on the left side of =." Another way to put it is, "Store the value on the right side of the assignment operator to the selected box on the left side of the assignment operator." For now, until indicated otherwise, consider that that's what that line of code means.
Using a Macro
After creating a macro, you can use it to see its result. This is also referred to as executing a macro or running a macro. To execute a macro, on the Ribbon:
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Click View. In the Macros section, click Macros button and click View Macros
or click the the arrow of the Macros
Click Developer. In the Code section, click the Macros button In the Macro dialog box, click the name of the macro and click Run.
Writing Code
Code Indentation
Indentation is a technique that allows you to write easily readable code. It consists of visually showing the beginning and end of a section of code. Indentation consists of moving code to the right side. The easiest and most common way to apply indentation consists of pressing Tab before typing your code. By default, one indentation, done when pressing Tab, corresponds to 4 characters. This can be automatically set using the Tab Width text box of the Editor property page in the Options dialog box. To change it, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click Tools -> Options and click the Editor tab:
If you don't want the pressing of Tab to be equivalent to 4 characters, change the value of the Tab Width text box to a reasonable value and click OK. Otherwise, it is (strongly) suggested that you keep to its default of 4 characters.
Comments
A comment is a piece of text in code that would not be considered when reading your code. As such, a comment can be written any way you want. In the Visual Basic language, the line that contains a comment can start with a single quote. Here is an example: This line will not be considered as part of the code Alternatively, you can start a comment with the Rem keyword. Anything on the right side of rem, Rem, or REM would not be read. Here is an example: ' This line will not be considered as part of the code Rem I can write anything I want on this line Comments are very useful and you are strongly suggested to use them regularly. The code that was generated in our Practical Learning section contains a few lines of comment: Sub Exercise1() ' ' Exercise1 Macro ' ' ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "=2" End Sub
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1. To close Microsoft Visual Basic, on the main menu, click File -> Close and Return to Microsoft Excel 2. To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office Button and click Exit Excel. If you are asked whether you want to save the file, click No
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Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 03: Variables and Data Types
Variables and Data Types

Variables
Introduction
To use some values in code, you must first create them. The computer memory is made of small storage areas used to hold the values of your application. When you use a value in your code, the computer puts it in a storage area. When you need it, you let the computer know. The machine "picks it up", brings it to you, and then you can use it as you see fit.
In the world of computer programming, a variable is a value you ask the computer to temporarily store in its memory while the program is running.
Practical Learning: Creating a Macro

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. On the Ribbon, click Developer. In the Code section, click Record Macro 3. Set the Name of the macro as Variables
4. Click OK 5. In the document, whatever box is selected (don't click any), type =2 6. On the Formula Bar, click the Enter button 7. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Stop Recording 8. To open Microsoft Visual Basic, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros 9. In the Macros dialog box, make sure Variables is selected and click Edit
Declaring a Variable
When writing your code, you can use any variable just by specifying its name. When you provide this name, the computer directly reserves an area in memory for it. Microsoft Visual Basic allows you to directly use any name for a variable as you see fit. Fortunately, to eliminate the possibility of confusion, you can first let Visual Basic know that you will be using a variable. In order to reserve that storage area, you have to let the computer know. Letting the computer know is referred to as declaring the variable. To declare a variable, you start with the Dim word, like this: Dim A variable must have a name. The name is written on the right side of the Dim word. There are rules you should follow when naming your variables: The name of a variable must begin with a letter or an underscore After starting with a letter or an underscore, the name can be made of letters, underscores, and digits in any order The name of a variable cannot have a period The name of a variable can have up to 255 characters. The name of a variable must be unique in the area where it is used There are some words you should (must) not use to name your variables. Those words are reserved for the VBA internal use. Therefore, those words are called keywords. Some of them are:
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reserved for the VBA internal use. Therefore, those words are called keywords. Some of them are: And (Bitwise) And (Condition) ByVal CDbl Date ElseIf Function Lib New Or (Condition) Select Sub vbTab Call CInt Dim End Get Long Next Private Set Then With As Case CLng Do EndIf GoTo Loop Not Public Single To While Boolean CBool Const Double Error If Me Nothing ReDim Static True Xor ByRef CByte CSng Each False Integer Mid Option REM Step Until Byte CDate CStr Else For Let Mod Or (Bitwise) Resume String vbCrLf
As mentioned already, to declare a variable, type Dim followed by a name. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Something End Sub Declaring a variable simply communicates to Visual Basic the name of that variable. You can still use a mix of declared and not-declared variable. If you declare one variable and then start using another variable with a similar but somewhat different name, Visual Basic would still consider that you are using two variables. This can create a great deal of confusion because you may be trying to use the same variable referred to twice. The solution to this possible confusion is to tell Visual Basic that a variable cannot be used if it has not been primarily declared. To communicate this, on top of each file you use in the Code Editor, type: Option Explicit This can also be done automatically for each file by checking the Require Variable Declaration in the Options dialog box.
Practical Learning: Using a Variable

1. On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Tools -> Options... 2. Click the Editor property page if necessary. In the Code Settings section, put a check mark in the Require Variable Declaration check box
3. Click OK and return to Microsoft Excel 4. To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office button and click Exit Excel 5. When asked whether you want to save, click No 6. Re-start Microsoft Excel
Declaring Many Variables

In a regular application, it is not unusual to want to use many variables. Once again, you should make it a habit to always declare a variable before using it. To declare a new variable after declaring a first one, you can simply go to the next line and use the Dim keyword to declare the new variable. Here is an example:
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Sub Exercise() Dim Something Dim Whatever End Sub In the same way, you can declare as many variables as you want. Instead of declaring each variable on its own line, you can declare more than one variable on the same line. To do this, use one Dim keyword and separate the names of variables with commas. Here are examples: Sub Exercise() Dim Father, Mother Dim Son, Daughter, Nephew, Niece Dim GrandMa End Sub Notice that each line uses its own Dim keyword and every new line of declaration(s) must have a Dim keyword.
Value Assignment
We saw that when you declare a variable, the computer reserves a memory space for it but the space is kept empty. After declaring the value, you can store a value you want in the memory that was reserved for it. To store a value in the memory reserved for a variable, you can assign a value to the variable. To do this, type the name of the variable, followed by the assignment operator which is =, followed by the value you want to store. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Value Value = 9374 End Sub As we will learn in the next few lessons, there are different types of values you will use in your document. Also as we will see, the value you (decide to) store must be in accordance with the type of memory that the computer had reserved for the variable. After assigning a value to a variable, you can use that variable knowing the value it is currently holding. At any time and when necessary, you can change the value held by a variable. That's why it is called a variable (because its value can vary or change). To change the value held by a variable, access the variable again and assign it the new desired value.
Introduction to Data Types

A Variable As
A data type tells the computer what kind of variable you are going to use. Before using a variable, you should know how much space it will occupy in memory. Different variables use different amount of space in memory. The information that specifies how much space a variable needs is called a data type. A data type is measured in bytes. To specify the data type that will be used for a variable, after typing Dim followed by the name of the variable, type the As keyword, followed by one of the data types we will review next. The formula used is: Dim VariableName As DataType We mentioned earlier that you could use various variables if you judge them necessary. When declaring such variables, we saw that you could declare each on its own line. To specify the data type of a variable, use the same formula as above. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As DataType Dim LastName As DataType End Sub We also saw that you could declare many variables on the same line as long as you separate the names of the variables with commas. If you are specifying the data type of each, type the comma after each variable. Here are examples: Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As DataType, LastName As DataType Dim Address As DataType, City As DataType, State As DataType Dim Gender As DataType End Sub This code appears as if there is only one type of data. In the next few sections, we will review various types of values that are available. To declare variables of different data types, you declare each on its own line as we saw earlier: Sub Exercise() Dim FullName As DataType1 Dim DateHired As DataType2 Dim EmploymentStatus As DataType3
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End Sub You can also declare variables of different data types on the same line. To do this, use one Dim keyword and separate the declarations with commas. Here are.examples: Sub Exercise() Dim FullName As DataType1, DateHired As DataType2 Dim EmploymentStatus As DataType3 End Sub
Type Characters
To make variable declaration a little faster and even convenient, you can replace the As DataType expression with a special character that represents the intended data type. Such a character is called a type character and it depends on the data type you intend to apply to a variable. When used, the type character must be the last character of the name of the variable. We will see what characters are available and when it can be applied.
Value Conversion
Every time the user enters a value in an application. That value is primarily considered as text. This means that, if you want to use such a value in an expression or a calculation that expects a specific value other than text, you must convert it from that text. Fortunately, Microsoft Visual Basic provides an effective mechanism to convert a text value to one of the other values we will see next. To convert text to another value, there is a keyword adapted for the purpose and that depends on the type of value you want to convert it to. We will mention each when necessary.
Integral Numeric Variables

Introduction
If you are planning to use a number in your program, you have a choice from different kinds of numbers that the Visual Basic language can recognize. The Visual Basic language recognizes as a natural number any number that doesn't include a fractional part. In the Visual Basic language, the number is made of digits only as a combination of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. No other character is allowed. In future lessons, we will learn that in Microsoft Excel, you can use a comma to separate the thousands, which would make the number easy to read. Microsoft Excel recognizes the comma separator, the Visual Basic language doesn't. By default, when we refer to a natural number, we expect it in decimal format as a combination of digits. The Visual Basic language also supports the hexadecimal format. A hexadecimal number starts with &H followed by a combination of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, a, b, c, d, e, f, A, B, C, D, E, and F. An example would be &H28E4AABF.
Byte
To declare a variable that would hold natural numbers that range from 0 to 255, use the Byte data type. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim StudentAge As Byte End Sub There is no type character for the Byte data type. After declaring the variable, you can assign it a small positive number. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Value As Byte Value = 246 End Sub You can also use the number in hexadecimal format as long as the number is less than 255. If you give either a negative value or a value higher to 255, when you attempt to access it, you would receive an error:
To convert a value to a small number, you can use CByte(). The formula to use would be:
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To convert a value to a small number, you can use CByte(). The formula to use would be: Number = CByte(Value to Convert to Byte) When using CByte(), enter the value to convert in the parentheses.
Practical Learning: Using Byte Variables

1. In the code, click ActiveCell, press Home, press Enter, and press the up arrow key 2. To use byte variables, change the code as follows: Sub Variables() Dim Shirts As Byte Dim Pants As Byte Dim OtherItems As Byte Dim TotalItems As Byte Shirts = 6 Pants = 4 OtherItems = 2 TotalItems = Shirts + Pants + OtherItems ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = TotalItems End Sub
3. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the Standard toolbar, click the View Microsoft Excel button 4. In Microsoft Excel, click any box
5. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click the Macros button 6. In the Macros dialog box, make sure Exercise1 is selected and click Run
7. To return to Microsoft Visual Basic, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click Visual Basic
Integer
To declare a variable that would hold a number that ranges from -32768 to 32767, use the Integer data type. Here is an example of declaring an integer variable: Sub Exercise() Dim Tracks As Integer End Sub Instead of using As Integer, you can use the % type character. Therefore, the above declaration could be done as follows: Sub Exercise() Dim Tracks% End Sub After declaring the variable, you can assign the desired value to it. If you assign a value lower than -32768 or higher than 32767, when you decide to use it, you would receive an error. If you have a value that needs to be converted into a natural number, you can use CInt() using the following formula: Number = CInt(Value to Convert) Between the parentheses of CInt(), enter the value, text, or expression that needs to be converted.
Long
A long integer is a number that can be used for a variable involving greater numbers than integers. To declare a variable that would hold such a large number, use the Long data type. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Population As Long End Sub The type character for the Long data type is @. The above variable could be declared as: Sub Exercise() Dim Population@ End Sub A Long variable can store a value between 2,147,483,648 and 2,147,483,647 (remember that the commas are used to make the numbers easy to read; do not be used them in your code).
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that the commas are used to make the numbers easy to read; do not be used them in your code). Therefore, after declaring a Long variable, you can assign it a number in that range. To convert a value to a long integer, call CLng() using the following formula: Number = CLng(Value to Convert) To convert a value to long, enter it in the parentheses of CLng().
Decimal Variables
Single Precision
In computer programming, a decimal number is one that represents a fraction. Examples are 1.85 or 426.88. If you plan to use a variable that would that type of number but precision is not your main concern, declare it using the Single data type. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Distance As Single End Sub The type character for the Single data type is !. Based on this, the above declaration could be done as: Sub Exercise() Dim Distance! End Sub A Single variable can hold a number between 1.401298e45 and 3.402823e38. for negative values or between 1.401298e45 and 3.402823e38 for positive values. If you have a value that needs to be converted, use CSng() with the following formula: Number = CSng(Value to Convert) In the parentheses of CSng(), enter the value to be converted.
Double Precision
If you want to use a decimal number that requires a good deal of precision, declare a variable using the Double data type. Here is an example of declaring a Double variable: Sub Exercise() Dim Distance As Double End Sub Instead of As Double, the type character you can use is #: Sub Exercise() Dim Distance# End Sub A Double variable can hold a number between 1.79769313486231e308 and 4.94065645841247e324 for negative values or between 4.94065645841247e324 and 1.79769313486231e308 for positive values. To convert a value to double-precision, use CDbl() with the following formula: Number = CDbl(Value to Convert) In the parentheses of CDbl(), enter the value that needs to be converted.
Practical Learning: Using Decimal Variables

1. Change the code as follows: Sub Variables() Dim Side As Double Dim Perimeter As Double Side = 32.75 Perimeter = Side * 4 ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Perimeter End Sub
4. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click the Macros button
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5. In the Macros dialog box, make sure Exercise1 is selected and click Run
A String
A string is a character or a combination of characters that constitute text of any kind and almost any length. To declare a string variable, use the String data type. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim CountryName As String End Sub The type character for the String data type is $. Therefore, the above declaration could be written as: Sub Exercise() Dim CountryName$ End Sub As mentioned already, after declaring a variable, you can assign a value to it. The value of a string variable must be included inside of double-quotes. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim CountryName As String CountryName = "Brsil" End Sub If you have a value that is not primarily text and you want to convert it to a string, use CStr() with the following formula: CStr(Value To Convert to String) In the parentheses of the CStr(), enter the value that you want to convert to string.
Practical Learning: Using a String

1. Change the code as follows: Sub Variables() Dim CustomerName As String CustomerName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi" ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = CustomerName End Sub
Currency Values
The Currency data type is used to deal with monetary values. Here is an example of declaring it: Sub Exercise() Dim StartingSalary As Currency End Sub Instead of using the As Currency expression, you can use @ as the type character to declare a currency variable. Here is an example of declaring it: Sub Exercise() Dim StartingSalary@ End Sub A variable declared with the Currency keyword can store a value between 922,337,203,685,477.5808 and 922,337,203,685,477.5807. Once again, keep in mind that the commas here are used only to make the number easy to read. Don't use the commas in a number in your code. Also, when assigning a value to a currency-based variable, do not use the currency
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symbol. Here is an example of assigning a currency number to a variable: Sub Exercise() Dim StartingSalary As Currency StartingSalary = 66500 End Sub If you want to convert a value to currency, use CCur() with the following formula: Number = CCur(Value to Convert) To perform this conversion, enter the value in the parentheses of CCur().
Practical Learning: Using Currency Values

1. Change the code as follows: Sub Variables() Dim NumberOfShirts As Byte Dim PriceOneShirt As Currency Dim TotalPriceShirts As Currency NumberOfShirts = 5 PriceOneShirt = 1.25 TotalPriceShirts = NumberOfShirts * PriceOneShirt ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = TotalPriceShirts End Sub
A Date
In Visual Basic, a Date data type can be used to store a date value. Therefore, to declare either a date or a time variables, use the Date data type. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim DateOfBirth As Date End Sub After declaring the variable, you can assign it a value. A date value must be included between two # signs. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim DateOfBirth As Date DateOfBirth = #10/8/1988# End Sub There are various formats you can use for a date. We will deal with them in another lesson. If you have a string or an expression that you want to convert to a date value, use CDate() based on the following formula: Result = CDate(Value to Convert) In the parentheses of CDate(), enter the value that needs to be converted.
Practical Learning: Using a Date

1. Change the code as follows: Sub Variables() Dim DepositDate As Date DepositDate = #2/5/2008# ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = DepositDate End Sub
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A Time
In Visual Basic, the Date data type can also be used to store a time value. Here is an example of declaring a variable that can hold a time value: Sub Exercise() Dim ShiftTimeIn As Date End Sub After declaring the variable, to assign a value to it, include the value between two # signs. The value follows different rules from a date. To convert a value or an expression to time, use CDate().
Any-Type Variables
A Variant
So far, we declared variables knowing the types of values we wanted them to hold. VBA provides a universal (or vague) data type you can use for any type of value. The Variant data type is used to declare a variable whose type is not explicitly specified. This means that a Variant data type can hold any type of value you want. Here are examples of Variant-declared variables that hold different types of values: Sub Exercise() Dim FullName As Variant Dim EmploymentStatus As Variant Dim HourlySalary As Variant Dim DateHired As Variant FullName = "Patricia Katts" EmploymentStatus = 2 HourlySalary = 35.65 DateHired = #6/22/2004# End Sub
A Variable Without a Data Type

In the variables we declared in the last few sections, we specified a data type for each. You can declare a variable without giving its data type. Here are examples: Sub Exercise() Dim FullName Dim EmploymentStatus Dim HourlySalary Dim DateHired End Sub Of course, you can declare more than one variable on the same line. To indicate how much space is needed for the variable, you must assign it a value. Here are examples: Sub Exercise() Dim FullName Dim EmploymentStatus Dim HourlySalary Dim DateHired FullName = "Patricia Katts" EmploymentStatus = 2 HourlySalary = 35.65 DateHired = #6/22/2004# End Sub Once the variable holds a value, you can use it as you see fit.
The Scope or Lifetime of a Variable

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Introduction
So far, we were declaring our variables between the Sub Name and the End Sub lines. Such a variable is referred to as a local variable. A local variable is confined to the area where it is declared. Here is an example: Option Explicit Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As String FirstName = "Patricia" End Sub You cannot use such a variable outside of its Sub Name and the End Sub lines.
Global Variables
A global variable is a variable declared outside of the Sub Name and the End Sub lines. Such a variable is usually declared in the top section of the file. Here is an example: Option Explicit Dim LastName As String Sub Exercise() End Sub After declaring a global variable, you can access it in the other areas of the file. Here is an example: Option Explicit Dim LastName As String Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As String FirstName = "Patricia" LastName = "Katts" End Sub Although we declared our global variable inside of the file where it was used, you can also declare a global variable in a separate module to be able to use it in another module.
The Access Level of a Global Variable

Introduction
When using a global variable, the Visual Basic language allows you to control its access level. The access level of a variable is a process of controlling how much access a section of code has on the variable.
Private Variables
A variable is referred to as private if it can be accessed only by code from within the same file (the same module) where it is used. To declare such a variable, instead of Dim, you use the Private keyword. Here is an example: Option Explicit Private LastName As String Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As String FirstName = "Patricia" LastName = "Katts" End Sub Remember that a private variable can be accessed by any code in the same module. In the next lesson, we will learn how to create other sections of code.
Public Variables
A variable is referred to as public if it can be accessed by code either from within the same file (the same module) where it is declared or from code outside its module. To declare a public variable, instead of Dim, you use the Public keyword. Here is an example: Option Explicit Private LastName As String Public FullName As String
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Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As String FirstName = "Patricia" LastName = "Katts" FullName = FirstName & " " & LastName End Sub As a reminder, a public variable is available to code inside and outside of its module. This means that you can create a module, declare a public variable in it, and access that variable in another file (module) where needed. A private variable is available inside its module but not outside its module. If you declare a private variable in a module and try accessing it in another module, you would receive an error: Module 1: Option Explicit Private FullName As String Module 2: Option Explicit Private LastName As String Private FirstName As String Sub Exercise() FirstName = "Patricia" LastName = "Katts" FullName = FirstName & " " & LastName ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName End Sub This would produce:

1. To close Microsoft Visual Basic, on the main menu, click File -> Close and Return to Microsoft Excel 2. To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office Button and click Exit Excel. If you are asked whether you want to save the file, click No
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Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 04: VBA Operators and Operands
VBA Operators and Operands

VBA Operators
Introduction
An operation is an action performed on one or more values either to modify one value or to produce a new value by combining existing values. Therefore, an operation is performed using at least one symbol and one value. The symbol used in an operation is called an operator. A variable or a value involved in an operation is called an operand.
A unary operator is an operator that performs its operation on only one operand. An operator is referred to as binary if it operates on two operands.
Dimensioning a Variable
When interacting with Microsoft Excel, you will be asked to provide a value. Sometimes, you will be presented with a value to view or change. Besides the values you use in a spreadsheet, in the previous lesson, we learned that we could also declare variables in code and assign values to them.
In the previous lesson, we saw that we could use the Dim operator to declare a variable. Here is an example: Option Explicit Sub Exercise() Dim Value End Sub After declaring a variable like this, we saw that we could then use it as we saw fit.
The Assignment Operator

We mentioned that you could declare a variable but not specify the type of value that would be stored in the memory area reserved for it. When you have declared a variable, the computer reserves space in the memory and gives an initial value to the variable. If the variable is number based, the computer gives its memory an intial value of 0. If the variable is string based, the computer fills its memory with an empty space, also referred to as an empty string. Initializing a variable consists of giving it a value as soon as the variable has been declared. To initialize a variable, you use the assignment operator which is "=". You type the name of the variable, followed by =, and followed by the desired value. The value depends on the type of variable. If the variable is integral based, give it an appropriate natural number. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Integral As Integer Integral = 9578 End Sub If the variable is made to hold a decimal number, initialize it with a number that can fit in its type of variable. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Distance As Double Distance = 257.84 End Sub If the variable is for a string, you can initialize it with an empty string or put the value inside of double-quotes.
The Line Continuation Operator: _

If you plan to write a long piece of code, to make it easier to read, you may need to divide it in various lines. To do this, you can use the line continuation operator represented by a white space followed by an underscore. To create a line continuation, put an empty space, then type the underscore, and continue your code in the next line. Here is an example: Sub _ Exercise() End Sub
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End Sub
The Parentheses: ()
Parentheses are used in various circumstances. The parentheses in an operation help to create sections in an operation. This regularly occurs when more than one operators are used in an operation. Consider the following operation: 8 + 3 * 5 The result of this operation depends on whether you want to add 8 to 3 then multiply the result by 5 or you want to multiply 3 by 5 and then add the result to 8. Parentheses allow you to specify which operation should be performed first in a multi-operator operation. In our example, if you want to add 8 to 3 first and use the result to multiply it by 5, you would write (8 + 3) * 5. This would produce 55. On the other hand, if you want to multiply 3 by 5 first then add the result to 8, you would write 8 + (3 * 5). This would produce 23. As you can see, results are different when parentheses are used on an operation that involves various operators. This concept is based on a theory called operator precedence. This theory manages which operation would execute before which one; but parentheses allow you to completely control the sequence of these operations.
The Comma ,
The comma is used to separate variables used in a group. For example, a comma can be used to delimit the names of variables that are declared on the same line. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String, FullName As String End Sub
The Double Quotes: ""

A double-quote is used to delimit a group of characters and symbols. To specify this delimitation, the double-quote is always used in combination with another double-quote, as in "". What ever is inside the double-quotes is the thing that need to be delimited. The value inside the doublequotes is called a string. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String, FullName As String FirstName = "Valre" ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FirstName End Sub
The Colon Operator :

Most of the time, to make various statements easier to read, you write each on its own line. Here are examples: Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String FirstName = "Valre" LastName = "Edou" End Sub The Visual Basic language allows you to write as many statements as necessary on the same line. When doing this, the statements must be separated by a colon. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String FirstName = "Valre" : LastName = "Edou" ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FirstName End Sub
String Concatenation: &

The & operator is used to append two strings or expressions. This is considered as concatenating them. For example, it could allow you to concatenate a first name and a last name, producing a full name. The general syntax of the concatenation operator is: Value1 & Value2 In the same way, you can use as many & operators as you want between any two strings or expressions. After concatenating the expressions or values, you can assign the result to another variable or expression using the assignment operator. Here are examples: Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String, FullName As String FirstName = "Valre" LastName = "Edou" FullName = FirstName & " " & LastName
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FullName = FirstName & " " & LastName End Sub
Carriage Return-Line Feed

If you are displaying a string but judge it too long, you can segment it in appropriate sections as you see fit. To do this, you can use vbCrLf. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String, FullName As String Dim Accouncement As String FirstName = "Valre" LastName = "Edou" FullName = FirstName & " " & LastName Accouncement = "Student Registration - Student Full Name: " & _ vbCrLf & FullName ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Accouncement End Sub
Arithmetic Operators
Positive Unary Operator: +
Algebra uses a type of ruler to classify numbers. This ruler has a middle position of zero. The numbers on the left side of the 0 are referred to as negative while the numbers on the right side of the rulers are considered positive: - - -6 -6 -5 -5 -4 -4 -3 -3 -2 -2 -1 0 -1 1 2 3 4 5 6 + 1 2 3 4 5 6 +
A value on the right side of 0 is considered positive. To express that a number is positive, you can write a + sign on its left. Examples are +4, +228, +90335. In this case the + symbol is called a unary operator because it acts on only one operand. The positive unary operator, when used, must be positioned on the left side of its operand, never on the right side. As a mathematical convention, when a value is positive, you don't need to express it with the + operator. Just writing the number without any symbol signifies that the number is positive. Therefore, the numbers +4, +228, and +90335 can be, and are better, expressed as 4, 228, 90335. Because the value does not display a sign, it is referred as unsigned.
The Negative Operator -
As you can see on the above ruler, in order to express any number on the left side of 0, it must be appended with a sign, namely the - symbol. Examples are -12, -448, -32706. A value accompanied by - is referred to as negative. The - sign must be typed on the left side of the number it is used to negate. Remember that if a number does not have a sign, it is considered positive. Therefore, whenever a number is negative, it MUST have a - sign. In the same way, if you want to change a value from positive to negative, you can just add a - sign to its left.
Addition +
The addition is performed with the + sign. It is used to add one value to another. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Side# Dim Perimeter# Side# = 42.58 Perimeter# = Side# + Side# + Side# + Side# End Sub Besides arithmetic operations, the + symbol can also be used to concatenate strings, that is, to add one string to another. This is done by appending one string at the end of another. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName$, LastName$, FullName$ FirstName$ = "Danielle" LastName$ = "Kouma" FullName$ = FirstName$ + " " + LastName$ ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName$ End Sub
Multiplication *
The multiplication operation allows you to add a number to itself a certain number of times set
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The multiplication operation allows you to add a number to itself a certain number of times set by another number. The multiplication operation is performed using the * sign. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Side# Dim Area# Side# = 42.58 Area# = Side# * Side# End Sub
Subtraction The subtraction operation is performed using the - sign. This operation produces the difference of two or more numbers. It could also be used to display a number as a negative value. To subtract 28 from 65, you express this with 65-28. The subtraction can also be used to subtract the values of two values.
Integer Division \
Dividing an item means cutting it in pieces or fractions of a set value. Therefore, the division is used to get the fraction of one number in terms of another. The Visual Basic language provides two types of operations for the division. If you want the result of the operation to be a natural number, called an integer, use the backlash operator "\" as the divisor. The formula to use is: Value1 \ Value2 This operation can be performed on two types of valid numbers, with or without decimal parts. After the operation, the result would be a natural number.
Decimal Division /
The second type of division results in a decimal number. It is performed with the forward slash "/". Its formula is: Value1 / Value2 After the operation is performed, the result is a decimal number.
Exponentiation ^
Exponentiation is the ability to raise a number to the power of another number. This operation is performed using the ^ operator (Shift + 6). It uses the following formula: yx In Microsoft Visual Basic, this formula is written as: y^x and means the same thing. Either or both y and x can be values, variables, or expressions, but they must carry valid values that can be evaluated. When the operation is performed, the value of y is raised to the power of x.
Remainder: Mod
The division operation gives a result of a number with or without decimal values, which is fine in some circumstances. Sometimes you will want to get the value remaining after a division renders a natural result. The remainder operation is performed with keyword Mod. Its formula is: Value1 Mod Value2 The result of the operation can be used as you see fit or you can display it in a control or be involved in another operation or expression.
Bit Manipulations
Introduction
From our introduction to variables, you may remember that the computer stores its data in memory using small locations that look like boxes and each box contains a bit of information. Because a bit can be represented only either as 1 or 0, we can say that each box contains 1 or 0. Bit manipulation consists of changing the value (1 or 0, or 0 or 1) in a box. As we will see in the next few operations, it is not just about changing a value. It can involve reversing a value or kind of "moving" a box from its current position to the next position. The operations on bits are performed on 1s and 0s only. This means that any number in decimal or hexadecimal format involved in a bit operation must be converted to binary first. You will almost never perform some of the operations we are going to review. You will hardly
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You will almost never perform some of the operations we are going to review. You will hardly perform some other operations. There is only one operation you will perform sometimes: the OR operation.
"Reversing" a Bit
Remember that, at any time, a box (or chunk) in memory contains either 1 or 0:
Bit reversal consists of reversing the value of a bit. If the box contains 1, you can reverse it to 0. If it contains 0, you can reverse it to 1. To support this operation, the Visual Basic language provides the Not Operator. As an example, consider the number 286. The decimal number 286 converted to binary is 100011110. You can reverse each bit as follows: 286 1 Not 286 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1
Bitwise Conjunction
Bitwise conjunction consists of adding the content of one box (a bit) to the content of another box (a bit). To support the bitwise conjunction operation, the Visual Basic language provides the And operator. To perform the bit addition on two numbers, remember that they must be converted to binary first. Then: If a bit with value 0 is added to a bit with value 0, the result is 0 Bit0 Bit1 Bit0 And Bit1 0 0 0
If a bit with value 1 is added to a bit with value 0, the result is 0 Bit0 Bit1 Bit0 And Bit1 1 0 0
As an example, consider the number 286 bit-added to 475. The decimal number 286 converted to binary is 100011110. The decimal number 4075 converted to binary is 111111101011. Based on the above 4 points, we can add these two numbers as follows: 286 0 4075 1 286 And 0 4075 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0
Therefore, 286 And 4075 produces 100001010 which is equivalent to: Bit8 Bit7 Bit6 Bit5 Bit4 Bit3 Bit2 Bit1 Bit0 256 128 64 286 And 4075 1 256 0 0 0 0 32 0 0 16 0 0 8 1 8 4 0 0 2 1 2 1 0 0
This means that 286 And 4075 = 256 + 16 + 2 = 266
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This means that 286 And 4075 = 256 + 16 + 2 = 266 This can also be programmatically calculated as follows: Sub Exercise() Dim Number1 As Integer Dim Number2 As Integer Dim Result As Integer
Number1 = 286 Number2 = 4075 Result = Number1 And Number2 ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Result End Sub
Bitwise Disjunction
Bitwise disjunction consists of disjoining one a bit from another bit. To support this operation, the Visual Basic language provides the Or operator. To perform a bitwise conjunction on two numbers, remember that they must be converted to binary first. Then: If a bit with value 0 is added to a bit with value 0, the result is 0 Bit0 Bit1 Bit0 Or Bit1 0 0 0
If a bit with value 1 is added to a bit with value 0, the result is 1 Bit0 Bit1 Bit0 Or Bit1 1 0 1
As an example, consider the number 305 bit-disjoined to 2853. The decimal number 305 converted to binary is 100110001. The decimal number 2853 converted to binary is 101100100101. Based on the above 4 points, we can disjoin these two numbers as follows: 305 0 2853 1 305 Or 2853 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1
Therefore, 305 Or 2853 produces 101100110101 which is equivalent to: Bit11 Bit10 Bit9 Bit8 Bit7 Bit6 Bit5 Bit4 Bit3 Bit2 Bit1 Bit0 2048 1024 512 256 128 64 305 Or 2853 1 2048 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 32 1 32 16 1 16 8 0 0 4 1 4 2 0 0 1 1 1
512 256
This means that 286 And 4075 = 2048 + 512 + 256 + 32 + 16 + 4 + 1 = 2869 This can also be programmatically calculated as follows: Sub Exercise() Dim Number1 As Integer Dim Number2 As Integer Dim Result As Integer
Number1 = 286 Number2 = 4075 Result = Number1 Or Number2 ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Result
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ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Result End Sub
Bitwise Exclusion
Bitwise exclusion consists of adding two bits with the following rules. To support bitwise exclusion, the Visual Basic language provides an operator named Xor: If both bits have the same value, the result is 0 Bit0 Bit1 Bit0 Xor Bit1 0 0 0 1 1 0
If both bits are different, the result is 1 Bit0 Bit1 Bit0 Xor Bit1 0 1 1 1 0 1
As an example, consider the number 618 bit-excluded from 2548. The decimal number 618 converted to binary is 1001101010. The decimal number 2548 converted to binary is 100111110100. Based on the above 2 points, we can bit-exclude these two numbers as follows: 618 0 2548 1 618 Xor 2548 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Therefore, 305 Or 2853 produces 101110011110 which is equivalent to: Bit11 Bit10 Bit9 Bit8 Bit7 Bit6 Bit5 Bit4 Bit3 Bit2 Bit1 Bit0 2048 1024 512 256 128 64 618 Xor 2548 1 2048 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 32 0 0 16 1 16 8 1 8 4 1 4 2 1 2 1 0 0
512 256 128
This means that 286 And 4075 = 2048 + 512 + 256 + 128 + 16 + 8 + 4 + 2 = 2974 This can also be programmatically calculated as follows: Sub Exercise() Dim Number1 As Integer Dim Number2 As Integer Dim Result As Integer
Number1 = 286 Number2 = 4075 Result = Number1 Xor Number2 ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Result End Sub
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VBA For Microsoft Excel - Lesson 05: Introduction to Procedures
Introduction to Procedures and Functions

Introduction to Procedures
Procedures
A procedure is a section of code created to carry an assignment, separate from a spreadsheet, whose action can be used to complement a spreasheet. You create the procedure by writing code. One of the advantages of a procedure is that, once it exists, you can access it when necessary and as many times as you want. There are two categories of procedures you will use in your spreadsheets: those that are already installed with Microsoft Excel and those you will create.
Practical Learning: Introducing Procedures

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. On the Ribbon, click Developer
3. In the Code section, click the Visual Basic button 4. To create a module, on the main menu, click Insert -> Module 5. If the Properties window is not available, on the main menu, click View -> Properties Windows. In the Properties window, click (Name) 6. Type Procedures and press Enter
In the Visual Basic language, like most other languages, there are two types of procedures: functions and sub procedures.
Introduction to Sub-Procedures
A sub procedure is an assignment that is carried but does not give back a result. To create a sub procedure, start with the Sub keyword followed by a name (like everything else, a procedure must have a name). The name of a procedure is always followed by parentheses. At the end of the sub procedure, you must type End Sub. Therefore, the primary formula to create a sub procedure is:
Sub ProcedureName() End Sub The name of a procedure should follow the same rules we learned to name the variables. In addition: If the procedure performs an action that can be represented with a verb, you can use that verb to name it. Here are examples: show, display To make the name of a procedure stand, you should start it in uppercase. Examples are Show, Play, Dispose, Close You should use explicit names that identify the purpose of the procedure. If a procedure would be used as a result of another procedure or a control's event, reflect it on the name of the sub procedure. Examples would be: afterupdate, longbefore. If the name of a procedure is a combination of words, you should start each word in uppercase. An example is AfterUpdate The section between the Sub and the End Sub lines is referred to as the body of the procedure. Here is an example: Sub CreateCustomer() End Sub In the body of the procedure, you carry the assignment of the procedure. It is also said that you define the procedure or you implement the procedure. One of the actions you can in the body of a procedure consists of declaring a variable. There is no restriction on the type of variable you can declare in a procedure. Here is an example: Sub CreateCustomer() Dim strFullName As String End Sub In the same way, you can declare as many variables as you need inside of a procedure. The
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In the same way, you can declare as many variables as you need inside of a procedure. The actions you perform inside of a procedure depend on what you are trying to accomplish. For example, a procedure can simply be used to create a string. The above procedure can be changed as follows: Sub CreateCustomer() Dim strFullName As String strFullName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi" End Sub
Calling a Sub Procedure

Once you have a procedure, whether you created it or it is part of the Visual Basic language, you can use it. Using a procedure is also referred to as calling it. Before calling a procedure, you should first locate the section of code in which you want to use it. To call a simple procedure, type its name. Here is an example: Sub CreateCustomer() Dim strFullName As String strFullName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi" End Sub Sub Exercise() CreateCustomer End Sub Besides using the name of a procedure to call it, you can also precede it with the Call keyword. Here is an example: Sub CreateCustomer() Dim strFullName As String strFullName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi" End Sub Sub Exercise() Call CreateCustomer End Sub When calling a procedure, without or without the Call keyword, you can optionally type an opening and a closing parentheses on the right side of its name. Here is an example: Sub CreateCustomer() Dim strFullName As String strFullName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi" End Sub Sub Exercise() CreateCustomer() End Sub
Procedures and Access Levels

Like a variable access, the access to a procedure can be controlled by an access level. A procedure can be made private or public. To specify the access level of a procedure, precede it with the Private or the Public keyword. Here is an example: Private Sub CreateCustomer() Dim strFullName As String strFullName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi" End Sub The rules that were applied to global variables are the same: Private: If a procedure is made private, it can be called by other procedures of the same module. Procedures of outside modules cannot access such a procedure. Also, when a procedure is private, its name does not appear in the Macros dialog box Public: A procedure created as public can be called by procedures of the same module and by procedures of other modules. Also, if a procedure was created as public, when you access the Macros dialog box, its name appears and you can run it from there
Introduction to Functions
Introduction
Like a sub procedure, a function is used to perform an assignment. The main difference between a sub procedure and a function is that, after carrying its assignment, a function gives back a result. We also say that a function "returns a value". To distinguish both, there is a different syntax you use for a function.
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Creating a Function
To create a function, you use the Function keyword followed by a name and parentheses. Unlike a sub procedure, because a function returns a value, you must specify the type of value the function will produce. To give this information, on the right side of the closing parenthesis, you can type the As keyword, followed by a data type. To indicate where a function stops, type End Function. Based on this, the minimum syntax used to create a function is: AccessModifier Function FunctionName() As DataType End Function As seen for a sub procedure, a function can have an access modifier. The Function keyword is required. The name of a function follows the same rules and suggestions we reviewed for names of sub procedures. The As keyword may be required (in the next sections, we will review the alternatives to the As DataType expression). The DataType factor indicates the type of value that the function will return. If the function will produce a word or a group of words, you can create it as String. The other data types are also valid in the contexts we reviewed them in the previous lesson. Here is an example: Function GetFullName() As String End Function
Practical Learning: Creating a Function

Click an empty area in the Code editor and, to create a function, type the following code:
Option Explicit Function GetCustomerName() As String End Function
Using a Type Character

As done with variables, you can also use a type character as the return type of a function and omit the As DataType expression. The type character is typed on the right side of the function name and before the opening parenthesis. An example would be GetFullName$(). As with the variables, you must use the appropriate type character for the function: Character The function must return $ A string % An integral value between -32768 and 32767 & An integer of small or large scale ! A decimal number with single precision # A decimal number with double precision @ A monetary value Here is an example: Function GetFullName$() End Function As mentioned for a sub procedure, the section between the Function and the End Function lines is the body of the function. It is used to describe what the function does. As done on a sub procedure, one of the actions you can perform in a function is to declare a (local) variable and use it as you see fit. Here is an example: Function CallMe() As String Dim Salute As String Salute = "You can call me Al" End Function
Returning a Value From a Function

After performing an assignment in a function, to indicate the value it returns, somewhere after the assignment and before the End Function line, you can type the name of the function, followed by the = sign, followed by the value that the function returns. Here is an example in which a function returns a name: Function GetFullName$() Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String FirstName = "Patricia"
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FirstName = "Patricia" LastName = "Katts" GetFullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName End Function
Practical Learning: Implementing a Function

1. To implement the function, change its code as follows:
Option Explicit Function GetCustomerName() As String GetCustomerName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi" End Function
2. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the Standard toolbar, click the View Microsoft Excel button
Calling a Function
As done for the sub procedure, in order to use a function in your program, you must call it. Like a sub procedure, to call a function, you can simply type its name in the desired section of the program. Here is an example: Function CallMe() As String Dim Salute As String Salute = "You can call me Al" CallMe = Salute End Function Sub Exercise() CallMe End Sub When calling the function, you can optionally type the parentheses on the right side of its name. The primary purpose of a function is to return a value. To better take advantage of such a value, you can assign the name of a function to a variable in the section where you are calling the function. Here is an example: Function GetFullName$() Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String FirstName = "Patricia" LastName = "Katts" GetFullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName End Function Sub Exercise() Dim FullName$ FullName = GetFullName() ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName End Sub
Calling a Function in a Spreadsheet

By now, we have seen that the primary (if not the only) difference between a function and a sub procedure is that a function returns a value. Because a sub procedure does not return a value, it cannot be directly accessed from a spreadsheet and you cannot use it with the ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Value we have been using since the previous lesson. On the other hand, since a function returns a value, you can retrieve that value and assign it to our ctiveCell.FormulaR1C1 routine. Here is an example: Function GetFullName$() Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String FirstName = "Patricia" LastName = "Katts" GetFullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName End Function Sub Exercise() Dim FullName$ FullName = GetFullName() ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName End Sub Better yet, if/when possible, you do not have to first declare a variable that would hold the value returned by a function. You can directly assign the function to the ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 routine. Here is an example:
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Function GetFullName$() Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String FirstName = "Patricia" LastName = "Katts" GetFullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName End Function Sub Exercise() ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = GetFullName() End Sub In the same way, since a function returns a value, you can use it directly in your spreadsheet. To do this, click any box in the work area. After clicking the box, type =, followed by the name of the function. As you are typing the name of the function, Microsoft Excel would present a list of functions that match that name. If you see the name of the function, you can double-click it, or you can just keep typing. After typing the name of the function, type its parentheses, and press Enter or click the Enter button on the Formula Bar.
Practical Learning: Calling a Function

1. In Microsoft Excel, click any box 2. To call the function we had created, type =G and notice the suggested list of functions:
3. If you see GetCustomerName in the list, double-click it. Otherwise, complete it with =GetCustomerName() and, on the Formula Bar, click the Enter button
4. On the Ribbon, click Visual Basic
A Function and a Procedure

Depending on an author, in the Visual Basic language, the word "procedure" means either a sub-procedure created with the Sub keyword, or a function created with the Function keyword. In the same way, for the rest of our lessons, the word procedure will be used to represent both types. Only when we want to be precise will we use the expression "a sub-procedure" to explicitly mean the type of procedure that does not return a value. When the word "function" is used in our lessons, it explicitly refers to the type of procedure that returns a value.
Arguments and Parameters

A Review of Local and Global Variables
In the previous lesson, we saw that you could declare a global variable outside of any procedure. When using various procedures in a module, one of the characteristics of a global variable is that it is automatically accessible to other procedures: Private: A private global variable can be accessed by any procedure of the same module. No procedure of another module, even of the same program, can access it Public: A public global variable can be accessed by any procedure of its module and any procedure of another module Based on this characteristic of the procedures of a module having access to global variables of the
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Based on this characteristic of the procedures of a module having access to global variables of the same module, you can declare such variables and initialize or modify them in any procedure of the same code file. Here is an example: Option Explicit Private Length As Double Private Width As Double Private Sub GetLength() Length = 48.24 End Sub Private Sub GetWidth() Width = 25.82 End Sub Private Function CalculatePerimeter() As Double GetLength GetWidth CalculatePerimeter = (Length + Width) * 2 End Function
Introduction to Arguments
So far, to use a value in a procedure, we had to declare it. In some cases, a procedure may need an external value in order to carry its assignment. A value that is supplied to a procedure is called an argument. When creating a procedure that will use an external value, declare the argument that represents that value between the parentheses of the procedure. For a sub procedure, the syntax you use would be: Sub ProcedureName(Argument) End Sub If you are creating a function, the syntax would be: Function ProcedureName(Argument) As DataType Function Sub The argument must be declared as a normal variable, omitting the Dim keyword. Here is an example that creates a function that takes a string as argument: Function CalculatePayroll(strName As String) As Double Function Sub While a certain procedure can take one argument, another procedure can take more than one argument. In this case, in the parentheses of the procedure, separate the arguments with a comma. Here is an example of a sub procedure that takes two arguments: Sub EvaluateInvoice(EmplName As String, HourlySalary As Currency) End Sub In the body of a procedure that takes one or more arguments, use the argument(s) as you see fit as if they were locally declared variables. For example, you can involve them with values inside of the procedure. You can also exclusively use the values of the arguments to perform the assignment.
Practical Learning: Creating a Function With Arguments

To create functions that take arguments, type the following
Option Explicit Public Function CalculatePerimeter(Length As Double, _ Width As Double) As Double Dim Perimeter As Double Perimeter = (Length + Width) * 2 CalculatePerimeter = Perimeter End Function Public Function CalculateArea(Length As Double, Width As Double) As Double Dim Area As Double Area = Length * Width CalculateArea = Area End Function
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Calling a Procedure With Argument

The value provided for an argument is also called a parameter. To call a procedure that takes an argument, type its name. Then you have various options to access its argument(s). Earlier, we saw that, to call a procedure, you could just use its name. After the name of the procedure, you can type the opening parenthesis "(", followed by the name of the argument, followed by =, and the value of the argument. If the procedure takes more than one argument, separate them with commas. Here is an example: Private Function GetFullName$(First As String, Last As String) Dim FName As String FName = First & Last GetFullName = FName End Function Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String Dim FullName As String FirstName = "Patricia " LastName = "Katts" FullName = GetFullName(FirstName, LastName) ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName End Sub As mentioned previously, you can also use the Call keyword to call a procedure. When you call a procedure that takes more than one argument, you must provide the values of the arguments in the order they are listed inside of the parentheses. Fortunately, you don't have to. If you know the names of the arguments, you can type them in any order and provide a value for each. To do this, in the parrentheses of the procedure you are calling, type the name of the argument whose value you want to specify, followed by the := operator, and followed by the desired value for the argument. Here is an example: Private Function GetFullName$(First As String, Last As String) Dim FName As String FName = First & Last GetFullName = FName End Function Sub Exercise() Dim FullName$ FullName$ = GetFullName(Last:="Roberts", First:="Alan ") ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName End Sub The above technique we have just seen for using the parentheses is valid for sub procedures and functions. If the procedure you are calling is a sub, you can omit the parentheses. If calling a sub procedure, after the name of the procedure, put an empty space, followed by the name of the argument assigned the desired value. Here is an example: Private Sub ShowResult(ByVal Result As Double) Result = 145.85 End Sub Public Sub Exercise() Dim Number As Double ShowResult Number End Sub If the sub procedure is taking more than one argument, separate them with commas.
Practical Learning: Calling a Procedure With Argument

1. In Microsoft Excel, click any box 2. To call the function we had created, type =C and notice the suggested list of functions:
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3. In the list of suggested functions, double-click CalculatePerimeter. If you don't see it, complete the typing with =CalculatePerimeter( 4. After the opening parenthesis, type 48.26, 25.42 as the arguments, then type the closing parenthesis ")"
5. On the Formula Bar, click the Enter button
6. Press Enter 7. Type =CalculateArea(48.26, 25.26) and press Enter
8. On the Ribbon, click Visual Basic
Techniques of Passing Arguments

Passing Arguments By Value
When calling a procedure that takes an argument, we were supplying a value for that argument. When this is done, the procedure that is called makes a copy of the value of the argument and makes that copy available to the calling procedure. That way, the argument itself is not accessed. This is referred to as passing an argument by value. To show this, type the ByVal keyword on the left side of the argument. Here are examples: Private Function GetFullName$(ByVal First As String, ByVal Last As String) Dim FName As String FName = First & Last GetFullName$ = FName End Function If you create a procedure that takes an argument by value and you have used the ByVal keyword on the argument, when calling the procedure, you do not need to use the ByVal keyword; just the name of the argument is enough, as done in the examples on arguments so far. Here is an example: Private Function GetFullName$(ByVal First As String, ByVal Last As String) Dim FName As String
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FName = First & Last GetFullName$ = FName End Function Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String Dim FullName As String FirstName = "Raymond " LastName = "Kouma" FullName = GetFullName(FirstName, LastName) ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName End Sub
Practical Learning: Passing Arguments By Value

1. To specify that the arguments are passed by value, change the functions as follows:
Public Function CalculatePerimeter(ByVal Length As Double, _ ByVal Width As Double) As Double Dim Perimeter As Double Perimeter = (Length + Width) * 2 CalculatePerimeter = Perimeter End Function Public Function CalculateArea(ByVal Length As Double, _ ByVal Width As Double) As Double Dim Area As Double Area = Length * Width CalculateArea = Area End Function
2. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the toolbar, click the View Microsoft Excel button
Passing Arguments By Reference

An alternative to passing arguments as done so far is to pass the address of the argument to the called procedure. When this is done, the called procedure does not receive a simple copy of the value of the argument: the argument is accessed by its address; that is, at its memory address. With this technique, any action carried on the argument will be kept by the argument when the procedure ends. If the value of the argument is modified, the argument would now have the new value, dismissing or losing the original value it had. This technique is referred to as passing an argument by reference. Consider the following code: Private Sub ShowResult(ByVal Result As Double) Result = 145.85 End Sub Public Sub Exercise() Dim Number As Double ShowResult Number ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Number End Sub When the Exercise() procedure starts, a variable named Number is declared and its value is set to 0 (the default value of a newly declared Double variable). When the ShowResult variable is called, it assigns a value to the variable but since the variable is declared by value, when the procedure exits, the variable comes back with its original value, which was 0. As a result, when this code is run, the Number variable keeps its 0 value. If you want a procedure to change the value of an argument, you can pass the argument by reference. To pass an argument by reference, on its left, type the ByRef keyword. This is done only when creating the procedure. When you call the procedure, don't include the ByRef keyword. When the called procedure finishes with the argument, the argument would keep whatever modification was made on its value. Now consider the same program as above but with arguments passed by reference: Private Sub ShowResult(ByRef Result As Double) Result = 145.85 End Sub Public Sub Exercise() Dim Number As Double ShowResult Number ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Number End Sub
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When the Exercise() procedure starts, the Number variable is declared and its value is set to 0. When the ShowResult variable is called, it assigns a value to the variable. Since the variable is declared by reference, when the procedure exits, the variable comes back with the new value it was given. As a result, when this code runs, the Number variable has a new value. Using this technique, you can pass as many arguments by reference and as many arguments by value as you want. As you may guess already, this technique can be used to make a sub procedure return a value, which a regular sub routine cannot do. Furthermore, passing arguments by reference allows a procedure to return as many values as possible while a regular function can return only one value.

1. To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office Button and click Exit Excel 2. When asked whether you want to save the file, click No
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Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 06: Introduction to Objects
Introduction to Objects
Classes and Objects
Introduction
The Microsoft Visual Basic language uses the concept of class to identify or manage the parts of an application. Consider an object like a house. It has such characteristics as its type (single family, townhouse, condominium, etc), the number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms, etc:
These characteristics are used to describe a house to somebody who wants to buy it. To get such an object, you must first define the criteria that describe it. Here is an example: House [ Address Type of House Number of Bedrooms Number of Bathrooms Has Indoor Garage The Living Room is Covered With Carpet The Kitchen Has an Island Stove ] This information is used to describe a house. Based on this, House is called a class. To actually describe a real house, you must provide information for each of the above characteristics. Here is an example: House: Langston [ Address: 6802 Leighton Ave Type of House: Single Family Number of Bedrooms: 4 Number of Bathrooms: 3 Has Indoor Garage: Yes The Living Room is Covered With Carpet: Yes The Kitchen Has an Island Stove: No ] In this case, Langston is not a class anymore, it is a real house and is explicitly described. Therefore, Langston is called an object. Based on this, a class is a technique used to provide the criteria to define an object. An object is the result of a description based on a class.
Practical Learning: Introducing Objects

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. On the Ribbon, click Developer 3. In the Controls section, click Insert 4. Under ActiveX Controls, click any object and click the main area of the spreadsheet
The Properties of an Object

In our example of a house, we used words to describe it. Examples are: Address, Type of House, Number of Bedrooms, Number of Bathrooms. In computer programming, the characteristics used to describe an object are referred to as its properties. To display the characteristics of a Windows control, in Microsoft Excel: You can right-click the control and click Properties
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You can right-click the control and click Properties
If the control is selected in the work area, in the Controls section of the Ribbon, click the Properties button Any of these two actions would display the Properties window for the control that was rightclicked:
The Properties window would stay on the screen of Microsoft Excel as long as you want. To show the properties of another control, simply click it in the work area. If you are working in Microsoft Visual Basic, to show the characteristics of a control, right-click it and click Properties. This also would display the Properties window and show the characteristics of the selected control. While the Properties window in Microsoft Excel floats and does not hold a specific position, by default, in Microsoft Visual Basic, the Properties window is position on the lower-left side. You can move it by dragging its title bar.
Practical Learning: Introducing Properties

Right-click the object you added and click Properties
The Methods of an Object

Introduction
While most objects only provide characteristics to describe them, other objects can perform actions. For example, a house can be used to protect people when it is raining outside. In computer programming, an action that an object can perform is referred to as method. Earlier, we defined a House class with its properties. Unlike a property, a method must display parentheses on this right side to differentiate it from a property. An example would be: House [ Address TypeOfHouse NumberOfBedrooms NumberOfBathrooms HasIndoorGarage LivingRoomCoveredWithCarpet KitchenHasIslandStove ProtectFromOutside() ] When an object has a method, to access that method, type the name of the object, followed by a period, followed by the name of the method, and followed by parentheses. For example, if you have a House object named Langston and you want to ask it to protect its inside from outside rain, you would type: Langston.ProtectFromOutside() This is also referred to as calling a method.
Methods and their Arguments

When asked to perform an action, a method may need one or more values to work with. If a method needs a value, such a value is called an argument. While a certain method may need one argument, another method would need more than one. The number of arguments of a method
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argument, another method would need more than one. The number of arguments of a method depends on its goal. The arguments of a method are provided in parentheses. Suppose you have a House object and you want it to protect what is inside. There may be different reasons why the inside needs to be protected: may be from the rain, may be from the windy dust, may be at night time from too much light that prevents from sleeping, etc. Based on this, you may have to provide additional information to indicate why or how the inside should be protected. For this reason, when such a method is called, this additional information must be provided, in the parentheses of the method. Here is an example: House [ Address TypeOfHouse NumberOfBedrooms NumberOfBathrooms HasIndoorGarage LivingRoomCoveredWithCarpet KitchenHasIslandStove ProtectFromOutside(Reason) ] As mentioned above, a method can be created to take more than one argument. In this case, the arguments are separated with commas. Here is an example: House [ Address TypeOfHouse NumberOfBedrooms NumberOfBathrooms HasIndoorGarage LivingRoomCoveredWithCarpet KitchenHasIslandStove ProtectFromOutside(Reason, WhenToProtect) ] The arguments are used to assist the object with performing the intended action. Once a method has been created, it can be used. Once again, using a method is referred to as calling it. If a method takes one argument, when calling it, you must provide a value for the argument, otherwise the method would not work. To call a method that takes an argument, type the name of the method followed by the opening parenthesis (, followed by the value that will be the argument, followed by a closing parenthesis ). The argument you pass can be a regular constant value or it can be the name of another object. If the method is taking more than one argument, to call it, type the values for the arguments, in the exact order indicated, separated from each other by a comma.
Default Arguments
We have mentioned that, when calling a method that takes an argument, you must supply a value for the argument. There is an exception. Depending on how the method was created, it may be configured to use its own value if you fail, forget, or choose not, to provide one. This is known as the default argument. Not all methods follow this rule. If a method that takes one argument has a default value for it, then you don't have to supply a value when calling that method. Such an argument is considered optional. If a method takes more than one argument, some argument(s) may have default values while some others do not. The arguments that have default values can be used and you don't have to supply them. We will mention default arguments when we come to a method that takes some.
Techniques of Accessing the Members of an Object

Me
In previous lessons and sections, we saw that an object was made of properties and methods. We also saw how to access a property of an object. For example, imagine you have a House class defined as follows: House [ Address TypeOfHouse NumberOfBedrooms NumberOfBathrooms HasIndoorGarage LivingRoomCoveredWithCarpet KitchenHasIslandStove
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KitchenHasIslandStove ProtectFromOutside() ]
If you have an object named Camden and that is of type House. To access some of its properties, you would use code as follows: Camden.Address Camden.TypeofHouse If you are working inside of a method of the class, for example if you are working in the body of the ProtectFromOutside method, you can also access the properties the same way, this time without the name of the object. This could be done as follows: ProtectFromOutside() Address TypeofHouse NumberOfBedrooms NumberOfBathrooms End When you are accessing a member of a class inside of one of its own methods, you can precede that member with the Me object. You must include the period operator between Me and the member of the class. Here is an example: ProtectFromOutside() Me.Address Me.TypeofHouse Me.NumberOfBedrooms Me.NumberOfBathrooms End Remember that the Me object is used to access the members of an object while you are inside of another member of the object.
With
We have seen that you can use the name of an object to access its members. Here is an example: Camden.Address Camden.TypeOfHouse Camden.NumberOfBedrooms Camden.NumberOfBathrooms Camden.HasIndoorGarage Instead of using the name of the object every time, you can start a section with the With keyword followed by the name of the object. In another line, end the section with the End With expression: With Camden End With Between the With and the End With lines, to access a member of the class that the object is built from, type a period followed by the desired member. This would be done as follows: With Camden .Address .TypeOfHouse .NumberOfBedrooms .NumberOfBathrooms .HasIndoorGarage End With As you access a member, you can perform on it any action you judge necessary.
Design Time and Run Time

The Properties window allows you view or change a characteristic of the control. The properties of an object can be changed when designing it or by writing code. The time you are designing an application is referred to as design time. The time the application (form) displays to the user is referred to as run time. You can manipulate the characteristics of a control both at design and at run times. This means that you can set some properties at design time and some others at run time.

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Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 07: The Properties Window
The Properties Window

The Appearance of the Properties Window
Introduction
To manipulate an object, you can use the Properties window:

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. On the Ribbon, click Developer 3. In the Controls section, click Insert 4. Under ActiveX Controls, click any object and click the main area of the spreadsheet 5. Right-click the object you added and click Properties
The Name of a Property

After adding a control to your application, you can manipulate its characteristics. If you are working in Microsoft Excel, to put a control into edit mode, in the Controls section of the Ribbon,
click the Design Mode button
Each field in the Properties window has two sections: the propertys name and the property's value:
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The name of a property is represented in the left column. This is the official name of the property. Notice that the names of properties are in one word. Based on this, our House class would have been defined as follows: House [ Address TypeOfHouse NumberOfBedrooms NumberOfBathrooms HasIndoorGarage LivingRoomCoveredWithCarpet KitchenHasIslandStove ] You can use this same name to access the property in code.
Accessing a Control's Property

To access a property of a control using code, type the name of the control, followed by a period, followed by the name of the property. Based on this, if you have a House object named Langston, to access its TypeOfHouse property, you would write: Langston.TypeOfHouse
The Value of a Property

The box on the right side of each property name represents the value of the property that you can set for an object. There are various kinds of fields you will use to set the properties. To know what particular kind a field is, you can click its name. To set or change a property, you use the box on the right side of the propertys name: the property's value, also referred to as the field's value.
The Default Value of a Control's Property

To programmatically change the value of a property, type the name of the control, followed by a period, followed by the name of the property, followed by =. Then, on the right side of equal, you must provide the value but this depends on the type of value. The people who developed the controls also assigned some primary values to their properties. This is the type of value that a property either is most likely to have or can use unless you decide to change it. The primary value given to a property is referred to as its default value. Most of the time, you can use that property. In some other assignments, the default value will not be suitable.
Types of Properties
Empty Fields
By default, these fields don't have a default value. Most of these properties are dependent on other settings of project. To set the property on such a field, you can type in it or sometimes you will need to select from a list.
Text Fields
There are fields that expect you to type a value. Most of these fields have a default value. To change the value of the property, click the name of the property, type the desired value, and press Enter or Tab. While some properties, such as the Caption, would allow anything, some other fields expect a specific type of text, such as a numeric value. To programmatically change the value of a text-based property, on the right side of the = sign, you can type the value in double quotes. For example, suppose you have a
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value in double quotes. For example, suppose you have a House object named Langston. If you want to specify its address, you would write:
Langston.Address = "6802 Leighton Ave"
Numeric Fields
Some fields expect a numeric value. In this case, you can click the name of the field and type the desired value. If you type an invalid value, you would receive a message box notifying you of the error:
When this happens, click OK and type a valid value. If the value is supposed to be an integer, make sure you don't type it with a fractional part.
Expandable Fields
Some fields have a - or a + button. This indicates that the property has a set of sub-properties that actually belong to the same property and are defined together. To expand such a field, click its + button and a button will appear. To collapse the field, click the button. Some of the properties are numeric based. With such a property, you can click its name and type the numeric value. Some other properties are created from a sub-list. If you expand such a field, it would display various options. With such a property, you should select from a list.
Boolean Fields
Some fields can have only a True or False value. These are Boolean fields. To change their value, you can either select from the combo box or double-click the property to switch to the other value. To programmatically specify the value of a Boolean property, on the right side of the = symbol, type True or False. Here is an example: Langston.HasIndoorGarage= True
Intermediary Fields
Some fields use a value that can be set through an intermediary action. Such fields display a browse button
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intermediary action. Such fields display a browse button . When you click the button, a dialog box would come up and you can set the value for the field.
List-Based Fields
To change the value of some of the fields, you would first click the arrow of their combo box to display the available values. After clicking the arrow, a list would display:
There are various types of list-based fields. Some of them display just two items. To change their value, you can just double-click the field. Some other fields have more than two values in the list. To change them, you can click their arrow and select from the list. You can also double-click a few times until the desired value is selected. Some other items would dispplay a window from where you would click the option you want:
To programmatically specify the value of a list-based property, you must use one from a list. For example, suppose you had defined a list of types of house as tpeSingleFamily, tpeTownHouse, and tpeCondominium. To use one of these values for a House object named Langston, you would type: Langston.TypeOfHouse = tpeSingleFamily In most cases, each member of such a list also uses a natural number. An example would be: TypeOfHouse Value 0 1 2 tpeSingleFamily tpeTownHouse tpeCondominium
Although we used 0, 1, and 2 in this list, there are no predefined rules as to the number allocated for each member of the list. The person who created the list also decided what number, if any, each member of the list would have (if you are curious, in most programming languages or libraries, these types of properties are created using an enumeration (in C++ or in the the .NET Framework) or a set (Borland VCL)). Based on this, the above code would also be written as: Langston.TypeOfHouse = 0

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Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 08: Introduction to Forms
Introduction to Forms
Forms Fundamentals
Introduction to Forms
A computer application, such as those that run on Microsoft Windows, is equipped with objects called Windows controls. These are the objects that allow a person to interact with the computer. The primary control used on most applications is called a form.
Practical Learning: Introducing Forms

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. On the Ribbon, click Developer 3. In the Code section, click Visual Basic
Creating a Form
To create a form, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click Insert -> UserForm. This would add a form to your project. In the same way, you can add as many forms as you want. The form is primarily used as a platform on which you add other controls. For this reason, a form is referred to as a container. By itself, a form is not particularly useful. You should add other objects to it. When you create or add a form, a module is also automatically created for it. To access the module associated with a form, you can right-click the form and click View Code.
Practical Learning: Creating a Form

1. To create a form, on the main menu, click Insert -> UserForm 2. To access its associated module, right-click the form and click View Code 3. To return to the form, on the main menu, click Window and click the menu item that has (UserForm).
Using a Form
Showing a Form
Although you create a form in Microsoft Visual Basic, you view its results in Microsoft Excel. You have various options. A form is referred to as modal if the user cannot access anything from the same application while the form is displaying. A form is called modeless if the user can click something of the same application behind that form while the form is displaying. To display the run-time view of a form in modal view: While in Microsoft Visual Basic, you can press F5 On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click Run -> Run Sub/UserForm On the Standard toolbar of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click the Run Sub/UserForm button . This would send the form to Microsoft Excel and display it in the normal view You can also programmatically display a form. To support this, the UserForm object is equipped with a method named Show. Its syntax is: Public Sub UserForm.Show(Optional ByVal Modal As Boolean) This method takes one Boolean argument that is optional. If you omit it, the form would display as modal and the user cannot do anything else in Microsoft Excel as long as the form is not closed. That's the default behavior. If you want to display the form as modeless, pass the argument as False. Here is an example: Private Sub Exercise() UserForm1.Show False End Sub
Printing a Form
If you have equipped a form with many aesthetic objects you want to see on a piece of paper, you can print it. To support printing, the UserForm object is equipped with a method named PrintForm.
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can print it. To support printing, the UserForm object is equipped with a method named PrintForm. Its syntax is: Public Sub PrintForm This method takes no argument. When called, it sends the (body of the) form directly to the printer. Here is an example of calling it: Private Sub Exercise() UserForm1.PrintForm End Sub
Hiding a Form
As opposed to displaying a form, if it is already showing, you can hide it. To allow you to hide a form, the UserForm object is equipped with a method named Hide. Its syntax is: Pyblic Sub UserForm.Hide This method takes no argument. When called, it hides the form (without closing it). Here is an example of calling it: Private Sub Exercise() UserForm1.Hide End Sub
Closing a Form
After using a form, the user can close it by clicking the system close button. To programmatically close a form, use the End statement. Here is an example: Private Sub Exercise() End End Sub
The Characteristics of a Form

The Name of a Form
Like every object on a computer, the primary characteristic of a form is its name. After creating a form, access its Properties window, click (Name), type the desired name and press Enter
Practical Learning: Naming a Form

If the Properties window is not displaying, right-click the form and click Properties window. In the Properties window, click (Name) and type frmCleaningOrders
The location of a Form

When a form displays in normal view to the user, it is usually centered. The user can then drag its title bar to move it around. You too can move a form. If you want to specify the position a form would assume when it displays, at design time, access its Properties window. Then change the values of the Left and the Top properties. You can also programmatically control the location of a form. You have two options. You can assign the desired values to its Left and/or Top properties. Here is an example: Private Sub Exercise() UserForm1.Left = 400 End Sub Al alternative is to call the Move method. Its syntax is: Public Sub UserForm.Move(ByVal Left As Single, ByVal Top As Single, Optional ...) This method takes two required arguments. The first represents the left distance and the second is the top distance. Here is an example: Private Sub Exercise() UserForm1.Move 200, 200 End Sub
The Size of a Form

When you have just added a new form, it assumes a default size. If that size doesn't fit your intentions, you can change. To change the size of a form, you can access its Properties window. Then change the values of the Height and Width. To programmatically change the size of a form, you have many options. You can assign the desired values to its Height and/or to its Width. Here is an example:
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Private Sub Exercise() UserForm1.Width = 600 End Sub Another option is to call the Move method. In reality, this method takes two required arguments and two optional arguments. Its actual syntax is: Public Sub UserForm.Move(ByVal Left As Single, ByVal Top As Single, _ Optional ByVal Width As Single, Optional ByVal Height As Single) The last two optional arguments allow you to specify the size of the form. Here is an example: Private Sub Exercise() UserForm1.Move 200, 200, 1040, 600 End Sub
Practical Learning: Resizing a Form

1. Position the mouse in the lower-right section of the form 2. Click and drag right and down 3. Return to Microsoft Excel 4. To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office Button and click Exit Excel 5. When asked whether you want to save the file, click No
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Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 09: Introduction to Controls
Introduction to Controls
Controls Fundamentals
Introduction
By itself, a form means nothing. Its role is revealed in the objects it holds. You can add such objects to a form or the body of a spreadsheet.

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. On the Ribbon, click Developer 3. In the Code section, click Visual Basic
The Spreadsheet
When working in Microsoft Excel, you can use Windows controls either on the work area or in a form in Microsoft Visual Basic. Therefore, just like a form, a spreadsheet also is a container of controls.
Introduction to Windows Controls

The main objects used to help a person interact with the computer are Windows controls. There are two main ways you can access these objects when working with Microsoft Excel. If you are working in Microsoft Excel, you can add or position some Windows controls on the document. To do that, on the Ribbon, click Developer. In the Control section, click Insert:
This would display the list of controls available in Microsoft Excel. The controls appear in two sections: Form Controls and ActiveX Controls. If you are working on a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel, you should use only the controls in the ActiveX Controls section. If you are working on a form in Microsoft Visual Basic, a Toolbox equipped with various controls will appear.
Practical Learning: Accessing Windows Controls

1. To create a form, on the main menu, click Insert -> UserForm 2. To access its associated module, right-click the form and click View Code 3. To return to the form, on the main menu, click Window and click the menu item that has (UserForm). 4. In Microsoft Visual Basic, notice that a Toolbox appears next to the form
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5. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the Taskbar, click Microsoft Excel 6. To display the controls, in the Controls section of the Ribbon, click Insert
Using Additional Objects

The Developer tab of the Ribbon in Microsoft Excel provides the most regularly used controls. These controls are enough for any normal spreadsheet you are developing. Besides these objects, other controls are left out but are still available. To use one or more of these left out controls, in the Controls section of the Ribbon, click Insert and click the More Controls button:
This would open the More Controls dialog box:
You can scroll up and down in the window to locate the desired control. If you see a control you want to use, click it and click OK. In Microsoft Visual Basic, to access more controls, on the main menu, you can click Tools -> Additional Controls... This would open the Additional Controls dialog box:
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To select a control, you can click its check box. After selecting the controls, click OK.
The Names of Controls

Every control in the Developer tab of the Ribbon or in the Toolbox of Microsoft Visual Basic has a specific name. You may be familiar with some of these controls. If you are not sure, you can position the mouse on a control and a tool tip would come up. In our lessons, we will use the tool tip of a control to name it. The names we will use are: ActiveX Controls Forms Name Controls Label Toggle Button
Name Command Button Combo Box Check Box List Box Text Box Scroll Bar Spin Button Option Button Label Image Toggle Button
TabStrip MultiPage ScrollBar Text Box Image RefEdit Frame
Adding a Control to a Container

Adding One Control
To use one of the controls from the Ribbon or the Toolbox, you can click it. If you then simply click its container, the control would be added where you clicked and with some default dimensions. In Microsoft Excel, if you click the button control in the Form Controls section and click the work area, just after the control has been added the Assign Macro dialog box would come up:
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In our lessons, when working in Microsoft Excel, we will avoid using the objects in the Form Controls section. If you want, instead of clicking and releasing the mouse, you can click and drag. This allows you to "draw" the control and give the dimensions of your choice. If the control has already been added but you want it to assume different dimensions, you can click it to select it and then drag one of its border handles. To programmatically add a control to a spreadsheet, use the following formula: Private Sub Exercise() Worksheets(1).OLEObjects.Add "Forms.ControlName.1" End Sub The only thing you need to know and change about this formula is the ControlName factor. We will learn about Worksheets(1) in Lesson 12. Use the following names: Use this Name CheckBox CommandButton ListBox OptionButton SpinButton ToggleButton To Get a Check Box Command Button List Box Option Button Spin Button Toggle Button Use this Name To Get ComboBox Label Image ScrollBar TextBox Combo Box Label Image Scroll Bar Text Box
Here is an example that creates and positions a text box on a spreadsheet: Private Sub Exercise() Worksheets(1).OLEObjects.Add "Forms.TextBox.1" End Sub
Adding Many Controls

The above technique is used to add one control at a time. If you want to add the same control again, you must click it on the Ribbon or in the Toolbox and click its container again. If you plan to add the same control many times, in the Toolbox of Microsoft Visual Basic, double-click the control and click the form as many times as necessary. When you have reached the desired number of copies of that control, to dismiss it, in the Toolbox, click the same control again, click another control, or click the Select Objects button.
Practical Learning: Accessing Windows Controls

1. To add a control to the document, Under ActiveX Controls, click the Command Button button and click a box (any box in the work area) 2. To add another control, in the Controls section of the Ribbon, click the arrow under Insert and click the Combo Box button previously added button and click somewhere in the work area away from the
3. On the Taskbar, click Microsoft Visual Basic to return to it 4. On the Toolbox, click the CommandButton and click somewhere in the top-left section of the form (no need for precision at this time) 5. On the Toolbox, click the ComboBox and click somewhere in the middle-center section of the form (no need for precision at this time) 6. On the Toolbox, click the CheckBox and click somewhere in the lower-right section of the form (no need for precision at this time) 7. To return to Microsoft Excel, click the View Microsoft Excel button
Control Selection
Single Control Selection
After you have added a control to a container, in order to perform any type of configuration on the control, you must first select it. Sometimes you will need to select a group of controls. To select a control in the work area in Microsoft Excel, first, in the Controls section of the Ribbon,
click the Design Mode button . After clicking it, right-click the control and press Esc. If you are working in Visual Basic, to select a control, click it on the form. In Microsoft Excel, when a control is selected, it is surrounded by 8 small circles, also called handles. Here is an example:
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handles. Here is an example:
In Microsoft Visual Basic, when a control is selected, it is surrounded by 8 small squares:
Practical Learning: Selecting Controls

1. Position the mouse on CommandBut that was positioned on the form and click. Notice that you are able to select the button
2. In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click the Design Mode button 3. In the work area, click the CommandBut button again 4. Click the combo box. Notice that, this time, you cannot select the controls 5. To return to controls to edit mode, in the Controls section of the Ribbon, click the Design Mode
button 6. To return to Microsoft Visual Basic, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click the Visual Basic
button
Multiple Control Selection

To select more than one control on a spreahsheet, click the first. Press and hold Shift. Then click each of the desired controls. If you click a control that should not be selected, click it again. After selecting the group of controls, release Shift:
If you are working on a form in Microsoft Visual Basic, first click one of the controls you want to select, then press and hold Ctrl. Click each of the desired controls. If you click a control that should not be selected, click it again. After selecting the group of controls, release Ctrl that you were holding. As another technique you can use to select various controls, click an unoccupied area on the form, hold the mouse down, drawing a fake rectangle that would either include each of the desired controls or would touch each, then release the mouse:
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Every control touched by the fake rectangle or included in it would be selected:
When a group of controls is selected, the first selected control displays 8 handles but its handles are white while the others are dark.
Practical Learning: Selecting and Using Various Controls

1. On the form, click one of the controls 2. Press and hold Ctrl 3. Click one of the other controls 4. Release Ctrl 5. To dismiss the selection, press Esc
Control Deletion
If there is a control on your form or your work area but you don't need it, you can remove it. To delete a control, first select it and then press Delete. You can also right-click a control and click Cut. To remove a group of controls, first select them, then press Delete or right-click the selection and click Cut.
Practical Learning: Deleting Controls

1. While still in Microsoft Visual Basic, press Ctrl + A to select all controls 2. Press Delete to remove them 3. To display them again, press Ctrl + Z 4. To return to Microsoft Excel, click the View Microsoft Excel button
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Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 10: Form and Controls Design
Form and Control Design

The Location of a Control on a Form
Introduction
In the previous lesson, we saw that a characteristic, also called a property, of a control is information used to describe or define an object. The description can be done visually or programmatically. Some of the visual description is done by designing the object; that is, by changing its aspects using the mouse, the keyboard, and the tools provided by Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Visual Basic.
Practical Learning: Introducing Controls Design

1. Start Microsoft Excel and, on the Ribbon, click the Developer tab 2. To launch the programming environment, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click the Visual
Basic button 3. To create a form, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Insert -> UserForm 4. On the Toolbox, click the CommandButton and click somewhere on the form (no need for precision) 5. On the Toolbox, click ComboBox and click the form away from the previously added CommandButton
Moving a Control
When you add a control to the work area in Microsoft Excel or to a form in Microsoft Visual Basic, it assumes a position on its container. If you want, you can change that location by moving the control. To move a control, click it and drag in the direction of your choice. To move a group of controls, first select them. Click it and drag the selection in the direction of your choice When a control has been selected, as your mouse moves over it, its pointer displays a different cursor. One of these cursors can be used to move a control. This cursor is represented as a cross with four arrows:
To move a control, click its border and hold the mouse down, drag in the direction of your choice. When you get to the desired location, release the mouse.
Control Centering Towards the Middle of the Form

You can also position one or more controls in the middle of the form. To do that, select the control, then, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Format -> Center In Form -> Vertically.
Aligning Controls
Horizontal Alignment
When many controls are selected on a form, one of the controls has dark handles:
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In our descriptions, the control with the dark handles will be referred to as the base control. During form design, to better position the controls, you can use the main menu with the Format group. Microsoft Visual Basic also provides the UserForm toolbar to assist you. To display the UserForm toolbar, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click View -> Toolbars -> UserForm. If you have a certain control on the form and want to position it exactly at equal distance between the left and the right borders of the form, select the control, then, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Format -> Center in Form -> Horizontally. To get the same option, on the UserForm toolbar, click the arrow of the Center button and click Horizontally:
Horizontal alignment affects controls whose distance from the left border of the form must be the same. To perform this type of alignment, you can use the main menu where you would click Format -> Align, and select one of the following options: Lefts: All selected controls will have their left border coincide with the left border of the base control Centers: The middle handles of the selected controls will coincide with the middle handles of the base control Rights: All selected controls will have their right border coincide with the right border of the base control To get the same options using the UserForm toolbar, click the arrow of the Align button and select the desired option: Lefts, Centers, or Rights:
Vertical Alignment
Another option you have consists of moving controls up or down for better alignment. Once again you must first select the controls. Then, on the main menu, click Format -> Align, and click one of the following options: Tops: All selected controls will have their top border coincide with the top border of the base control but their left border would have the same distance with the left border of the parent Middles: The top handles of the selected controls will align vertically with the top handle of the base control Bottoms: All selected controls will have their bottom border coincide with the bottom border of the base control but their left border would have the same distance with the left border of the parent To get the same options using the UserForm toolbar, click the arrow of the Align button and select the desired option: Tops, Middles, or Bottoms.
Horizontal Spacing and Alignment

Suppose you have a group of horizontally aligned controls as follows:
Obviously the controls on this form are not enjoying the most professional look. The Format group of the main menu allows you to specify a better horizontal alignment of controls with regards to each other. To use it, first select the controls. Then, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic,
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each other. To use it, first select the controls. Then, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Format -> Horizontal Spacing, and click one of the following options: Make Equal: Microsoft Visual Basic will calculate the horizontal distances that separate each combination of two controls and find their average. This average is applied to the horizontal distance of each combination of two controls:
Increase: Microsoft Visual Basic will move each control horizontally, except the base control (the control that has white handles) by one unit away from the base control. This will be done every time you click the Increase Horizontal Spacing button or the Format -> Horizontal Spacing -> Increase menu item
Decrease: Microsoft Visual Basic will move each control horizontally, except the base control (the control that has white handles) by one unit towards the base control. This will be done every time you click the Decrease Horizontal Spacing button or the Format -> Horizontal Spacing -> Decrease menu item
Remove: Microsoft Visual Basic will move all controls (horizontally), except for the left control, to the left so that the left border of a control touches the right border of the next control
Vertical Spacing and Alignment

Suppose you have a group of horizontally aligned controls as follows:
The controls on this form are not professionally positioned with regards to each other. Once again, the Format group of the main menu allow you to specify a better vertical alignment of controls relative to each other. To align them, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Format -> Vertical Spacing and click one of the following options: Make Equal: Microsoft Visual Basic will calculate the total vertical distances that separate each combination of two controls and find their average. This average is applied to the vertical distance of each combination of two controls
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Increase: Microsoft Visual Basic will move each control vertically, except the base control (the control that has darker handles) by one unit away from the base control. This will be done every time you click the Increase Horizontal Spacing button or the Format -> Horizontal Spacing -> Increase menu item
Decrease: Microsoft Visual Basic will move each control, except the base control (the control that has darker handles) by one unit towards the base control. This will be done every time you click the Decrease Horizontal Spacing button or the Format -> Horizontal Spacing -> Decrease menu item
Remove: Microsoft Visual Basic will move all controls vertically, except for the top control, to the top so that the top border of a control touches the bottom border of the next control towards the top
The Widths of Controls

Introduction
If you click a controls button on the Toolbox and click a UserForm, the control assumes a default width. The width of a control is the distance from its left to its right borders. To visual specify the width of a control, click it, position the mouse on one of its left or right handle until the mouse cursor appears with a horizontal bar with two arrows . Then click and drag left or right in the direction of your choice. When you get the desired with, release the mouse. The distance from the left border to the right border of a control is referred to as its Width property. Therefore, to specify the width of a control with precision, click the control. In the Properties window, click Width and type the desired value. To programmatically specify the width
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Properties window, click Width and type the desired value. To programmatically specify the width of a control, access it using its name, type the period, followed by Width, the assignment operator, and the desired value. If a control displays or contains text, such as the caption of a button, click the control. On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Format and click Size to Fit.
Enlarging or Narrowing Controls

Instead of one, you can also resize a group of controls at the same time. To enlarge or shrink many controls, select them. Position the mouse on the left or right handle of one of the selected controls to get the desired cursor widths, then release the mouse. Consider the following form: . Click and drag left or right until you get the desired
Imagine you would like each of these buttons to have just enough space to accommodate its caption. First select the controls that will be resized. To resize the controls, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Format and click Size to Fit. If you do, the controls will be resized based on the contents of their value:
If all the controls are text boxes, their widths would be reduced to be able to hold a character. Consider the following form:
Imagine one of the controls has a certain width and you want to apply that width to the other controls. Select the controls but make as the base control the object that has the width you want. Here is an example where the button labeled Order Processing is selected as the base:
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On the main menu, you can click Format -> Make Same Size -> Width. Alternatively, on the UserForm toolbar, you can click the arrow of the right button and click Width:
After doing this, the controls would be enlarged or narrowed based on the width of the control that was set as the base:
The Heights of Controls

Introduction
The height of a control is the distance from its top to its bottom borders. This can be illustrated as follows:
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To visual specify the height of a control, click it, position the mouse on one of its top or bottom handle until the mouse cursor appears with a vertisal bar with two arrows . Then click and drag up or down in the direction of your choice until you get the desired height. Then release the mouse. To specify the width of a control with precision, click the control. In the Properties window, click Height and type the desired value. To programmatically specify the height of a control, access it using its name, type the period, followed by Height, followed by =, and the desired value. If a control displays or contains text, such as the caption of a button, click the control. On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Format and click Size to Fit. To programmatically specify the height of a control, type its name, access its Height property and assign the desired value.
Shrinking or Heightening Various Controls

You can resize many controls at the same time. To do this, select the controls. Position the mouse on the top or bottom handle of one of the selected controls to get the desired cursor and drag up or down. All of the selected controls would be resized. . Click
You can shrink or heighten many controls based on the height of one of the controls. To start, select the controls but use as base the control that has the height you would like to apply on the other controls. Here is an example where the button labeled Get is set as the base:
On the main menu, you can click Format -> Make Same Size -> Height. Or, on the UserForm toolbar, you can click the arrow of the right button and click Height. After doing this, the controls would get shrunk or tall based on the width of the control that was set as the base:
The Widths and Heights of Controls

Resizing a Control
Instead of separately setting the width or the height of a control or a group of controls, you can specify both pieces of information at the same time. To visually specify both the width and the height of a control: Click and hold the mouse on a control. Drag in the direction of your choice Click the control to select it. Position the mouse on one of its borders but not on the handles until the mouse cursor appears as a cross with four arrows direction of your choice When you get to the desired position, release the mouse. To resume, to resize a control, click it to select it. Position the mouse on a border, a handle, or a corner of the selected control. Use the appropriate mouse cursor: . Click and drag in the
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corner of the selected control. Use the appropriate mouse cursor: Cursor Role Moves the seized border in the North-West <-> South-East direction Shrinks or heightens the control Moves the seized border in the North-East <-> South-West direction Narrows or enlarges the control Changes both the width and height of a control
Resizing the Controls

Imagine you have added three controls to a form and the design appears as follows:
To visually resize various controls, first select them. Position the mouse on the border or corner of one of the selected controls until you get the cursor that would resize to the direction of your choice:
Click and drag in the direction of your choice:
Once you get the desired size, release the mouse. To precisely change the sizes of various controls at the same time, first select them. Then, in the Properties window, change the values of the Width and Height properties. The new value would be applied to all selected controls. Alternatively, Microsoft Visual Basic provides tools to automatically do this for you.
Control Maintenance
Copying a Control
If you had applied some design on a control and you want to replicate that design, you can copy the control. This is mostly a simple operation of copy n' paste. You can copy a control on the work area or on a form and paste it on the same container (you are not allowed to copy a control from the work area to a form and vice versa). You can also copy a control from one work area and paste it in another work area. You can copy a control from one form and paste it in another form. When you copy and paste a control, there are some characteristics it would retain and some others it would loose. Normally, it would keep its aesthetic characteristics (such as the color) and its size but it will loose some others (such as its location and its programmatic characteristics such as its name. To copy a control: Right-click the control and click Copy Click the control to select it and press Ctrl + C To copy a group of controls, first select the controls:
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Right-click in the selection and click Copy Press Ctrl + C To paste the copied controls, in the work area or on a form: Right-click the destination (work area or form) and click Paste Press Ctrl + V
Deleting Controls
If you have added a control to the work area or a form but you don't need it anymore, you can remove it from the container. You can also delete a group of controls in one step. To remove a control from a work area or from a form: Click the control and press Delete Right-click the control and click Cut To remove a group of controls, select them: Press Delete Right-click one of the selected controls and click Cut
Tab Ordering
When using the controls of a form, you can press Tab to move from one control to another. For example, after entering a value in a text box of a form, if there is another text box on the right side, when you press Tab, the caret should move to that right control. If there is no control on the right side, the caret should move to the control under the one previously used. If the caret or focus is in the last bottom control on a form and you press Tab, the caret should move back to the first record. This follows the arranged sequence of the controls on the form. For this reason, the controls on a form should be aligned in the order of a logical sequence. When you add a control to a form that already has other controls, it is sequentially positioned at the end of the existing controls. The sequence of controls navigation is set using the Tab Order dialog box. To access the Tab Order dialog box: Right-click the form and click Tab Order
On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click View -> Tab Order
Primary Characteristics of Windows Controls

The Name of a Control
Every object used in a computer must have a name. This allows you and the operating system to know at any time what object you are referring to. When you add a new control to the work area in Microsoft Excel or to a form in Microsoft Visual Basic, the object receives a default name. For example, the first CommandButton you add is named CommandButton1. If you add another button, it would be named CommandButton2, and so on. The default name assigned may not be indicative enough for the role a control is playing, especially when you use many controls on the same container. Therefore, you should assign your own custom names to the controls you use. In the Properties window, the name of a control is represented with the (Name) field. To change the name of a control, click (Name) and type the desired name. There are rules you must follow when naming your controls. The name of a control: Must start with a letter After the first letter, can contain letters, digits, and underscores only Cannot contain space
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Cannot contain space Based on these rules, you can adapt your own.
Practical Learning: Naming Windows Controls

1. On the form, right-click CommandButton1 and click Properties 2. In the Properties window, click (Name) and type cmdSubmit 3. On the form, click the combo box 4. In the Properties window, click (Name) and type cboSizes
Border Style
Some controls display a border when they are drawn and some others don't. Some of these controls allow you to specify a type of border you want to show surrounding the control. This characteristic is controlled by the BorderStyle property.
The Text or Caption of a Control

The Caption or Text of a Control
Some controls are text-based, meaning they are meant to display or sometimes request text from the user. For such controls, this text is referred to as caption while it is simply called text for some other controls. This property is not available for all controls. If a control displays text, it may have a property called Caption in the Properties window. After adding such a control to a work area or a form, its Caption field would display the same text as its name. At design time, to change the caption of the control, click its Caption field in the Properties window and type the desired value. For most controls, there are no strict rules to follow for this text. Therefore, it is your responsibility to type the right value. Some other controls have this property named Text. For such a control, when you add it to a work area or a form, its Text field in the Properties window may be empty. If you want, you can click the Text field and type the desired text. The text provided in Caption or a Text field of a text-based control can only be set as is at design time. If you want the text to change while the application is running, you can format it. For example, such a control can display the current time or the name of the user who is logged in. These format attributes cannot be set at design time. To change the text of a text-based control at run time, either assign a simple string or provide a formatted string to the Caption or the Text property.
Practical Learning: Setting Controls Text

1. On the form, click the button 2. In the Properties window, click Caption and type Submit 3. On the form, click the combo box 4. In the Properties window, click Text field and type Large
The Alignment of the Text or Caption of a Control

If a control is text-based, when you provide text to it or when you type text in it, by default, text is positioned to the left side of the control. This is appropriate if the value entered is a string (regular text). In some cases, such as numbers, you may prefer the value to be position in the center or on the right side of the control. This characteristic is referred to as the alignment of text. Once again, not all controls have this option. The ability to control the alignment of text is done through the TextAlign property:
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It provides three options: TextAlign 1 - frmTextAlignLeft Result Text will be aligned to the left of the control
2 - fmTextAlignCenter Text will be position in the center of the control 3 - fmTextAlignRight Text will be aligned to the left of the control
To programmatically specify the text alignment of a control that supports this characteristics, assign the desired option to this property. Here is an example: TextBox1.TextAlign = fmTextAlignRight
The Font of Text of a Control

The font specify what face, size, and style a control should use to display its text. To specify or change the font of a control, click it to select in. In the Properties window, click Font and click the browse button . This would display the Font dialog box:
From this dialog box, you can select the font name, the style, the size, and the effect(s). Once you are ready, click OK.
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Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 11: Messages and Events of Windows C...
Messages and Events of Windows Controls

Controls Messages
Introduction
You can add Windows controls to a work area or to a form to help a user interact your application. When a control is used, it must communicate with the operating system. For example, when a user clicks, the object that was clicked must inform the operating system that it has been clicked. This is the case for every control used in an application. Because a typical application can involve many controls, a mechanism was designed to manage the occurrence of actions.
To communicate its intention to the operating system, a Windows control must compose a message and send it (to the operating system).
The Parts of a Message

In order to make a message clear, the control that wants to send it must provide three important pieces of information: WHO sent the message? When a control sends a message, it must identify itself because there can be many controls sending different messages at the same time. The operating system will need to know where the message came from. This is one of the reasons why every control must have a name. Also because each message is particular to the control that sent it, the message is considered a private matter. Based on this, the code of a message starts with Private Sub, followed by the name of the control that is sending the message: Private Sub ControlName
WHAT message? When a control is sending a message, it must specify the type of message. A control can be able to send various types of messages. For example, when a control gets clicked, it sends a Click message. If the same control receives focus but you press a key, the control sends a keyboard-related message. When the mouse passes over that same control, its sends a different type of message. Every message a control can send has a name. To see the types of message available for a particular control, open Microsoft Visual Basic. In the Object combo box, select the name of the control. Then, click the arrow of the Procedure combo box:
By convention, the name of the message follows the name of the control but they are separated with an underscore. It would appear as: Private Sub ControlName_Push Arguments: An argument is additional information needed to process a message. When a control sends a message, it may need to accompany it with some information. For example, if you position the mouse on a control and click, the operating system may need to know what button of the mouse was used to click. On the other hand, if you select an object and start dragging, the operating system may need to know if a key such as Shift or Ctrl was held down while you were dragging. An additional piece of information that the control provides is provided as an argument. While some messages may need to provide only one piece of information, some messages would require more than one argument. Some other messages don't need any additional information
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require more than one argument. Some other messages don't need any additional information at all: the name of the message would completely indicate how the message must be processed. The arguments of a message are provided in parentheses. They would appear as: Private Sub ControlName_Push(Argument1, Argument2, Argument_n) After specifying the message, you can type code that tells the operating system what to do to process the message. To indicate the end of the code that relates to a message, type End Sub Private Sub ControlName_Push(Argument1, Argument2, Argument_n) End Sub As mentioned earlier, a message must be composed and sent. The action of sending a message is called an event. It is also said that the controls "fires" an event. Based on the above descriptions, to compose and send a message, in the Object combo box, you can select the name of the control that will send the message, then select the desired message in the Procedure combo box. When you do this, Microsoft Visual Basic will write the first line that specifies the name of the control, the name of the event, its arguments if any, and would write End Sub for you. You can then enter the necessary code between those two lines. Most Windows control have a special event referred to as the default. This is the even that is the most obvious that the control can fire. For example, when you think of a button, the first action that comes to mind is Click. For this reason, Click is the default event of a button. If you add a control to a work area or to a form and double-click the control, its default event would be invoked and the skeleton of that event would be written in the corresponding module. If you don't want to use that event or to fires another event for the same control, you can simply select the event in the Procedure combo box.
Practical Learning: Introducing Messages and Events

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. Save the document as Messages 3. To open Microsoft Visual Basic, on the Ribbon, click Developer and, in the Code section, click Visual Basic 4. To create a form, on the Standard toolbar, click the Insert UserForm button 5. Right-click the form and click Properties 6. In the Properties window, click (Name) and type frmPayroll 7. On the Toolbox, click the TextBox and click the form 8. Complete the design of the form as follows:
Control Label TextBox Label TextBox
Name
Caption
Other Properties
lblHourlySalary Hourly Salary: txtHourlySalary lblWeeklyHours Weekly Hours: txtWeeklyHours TextAlign: 3 frmTextAlignRight TextAlign: 3 frmTextAlignRight
CommandButton cmdCalculate Label TextBox 9. Save the file lblWeeklySalary txtWeeklySalary Weekly Salary: TextAlign: 3 frmTextAlignRight
Common Events of Windows Controls
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Click
To interact with the computer, one of the most usually performed actions is to click. The mouse is equipped with two buttons. The most clicked button is the left one. Because the action simply consists of clicking, when you press this button, a simple event, called Click is sent or fired. When you press the (left) button on the mouse, the mouse pointer is usually on a Windows control. Based on this, the control that is clicked "owns" the event and must manage it. Therefore, no detailed information is provided as part of the event. The operating system believes that the control that fired the event knows what to do. For this reason, whenever you decide to code an OnClick event, you should make sure you know what control sent or fired the event. This is (one of) the most common events of Windows controls.
Practical Learning: Generating a Click Event

1. To generate a Click event for the button, on the form, double-click the Calculate button and notice that its Click event has been generated 2. Implement the Click event as follows: Private Dim Dim Dim Sub cmdCalculate_Click() HourlySalary As Currency WeeklyHours As Double WeeklySalary As Currency
HourlySalary = CCur(txtHourlySalary.Text) WeeklyHours = CDbl(txtWeeklyHours.Text) WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyHours txtWeeklySalary.Text = CStr(WeeklySalary) End Sub 3. To test the form, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Run -> Run Sub/UserForm 4. Enter 15.48 in the Hourly Salary and 36.50 in the Weekly Hours text boxes and click Calculate
5. Close the form
Double-Click
Another common action you perform on a control may consist of double-clicking it. This action causes the control to fire an event known as DblClick.
Practical Learning: Generating a Double-Click Event

1. On the form, right-click the Calculate button and click View Code 2. In the Object combo box, select UserForm 3. In the Procedure combo box, select DblCllck and notice the structure of the event: Private Sub UserForm_DblClick(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean) lblHourlySalary.BackColor = vbBlue lblWeeklyHours.BackColor = vbBlue lblWeeklySalary.BackColor = vbBlue lblHourlySalary.ForeColor = vbWhite lblWeeklyHours.ForeColor = vbWhite lblWeeklySalary.ForeColor = vbWhite BackColor = vbBlue End Sub 4. To test the form, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Run -> Run Sub/UserForm 5. Double-click the form
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6. Close the form
Entering a Control
Just as an application can have many forms, a form can be equipped with various controls. Such is the case for any data entry form. On a form that is equipped with many controls, only one control can be changed at a time. Such a control is said to have focus. To give focus to a control, you can click it or can keep pressing Tab until the desired control indicates that it has focus. In a form with many controls, the control that has focus may display a caret or a dotted line around its selection or its caption. When a form or a control receives focus, it fires the Enter event. We mentioned that a user can give focus to a control by clicking it. If the control is text-based, then a caret blinking in the control indicates that the control has focus. The Enter event does not take any argument: Private Sub TextBox1_Enter() End Sub
Exiting a Control
After using a control, you can switch to another control either by clicking another or by pressing Tab. This causes the focus to shift from the current control to another. If the focus shifts to another control, the control that had focus fires an Exit event. The Exit event takes one argument, : Private Sub TextBox1_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean) End Sub
Keyboard Events
Word processing consists of manipulating text and characters on your computer until you get the fantastic result you long for. To display these characters, you press some keys on your keyboard. If the application is configured to receive text, your pressing actions will display characters on the screen. The keyboard is also used to perform various other actions such as accepting what a dialog box displays or dismissing it. When you press the keys on a keyboard, the control in which the characters are being typed sends one or more messages to the operating system. There are three main events that Microsoft Windows associates to the keyboard. KeyDown: When you press a key on the keyboard, an event called KeyDown is fired. The KeyDown event takes two arguments: Private Sub TextBox1_KeyDown(ByVal KeyCode As MSForms.ReturnInteger, _ ByVal Shift As Integer) End Sub KeyUp: When you release a key that was pressed, an event called KeyUp fires. These two previous events apply to almost any key on the keyboard, even if you are not typing; that is, even if the result of pressing a key did not display a character on the document. Private Sub TextBox1_KeyUp(ByVal KeyCode As MSForms.ReturnInteger, _ ByVal Shift As Integer) End Sub KeyPress: The KeyPress event fires if the key you pressed is recognized as a character key; that is, a key that would result in displaying a character in a document. Private Sub TextBox1_KeyPress(ByVal KeyAscii As MSForms.ReturnInteger) End Sub
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Some keys on the keyboard don't display anything on a document. Instead, they perform (only) an action. Examples of such keys are Enter, Tab, Esc. Therefore, if you mean to find out what key you pressed, use the KeyDown event instead of the KeyPress event.
Pressing a Mouse Button Down

A mouse is equipped with buttons, usually two, that you press to request an action. Compared to the keyboard, the mouse claims many more events that are directly or indirectly related to pressing one of its buttons. When you press one of the buttons on the mouse, an event, called MouseDown fires. This event carries enough information as three arguments. Private Sub txtFirstName_MouseDown(Button As Integer, Shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single) End Sub The operating system needs to know what button was pressed; this is represented as the left or the right button. The left button is known as vbLeftButton. The right button is referenced as vbRightButton. If the mouse is equipped with a middle button, it would vbMiddleButton. In reality, these buttons have (constant) numeric values of 0, 1, and 2 respectively. Secondly, the operating system needs to know whether a special key, Shift, Ctrl, or Alt, was pressed. These buttons are called vbShiftMask, vbCtrlMask, and vbAltMask respectively. In reality, they are represented with 1, 2, and 4 respectively. Lastly, the operating system needs to know the screen coordinates of the mouse pointer, that is, the coordinates of the point where the mouse landed. X represents the distance from the top left corner of the parent to the mouse. Y represents the vertical measure of the point from the top-left corner down.
Releasing a Mouse Button

When you release a button that was pressed on the mouse, a new event fires. This event is called MouseUp. It provides the same types of information as the MouseDown event: Private Sub txtFirstName_MouseUp(Button As Integer, Shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single) End Sub
Moving the Mouse

The MouseMove event is sent while you are moving the mouse on a control. It provides the same pieces of information as the MouseDown and the MouseUp events: Private Sub txtFirstName_MouseMove(Button As Integer, Shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single) End Sub
Changing Text
One of the most important messages of a text box occurs when its content changes. That is, when the text it has is deleted, added to, or edited. When you click in a text box control and start typing it or change its text, the control fires a Change event.
Practical Learning: Using the Change Event of a Text Box

1. To add a new form, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Insert -> UserForm 2. In the Properties window, change its (Name) to frmEmployeeInformation 3. Design the form as follows:
Control
Name
Caption
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Control Label TextBox Label TextBox Label TextBox txtFullName txtLastName Full Name: txtFirstName Last Name: Name Caption First Name:
4. Double-click the top text box and implement its Change event as follows: Private Dim Dim Dim Sub txtFirstName_Change() FirstName As String LastName As String FullName As String
FirstName = txtFirstName.Text LastName = txtLastName.Text FullName = FirstName & " " & LastName txtFullName.Text = FullName End Sub 5. In the Object combo box, select txtLastName and implement its Change event as follows: Private Dim Dim Dim Sub txtLastName_Change() FirstName As String LastName As String FullName As String
FirstName = txtFirstName.Text LastName = txtLastName.Text FullName = FirstName & " " & LastName txtFullName.Text = FullName End Sub 6. To test the form, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Run -> Run Sub/UserForm 7. Click the top text box, type Julienne and press Tab 8. In the other text box, start typing Pal and notice that the Full Name text box is changing
9. Complete it with Palace and close the form
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Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 12: Objects and Collections
Objects and Collections

Fundamentals of Collections
Introduction
A collection is a series of items where each item has the same characteristics. In other words, all items can be described the same way. Programmatically, a collection is a series of items where all items share the same properties and methods, if any. For example, a collection can be made of employees of a company where each employee can be described with a characteristics such as a name.

1. Start Microsoft Excel and open the gdcs1 document you created in Lesson 10 2. To open Microsoft Visual Basic, on the Ribbon, click Developer and, in the Code section, click Visual Basic:
3. Right-click the form and click View Code
Creating a Collection
In our lessons, we will not create new collections. We will only use two categories: the Collection class and the built-in collection. To support collections, the Visual Basic language is equipped with a class named Collection. Actually, the Collection class we are going to study here is the one defined in VBA. The parent Visual Basic language has a somewhat different Collection class with additional functionality not found in the VBA's version. This class can be used to create a collection. To do this, declare a variable of type Collection. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Employees As Collection End Sub After declaring the variable, to allocate memory for it, use the Set operator to assign a New instance to the variable. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Employees
As Collection
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Dim Employees As Collection
Set Employees = New Collection End Sub Instead of always creating a new collection unless you have to, VBA for Microsoft Excel comes equipped with many collections so that you almost may never need to create your own collection. The collections that are already built in the VBA language are referred to as built-in collections. The built-in collection classes are derived from the Visual Basic's Collection class. As a result, all of their primary functionality comes from the Collection class. This also means that everything we will mention for the Collection class applies to any built-in collection. To use a built-in collection, you can declare a variable for it. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim CurrentSheets As Worksheets End Sub In reality, and as we will next in the next lessons, when Microsoft Excel starts, most (if not all) of the built-in collection classes are already available so that you do not have to declare their variable before using them.
Characteristics of, and Operations on, a Collection

Adding an Item to a Collection
The primary operation to perform on a collection consists of adding items to it. To support this, the Collection class is equipped with a method name Add. Its syntax is: Public Sub Add( _ ByVal Item As Object, _ Optional ByVal Key As String, _ Optional ByVal { Before | After } As Object = Nothing _ ) This method takes three arguments. Only the first is required. The Item argument specifies the object to be added to the collection. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Employees
As Collection
Set Employees = New Collection Employees.Add "Patricia Katts" End Sub In the same way, you can add as many items as you want: Sub Exercise() Dim Employees
As Collection
Set Employees = New Collection Employees.Add Employees.Add Employees.Add Employees.Add End Sub "Patricia Katts" "James Wiley" "Gertrude Monay" "Helene Mukoko"
Remember that if you are using one of the built-in collection classes, you do not have to declare a variable for it. You can just call the Add method on it to add an item to it. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Worksheets.Add End Sub

1. In the Object combo box, make sure UserForm is selected. In the Procedure combo box, select Activate 2. Type the code as follows: Private Sub UserForm_Activate() Rem Create the "other" cleaning items cbxNameItem1.AddItem "None" cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Women Suit" cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Dress" cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Regular Skirt" cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Skirt With Hook" cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Men 's Suit 2Pc" cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Men 's Suit 3Pc" cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Sweaters" cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Silk Shirt" cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Tie"
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cbxNameItem1.AddItem cbxNameItem1.AddItem cbxNameItem1.AddItem cbxNameItem1.AddItem cbxNameItem2.AddItem cbxNameItem2.AddItem cbxNameItem2.AddItem cbxNameItem2.AddItem cbxNameItem2.AddItem cbxNameItem2.AddItem cbxNameItem2.AddItem cbxNameItem2.AddItem cbxNameItem2.AddItem cbxNameItem2.AddItem cbxNameItem2.AddItem cbxNameItem2.AddItem cbxNameItem2.AddItem cbxNameItem3.AddItem cbxNameItem3.AddItem cbxNameItem3.AddItem cbxNameItem3.AddItem cbxNameItem3.AddItem cbxNameItem3.AddItem cbxNameItem3.AddItem cbxNameItem3.AddItem cbxNameItem3.AddItem cbxNameItem3.AddItem cbxNameItem3.AddItem cbxNameItem3.AddItem cbxNameItem3.AddItem cbxNameItem4.AddItem cbxNameItem4.AddItem cbxNameItem4.AddItem cbxNameItem4.AddItem cbxNameItem4.AddItem cbxNameItem4.AddItem cbxNameItem4.AddItem cbxNameItem4.AddItem cbxNameItem4.AddItem cbxNameItem4.AddItem cbxNameItem4.AddItem cbxNameItem4.AddItem cbxNameItem4.AddItem
"Tie" "Coat" "Jacket" "Swede" "None" "Women Suit" "Dress" "Regular Skirt" "Skirt With Hook" "Men 's Suit 2Pc" "Men 's Suit 3Pc" "Sweaters" "Silk Shirt" "Tie" "Coat" "Jacket" "Swede" "None" "Women Suit" "Dress" "Regular Skirt" "Skirt With Hook" "Men 's Suit 2Pc" "Men 's Suit 3Pc" "Sweaters" "Silk Shirt" "Tie" "Coat" "Jacket" "Swede" "None" "Women Suit" "Dress" "Regular Skirt" "Skirt With Hook" "Men 's Suit 2Pc" "Men 's Suit 3Pc" "Sweaters" "Silk Shirt" "Tie" "Coat" "Jacket" "Swede"
Rem Create the orders status cbxOrderStatus.AddItem "Processing" cbxOrderStatus.AddItem "Ready" cbxOrderStatus.AddItem "Picked Up" End Sub 3. Close Microsoft Visual Basic 4. Save the document
Accessing an Item in a Collection

The items of a collection are organized in an arranged sequence where each item holds a specific index. the first item in the collection holds an index of 1. The second item holds an index of 2, and so on. To give you access to the items of a collection, the Collection class is equipped with a property named Item. There are two ways you can use this property. To formally use the Item property, type the name of the collection object, followed by the period operator, followed by Item and optional parentheses. After the Item property or inside its parentheses, type the index of the desired item. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Employees
As Collection
Set Employees = New Collection Employees.Add Employees.Add Employees.Add Employees.Add "Patricia Katts" "James Wiley" "Gertrude Monay" "Helene Mukoko"
Employees.Item 2 End Sub Remember that you an also use parentheses: Sub Exercise() Dim Employees
As Collection
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Employees.Item (2) End Sub Instead of using the Item property, you can apply the index directly to the collection object. Here are examples: Sub Exercise() Dim Employees
As Collection
Employees.Item 2 Employees.Item (2) Employees 2 Employees (2) End Sub All these four techniques (notations) give you access to the item whose index you provided.
Removing an Item From a Collection

As opposed to adding a new item, you can delete one. To support this operation, the Collection class is equipped with a method name Remove. Its syntax is: Public Sub Remove(Index As Integer) This method takes one argument. When calling it, pass the index of the item you want to delete. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Employees
As Collection
Employees.Remove 2 End Sub This code deletes the second item in the collection.
The Number of Items in a Collection

When you start a new collection, obviously it is empty and its number of items is 0. To keep track of the number of items in a collection, the Collection class is equipped with a property named Count whose type is an integer. Remember that all built-in collection classes inherit their behavior from the Collection class. This means that the built-in collection classes are equipped with a property named Count to hold their number of items. We saw how you can add new items to a collection. Every time you add a new item to the collection, the Count property increases by 1. We also know how to remove an item from a collection. Whenever an existing item is deleted, the value of the Count property is decreased by 1. At anytime, to know the number of items that a collection is currently holding, get the value of its Count property.
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VBA For Microsoft Excel - Lesson 13: Workbooks
Workbooks
Workbooks Fundamentals
Introduction
When you start Microsoft Excel, it immediately creates a new workbook. You can start working on it and, eventually, you can save it. You are then said to save the workbook. On the other hand, if you have an existing workbook somewhere in the computer or from an attached document sent from a message to you, you can open it as a document.
Practical Learning: Introducing Workbooks

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. From the resources that accompany these lessons, open the CPAR1 workbook 3. To save it, press F12 4. In the Save As Type combo box, select Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm) 5. Accept the name of the file and click Save 6. On the ribbon, click Developer 7. In the Controls section, click Insert 8. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button (ActiveX Control) 9. Click the empty area in the lower-left section of the worksheet 10. Right-click the newly added button and click Properties 11. Change its properties as follows: (Name): cmdNewAutoRepair Caption: New Auto Repair 12. Move and enlarge the button
13. Right-click the button and click View Code 14. Write the code as follows:
Option Explicit Private AutoRepairExists As Boolean Private Sub cmdNewAutoRepair_Click() AutoRepairExists = False End Sub 15. Return to Microsoft Excel
Referring to a Workbook
In the VBA language, a workbook is an object that belongs to a collection called Workbooks. Each workbook of the Workbooks collection is an object of type Workbook, which is a class. As seen in the previous lesson with regards to collections, each workbook of the Workbooks collection can be identified using the Item property. To programmatically refer to a workbook, access the Item property and pass either the index or the file name of the workbook to it. After referring to a workbook, if you want to perform an action on it, you must get a reference to it. To do this, declare a Workbook variable and assign the calling Item() to it. This would be done as follows:
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done as follows: Private Sub cmdSelectWorkbook_Click() Dim SchoolRecords As Workbook Set SchoolRecords = Workbooks.Item(2) End Sub
Creating a Workbook
When it starts, Microsoft Excel creates a default blank workbook for you. Instead of using an existing workbook or while you are working on another workbook, at any time, you can create a new workbook. As mentioned already, a workbook is an object of type Workbook and it is part of the Workbooks collection. To support the ability to create a new workbook, the Workbooks collection is equipped with a method named Add. Its syntax is: Workbooks.Add(Template) As Workbook You start with the Workbooks class, a period, and the Add method. This method takes only one argument but the argument is optional. This means that you can call the method without an argument and without parentheses. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdNewWorkbook_Click() Workbooks.Add End Sub When the method is called like this, a new workbook would be created and presented to you. After creating a workbook, you may want to change some of its characteristics. To prepare for this, notice that the Add() method returns a Workbook object. Therefore, when creating a workbook, get a reference to it. To do this, assign the called method to a Workbook variable. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdNewWorkbook_Click() Dim SchoolRecords As Workbook Set SchoolRecords = Workbooks.Add End Sub After doing this, you can then use the new variable to change the properties of the workbook.
Saving or Opening a Workbook

Introduction
After working on a new workbook, you can save it. After programmatically creating a workbook, if you want to keep it when the user closes Microsoft Excel or when the computer shuts down, you must save it. You and the user have the option of using the Save As dialog box.
The Default File Location

When the user starts saving a file, the Save As dialog box displays, showing the contents of the (My) Documents folder. To find out what the default folder is, you can click the Office button and click Excel Options. In the Excel Options dialog box, check the content of the Default File Location text box:
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To support the ability to programmatically change the default folder, the Application class is equipped with a property named DefaultFilePath. Therefore, to programmatically specify the default folder, assign its string to the Application.DefaultFilePath property. Here is an example: Private Sub Exercise() Application.DefaultFilePath = "C:\Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services" End Sub When this code has executed, the Default File Location of the Excel Options dialog box would be changed.
Saving a Workbook
To visually save a workbook, you can click the Office Button and click Save. You can also press Ctrl + S. If the document was saved already, it would be saved behind the scenes without your doing anything else. To support the ability to programmatically save a workbook, the Workbook class is equipped with a method named Save. Its syntax is: Workbook.Save() As you can see, this method takes no argument. If you click the Office Button and click Save or if you call the Workbook.Save() method on a work that was not saved yet, you would be prompted to provide a name to the workbook. To save a workbook to a different location, you can click the Office Button, position the mouse on Save As and select from the presented options. You can also press F12. To assist you with programmatically saving a workbook, the Workbook class is equipped with a method named SaveAs. Its syntax is: Workbook.SaveAs(FileName, FileFormat, Password, WriteResPassword, ReadOnlyRecommended, CreateBackup, AccessMode, ConflictResolution, AddToMru, TextCodepage, TextVisualLayout, Local) The first argument is the only required one. It holds the name or path to the file. Therefore, you can provide only a name of the file with extension when you call it. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdNewWorkbook_Click() Dim SchoolRecords As Workbook Set SchoolRecords = Workbooks.Add SchoolRecords.SaveAs "SchoolRecords.xlsx" End Sub If you provide only the name of a file when calling this method, the new workbook would be saved in the current directory or in My Documents (Documents in Windows Vista). If you want, an alternative is to provide a complete path to the file.
Practical Learning: Saving a Workbook

1. In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click Insert 2. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button 3. On the worksheet, click under the previously added button 4. Using the Properties window, change the characteristics of the button as follows: (Name): cmdSaveAutoRepair Caption: Save and Close Auto Repair 5. Move and enlarge the button appropriately:
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6. Right-click the button and click View Code 7. Write its code as follows:
Private Sub cmdSaveAutoRepair_Click() ActiveWorkbook.Save End Sub 8. Return to Microsoft Excel
Saving a Workbook for the Web

To save a workbook for the Workbook.SaveAs() method: web, pass the first and the second argument of the
Workbook.SaveAs(FileName, FileFormat) In this case, pass the second argument as xlHTML. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Workbooks(1).SaveAs "Affiche10.htm", xlHtml End Sub
Opening a Workbook
Microsoft Excel is a multiple document interface (MDI) application. This means that you can open many workbooks at the same time and be limited only by the memory on your computer. For this reason, the ability to programmatically open a workbook is handled by the Workbooks collection. To support this, the Workbooks class is equipped with a method named Open. Its syntax is: Workbooks.Open(FileName, UpdateLinks, ReadOnly, Format, Password, WriteResPassword, IgnoreReadOnlyRecommended, Origin, Delimiter, Editable, Notify, Converter, AddToMru, Local, CorruptLoad) FileName is the only required argument. When calling this method, you must provide the name of the file or its path. This means that you can provide a file name with its extension. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdOpenWorkbook_Click() Workbooks.Open "SchoolRecords.xlsx" End Sub If you provide only the name of a file, Microsoft Excel would look for it in the current directory or in My Documents (Documents in Windows Vista). If Microsoft Excel cannot file the file, you would receive an error:
As you can imagine, a better alternative is to provide a complete path to the file.
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Practical Learning: Opening a Workbook

1. In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click Insert 2. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button 3. On the worksheet, click on the right side of Invoice # 4. Using the Properties window, change the characteristics of the button as follows: (Name): cmdOpenAutoRepair Caption: open Auto Repair 5. Move and enlarge the button appropriately:
6. Right-click the button and click View Code 7. Write its code as follows:
Private Sub cmdOpenAutoRepair_Click() Workbooks.Open = "1000.xlsm" End Sub
Closing Workbooks
Closing a Workbook
After using a workbook or to dismiss a document you don't need, you can close it. To support this operation, the Workbook class is equipped with a method named Close. Its syntax is: Public Sub Close(Optional ByVal SaveChanges As Boolean, Optional ByVal Filename As String, Optional ByVal RouteWorkbook As Boolean) All three arguments are optional. The first argument indicates whether you want to save the
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All three arguments are optional. The first argument indicates whether you want to save the changes, if any have been made on the workbook since it was opened. If no change had been made since the time the workbook was created or since the last time it was opened, this argument is not considered. If the first argument is set to True and the workbook has changes that need to be save, the second argument specifies the name of the file to save the workbook to. The third argument specifies whether the workbook should be sent to the next user.
Practical Learning: Closing a Workbook

1. In the Object combo box, select cmdSaveAutorepair 2. Change its code as follows:
Private Sub cmdSaveAutoRepair_Click() ActiveWorkbook.Save ActiveWorkbook.Close End Sub 3. Return to Microsoft Excel
Closing Many Workbooks

If you have many workbooks you don't need, you can close all of them. To support this operation, the Workbooks collection class is equipped with a method named Close. Its syntax is: Public Sub Workbooks.Close() This method takes no argument. When called, it closes all workbooks that are currently opened in Microsoft Excel.
Microsoft Excel as an MDI

Microsoft Excel is a multiple document interface (MDI). This means that the application allows you to switch from one workbook to another, or be able to display all of them sharing the same screen. When many workbooks have been opened in, to display many of them, you can arrange them in: Tiled:
Sub Exercise() Windows.Arrange ArrangeStyle:=xlTiled End Sub Horizontal:
Sub Exercise() Windows.Arrange ArrangeStyle:=xlHorizontal End Sub Vertically:
Sub Exercise() Windows.Arrange ArrangeStyle:=xlVertical End Sub Cascade:
Sub Exercise() Windows.Arrange ArrangeStyle:=xlCascade End Sub
Accessing a Workbook
To access a workbook, the Workbook class is equipped with a method named Activate. Its syntax is: Workbook.Activate() This method takes no argument. Therefore, to call it, you can get a reference to the workbook you want to access, then call the Activate() method. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdSelectWorkbook_Click() Dim SchoolRecords As Workbook Set SchoolRecords = Workbooks.Item(2)
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Set SchoolRecords = Workbooks.Item(2) SchoolRecords.Activate End Sub You can also do this with less code by applying the index directly to the Workbooks collection. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdSelectWorkbook_Click() Workbooks(2).Activate End Sub
Viewing Many Workbooks

If you create or open many workbooks and while you are working on them, each is represented on the taskbar by a button. To programmatically refer to a workbook, access the Item property and pass either the index or the file name of the workbook to it. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdSelectWorkbook_Click() Workbooks.Item (2) End Sub After referring to a workbook, if you want to perform an action on it, you must get a reference to it. To do this, declare a Workbook variable and assign the calling Item() to it. This would be done as follows: Private Sub cmdSelectWorkbook_Click() Dim SchoolRecords As Workbook Set SchoolRecords = Workbooks.Item(2) End Sub
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VBA For Microsoft Excel - Lesson 14: Worksheets
Worksheets
Worksheets Fundamentals
Introduction
A worksheet is a document in Microsoft Excel. A worksheet is an object created inside a workbook. That is, a workbook is a series of worksheets that are treated as a group.
Practical Learning: Introducing Worksheets

1. Start Microsoft Excel or a new document 2. To save the document, press Ctrl + S 3. Save it as ROSH1 4. On the Ribbon, click Developer
5. In the Code section, click the Visual Basic button 6. To create a form, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Insert -> UserForm 7. Right-click the form and click Properties 8. Change its Caption to Red Oak High School - Management
Identifying a Worksheet
A worksheet is an object of type Worksheet. The various worksheets you will use are stored in a collection called Worksheets. Another name for the collection that contains the worksheets is called Sheets. In most cases, you can use either of these two collections. Each worksheet is an object of type Worksheet.
Referring to a Worksheet
In the previous lesson, we saw that, if you have only one workbook opened, to refer to it, you can pass an index of 1 to the Item property of the Workbooks collection to access its Workbook object. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Workbooks.Item(1) End Sub You can omit the Item name if you want and you would get the same result: Sub Exercise() Workbooks(1) End Sub Because the worksheets of a document are part of the workbook that is opened, to support them, the Workbook class is equipped with a property named Worksheets or Sheets. Therefore, after identifying the workbook, use the period operator to access the Worksheets or the Sheets property. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Workbooks.Item(1).Sheets End Sub As mentioned already, the worksheets are stored in the Worksheets collection, which is actually a class. Each worksheet can be located based on an indexed property named Item. The Item property is a natural number that starts at 1. The most left worksheet has an index of 1. The second worksheet from left has an index of 2, and so on. To access a worksheet, type one of the Worksheets or Sheets collections, followed by the period operator, followed by Item() and, between the parentheses, type the index of the worksheet you want. For example, the following code will access the second worksheet from left: Private Sub Exercise() Workbooks.Item(1).Sheets.Item(2) End Sub Just as we saw that you can omit the Item word on the Workbooks object, you can also omit it on the Worksheets or the Sheets object. This can be done as follows: Sub Exercise() Workbooks.Item(1).Worksheets(2) End Sub
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Or as follows: Sub Exercise() Workbooks(1).Worksheets(2) End Sub Each tab of a worksheet has a label known as its name. By default, the most left tab is labeled Sheet1. The second tab from left is labeled Sheet2. To refer to a worksheet using its label, call the Worksheets or the Sheets collection and pass the label of the tab you want, as a string. Here is an example that refers to the worksheet labeled Sheet3: Sub Exercise() Workbooks.Item(1).Sheets.Item("Sheet3") End Sub On all the code we have written so far, we were getting a worksheet from the currently opened workbook. As mentioned already, by default, when Microsoft Excel starts, it creates a default workbook and gets a Workbooks.Item(1) reference. This means that you do not have to indicate that you are referring to the current workbook: it is already available. Consequently, in your code, you can omit Workbooks.Item(1) or Workbooks(1). Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Sheets.Item("Sheet3") End Sub
Getting a Reference to a Worksheet

In the above code segments, we assumed that you onlywant to perform an action on a worksheet and move on. Sometimes you may want to get a reference to a worksheet. To do this, declare a variable of type Worksheet. To initialize it, access the desired worksheet from the workbook using the Item property and assign it to the variable using the Set operator. Here is an example that gets a reference to the second worksheet of the currently opened workbook and stores that reference to a variable: Sub Exercise() Dim Second As Worksheet Set Second = Workbooks.Item(1).Sheets.Item(2) End Sub
Selecting a Worksheet
To select a worksheet, access the Sheets collection, pass the name of the desired worksheet as string, and call Select. Here is an example that selects a worksheet labeled Sheet1: Private Sub Exercise() Sheets("Sheet1").Select End Sub The worksheet that is selected and that you are currently working on is called the active worksheet. It is identified as the ActiveSheet object (it is actually a property of the current document).
Worksheets Names
To rename a worksheet, pass its index or its default name as a string to the Sheets (or the Worksheets) collection, then access the Name property of the collection and assign the desired name. Here is an example: Private Sub Exercise() Sheets("Sheet1").Name = "Employees Records" End Sub This code will change the name of the Sheet1 worksheet to Employees Records. As we saw earlier, you can refer to, or select, a worksheet, using its name. If you had renamed a worksheet, you can use that name to select it. Here is an example that selects a worksheet named Tuition Reimbursement: Private Sub Exercise() Sheets("Tuition Reimbursement").Select End Sub
Practical Learning: Naming Worksheets

1. Design the form as follows:
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Control Label TextBox Label TextBox CommandButton
Name
Caption Rename:
txtSheetOldName As txtNewName cmdRename Rename
2. Double-click the button and implement its Click event as follows:
Private Sub cmdRename_Click() Worksheets(txtSheetOldName.Text).Name = txtSheetNewName.Text txtSheetOldName.Text = "" txtSheetNewName.Text = "" End Sub 3. To use the form, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Run -> Run Sub/UserForm 4. In the Rename text box, type Sheet1 5. In the As text box, type Student Registration
6. Click Rename and notice that the To rename the first worksheet, double-click the Sheet1 tab to put it in edit mode 7. In the Rename text box, type Sheet2 8. In the As text box, type Emergency Information and click Rename
9. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic
Working on Many Worksheets

Freezing a Cell or More Rows
You can use a column to freeze its cells. To freeze or unfreeze a cell, call the ActiveWindow object and access its FreezePanes property, which is Boolean. If you set it to True, the window is divided in four parts based on the cell that either is currently selected or you will have indicated. Here is an example of using it: Sub Freezing() ActiveWindow.FreezePanes = True End Sub
Splitting the Interface

To split a worksheet, use the ActiveWindow object and access its Boolean Split property. To split, set this property to true: Sub Splitting() ActiveWindow.Split = True End Sub To un-split, set this property to False.
The Sequence of Worksheets

To move a worksheet, use the Move() method of the Worksheets or the Sheets collection. The syntax of this method is:
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syntax of this method is: Worksheets(Index).Move(Before, After) Both arguments are optional. If you don't specify any argument, Microsoft Visual Basic would create a new workbook with one worksheet using the index passed to the collection with a copy of that worksheet. Suppose you are (already) working on a workbook that contains a few worksheets named Sheet1, Sheet2, and Sheet3. If you call this method on a collection with the index set to one of these worksheets, Microsoft Excel would make a copy of that worksheet, create a new workbook with one worksheet that contains a copy of that worksheet. For example, the following code with create a new workbook that contains a copy of the Sheet2 of the current workbook: Private Sub CommandButton1_Click() Sheets.Item("Sheet2").Move End Sub In this case, the name of the worksheet you are passing as argument must exist. Otherwise you would receive an error. Instead of using the name of the worksheet, you can pass the numeric index of the worksheet that you want to copy. For example, the following code will create a new workbook that contains one worksheet named Sheet3: Private Sub CommandButton1_Click() Sheets.Item(3).Move End Sub If calling the Item property, make sure the index is valid, otherwise you would receive an error. To actually move a worksheet, you must specify whether it would be positioned to the left or the right of an existing worksheet. To position a worksheet to the left of a worksheet, assign it the Before factor. To position a worksheet to the left of a worksheet, assign it the After argument. Consider the following code: Private Sub cmdMove_Click() Worksheets("Sheet3").Move After:=Worksheets("Sheet1") End Sub This code will move the worksheet named Sheet3 to the right of a worksheet named Sheet1.
Adding New Worksheets

To create a new worksheet, you can specify whether you want it to precede or succeed an existing worksheet. To support creating a new worksheet, call the Add() method of the Worksheets or the Sheets collection. Its syntax is: Workbook.Sheets.Add(Before, After, Count, Type) All of these arguments are optional. This means that you can call this method as follows: Private Sub cmdNewWorksheet_Click() Sheets.Add End Sub If you call the method like that, a new worksheet would be created and added to the left side of the active worksheet. If you want to create a new worksheet on the left side of any worksheet you want, you can first select that worksheet and call the Add() method. For example, suppose you have three worksheets named Sheet1, Sheet2, and Sheet3 from left to right and you want to insert a new worksheet between Sheet2 and Sheet3, you can use code as follows: Private Sub cmdNewWorksheet_Click() Sheets("Sheet2").Select Sheets.Add End Sub To be more precise, you can specify whether the new worksheet will be positioned to the left or to the right of another worksheet used as reference.
Practical Learning: Creating Worksheets

1. Change the design of the form as follows:
Control
Name
Caption Create a new worksheet named:
Label
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named: TextBox CommandButton txtNewWorksheet cmdNewWorksheet
2. Double-click the Create button and implement its Click event as follows:
Private Sub cmdNewWorksheet_Click() Worksheets.Add Before:=Worksheets("Sheet3") Worksheets(Worksheets.Count - 1).Name = txtNewWorksheet.Text txtNewWorksheet.Text = "" End Sub 3. To test the code, on the Standard toolbar of Microsoft Visual Basic, click the Run Sub/UserForma button 4. Click the Create A New Worksheet Named text box and type 6th Grade
5. Click Create
6. In the same way, create new worksheets named 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade, 2nd Grade, and 1st Grade 7. Close the form
Removing Worksheets
To remove a worksheet, call the Delete() method of its collection. When calling this method, pass the name of the worksheet you want to remove to the collection.
Practical Learning: Deleting Worksheets

1. Change the design of the form as follows:
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Control Label TextBox
Name
Caption Delete the worksheet named:
txtRemoveSheet Delete
CommandButton cmdDelete
2. Double-click the Create button and implement its Click event as follows:
Private Sub cmdRemoveSheet_Click() Worksheets("Sheet3").Delete txtRemoveSheet.Text = "" End Sub 3. To test the code, on the Standard toolbar of Microsoft Visual Basic, click the Run Sub/UserForm button 4. Click the Delete The Worksheet Named text box, type Sheet3
5. Click Delete
6. After reading the warning, click Delete 7. In the same way, delete the worksheet named Sheet2
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7. In the same way, delete the worksheet named Sheet2 8. Close the form 9. Save the document
Accessing a Worksheet
To access a worksheet, the Worksheet class is equipped with a method named Activate. Its syntax is: Worksheet.Activate() This method takes no argument. To call it, get a reference to the worksheet you want to access and call the Activate() method. You can also do this with less code by applying the index directly to the Worksheets collection. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdSelectWorkbook_Click() Worksheets(2).Activate End Sub
Practical Learning: Introducing File Processing

1. To create a new workbook, press Ctrl + N 2. Double-click Sheet1, type Switchboard 3. Double-click Sheet2 and type Employees 4. Double-click Sheet3 and type Customers 5. Click the next sheet tab (the Insert Worksheet) 6. Double-click the new sheet tab and type Cars 7. Click the next sheet tab (the Insert Worksheet) 8. Double-click the new sheet tab and type Rental Rates 9. Click the Switchboard tab 10. Press and hold Shift 11. Click the Rental Rates tab 12. Release Shift
13. Click Cell B2 and type Bethesda Car Rental 14. Click the Enter button 15. Click the Employees sheet tab 16. Click Cell B6 and type Employee # 17. Create a few employees 18. Click the Customers sheet tab 19. Click Cell B6 and type Driver's Lic. # 20. Create a few customers 21. Click the Cars sheet tab 22. Click Cell B6 and type Tag Number 23. Create a few cars 24. On the Ribbon, click Developer
25. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Visual Basic 26. On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Insert -> UserForm 27. If the Properties window is not available, on the main menu, click View -> Properties Window. In the Properties window, click (Name) and type frmRentalOrder 28. Click Caption and type Bethesda Car Rental - Order Processing - Rental Order 29. Add a Command Button to the form and change its properties as follows: (Name): cmdEmployees Caption: Employees 30. Right-click Employees button and click View Code 31. Implement the event as follows:
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Private Sub cmdEmployees_Click() Worksheets(2).Activate End Sub 32. Display the form again 33. Add another Command Button and change its characteristics as follows: (Name): cmdCustomers Caption: Customers 34. Double-click the Customers button and implement the event as follows:
Private Sub cmdCustomers_Click() Worksheets(3).Activate End Sub 35. Return to the form 36. Add another Command Button and change its characteristics as follows: (Name): cmdCars Caption: Cars 37. Double-click the Cars button and implement the event as follows:
Private Sub txtCars_Click() Worksheets(4).Activate End Sub 38. Show the form one more time 39. Add another Command Button and change its characteristics as follows: (Name): cmdRentalRates Caption: Rental Rates 40. Double-click the new button and implement its Click event as follows:
Private Sub cmdRentalRates_Click() Worksheets(5).Activate End Sub 41. On the Standard toolbar, click the Run Sub/UserForm button 42. Click each button and notice that the corresponding worksheet displays 43. Close the form 44. Close Microsoft Visual Basic 45. Close Microsoft Excel 46. If asked whether you want to save, click No
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VBA For Microsoft Excel - Lesson 15: The Columns of a Worksheet
The Columns of a Worksheet

Columns Fundamentals
Introduction
A worksheet is arranged in columns. In VBA for Microsoft Excel, to programmatically refer to a column, you will use a collection. In your code, one of the classes you can use to access a column is named Range. As we will see in various examples, you can directly access this class.
If you want to get a reference to a column or a group of columns, declare a variable of type Range: Sub Exercise() Dim Series As Range End Sub To initialize the variable, you will identify the workbooks and the worksheets you are using. We will see various examples later on.
The Columns Collection

When Microsoft Excel starts, it displays the columns that have already been created. To support its group of columns, the Worksheet class is equipped with a property named Columns. There are various ways you can identify a column: using its index or using its label.
Identifying a Column
A Column by its Index
The columns on a worksheet are arranged by positions. A position is in fact referred to as the index of the column. The first column on the left has the index 1, the second from left has the index 2, and so on. Based on this, to refer to its column, pass its index to the parentheses of the Columns collection. Here are two examples: Sub Exercise() REM This refers to the first column Workbooks(1).Worksheets(2).Columns(1) ' This refers to the 12th column Workbooks(1).Worksheets(2).Columns(12) End Sub In the previous lesson, we saw that you can omit calling the Workbooks(1) property to identify the first workbook if you know you are referring to the default workbook. Therefore, the above codee can be written as follows: Sub Exercise() REM This refers to the fourth column Worksheets(2).Columns(4) End Sub This code now indicates that you are referring to the fourth column in the second worksheet. When this code runs, Microsoft Excel must be displaying the second worksheet. If you run this code while Microsoft Excel is displaying a worksheet other than the second, you would receive an error:
This means that if you trying accessing a column from a worksheet other than the one indicated in your code, the code would fail. If you want to access a specific column in any worksheet from the workbook that Microsoft Excel is currently showing, you can omit indicating the worksheet from the Worksheets collection. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() REM This refers to the fourth column Columns(4) End Sub
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End Sub This time, the code indicates that you are referring to the fourth column of whatever worksheet is currently active.
A Column by its Name

To programmatically refer to a column using its name, pass its letter or combination of letters as a string in the parentheses of the Columns collection. Here are two examples: Sub Exercise() Rem This refers to the column named/labeled A Columns("A") ' This refers to the column named DR Columns("DR") End Sub
Adjacent Columns
To programmatically refer to adjacent columns, you can use the Columns collection. In its parentheses, type the name of a column that would be on one end of the range, followed by a colon ":", followed by the name of the column that would on the other end. Here is an example that refers to columns in the range D to G: Sub ColumnReference() Rem Refer to the range of columns D to G Columns("D:G") End Sub You can also select columns using the Range class. To do this, in the ch the name of the first column, followed by a colon, followed by the name of the column on the other end. Here is an example: Sub ColumnReference() Rem This refers to the columns in the range D to G Range("D:H") End Sub
Non-Adjacent Columns
Columns are refered to as non-adjacent when they do not follow each other. For example, columns B, D, and G are non-adjacent. To programmatically refer to non-adjacent columns, use the Range collection. In its parentheses, type each name of a column, followed by a colon, followed by the same name of column, then separate these combinations with commas. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Rem This refers to Column H, D, and B Range("H:H, D:D, B:B") End Sub To refer to all columns of a worksheet, use the Columns name. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Columns End Sub
Columns Selection
Selecting a Column
To support column selection, the Column class is equipped with a method named Select. This method does not take any argument. Based on this, to select the fourth column using its indexed, you would use code as follows: Sub Exercise() Rem This selects the fourth column Columns(4).Select End Sub To select a column using its name, you would use code as follows: Sub Exercise() Rem This selects the column labeled ADH Columns("ADH").Select End Sub When a column has been selected, it is stored in an object called Selection. You can then use that object to take an action to apply to the column.
Selecting a Range of Adjacent Columns

To programmatically select a range of columns, in the parentheses of the Columns collection, enter the name of the first column on one end, followed by a colon ":", followed the name of the column that will be at the other end. Here is an example:
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Sub Exercise() Rem This selects the range of columns from Column D to Column G Columns("D:G").Select End Sub You can use this same notation to select one column. To do this, use the Range collection. In the parentheses of the colection, enter the name of the column, followed by a colon, followed by the same column name. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Rem This selects Column G Range("G:G").Select End Sub
Selecting Non-Adjacent Columns

To programmatically select non-adjacent columns, use the technique we saw earlier to refer to non-adjacent columns, then call the Select method. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Rem This selects Columns B, D, and H Range("H:H, D:D, B:B").Select End Sub When many columns have been selected (whether adjacent or not), their selection is stored in an object named Selection. You can access that object to apply a common action to all selected columns.
Creating Columns
Adding a New Column
To support the creation of columns, the Column class is equipped with a method named Insert. This method takes no argument. When calling it, you must specify the column that will succeed the new one. Here is an example that will create a new column in the third position and move the columns from 3 to 16384 to the right: Sub CreateColumn() Columns(3).Insert End Sub
Adding New Columns

To programmatically add a new column, specify its successor using the Range class. Then call the Insert method of the Column class. Here is an example that creates new columns in places of Columns B, D, and H that are pushed to the right to make place for the new ones: Sub CreateColumns() Range("H:H, D:D, B:B").Insert End Sub
Deleting Columns
Deleting a Column
To provide the ability to delete a column, the Column class is equipped with a method named Delete. This method does not take an argument. To delete a column, use the Columns collection to specify the index or the name of the column that will be deleted. Then call the Delete method. Here is an example that removes the fourth column. Here is an example: Sub DeleteColumn() Columns("D:D").Delete End Sub
Deleting Many Columns

To programmatically delete many adjacent columns, specify their range using the Columns collection and call the Delete method. Here is an example: Sub DeleteColumns() Columns("D:F").Delete End Sub To delete many non-adjacent columns, use the Range class then call the Delete method of the Column class. Here is an example that deletes Columns C, E, and P: Sub DeleteColumns() Range("C:C, E:E, P:P").Delete End Sub
The Width of Columns

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Introduction
To support column sizes, the Column class is equipped with a property named ColumnWidth. Therefore, to programmatically specify the width of a column, access it, then access its ColumnWidth property and assign the desired value to it. Here is an example that sets Column C's width to 4.50: Sub Exercise() Columns("C").ColumnWidth = 4.5 End Sub
Automatically Resizing the Columns

To use AutoFit Selection, first select the column(s) and store it (them) in a Selection object, access its Columns property, then call the AutoFit method of the Columns property. This can be done as follows: Private Sub Exercise() Selection.Columns.AutoFit End Sub
Setting the Width Value of Columns

To specify the widths of many columns, access them using the Range class, then access the ColumnWidth property, and assign the desired value. Here is an example that sets the widths of Columns C, E, and H to 5 each: Sub Exercise() Range("C:C, E:E, H:H").ColumnWidth = 5# End Sub
Hiding, Freezing, and Splitting Columns

Hiding and Revealing Columns
To programmatically hide a column, first select it, then assign True to the Hidden property of the EntireColumn object of Selection. Consider the following code: Private Sub Exercise() Columns("F:F").Select Selection.EntireColumn.Hidden = True End Sub To unhide a hidden column, assign a False value to the Hidden property: Private Sub Exercise() Columns("F:F").Select Selection.EntireColumn.Hidden = False End Sub
Splitting the Columns

To split the columns, call the ActiveWindow object, access its SplitColumn and assign it the column number. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() ActiveWindow.SplitColumn = 4 End Sub To remove the splitting, access the same property of the ActiveWindow object and assign 0 to it. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() ActiveWindow.SplitColumn = 0 End Sub
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VBA For Microsoft Excel - Lesson 16: The Rows of a Spreadsheet
The Rows of a Worksheet

Rows Fundamentals
Introduction
We already know that a worksheet organizes its information in columns. To show the values in a worksheet, each column holds a particular value that corresponds to another value in the same horizontal range. The group of values that correspond to the same horizontal arrangement is called a row.
Identifying a Row
To support the rows of a worksheet, the Worksheet class is equipped with a property named Rows. Therefore, to refer to a row, you can use the Worksheets collection or the Worksheet object to access the Rows property. Another way you can refer to rows is by using the Range object. To identify a row, indicate its worksheet and you can pass its number to the parentheses of the Rows collection. Here is an example that refers to the 5th row of the second worksheet of the current workbook: Sub Exercise() Workbooks.Item(1).Worksheets.Item(2).Rows(5) End Sub As reviewed for the columns, this code would work only if the second worksheet of the current workbook is displaying. If you run it while a worksheet other than the second is active, you would receive an error. To access any row, omit the Workbooks and the Worksheets collections. As mentioned already, you can refer to a row using the Range object. To do that, pass a string to the Range object. In the parentheses, type the number of the row, followed by a colon, followed by the number of the row. Here is an example that refers to Row 4: Sub Exercise() Range("4:4") End Sub If you want to refer to the rows more than once, you can declare a variable of type Range and initialize it using the Set operator and assign it the range you want. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim SeriesOfRows As Range Set SeriesOfRows = Workbooks.Item(1).Worksheets.Item("Sheet1").Range("4:4") SeriesOfRows.Whatever End Sub
Identifying a Group of Rows

A group of rows is said to be in a range if they are next to each other. To refer to rows in a range, in the parentheses of the Rows collection, pass a string that is made of the number of the row from one end, followed by a colon, followed by the row number of the other end. Here is an example that refers to rows from 2 to 6: Sub Exercise() Rows("2:6") End Sub The rows of a group qualify as non-adjacent if they are or they are not positioned next to each other. To refer to non-adjacent rows, pass a string to the Range collection. In the parentheses, type the number of each row followed by a colon, followed by the same number. These combinations are separated by commas. Here is an example that refers to Rows 3, 5, and 8: Sub Exercise() Range("3:3, 5:5, 8:8") End Sub To refer to all rows of a worksheet, use the Rows name. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Rows End Sub
Rows Selection
Selecting a Row
To support row selection, the Row class is equipped with a method named Select. Therefore, to
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To support row selection, the Row class is equipped with a method named Select. Therefore, to programmatically select a row, access a row from the Rows collection using the references we saw earlier. Then call the Select method. Here is an example that selects Row 6: Sub Exercise() Rows(6).Select End Sub We also saw that you could refer to a row using the Range object. After accessing the row, call the Select method. Here is an example that selects Row 4: Sub Exercise() Range("4:4").Select End Sub When a row has been selected, it is stored in an object called Selection. You can then use that object to apply an action to the row.
Selecting a Group of Rows

To programmatically select a range of rows, refer to the range using the techniques we saw earlier, then call the Select method. Here is an example that selects rows from 2 to 6: Sub Exercise() Rows("2:6").Select End Sub To programmatically select non-adjacent rows, refer to them as we saw earlier and call the Select method. Here is an example that selects Rows 3, 5, and 8: Sub Exercise() Range("3:3, 5:5, 8:8").Select End Sub To programmatically select all rows of a worksheet, call the Select method on the Rows collection. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Rows.Select End Sub When many rows have been selected (whether adjacent or not), their selection is stored in an object named Selection. You can access that object to apply a common action to all selected rows.
Managing Rows
The Height of a Row
To support the height of a row, the Row object is equipped with a property named RowHeight. Therefore, to programmatically specify the height of a row, access the row using a reference as we saw earlier, access its RowHeight property and assign the desired value to it. Here is an example that sets the height of Row 6 to 2.50 Sub Exercise() Rows(6).RowHeight = 2.5 End Sub
Adding a New Row

To provide the ability to add a new row, the Row class is equipped with a method named Insert. Therefore, to programmatically add a row, refer to the row that will be positioned below the new one and call the Insert method. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Rows(3).Insert End Sub
Adding New Rows

To programmatically add new rows, refer to the rows that would be below the new ones, and call the Insert method. Here is an example that will add new rows in positions 3, 6, and 10: Sub Exercise() Range("3:3, 6:6, 10:10").Insert End Sub
Removing Rows
Deleting a Row
To support row removal, the Row class is equipped with a method named Delete that takes no argument. Based on this, to delete a row, access it using a reference as we saw earlier, and call the Delete method. Here is an example:
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the Delete method. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Rows(3).Delete End Sub Of course, you can use either the Rows collection or the Range object to refer to the row.
Deleting Rows
To delete a group of rows, identify them using the Range collection. Then call the Delete method. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Range("3:3, 6:6, 10:10").Delete End Sub
Using Rows
Moving Rows
To move a group of rows, access the Range collection and identify them. Call the Cut method. Access its Destination argument to which you will assign the rows where you are moving. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Rows("11:12").Cut Destination:=Rows("16:17") End Sub
Copying and Pasting Rows

To copy a row (or a group of rows), use the Rows collection to identify the row(s). Call the Copy method on it. Access the Destination argument and assign the destination row(s) to it. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Rows("10:15").Copy Destination:=Rows("22:27") End Sub
Hiding and Revealing Rows

To programmatically hide a row, first select. Then, access the Hidden property of the EntireRow object of Selection. Here is an example: Private Sub Exercise() Rows("6:6").Select Selection.EntireRow.Hidden = True End Sub This code example will hide row 6. In the same way, to hide a group of rows, first select their range, then write Selection.EntireRow.Hidden = True.
Splitting the Rows

To split the rows, call the ActiveWindow object, access number. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() ActiveWindow.SplitRow = 4 End Sub To remove the splitting, access the same property of the ActiveWindow object and assign 0 to it. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() ActiveWindow.SplitRow = 0 End Sub its SplitRow and assign it the row
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VBA For Microsoft Excel - Lesson 17: Introduction to Cells
Introduction to Cells
A Cell in a Worksheet
Introduction
A spreadsheet is a series of columns and rows. These columns and rows intersect to create cells:
When Microsoft Excel starts, it creates 16,384 columns and 1,048,576 rows. As a result, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet has 16,384 * 1,048,576 = 17,179,869,184 cells available.
The Active Cell

To access a cell, you can click it. This becomes the active cell. In VBA, the active cell is represented by an object named ActiveCell.
Referencing Cells
To identify a cell, you can use the Range object. In the parentheses of the Range object, pass a string that contains the name of the cell. Here is an example that refers to the cell located as D6: Sub Exercise() Workbooks.Item(1).Worksheets.Item("Sheet1").Range("D6") End Sub To get a reference to a cell, declare a variable of type Range. To initialize the variable, identify the cell and assign it to the variable using the Set operator. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Cell As Range Set Cell = Workbooks.Item(1).Worksheets.Item("Sheet1").Range("D6") End Sub Cells are referred to as adjacent when they touch each other. To refer to a group of adjacent cells, in the parentheses of the Range object, pass a string that is made of the address of the cell that will be on one corner, followed by a colon, followed by the address of the cell that will be on the other corner. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Range("B2:H6") End Sub You can use this same technique to refer to one cell. To do this, use the same cell address on both sides of the colon. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Range("D4:D4") End Sub Instead of referring to one group of adjacent cells, you can refer to more than one group of non-adjacent cells. To do this, pass a string to the Range object. In the string, create each range as you want but separate them with commas. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Range("D2:B5, F8:I14")
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Range("D2:B5, F8:I14") End Sub
Selecting Cells
Introduction
Before doing anything on a cell or a group of cells, you must first select it. To support cell selection, the Range object is equipped with a method named Select. Therefore, to programmatically select a cell, after referencing it, call the Select method. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Range("D6").Select End Sub When you have selected a cell, it is stored in an object named Selection. You can use this object to take an action on the cell that is currently selected.
Selecting Cells
To programmatically select a group of adjacent cells, refer to the group using the techniques we saw earlier, then call the Select method. To programmatically select all cells of a column, access the Columns collection and pass the column name as a string, then call the Select method. Here is an example we saw in Lesson 9: Sub Exercise() Rem This selects all cells from the fourth column Columns(4).Select End Sub To perform this operation using the name of a column, pass that name as argument. Here is an example that selects all cells from Column ADH: Sub Exercise() Rem This selects all cells from the column labeled ADH Columns("ADH").Select End Sub You can also perform this operation using the Range object. To do this, use the Range collection. In the parentheses of the colection, enter the name of the column, followed by a colon, followed by the same column name. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Rem This selects all cells from Column G Range("G:G").Select End Sub To programmatically select all cells that belong to a group of adjacent columns, in the parentheses of the Columns collection, enter the name of the first column on one end, followed by a colon ":", followed the name of the column that will be at the other end. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Rem This selects all cells in the range of columns from Column D to Column G Columns("D:G").Select End Sub To select the cells that belong to a group of non-adjacent columns, use the technique we saw earlier to refer to non-adjacent columns, then call the Select method. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Rem This selects the cells from columns B, D, and H Range("H:H, D:D, B:B").Select End Sub To programmatically select all cells that belong to a row, access a row from the Rows collection, then call the Select method. Here is an example that all cells from Row 6: Sub Exercise() Rows(6).Select End Sub You can also use the Range object. After accessing the row, call the Select method. Here is an example that selects all cells from Row 4: Sub Exercise() Range("4:4").Select End Sub To select all cells that belong to a range of rows, refer to the range and call the Select method. Here is an example that selects all cells that belong to the rows from 2 to 6: Sub Exercise() Rows("2:6").Select End Sub To select all cells that belong to non-adjacent rows, refer to the rows and call the Select method. Here is an example that selects all cells belonging to Rows 3, 5, and 8:
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Here is an example that selects all cells belonging to Rows 3, 5, and 8: Sub Exercise() Range("3:3, 5:5, 8:8").Select End Sub
To programmatically select cells in the same region, enter their range as a string to the Range object, then call the Select method. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Range("B2:H6").Select End Sub Remember that you can use the same technique to refer to one cell, thus to select a cell. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Range("D4:D4").Select End Sub To select more than one group of non-adjacent cells, refer to the combination as we saw earlier and call the Select method. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Range("D2:B5, F8:I14").Select End Sub To select all cells of a spreadsheet, you can call the Select method on the Rows collection. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Rows.Select End Sub Instead of the Rows collection, you can use the Columns collection instead and you would get the same result. When you have selected a group of cells, the group is stored in an object named Selection. You can use this object to take a common action on all of the cells that are currently selected.
The Name of a Cell

We already saw that, to refer to a cell using its name, you can pass that name as a string to the Range object. After creating a name for a group of cells, to refer to those cells using the name, call the Range object and pass the name as a string.
The Gridlines and Headings of a Worksheet

Showing the Gridlines of Cells
To show or hide the gridlines, call the ActiveWindow and access its DisplayGridlines property. This is a Boolean property. If you set its value to True, the gridlines appear. If you set it to False, the gridlines disappear. Here is an example of using it: Sub Exercise() ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False End Sub
Showing the Headings of a Worksheet

To show or hide the headers of columns, get the ActiveWindow object and access its DisplayHeadings Boolean property. To show the headers, set this property to True. To hide the headers, set the property to False. Here is an example: Sub ShowHeadings() ActiveWindow.DisplayHeadings = False End Sub
Operations on Cells
Adding Cells
We know that, to insert a column made of (vertical) cells, you can access the Columns collection, specify an index in its parentheses, and call the Insert method. Here is an example: Sub CreateColumn() Columns(3).Insert End Sub We also know how to create a series of rows made of cells horizontally.
Cell Data Entry

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Cell Data Entry

Data entry consists of adding one or more values into one or more cells. This can be done manually, automatically, or programmatically. We already know that a cell that is currently selected in a worksheet is called ActiveCell. Therefore, to programmatically add a value to the active cell, assign that value to this object.
Practical Learning: Introducing Data Entry

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. On the Ribbon, click Developer 3. In the Code section, click Record Macro 4. Set the Macro Name to CreateWorkbook 5. In the Shortcut Key text box, type W to get Ctrl + Shift + W
6. Click OK 7. On the Ribbon, click Stop Recording
8. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros 9. In the Macro dialog box, make sure CreateWorkbook is selected and click Edit 10. Change the code as follows:
Option Explicit Sub CreateWorkbook() ' CreateWorkbook Macro ' This macro is used to create a workbook for the ' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services ' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W Rem Just in case there is anything on the Rem worksheet, delete everything Range("A:K").Delete Range("1:20").Delete Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services" Range("B5") = "Order Identification" Range("B6") = "Receipt #:" Range("G6") = "Order Status:" Range("B7") = "Customer Name:" Range("G7") = "Customer Phone:" Range("B9") = "Date Left:" Range("G9") = "Time Left:" Range("B10") = "Date Expected:" Range("G10") = "Time Expected:" Range("B11") = "Date Picked Up:" Range("G11") = "Time Picked Up:" Range("B13") Range("B14") Range("D14") Range("E14") Range("F14") Range("B15") Range("H15") Range("B16") Range("B17") = = = = = = = = = "Items to Clean" "Item" "Unit Price" "Qty" "Sub-Total" "Shirts" "Order Summary" "Pants" "None"
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Range("B17") Range("H17") Range("B18") Range("H18") Range("I18") Range("J18") Range("B19") Range("H19") Range("B20") Range("H20")
= = = = = = = = = =
"None" "Cleaning Total:" "None" "Tax Rate:" "5.75" "%" "None" "Tax Amount:" "None" "Order Total:"
Rem Change the widths and heights of some columns and rows Rem In previous lessons, we learned all these things Range("E:E, G:G").ColumnWidth = 4 Columns("H").ColumnWidth = 14 Columns("J").ColumnWidth = 1.75 Rows("3").RowHeight = 2 Range("8:8, 12:12").RowHeight = 8 Rem Hide the gridlines ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False End Sub
11. To return to Microsoft Excel, click the View Microsoft Excel button 12. To fill the worksheet, press Ctrl + Shift + W
13. Close Microsoft Excel 14. When asked whether you want to save, click No
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VBA For Microsoft Excel - Lesson 18: Cells Aesthetic Formatting
Cells Aesthetic Formatting

Cell Formatting With a Font
Introduction
A font is a description of characters designs to represent meaningful (or graphical) characters. A font is an object made of various characteristics, including a name, a size, and a style. To define a font, the VBA library provides a class named Font. This class is equipped with the necessary characteristics.
Practical Learning: Introducing Cell Formatting

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. On the Ribbon, click Developer 3. In the Code section, click Record Macro 4. Set the Macro Name to CreateWorkbook 5. In the Shortcut Key text box, type W to get Ctrl + Shift + W
6. Click OK 7. On the Ribbon, click Stop Recording
8. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros 9. In the Macro dialog box, make sure CreateWorkbook is selected and click Edit 10. Change the code as follows: Option Explicit Sub CreateWorkbook() ' CreateWorkbook Macro ' This macro is used to create a workbook for the ' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services ' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W Rem Just in case there is anything on the Rem worksheet, delete everything Range("A:K").Delete Range("1:20").Delete Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services" Range("B5") = "Order Identification" Range("B6") = "Receipt #:" Range("G6") = "Order Status:" Range("B7") = "Customer Name:" Range("G7") = "Customer Phone:" Range("B9") = "Date Left:" Range("G9") = "Time Left:" Range("B10") = "Date Expected:" Range("G10") = "Time Expected:" Range("B11") = "Date Picked Up:" Range("G11") = "Time Picked Up:"
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Range("G11") = "Time Picked Up:" Range("B13") Range("B14") Range("D14") Range("E14") Range("F14") Range("B15") Range("H15") Range("B16") Range("B17") Range("H17") Range("B18") Range("H18") Range("I18") Range("J18") Range("B19") Range("H19") Range("B20") Range("H20") = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = "Items to Clean" "Item" "Unit Price" "Qty" "Sub-Total" "Shirts" "Order Summary" "Pants" "None" "Cleaning Total:" "None" "Tax Rate:" "5.75" "%" "None" "Tax Amount:" "None" "Order Total:"
Rem Change the widths and heights of some columns and rows Rem In previous lessons, we learned all these things Range("E:E, G:G").ColumnWidth = 4 Columns("H").ColumnWidth = 14 Columns("J").ColumnWidth = 1.75 Rows("3").RowHeight = 2 Range("8:8, 12:12").RowHeight = 8 Rem Hide the gridlines ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False End Sub
13. Close Microsoft Excel 14. When asked whether you want to save, click No
The Name of a Font

To programmatically specify the name of a font, refer to the cell or the group of cells on which you want to apply the font, access its Font object, followed by its Name property. Then assign the name of the font to the cell or group of cells.
Practical Learning: Selecting a Font

1. Change the code as follows (if you do not have the Rockwell Condensed font, use Times New Roman): Sub CreateWorkbook() ' CreateWorkbook Macro ' This macro is used to create a workbook for the ' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services ' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W
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Rem Just in case there is anything on the Rem worksheet, delete everything Range("A:K").Delete Range("1:20").Delete Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services" Range("B2").Font.Name = "Rockwell Condensed" Range("B5") = "Order Identification" Range("B5").Font.Name = "Cambria" Range("B6") Range("G6") Range("B7") Range("G7") = = = = "Receipt #:" "Order Status:" "Customer Name:" "Customer Phone:"
Range("B9") = "Date Left:" Range("G9") = "Time Left:" Range("B10") = "Date Expected:" Range("G10") = "Time Expected:" Range("B11") = "Date Picked Up:" Range("G11") = "Time Picked Up:" Range("B13") = "Items to Clean" Range("B13").Font.Name = "Cambria" Range("B14") Range("D14") Range("E14") Range("F14") = = = = "Item" "Unit Price" "Qty" "Sub-Total"
Range("B15") = "Shirts" Range("H15") = "Order Summary" Range("H15").Font.Name = "Cambria" . . . No Change End Sub 2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + W to see the result
3. Return to Microsoft Visual Basic
The Size of a Font

Besides its name, a font is also known for its size. To programmatically specify the font size of a cell or a group of cells, refer to that cell or the group of cells, access its Font object, followed by its Size property, and assign the desired value to it.
Practical Learning: Setting the Font Size of a Cell

1. Change the code as follows: Sub CreateWorkbook() ' CreateWorkbook Macro ' This macro is used to create a workbook for the ' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services ' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W
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Rem Just in case there is anything on the Rem worksheet, delete everything Range("A:K").Delete Range("1:20").Delete Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services" Range("B2").Font.Name = "Rockwell Condensed" Range("B2").Font.Size = 24 Range("B5") = "Order Identification" Range("B5").Font.Name = "Cambria" Range("B5").Font.Size = 14 . . . No Change Range("B13") = "Items to Clean" Range("B13").Font.Name = "Cambria" Range("B13").Font.Size = 14 Range("B14") Range("D14") Range("E14") Range("F14") = = = = "Item" "Unit Price" "Qty" "Sub-Total"
Range("B15") = "Shirts" Range("H15") = "Order Summary" Range("H15").Font.Name = "Cambria" Range("H15").Font.Size = 14 . . . No Change End Sub 2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + W to see the result
3. Return to Microsoft Visual Basic
The Style of a Font

The style of a font is a technique of drawing the characters of the text. To support font styles, the Font object is equipped with various Boolean properties that are Bold, Italic, Underline, and Strikethrough. Therefore, to grammatically specify the font style of a cell or a group of cells, access the cell or the group of cells, access its Font object, followed by the desired style, and assign the desired Boolean value.
Practical Learning: Formatting With Styles

1. Change the code as follows: Sub CreateWorkbook() ' CreateWorkbook Macro ' This macro is used to create a workbook for the ' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services ' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W Rem Just in case there is anything on the
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Rem Just in case there is anything on the Rem worksheet, delete everything Range("A:K").Delete Range("1:20").Delete Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services" Range("B2").Font.Name = "Rockwell Condensed" Range("B2").Font.Size = 24 Range("B2").Font.Bold = True Range("B5") = "Order Identification" Range("B5").Font.Name = "Cambria" Range("B5").Font.Size = 14 Range("B5").Font.Bold = True . . . No Change Range("B13") = "Items to Range("B13").Font.Name = Range("B13").Font.Size = Range("B13").Font.Bold = Range("B14") Range("D14") Range("E14") Range("F14") = = = = Clean" "Cambria" 14 True
"Item" "Unit Price" "Qty" "Sub-Total"
Range("B15") = "Shirts" Range("H15") = "Order Summary" Range("H15").Font.Name = "Cambria" Range("H15").Font.Size = 14 Range("H15").Font.Bold = True . . . No Change End Sub 2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + W to see the result 3. Return to Microsoft Visual Basic
Text Color
A character or text can use a color to get a better visual representation. The VBA supports colors at different levels. To support colors, the Font object is equipped with a property named Color. To specify the color, assign the desired color to the property. The VBA provides a (limited) list of colors that each can be specified using a named constant. They are: Color Name Constant Black Red Green Yellow Blue Magenta Cyan White vbBlack vbRed vbGreen vbYellow vbBlue vbMagenta vbCyan vbWhite Value &h00 &hFF &hFF00 &hFFFF &hFF0000 &hFF00FF &hFFFF00 &hFFFFFF Color
Therefore, the available colors are vbBlack, vbRed, vbGreen, vbYellow, vbBlue, vbMagenta, vbCyan, and vbWhite. These are standard colors. In reality, a color in Microsoft Windows is represented as a value between 0 and 16,581,375 (in the next lesson, we will know where that number comes from). This means that you can assign a positive number to the Font.Color property and use the equivalent color. The colors in the Font Color button are represented by a property named ThemeColor. Each one of the colors in the Theme Colors section has an equivalent name in the VBA. If you know the name of the color, assign it to the ThemeColor property. As another alternative to specify a color, in the next lesson, we will see that you can use a function named RGB to specify a color.
Practical Learning: Specifying the Color of Text

1. Change the code as follows: Sub CreateWorkbook() ' CreateWorkbook Macro ' This macro is used to create a workbook for the ' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services ' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W Rem Just in case there is anything on the Rem worksheet, delete everything
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Rem worksheet, delete everything Range("A:K").Delete Range("1:20").Delete Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services" Range("B2").Font.Name = "Rockwell Condensed" Range("B2").Font.Size = 24 Range("B2").Font.Bold = True Range("B2").Font.Color = vbBlue Range("B3:J3").Interior.ThemeColor = xlThemeColorLight2 Range("B5") = "Order Identification" Range("B5").Font.Name = "Cambria" Range("B5").Font.Size = 14 Range("B5").Font.Bold = True Range("B5").Font.ThemeColor = 5 . . . No Change Range("B13") = "Items to Clean" Range("B13").Font.Name = "Cambria" Range("B13").Font.Size = 14 Range("B13").Font.Bold = True Range("B13").Font.ThemeColor = 5 Range("B14") Range("D14") Range("E14") Range("F14") = = = = "Item" "Unit Price" "Qty" "Sub-Total"
. . . No Change Range("H15") = "Order Summary" Range("H15").Font.Name = "Cambria" Range("H15").Font.Size = 14 Range("H15").Font.Bold = True Range("H15").Font.ThemeColor = 5 . . . No Change End Sub 2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + W to see the result
Cell Alignment
Cells Merging
To programmatically merge some cells, first select them and access the MergeCells Boolean property. Then assign True or False depending on your intentions.
Practical Learning: Merging Cells

Change the code as follows: Sub CreateWorkbook()
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Sub CreateWorkbook() . . . No Change Rem Merge the cells H15, I15, H16, and I16 Range("H15:I16").MergeCells = True Rem Hide the gridlines ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False End Sub
Cells Content Alignment

To programmatically align the text of a cell or a group of cells, access that cell or the group of cells, access either the HorizontalAlignment or the VerticalAlignment property, and assign the desired value to it.
Practical Learning: Controlling Cells Alignment

Change the code as follows: Sub CreateWorkbook() . . . No Change Rem Merge the cells H15, I15, H16, and I16 Range("H15:I16").MergeCells = True Rem Align the merged text to the left Range("H15:H16").VerticalAlignment = xlCenter Rem Hide the gridlines ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False End Sub
Cells Content Indentation

To programmatically indent the content of a cell or the contents of various cells, refer to that cell or to the group of cells and access its IndentLevel property. Then assign the desired value. Here is an example: Range("A1").IndentLevel = 5
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VBA Excel - Lesson 19: Introduction to Visual Basic Built-In Functions
Introduction to Built-In Functions

Constants, Expressions and Formulas
Introduction to Constants
A constant is a value that does not change. It can be a number, a string, or an expression. To create a constant, use the Const keyword and assign the desired value to it. Here is an example: Private Sub CreateConstant() Const Number6 = 6 End Sub
After creating the constant, you can use its name wherever its value would have been used. Some of the constants you will use in your expressions have already been created. We will mention them when necessary.
Introduction to Expressions
An expression is one or more symbols combined with one or more values to create another value. For example, +16 is an expression that creates the positive value 16. Most expressions that we know are made of arithmetic calculations. An example is 422.82 * 15.55. To add an expression to a selected cell, assign it to the ActiveCell object. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() ActiveCell = 422.82 * 15.5 End Sub
Practical Learning: Introducing Expressions

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. On the Ribbon, click Developer 3. In the Code section, click Record Macro 4. Set the Macro Name to CreateWorkbook 5. In the Shortcut Key text box, type W to get Ctrl + Shift + W and click OK 6. On the Ribbon, click Stop Recording
7. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros 8. In the Macro dialog box, make sure CreateWorkbook is selected and click Edit 9. Change the code as follows:
Sub CreateWorkbook() ' ' CreateWorkbook Macro ' This macro is used to create a workbook for the ' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services ' ' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W ' Rem Just in case there is anything on the Rem worksheet, delete everything Range("A:K").Delete Range("1:20").Delete Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services" Range("B2").Font.Name = "Rockwell Condensed" Range("B2").Font.Size = 24 Range("B2").Font.Bold = True Range("B2").Font.Color = vbBlue Range("B3:J3").Interior.ThemeColor = xlThemeColorLight2 Range("B5") = "Order Identification" Range("B5").Font.Name = "Cambria" Range("B5").Font.Size = 14 Range("B5").Font.Bold = True Range("B5").Font.ThemeColor = 5 Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
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Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5 Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).ThemeColor = 5 Range("B6") = "Receipt #:" Range("D6:F6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D6:F6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("G6") = "Order Status:" Range("I6:J6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("I6:J6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("B7") = "Customer Name:" Range("D7:F7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D7:F7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("G7") = "Customer Phone:" Range("I7:J7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("I7:J7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5 Range("B8:J8").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B8:J8").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin Range("B9") = "Date Left:" Range("D9:F9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D9:F9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("G9") = "Time Left:" Range("I9:J9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("I9:J9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("B10") = "Date Expected:" Range("D10:F10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D10:F10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("G10") = "Time Expected:" Range("I10:J10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("I10:J10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("B11") = "Date Picked Up:" Range("D11:F11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D11:F11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("G11") = "Time Picked Up:" Range("I11:J11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("I11:J11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5 Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).ThemeColor = 5 Range("B13") = "Items to Clean" Range("B13").Font.Name = "Cambria" Range("B13").Font.Size = 14 Range("B13").Font.Bold = True Range("B13").Font.ThemeColor = 5 Range("B14") Range("D14") Range("E14") Range("F14") = = = = "Item" "Unit Price" "Qty" "Sub-Total"
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeTop).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeTop).Weight = xlThin Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin Range("C14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("C14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("D14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("E14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("E14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("B15") = "Shirts" Range("B15").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B15").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin Range("H15") = "Order Summary" Range("H15").Font.Name = "Cambria" Range("H15").Font.Size = 14 Range("H15").Font.Bold = True Range("H15").Font.ThemeColor = 5
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Range("H15").Font.ThemeColor = 5 Range("B16") = "Pants" Range("B16").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B16").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin Range("B17") = "None" Range("B17").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B17").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin Range("H17") = "Cleaning Total:" Range("I17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("I17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("B18") = "None" Range("B18").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B18").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin Range("H18") = "Tax Rate:" Range("I18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("I18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("I18") = "5.75" Range("J18") = "%" Range("B19") = "None" Range("B19").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B19").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin Range("H19") = "Tax Amount:" Range("I19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("I19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("B20") = "None" Range("B20").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B20").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin Range("C15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("C15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("C16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("C16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("C17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("C17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("C18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("C18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("C19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("C19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("C20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("C20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("B14:C14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B14:C14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin Range("B15:C15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B15:C15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin Range("D15:F15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D15:F15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("D15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline Range("E15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("E15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline Range("F15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("F15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("B16:C16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B16:C16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin Range("D16:F16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D16:F16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("D16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline Range("E16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("E16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline Range("F16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("F16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("B17:C17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B17:C17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin Range("D17:F17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D17:F17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("D17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline Range("E17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("E17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline Range("F17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("F17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("B18:C18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B18:C18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin Range("D18:F18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D18:F18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("D18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline Range("E18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("E18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
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Range("E18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline Range("F18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("F18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("B19:C19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B19:C19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin Range("D19:F19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D19:F19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Range("D19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline Range("E19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("E19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline Range("F19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("F19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("B20:F20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("B20:F20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin Range("D20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("D20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline Range("E20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("E20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline Range("F20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("F20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin Range("H20") = "Order Total:" Range("I20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("I20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline Rem Change the widths and heights of some columns and rows Rem In previous lessons, we learned all these things Range("E:E, G:G").ColumnWidth = 4 Columns("H").ColumnWidth = 14 Columns("J").ColumnWidth = 1.75 Rows("3").RowHeight = 2 Range("8:8, 12:12").RowHeight = 8 Rem Merge the cells H15, I15, H16, and I16 Range("H15:I16").MergeCells = True Rem Align the merged text to the left Range("H15:H16").VerticalAlignment = xlBottom Range("H16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous Range("H16:I16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium Range("H16:I16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).ThemeColor = 5 Rem Hide the gridlines ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False End Sub
Introduction to Formulas
A formula is another name for an expression. It combines one or more values, one or more variables, to an operator, to produce a new value. This also means that you use the same approach or building an expression when creating a formula. To assist you with assigning the result of a formula to a cell or a group of cells, the Range class is equipped with a property named Formula. This property is of type Variant, which means its value can be anything, not necessarily a number. After accessing the Formula property, you can assign whatever value, expression, or formula you want to it. Here are examples: Sub Exercise() Rem Using the Formula property to assign a string to the active cell ActiveCell.Formula = "Weekly Salary:" Rem Using the Formula property to assign an expression to cell B2 Range("B2").Formula = 24.5 * 42.5 Rem Using the Formula property to assign Rem the same string to a group of cells Range("C2:F5, B8:D12").Formula = "Antoinette" End Sub If you are creating a worksheet that would be used on computers of different languages, use FormulaLocal instead. The FormulaLocal property is equipped to adapt to a different language-based version of Microsoft Excel when necessary. Besides Formula, the Range class is also equipped with a property named FormulaR1C1. Its functionality is primarily the same as Formula. Here are examples: Sub Exercise() Rem Using the Formula property to assign a string to the active cell ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "Weekly Salary:" Rem Using the Formula property to assign an expression to cell B2
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Rem Using the Formula property to assign an expression to cell B2 Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = 24.5 * 42.5 Rem Using the Formula property to assign Rem the same string to a group of cells Range("C2:F5, B8:D12").FormulaR1C1 = "Antoinette" End Sub
If you are creating the worksheet for various languages, use FormulaR1C1Local instead.
Practical Learning: Creating Formulas

1. In the Developer tab of the Ribbon and in the Code section, click Record Macro 2. Set the Macro Name to CalculateOrder 3. In the Shortcut Key text box, type C to get Ctrl + Shift + C 4. Click OK 5. On the Ribbon, click Stop Recording
6. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros 7. In the Macro dialog box, make sure CalculateOrder is selected and click Edit 8. Change the code as follows:
Sub CalculateOrder() ' ' CreateWorkbook Macro ' ' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+C ' Rem Calculate the sub-total of each category of items as: Rem SubTotal = Unit Price * Quantity Rem And display the total in the equivalent F cell Range("F15").Formula = Range("D15") * Range("E15") Range("F16").Formula = Range("D16") * Range("E16") Range("F17").Formula = Range("D17") * Range("E17") Range("F18").Formula = Range("D18") * Range("E18") Range("F19").Formula = Range("D19") * Range("E19") Range("F20").Formula = Range("D20") * Range("E20") Rem Retrieve the values of the cleaning total and the tax rate Rem Use them to calculate the amount of tax Range("I19").Formula = Range("I17") * Range("I18") / 100 Rem Calculate the total order by adding Rem the cleaning total to the tax amount Range("I20").Formula = Range("I17") + Range("I19") End Sub
Fundamentals of Built-In Functions

Introduction
Instead of creating your own function, you can use one of those that ship with the VBA language. This language provides a very extensive library of functions so that, before creating your own, check whether the function exists already. If so, use it instead. To use a VBA built-in function, simply use as you would an expression. That is, assign its returned value to a cell. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Range("B2:B2") = Len("Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi") End Sub
Microsoft Excel Built-In Functions

To assist you with developing smart worksheets, Microsoft Excel provides a very large library of functions. To use a Microsoft Excel built-in function in your code, you have many functions. In double-quotes, you can include the assignment operator followed by the function's whole expression. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Range("B5:B5") = "=SomeFunction(B2, B3, B4)" End Sub As an alternative, the Application class is equipped with a property named WorksheetFunction. This property represents all functions of the Microsoft Excel library. Therefore, to access a function, type Application, followed by a period, followed by a period. Then type (or select the
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function, type Application, followed by a period, followed by a period. Then type (or select the name of the function you want to use:
After specifying the function you want to use, because it is a function, you must include the parentheses. In the parentheses, type the necessary argument(s). Here is an example: Private Sub cmdCreate_Click() txtValue.Text = Application.WorksheetFunction.Sum(Range("D4:D8")) End Sub
Conversion Functions
You may recall that when studying data types, we saw that each had a corresponding function used to convert a string value or an expression to that type. As a reminder, the general syntax of the conversion functions is: ReturnType = FunctionName(Expression) The Expression could be of any kind. For example, it could be a string or expression that would produce a value such as the result of a calculation. The conversion function would take such a value, string, or expression and attempt to convert it. If the conversion is successful, the function would return a new value that is of the type specified by the ReturnType in our syntax. The conversion functions are as follows: Function Name CBool CByte CDbl CDec CInt CLng CObj CSByte CShort CSng CUInt CULng CUShort Return Type Boolean Byte Double Decimal Integer Long Object SByte Short Single UInt ULong UShort Description Converts an expression into a Boolean value Converts an expression into Byte number Converts an expression into a floating-point number with double precision Converts an expression into a decimal number Converts an expression into an integer (natural) number Converts an expression into a long integer (a large natural) number Converts an expression into an Object type Converts an expression into a signed byte Converts an expression into a short integer Converts an expression into a floating-point number with single precision Converts an expression into an unsigned integer Converts an expression into an unsigned long integer Converts an expression into an unsigned short integer
These functions allow you to convert a known value to a another type.
Practical Learning: Using Conversion Functions

Change the code as follows:
Sub CalculateOrder() ' ' CalculateOrder Macro ' ' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+C Rem Calculate the sub-total of each category of items as: Rem SubTotal = Unit Price * Quantity Rem And display the total in the equivalent F cell Range("F15").Formula = CDbl(Range("D15")) * CInt(Range("E15")) Range("F16").Formula = CDbl(Range("D16")) * CInt(Range("E16")) Range("F17").Formula = CDbl(Range("D17")) * CInt(Range("E17")) Range("F18").Formula = CDbl(Range("D18")) * CInt(Range("E18"))
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Range("F18").Formula = CDbl(Range("D18")) * CInt(Range("E18")) Range("F19").Formula = CDbl(Range("D19")) * CInt(Range("E19")) Range("F20").Formula = CDbl(Range("D20")) * CInt(Range("E20")) Rem Retrieve the values of the cleaning total and the tax rate Rem Use them to calculate the amount of tax Range("I19").Formula = CDbl(Range("I17")) * CDbl(Range("I18")) / 100 Rem Calculate the total order by adding the Rem cleaning total to the tax amount Range("I20").Formula = CDbl(Range("I17")) + CDbl(Range("I19")) End Sub
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VBA Excel - Lesson 20: Strings
Strings
Introduction to Strings
A String
A string is one or a combination of characters. To declare a variable for it, you can use either String or the Variant data types. To initialize the variable, put its value in double-quotes and assign it to the variable. Here are examples:
Here is an example: Sub Exercise() ActiveCell = "AAA" End Sub When this code runs, the value AAA would be entered into any cell that is currently selected. Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As Variant Dim LastName As String FirstName = "William" LastName = "Sansen" End Sub
Producing a Beeping Sound

If you want, you can make the computer produce a beeping a sound in response to something, anything. To support this, the Visual Basic language provides a function called Beep. Its syntax is: Public Sub Beep() Here is an example of calling it: Sub Exercise() Beep End Sub If this function is called when a program is running, the computer emits a brief sound.
String Concatenation
A string concatenation consists of adding one string to another. to support this operation, you can use either the + or the & operator. Here are examples: Sub Exercise() Dim FirstName As Variant Dim LastName As String Dim FullName As String FirstName = "William" LastName = "Sansen" FullName = LastName + ", " & FirstName ActiveCell = "Full Name: " & FullName End Sub This would produce:
Introduction to Characters
Getting the ASCII Character of a Number
The characters used in the US English and the most common characters of Latin-based languages are created in a list or map of character codes. Each character is represented with a small number between 0 and 255. This means that each character must fit in a byte. To help you find the equivalent ASCII character of such a number, the Visual Basic language provides a function named Chr. Its syntax is:
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Public Function Chr(ByVal CharCode As Integer) As String When calling this function, pass a small number as argument. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Character As String Dim Number As Integer Number = 114 Character = Chr(Number) ActiveCell = "The ASCII character of " & Number & " is " & Character End Sub This would produce:
Besides finding the ASCII equivalent of a number, the Chr() function can be used to apply some behavior in a program. For example, a combination of Chr(13) and Chr(10) would break a line in an expression, which is equivalent to the vbCrLf operator.
Getting the Wide ASCII Character of a Number

If you pass a number lower than 0 or higher than 255 to the Chr() function, you would receive an error. The reason you may pass a number higher than 255 is that you may want to get a character beyond those of US English, such as . To support such numbers, the Visual Basic language provides another version of the function. Its syntax is: Public Function ChrW(ByVal CharCode As Integer) As String The W here represents Wide Character. This makes it possible to store the character in the memory equivalent to the Short integer data type, which can hold numbers from -32768 to 32767. Normally, you should consider that the character should fit in a Char data type,, which should be a positive number between 0 and 65535. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Character As String Dim Number As Long Number = 358 Character = ChrW(Number) ActiveCell = "The ASCII character of " & Number & " is " & Character End Sub This would produce:
The Length of a String

The length of a string is the number of characters it contains. To assist you with finding the length of a string, the Visual Basic language provides a function named Len. Its syntax is: Public Function Len(ByVal Expression As String) As Integer This function expects a string as argument. If the function succeeds in counting the number of characters, which it usually does, it returns the an integer. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Item As String Dim Length As Integer Item = "Television" Length = Len(Item) ActiveCell = "The number of characters in """ & Item & """ is " & Length End Sub This would produce:
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The Microsoft Excel library provides the LEN() function that produces the same result.
Characters, Strings, and Procedures

Passing a Character or a String to a Procedure
Like a normal value, a character or a string can be passed to a procedure. When creating the procedure, enter the argument and its name in the parentheses of the procedure. Then, in the body of the procedure, use the argument as you see fit. When calling the procedure, you can pass a value for the argument in double-quotes. In the same way, you can apply any of the features we studied for procedures, including passing as many arguments as you want or passing a mixture of characters, strings, and other types of arguments. You can also create a procedure that receives an optional argument.
Returning a Character or a String From a Function

To create a function that returns a character or a string, create the procedure using the Function keyword and, on the right side of the parentheses, include the String data type preceded by the As keyword or use the $ character. Here is an example we saw in Lesson 5: Function GetFullName$() Dim FirstName$, LastName$ FirstName = "Raymond" LastName = "Kouma" GetFullName$ = LastName & ", " & FirstName End Function When calling the function, you can use it as a normal function or you can retrieve the value it returns and use it as you see fit. Here is an example: Function GetFullName$() Dim FirstName$, LastName$ FirstName = "Raymond" LastName = "Kouma" GetFullName$ = LastName & ", " & FirstName End Function Sub Exercise() Range("B2") = GetFullName$ End Sub
Character and String Conversions

Introduction
To convert an expression to a string, you can call the VBA's CStr() function. Its syntax is: Public Function CStr(ByVal Expression As Variant) As String The argument can be almost any expression that can be converted it to a string, which in most cases it can. If it is successful, the function returns a string. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim DateHired As Date DateHired = #1/4/2005# ActiveCell = CStr(DateHired) End Sub The CStr() function is used to convert any type of value to a string. If the value to be converted is a number, you can use the Str() function. Its syntax is: Public Function Str(ByVal Number As Variant) As String This function expects a number as argument. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Number As Double Number = 1450.5 / 2 ActiveCell = Str(Number)
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ActiveCell = Str(Number) End Sub
Numeric Hexadecimal Conversion

In Lesson 3, we saw that the Visual Basic language supports hexadecimal number and we saw how to initialize an integer variable with a hexadecimal number. Now, on the other hand, if you have a decimal number but need it in hexadecimal format, you can convert it. To support this operation, you can call the Hex() function. Its syntax is: Function Hex(ByVal Number As { Byte | Integer | Long | Variant} ) As String This function is used to convert either an integer-based or a decimal number to its hexadecimal equivalent. It returns the result as a string. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Number As Integer Number = 28645 ActiveCell = Hex(Number) End Sub The Microsoft Excel library provides more functions to perform this type of operation.
Numeric Octal Conversion

If you have a decimal number you want to convert to its octal format, you can call the Oct() function. Its syntax is: Function Oct(ByVal Number As { Byte | Integer | Long | Variant} ) As String This function takes an integer-based or a decimal number and converts its octal equivalent. It returns the result as a string. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Number As Double Number = 28645 ActiveCell = Oct(Number) End Sub The Microsoft Excel library provides more functions to perform this type of operation.
Case Conversion
If you are presented with a string or an expression whose cases must be the same, you can convert all of its characters in either uppercase or lowercase. To convert a character, a string or an expression to uppercase, you can call the VBA's UCase() or the Microsoft Excel's UPPER() functions. These functions take one argument as the string or expression to be considered. The syntaxes are: Function UCase(ByVal Value As String) As String Function UPPER(ByVal Value As String) As String Each function receives a character or string as argument. If a character is already in uppercase, it would be returned the same. If the character is not a readable character, no conversion would happen and the function would return it. If the character is in lowercase, it would be converted to uppercase and the function would then return the uppercase equivalent. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim ProgrammingEnvironment As String ProgrammingEnvironment = "Visual Basic for Application for Microsoft Excel" ActiveCell = UCase(ProgrammingEnvironment) End Sub To convert a character or a string to lowercase, you can call the VBA's LCase() or the Microsoft Excel's UPPER() functions. Their syntaxes are: Function LCase(ByVal Value As String) As String Function LOWER(ByVal Value As String) As String The function takes a character or a string as argument. If a character is not a readable symbol, it would be kept "as is". If the character is in lowercase, it would not be converted. If the character is in uppercase, it would be converted to lowercase.
The Sub-Strings of a String

Introduction
A sub-string is a character or a group of characters or symbols that are part of an existing string. The Visual Basic language provides functions to create, manipulate, or manage sub-strings. The primary rule to keep in mind is that a sub-string is part of, and depends on, a string. In other
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words, you cannot have a sub-string if you do not have a string in the first place.
The Left Sub-String of a String

If you have an existing string but want to create a new string using a number of characters from the left side characters of the string, you can use the Microsoft Excel's LEFT() or the VBA's Left() functions. Their syntaxes are: Function LEFT(ByVal str As String, ByVal Length As Integer) As String Function Left(ByVal str As String, ByVal Length As Integer) As String Each function takes two arguments and both are required. The first argument is the existing string. The second argument is the number of characters counted from the left side of the string. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Process As String Process = "learning" ActiveCell = "To " & Left(Process, 5) & " is to gain understanding" End Sub This would produce:
The Right Sub-String of a String

To create a new string using one or more characters from the right side of an existing string, call the Microsoft Excel RIGHT() or the VBA's Right() functions. Its syntax is: Function RIGHT(ByVal str As String, ByVal Length As Integer) As String Function Right(ByVal str As String, ByVal Length As Integer) As String Both arguments are required. The first argument is the original string. The second argument is the number of characters counted from the right side of the string.
The Mid Sub-String of a String

You may want to create a string using some characters either from the left, from the right, or from somewhere inside an existing string. To assist you with this, the Visual Basic language provides a function named Mid and the Microsoft Excel library is equipped with a function named MID. Here is an example of calling the Mid() function: Sub Exercise() Dim ProgrammingEnvironment As String ProgrammingEnvironment = "VBA for Microsoft Excel" ActiveCell = "The " & Mid(ProgrammingEnvironment, 10, 13) & " language" End Sub
Finding a Sub-String
One of the most regular operations you will perform on a string consists of finding out whether it contains a certain character or a certain contiguous group of characters. To help you with this operation, the Visual Basic language provides the InStr() function and the Microsoft Excel library equipped with the FIND() function. Their syntaxes are: InStr([start, ]string1, string2[, compare]) FIND([Find_Text, Within_Text, Start_Num) In the first version of the function, the String1 argument is the string on which the operation will be performed. The String2 argument is the character or the sub-string to look for. If String2 is found in String1 (as part of String1), the function return the position of the first character. Here is an example: The first version of the function asks the interpreter to check String1 from the left looking for String2. If String1 contains more than one instance of String2, the function returns (only) the position of the first instance. Any other subsequent instance would be ignored. If you want to skip the first instance or want the interpreter to start checking from a position other than the left character, use the second version. In this case, the Start argument allows you to specify the starting position from where to start looking for String2 in String1. The InStr() function is used to start checking a string from the left side. If you want to start checking from the right side, call the InStrRev() function. Its syntax is: InstrRev(stringcheck, stringmatch[, start[, compare]])
Replacing a Character or a Sub-String in a String
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After finding a character or a sub-string inside of a string, you can take action on it. One of the operations you can perform consists of replacing that character or that sub-string with another character or a sub-string. To do this, the Visual Basic language provides the Replace() function and Microsoft Excel provides the REPLACE() function. Its syntax is: Replace(expression, find, replace[, start[, count[, compare]]]) REPLACE(Old_Text, Find_Text, Start_Num, Num_Characters, New_Text) The first argument is the string on which the operation will be performed. The second argument is the character or string to look for in the Expression. If that character or string is found, the third argument is the character or string to replace it with.
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VBA Excel Programming - Lesson 21: Introduction to Conditions
Introduction to Conditions
Introduction to Boolean Values
Introduction
A value is referred to as Boolean if it can be either true or false. As you may imagine, the essence of a Boolean value is to check that a condition is true or false, valid or invalid.
The Boolean Data Type

Like a number or a string, a Boolean value can be stored in a variable. To declare such a variable, use the Boolean keyword. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim EmployeeIsMarried As Boolean End Sub To actually use a Boolean variable, you can assign a value to it. By default, if you declare a Boolean variable but do not initialized it, it receives a value of False: Sub Exercise() Dim EmployeeIsMarried As Boolean Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Employee Is Married? " & EmployeeIsMarried End Sub This would produce:
To initialize a Boolean variable, assign it a True or a False value. In the Visual Basic language, a Boolean variable can also deal with numeric values. The False value is equivalent to 0. For example, instead of False, you can initialize a Boolean variable with 0. Any other numeric value, whether positive or negative, corresponds to True: Sub Exercise() Dim EmployeeIsMarried As Boolean EmployeeIsMarried = -792730 Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Employee Is Married? " & EmployeeIsMarried End Sub This would produce:
The number can be decimal or hexadecimal: Sub Exercise() Dim EmployeeIsMarried As Boolean EmployeeIsMarried = &HFA26B5 Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Employee Is Married? " & EmployeeIsMarried End Sub
Boolean Values and Procedures

Introduction
As done with the other data types that we have used so far, Boolean values can be involved with procedures. This means that a Boolean variable can be passed to a procedure and/or a function can be made to return a Boolean value. Some of the issues involved with procedures require conditional statements that we will study in the next lesson. Still, the basic functionality is possible with what we have learned so far.
Passing a Boolean Variable as Argument

To pass an argument as a Boolean value, in the parentheses of the procedure, type the name of
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To pass an argument as a Boolean value, in the parentheses of the procedure, type the name of the argument followed by the As Boolean expression. Here is an example: Private Sub CheckingEmployee(ByVal IsFullTime As Boolean) End Sub In the same way, you can pass as many Boolean arguments as you need, and you can combine Boolean and non-Boolean arguments as you judge necessary. Then, in the body of the procedure, use (or do not use) the Boolean argument as you wish.
Returning a Boolean Value

Just as done for the other data types, you can create a function that returns a Boolean value. When declaring the function, specify its name and the As Boolean expression on the right side of the parentheses. Here is an example: Public Function IsDifferent() As Boolean Of course, the function can take arguments of any kind you judge necessary: Public Function IsDifferent(ByVal Value1 As Integer, _ ByVal Value2 As Integer) As Boolean In the body of the function, do whatever you judge necessary. Before exiting the function, you must return a value that evaluates to True or False. We will see an example below.
Boolean Built-In Functions

Converting a Value to Boolean
To assist you with validating some values or variables to true or false, the Visual Basic language provides many functions. First, to convert a value to Boolean, you can use the CBool() function. Its syntax is: Function CBool(ByVal Expression As Variant) As Boolean Like all conversion functions, CBool takes one argument, the expression to be evaluated. It should produce a valid Boolean value. If it does, the function returns True or False.
Checking Whether a Variable Has Been Initialized

After declaring a variable, memory is reserved for but you should assign value to it before using it. At any time, to check whether a variable has been initialized, you can call the IsEmpty() function. Its syntax is: Public Function IsEmpty(ByVal Expression As Variant) As Boolean When calling this function, pass the name of a variable to it. If the variable was already initialized, the function would return True. Otherwise, it would return False.
Checking Whether a Value is Numeric

One of the most valuable operations you will perform on a value consists of finding out whether it is numeric or not. To assist you with this, the Visual Basic language provides a function named IsNumeric. Its syntax is: Public Function IsNumeric(ByVal Expression As Variant) As Boolean This function takes as argument the value or expression to be evaluated. If the argument holds or can produce a valid integer or a decimal value, the function returns True. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Value As Variant Value = 258.08 * 9920.3479 Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Is Numeric? " & IsNumeric(Value) End Sub This would produce:
If the argument is holding any other value that cannot be identified as a number, the function produces False. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim Value As Variant Value = #12/4/1770# Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Is Numeric? " & IsNumeric(Value)
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Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Is Numeric? " & IsNumeric(Value) End Sub This would produce:
Checking for Valid Date/Time

To find out whether an expression holds a valid date, a valid, or not, you can call the IsDate() function. Its syntax is: Public Function IsDate(ByVal Expression As Variant) As Boolean This function takes an argument as the expression to be evaluated. If the argument holds a valid date and/or time, the function returns True. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim DateHired As Variant DateHired = "9/16/2001" Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Is 9/16/2001 a valid date? " & IsDate(DateHired) End Sub This would produce:
If the value of the argument cannot be evaluated to a valid date or time, the function returns False. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim DateHired As Variant DateHired = "Who Knows?" Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Is it a valid date? " & IsDate(DateHired) End Sub This would produce:
Checking for Nullity

After declaring a variable, you should initialize it with a valid value. Sometimes you will not. In some other cases, you may be using a variable without knowing with certainty whether it is holding a valid value. To assist you with checking whether a variable is currently holding a valid value, you can call the IsNull() function. Its syntax is: Public Function IsNull(ByVal Expression As Variant) As Boolean When calling this function, pass the name of a variable to it. If the variable is currently holding a valid value, this function would returns True. Otherwise, it would return False.
Logical Operators
Introduction
A comparison is an operation used to get the boolean result of two values one checked against the other. Such a comparison is performed between two values of the same type.
Equality
To compare two variables for equality, use the = operator. Its syntax is: Value1 = Value2 The equality operation is used to find out whether two variables (or one variable and a constant) hold the same value. From our syntax, the value of Value1 would be compared with the value of Value2. If Value1 and Value2 hold the same value, the comparison produces a True result. If they are different, the comparison renders false or 0.
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Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim IsFullTime As Boolean Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Is Employee Full Time? " & IsFullTime) IsFullTime = True Range("B4").FormulaR1C1 = "Is Employee Full Time? " & IsFullTime) End Sub This would produce:
Inequality <>
As opposed to checking for equality, you may instead want to know whether two values are different. The operator used to perform this comparison is <> and its formula is: Variable1 <> Variable2
If the operands on both sides of the operator are the same, the comparison renders false. If both operands hold different values, then the comparison produces a true result. This also shows that the equality = and the inequality <> operators are opposite. Here is an example: Public Function IsDifferent(ByVal Value1 As Integer, _ ByVal Value2 As Integer) As Boolean IsDifferent = Value1 <> Value2 End Function Sub Exercise() Dim a%, b% Dim Result As Boolean a% = 12: b% = 48 Result = IsDifferent(a%, b%) Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "The resulting comparison of 12 <> 48 is " & Result End Sub This would produce:
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A Lower Value <

To find out whether one value is lower than another, use the < operator. Its syntax is: Value1 < Value2 The value held by Value1 is compared to that of Value2. As it would be done with other operations, the comparison can be made between two variables, as in Variable1 < Variable2. If the value held by Variable1 is lower than that of Variable2, the comparison produces a True.
Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim PartTimeSalary, ContractorSalary As Double Dim IsLower As Boolean PartTimeSalary = 20.15 ContractorSalary = 22.48 IsLower = PartTimeSalary < ContractorSalary MsgBox ("Part Time Salary: " & PartTimeSalary & vbCrLf & _ "Contractor Salary: " & ContractorSalary & vbCrLf & _ "Is PartTimeSalary < ContractorSalary? " & IsLower) PartTimeSalary = 25.55 ContractorSalary = 12.68 IsLower = PartTimeSalary < ContractorSalary MsgBox ("Part Time Salary: " & PartTimeSalary & vbCrLf & _ "Contractor Salary: " & ContractorSalary & vbCrLf & _ "Is PartTimeSalary < ContractorSalary? " & IsLower) End Sub This would produce:
Equality and Lower Value <=

The previous two operations can be combined to compare two values. This allows you to know if two values are the same or if the first is less than the second. The operator used is <= and its syntax is: Value1 <= Value2 The <= operation performs a comparison as any of the last two. If both Value1 and VBalue2 hold the same value, result is true or positive. If the left operand, in this case Value1, holds a value lower than the second operand, in this case Value2, the result is still true:
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Greater Value >

When two values of the same type are distinct, one of them is usually higher than the other. VBasic provides a logical operator that allows you to find out if one of two values is greater than the other. The operator used for this operation uses the > symbol. Its syntax is: Value1 > Value2 Both operands, in this case Value1 and Value2, can be variables or the left operand can be a variable while the right operand is a constant. If the value on the left of the > operator is greater than the value on the right side or a constant, the comparison produces a True value. Otherwise, the comparison renders False or null:
Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim PartTimeSalary, ContractorSalary As Double Dim IsLower As Boolean PartTimeSalary = 20.15 ContractorSalary = 22.48 IsLower = PartTimeSalary > ContractorSalary MsgBox ("Part Time Salary: " & PartTimeSalary & vbCrLf & _ "Contractor Salary: " & ContractorSalary & vbCrLf & _ "Is PartTimeSalary > ContractorSalary? " & IsLower) PartTimeSalary = 25.55 ContractorSalary = 12.68 IsLower = PartTimeSalary > ContractorSalary MsgBox ("Part Time Salary: " & PartTimeSalary & vbCrLf & _ "Contractor Salary: " & ContractorSalary & vbCrLf & _ "Is PartTimeSalary > ContractorSalary? " & IsLower) End Sub This would produce:
Greater or Equal Value >=

The greater than or the equality operators can be combined to produce an operator as follows: >=. This is the "greater than or equal to" operator. Its syntax is: Value1 >= Value2 A comparison is performed on both operands: Value1 and Value2. If the value of Value1 and that of Value2 are the same, the comparison produces a True value. If the value of the left operand is greater than that of the right operand, the comparison still produces True. If the value of the left operand is strictly less than the value of the right operand, the comparison produces a False result:
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Here is a summary table of the logical operators we have studied:
Operator = <> < <= > >=
Meaning Equality to Not equal to Less than Less than or equal to Greater than Greater than or equal to
Example a=b 12 <> 7 25 < 84 Cab <= Tab 248 > 55 Val1 >= Val2
Opposite <> = >= > <= <
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VBA Excel Programming - Lesson 22: Introduction to Conditional Stat...
Introduction to Conditional Statements

Checking Whether a Condition is True/False
Introduction
In some programming assignments, you must find out whether a given situation bears a valid value. This is done by checking a condition. To support this, the Visual Basic language provides a series of keywords and operators that can be combined to perform this checking. Checking a condition usually produces a True or a False result.
Once the condition has been checked, you can use the result (as True or False) to take action. Because there are different ways to check a condition, there are also different types of keywords to check different things. To use them, you must be aware of what each does or cannot do so you would select the right one.
Practical Learning: Introducing Conditional Statements

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. On the Ribbon, click Developer and, in the Code section, click Visual Basic 3. On the main menu, click Insert -> UserForm 4. Design the form as follows:
Control Label TextBox Label TextBox Label TextBox
Name
Caption First Name:
txtFirstName Last Name: txtLastName Full Name: txtFullName
5. Return to Microsoft Excel 6. Save the file with the name Conditions1 as a Macro-Enabled Workbook 7. Return to Microsoft Visual Basic 8. Right-click the form and click View Code
If a Condition is True/False, Then What?

The If...Then statement examines the truthfulness of an expression. Structurally, its formula is: If ConditionToCheck Then Statement Therefore, the program examines a condition, in this case ConditionToCheck. This ConditionToCheck can be a simple expression or a combination of expressions. If the ConditionToCheck is true, then the program will execute the Statement. There are two ways you can use the If...Then statement. If the conditional formula is short enough, you can write it on one line, like this: If ConditionToCheck Then Statement Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim IsMarried As Boolean Dim TaxRate As Double TaxRate = 33.0 MsgBox("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%")
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MsgBox("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%") IsMarried = True If IsMarried = True Then TaxRate = 30.65 MsgBox("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%") End Sub This would produce:
If there are many statements to execute as a truthful result of the condition, you should write the statements on alternate lines. Of course, you can use this technique even if the condition you are examining is short. If you write the conditional statement in more than one line, you must end it with End If on its own line. The formula used is: If ConditionToCheck Then Statement End If Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim IsMarried As Boolean Dim TaxRate As Double TaxRate = 33# MsgBox ("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%") IsMarried = True If IsMarried = True Then TaxRate = 30.65 MsgBox ("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%") End If End Sub
Practical Learning: Using If...Then

1. In the Variant combo box, select txtFirstName and change its Change event as follows: Private Dim Dim Dim Sub txtFirstName_Change() FirstName As String LastName As String FullName As String
FirstName = txtFirstName.Text LastName = txtLastName.Text FullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName txtFullName.Text = FullName If LastName = "" Then txtFullName.Text = FirstName End Sub 2. In the Variant combo box, select txtLastName and change its Change event as follows: Private Dim Dim Dim Sub txtLastName_Change() FirstName As String LastName As String FullName As String
FirstName = txtFirstName.Text LastName = txtLastName.Text FullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName txtFullName.Text = FullName If LastName = "" Then txtFullName.Text = FirstName End Sub 3. To test the form, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Run -> Run Sub/UserForm 4. Click the top text box and type Julienne. Notice that only the first name displays in the Full Name text box
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5. Press Tab 6. In the other text box, start typing Pal and notice that the Full Name text box is changing 7. Complete it with Palace 8. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic
Using the Default Value of a Boolean Expression

In the previous lesson, we saw that when you declare a Boolean variable, by default, it is initialized with the False value. Here is an example: Module Exercise Sub Exercise Dim IsMarried As Boolean MsgBox("Employee Is Married? " & IsMarried) Return 0 End Function End Module This would produce:
Based on this, if you want to check whether a newly declared and uninitialized Boolean variable is false, you can omit the = False expression applied to it. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim IsMarried As Boolean Dim TaxRate As Double TaxRate = 33# If IsMarried Then TaxRate = 30.65 MsgBox ("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%") End Sub This would produce:
Notice that there is no = after the If IsMarried expression. In this case, the value of the variable is False. On the other hand, if you want to check whether the variable is True, make sure you include the = True expression. Overall, whenever in doubt, it is safer to always initialize your variable and it is safer to include the = True or = False expression when evaluating the variable: Sub Exercise() Dim IsMarried As Boolean Dim TaxRate As Double TaxRate = 36.45 ' % IsMarried = True If IsMarried = False Then TaxRate = 33.15 MsgBox ("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%") End Sub In the previous lesson, we introduced some Boolean-based functions such as IsNumeric and IsDate. The default value of these functions is True. This means that when you call them, you can omit the = True expression.
What Else When a Condition is True/False?

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What Else When a Condition is True/False?

The If...Then...Else Condition
The If...Then statement offers only one alternative: to act if the condition is true. Whenever you would like to apply an alternate expression in case the condition is false, you can use the If...Then...Else statement. The formula of this statement is: If ConditionToCheck Then Statement1 Else Statement2 End If When this section of code is executed, if the ConditionToCheck is true, then the first statement, Statement1, is executed. If the ConditionToCheck is false, the second statement, in this case Statement2, is executed. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim MemberAge As Integer Dim MemberCategory As String MemberAge = 16 If MemberAge <= 18 Then MemberCategory = "Teen" Else MemberCategory = "Adult" End If MsgBox ("Membership: " & MemberCategory) End Sub This would produce:
Practical Learning: Using If...Then...Else

1. Change the codes of both events as follows: Private Dim Dim Dim Sub txtFirstName_Change() FirstName As String LastName As String FullName As String
FirstName = txtFirstName.Text LastName = txtLastName.Text If LastName = "" Then FullName = FirstName Else FullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName End If txtFullName.Text = FullName End Sub Private Dim Dim Dim Sub txtLastName_Change() FirstName As String LastName As String FullName As String
FirstName = txtFirstName.Text LastName = txtLastName.Text If FirstName = "" Then FullName = LastName Else FullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName End If txtFullName.Text = FullName End Sub 2. Press F5 to test the form 3. After using the form, close it and return to Visual Basic
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VBA Excel Programming - Lesson 23: Functional Conditions
Functional Conditions
Alternatives to a Condition Being True/False?
The If...Then...ElseIf Condition
The If...Then...ElseIf statement acts like the If...Then...Else expression, except that it offers as many choices as necessary. The formula is:
If Condition1 Then Statement1 ElseIf Condition2 Then Statement2 ElseIf Conditionk Then Statementk End If The program will first examine Condition1. If Condition1 is true, the program will execute Statment1 and stop examining conditions. If Condition1 is false, the program will examine Condition2 and act accordingly. Whenever a condition is false, the program will continue examining the conditions until it finds one that is true. Once a true condition has been found and its statement executed, the program will terminate the conditional examination at End If. Here is an example: Sub Exercise() Dim MemberAge As Byte MemberAge = 32 If MemberAge <= 18 Then MsgBox ("Membership: " & "Teen") ElseIf MemberAge < 55 Then MsgBox ("Membership: " & "Adult") End If End Sub This would produce:
Practical Learning: Introducing Data Entry

1. Start Microsoft Excel and, on the Ribbon, click Developer 2. In the Code section, click Visual Basic 3. To add a new form, on the Standard toolbar, click the Insert UserForm button 4. Design the form as follows:
Control Label TextBox
Name
Caption/Text Number of CDs:
Other Properties
txtQuantity
TextAlign: 3 frmTextAlignRight
CommandButton cmdEvaluate Evaluate Frame Label TextBox Based on the Specified Quantity Each CD will cost: txtUnitPrice 0.00 TextAlign: 3 frmTextAlignRight
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VBA Excel - Lesson 24: Conditional Selections
Conditional Selections
The Select...Case Statement
Introduction
If you have a large number of conditions to examine, the If...Then...Else statement will go through each one of them. The Visual Basic language offers the alternative of jumping to the statement that applies to the state of a condition. This is referred to as a select case condition and it uses the keywords Select and Case. The formula of the Select Case statement is:
Select Case Expression Case Expression1 Statement1 Case Expression2 Statement2 Case Expression_X Statement_X End Select The statement starts with Select Case and ends with End Select. On the right side of Select Case, enter a value, the Expression factor, that will be used as a tag. The value of Expression can be a Boolean value (a Boolean type), a character or a string (a String type), a natural number (a Byte, an Integer, or a Long type), a decimal number (a Single or a Double type), a date or time value (a Date type), an enumeration (an Enum type), or else (a Variant type). Inside the Select Case and the End Select lines, you provide one or more sections that each contains a Case keyword followed by a value. The value on the right side of a Case, Expresion1, Expresion2, or Expresion_X, must be the same type as the value of Expression or it can be implied from it. After the case and its expression, you can write a statement. When this section of code is accessed, the value of Expression is considered. Then the value of Expression is compared to each Expression_X of each case: a. If the value of Expression1 is equal to that of Expression, then Statement1 is executed. If the value of Expression1 is not equal to that of Expression, then the interpreter moves to Expression2 b. If the value of Expression2 is equal to that of Expression, then Statement2 is executed c. This will continue down to the last Expression_X Here is an example: Sub Exercise Dim Answer As Byte Answer = CByte(InputBox( _ "One of the following is not a Visual Basic keyword" & vbCrLf & _ "1) Function" & vbCrLf & _ "2) Except" & vbCrLf & _ "3) ByRef" & vbCrLf & _ "4) Each" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _ "Your Answer? ")) Select Case Answer Case 1 MsgBox("Wrong: Function is a Visual Basic keyword." & vbCrLf & _ "It is used to create a procedure of a function type") Case 2 MsgBox("Correct: Except is not a keyword in " & vbCrLf & _ "Visual Basic but __except is a C++ " & vbCrLf & _ "keyword used in Exception Handling") Case 3 MsgBox("Wrong: ByRef is a Visual Basic keyword used " & vbCrLf & _ "to pass an argument by reference to a procedure") Case 4 MsgBox("Wrong: The ""Each"" keyword is used in " & vbCrLf & _ "Visual Basic in a type of looping " & vbCrLf & _ "used to ""scan"" a list of item.") End Select End Sub Here is an example of running the program:
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Practical Learning: Introducing Select Cases

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. From the resources that accompany these lessons, open the gdcs1 (or gdcs2) workbook you 3. Change the names of the first and the second worksheets to Employees and Customers respectively 4. Add a few records in the Employees worksheet
5. Add a few records in the Customers worksheet
6. Save the workbook 7. To open Microsoft Visual Basic, on the Ribbon, click Developer and, in the Code section, click Visual Basic:
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Visual Basic:
8. Right-click the Time Left text box (the text box on the right side of Time Left) and click View Code 9. In the Objects combo box, make sure txtTimeLeft is selected. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit and implement the event as follows:
Private Sub txtTimeLeft_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean) Dim DateLeft As Date, TimeLeft As Date Dim DateExpected As Date, TimeExpected As Date If IsDate(txtTimeLeft) Then TimeLeft = CDate(txtTimeLeft) Else MsgBox "The value you entered is not a valid time" txtTimeLeft = Time End If End Sub
What Case Else?

The above code supposes that one of the cases will match the value of the Expression factor. This is not always so. If you anticipate that there could be no match between the Expression and one of the Expressions, you can use a Case Else statement at the end of the list. The statement would then look like this: Select Case Expression Case Expression1 Statement1 Case Expression2 Statement2 Case Expressionk Statementk Case Else Statementk End Select In this case, the statement after the Case Else will execute if none of the previous expressions matches the Expression factor. Here is an example: Sub Exercise Dim Answer As Byte Answer = CByte(InputBox( _ "One of the following is not a Visual Basic keyword" & vbCrLf & _ "1) Function" & vbCrLf & _ "2) Except" & vbCrLf & _ "3) ByRef" & vbCrLf & _ "4) Each" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _ "Your Answer? "))
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Select Case Answer Case 1 MsgBox("Wrong: Function is a Visual Basic keyword." & vbCrLf & _ "It is used to create a procedure of a function type") Case 2 MsgBox("Correct: Except is not a keyword in " & vbCrLf & _ "Visual Basic but __except is a C++ " & vbCrLf & _ "keyword used in Exception Handling") Case 3 MsgBox("Wrong: ByRef is a Visual Basic keyword used " & vbCrLf & _ "to pass an argument by reference to a procedure") Case 4 MsgBox("Wrong: The ""Each"" keyword is used in " & vbCrLf & _ "Visual Basic in a type of looping " & vbCrLf & _ "used to ""scan"" a list of item.") Case Else MsgBox("Invalid Selection") End Select End Sub Here is an example of running the program:
Practical Learning: Using Select Case

1. In the Objects combo box, select txtEmployeeNumber 2. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit 3. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub txtEmployeeNumber_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean) Dim EmployeeNumber As Long Dim EmployeeName As String EmployeeNumber = CLng(txtEmployeeNumber) Select Case EmployeeNumber Case 22804 EmployeeName = "Helene Mukoko" Case 92746 EmployeeName = "Raymond Kouma" Case 54080 EmployeeName = "Henry Larson" Case 86285 EmployeeName = "Gertrude Monay" Case 20860 EmployeeName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi" Case Else EmployeeName = "Unidentified Employee" End Select txtEmployeeName = EmployeeName End Sub
4. On the Standard toolbar, click the Run Sub/UserForm button 5. In the Employee # of the form, enter one of the numbers such as 54080 and press Tab 6. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic
Combining Cases
As mentioned in our introduction, the Select Case can use a value other than an integer. For example you can use a character: Sub Exercise Dim Gender As String Gender = "M"
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Select Case Gender Case "F" MsgBox("Female") Case "M" MsgBox("Male") Case Else MsgBox("Unknown") End Select Return 0 End Function End Sub This would produce:
Notice that in this case we are using only upper case characters. If want to validate lower case characters also, we may have to create additional case sections for each. Here is an example: Sub Exercise Dim Gender As String Gender = "f" Select Case Gender Case "f" MsgBox("Female") Case "F" MsgBox("Female") Case "m" MsgBox("Male") Case "M" MsgBox("Male") Case Else MsgBox("Unknown") End Select End Sub This would produce:
Instead of using one value for a case, you can apply more than one. To do this, on the right side of the Case keyword, you can separate the expressions with commas. Here are examples: Sub Exercise Dim Gender As String Gender = "F" Select Case Gender Case "f", "F" MsgBox("Female") Case "m", "M" MsgBox("Male") Case Else MsgBox("Unknown") End Select End Sub
Validating a Range of Cases

You can use a range of values for a case. To do this, on the right side of Case, enter the lower value, followed by To, followed by the higher value. Here is an example: Sub Exercise Dim Age As Integer Age = 24 Select Case Age Case 0 To 17 MsgBox("Teen") Case 18 To 55 MsgBox("Adult") Case Else MsgBox("Senior")
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MsgBox("Senior") End Select End Sub This would produce:
Checking Whether a Value IS

Consider the following procedure: Sub Exercise Dim Number As Short Number = 448 Select Case Number Case -602 MsgBox("-602") Case 24 MsgBox("24") Case 0 MsgBox("0") End Select End Sub Obviously this Select Case statement will work in rare cases only when the expression of a case exactly match the value sought for. In reality, for this type of scenario, you could validate a range of values. The Visual Basic language provides an alternative. You can check whether the value of the Expression responds to a criterion instead of an exact value. To create it, you use the Is operator with the following formula: Is Operator Value You start with the Is keyword. It is followed by one of the Boolean operators we saw in the previous lessons: =, <>, <, <=, >, or >=. On the right side of the Boolean operator, type the desired value. Here are examples: Sub Exercise Dim Number As Integer Number = -448 Select Case Number Case Is < 0 MsgBox("The number is negative") Case Is > 0 MsgBox("The number is positive") Case Else MsgBox("0") End Select End Sub Although we used a natural number here, you can use any appropriate logical comparison that can produce a True or a False result. You can also combine it with the other alternatives we saw previously, such as separating the expressions of a case with commas.
Select...Case and the Conditional Built-In Functions

With the Select...Case statement, we saw how to check different values against a central one and take action when one of those matches the tag. Here is an example: Sub Exercise Dim Number As Integer, MembershipType As String Number = 2 Select Case Number Case 1 MembershipType = "Teen" Case 2 MembershipType = "Adult" Case Else MembershipType = "Senior" End Select MsgBox("Membership Type: " & MembershipType) End Sub This would produce:
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We also saw that the Visual Basic language provides the Choose() function that can check a condition and take an action. The Choose() function is another alternative to a Select...Case statement. Once again, consider the syntax of the Choose function: Function Choose( _ ByVal Index As Double, _ ByVal ParamArray Choice() As Variant _ ) As Object This function takes two required arguments. The first argument is equivalent to the Expression of our Select Case formula. As mentioned already, the first argument must be a number. This is the central value against which the other values will be compared. Instead of using Case sections, provide the equivalent ExpressionX values as a list of values in place of the second argument. The values are separated by commas. Here is an example: Choose(Number, "Teen", "Adult", "Senior") As mentioned already, the values of the second argument are provided as a list. Each member of the list uses an index. The first member of the list, which is the second argument of this function, has an index of 1. The second value of the argument, which is the third argument of the function, has an index of 2. You can continue adding the values of the second argument as you see fit. When the Choose() function has been called, it returns a value of type Variant. You can retrieve that value, store it in a variable and use it as you see fit. Here is an example: Sub Exercise Dim Number As Integer, MembershipType As String Number = 1 MembershipType = Choose(Number, "Teen", "Adult", "Senior") MsgBox("Membership Type: " & MembershipType) End Sub This would produce:
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VBA for Microsoft Excel - Lesson 25: Logical Conjunction and Disjunction
Logical Conjunction and Disjunction

Logical Conjunction
Introduction
As mentioned already, you can nest one conditional statement inside of another. To illustrate, imagine you create a workbook that would be used by a real estate company that sells houses. You may face a customer who wants to purchase a single family house but the house should not cost more than $550,001. To implement this scenario, you can first write a procedure that asks the user to specify a type of house and then a conditional statement would check it. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise Dim TypeOfHouse As String Dim Choice As Integer Dim Value As Double TypeOfHouse = "Unknown" Choice = CInt(InputBox("Enter the type of & vbCrLf & _ "1. Single Family" & vbCrLf "2. Townhouse" & vbCrLf & _ "3. Condominium" & vbCrLf & "You Choice? ")) Value = CDbl(InputBox("Up to how much can house you want to purchase" _ & _ vbCrLf & _ you afford?"))
TypeOfHouse = Choose(Choice, "Single Family", _ "Townhouse", _ "Condominium") End Sub If the user selects a single family, you can then write code inside the conditional statement of the single family. Here is an example: Sub Exercise Dim TypeOfHouse As String Dim Choice As Integer Dim Value As Double TypeOfHouse = "Unknown" Choice = CInt(InputBox("Enter the type of & vbCrLf & _ "1. Single Family" & vbCrLf "2. Townhouse" & vbCrLf & _ "3. Condominium" & vbCrLf & "You Choice? ")) Value = CDbl(InputBox("Up to how much can house you want to purchase" _ & _ vbCrLf & _ you afford?"))
TypeOfHouse = Choose(Choice, "Single Family", _ "Townhouse", _ "Condominium") If Choice = 1 Then MsgBox("Desired House Type: "Maximum value afforded: End If End Sub Here is an example of running the program:
" & vbTab & TypeOfHouse & vbCrLf & _ " & vbTab & FormatCurrency(Value))
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In that section, you can then write code that would request and check the value the user entered. If that value is valid, you can take necessary action. Here is an example: Sub Exercise Dim TypeOfHouse As String Dim Choice As Integer Dim Value As Double TypeOfHouse = "Unknown" Choice = CInt(InputBox("Enter the type of & vbCrLf & _ "1. Single Family" & vbCrLf "2. Townhouse" & vbCrLf & _ "3. Condominium" & vbCrLf & "You Choice? ")) Value = CDbl(InputBox("Up to how much can house you want to purchase" _ & _ vbCrLf & _ you afford?"))
TypeOfHouse = Choose(Choice, "Single Family", _ "Townhouse", _ "Condominium") If Choice = 1 Then MsgBox ("Desired House Type: "Maximum value afforded:
" & vbTab & TypeOfHouse & vbCrLf & _ " & vbTab & FormatCurrency(Value))
If Value <= 550000 Then MsgBox ("Desired House Matched") Else MsgBox ("The House Doesn't Match the Desired Criteria") End If End If End Sub
A Conditional Conjunction
Using conditional nesting, we have seen how you can write one conditional statement that depends on another. But you must write one first condition, check it, then nest the other condition. This works fine and there is nothing against it. To provide you with an alternative, you can use what is referred to as a logical conjunction. It consists of writing one If...Then expression that checks two conditions at the same time. To illustrate, once again consider a customer who wants to purchase a single family home that is less than $550,000. You can consider two statements as follows: a. The house is single family b. The house costs less than $550,000 To implement it, you would need to write an If...Then condition as: If The house is single family AND The house costs less than $550,000 Then Validate End If In the Visual Basic language, the operator used to perform a logical conjunction is And. Here is an example of using it: Sub Exercise Dim TypeOfHouse As String Dim Choice As Integer Dim Value As Double TypeOfHouse = "Unknown" Choice = _ CInt(InputBox("Enter the type of house you want to purchase" & vbCrLf & _ "1. Single Family" & vbCrLf & _ "2. Townhouse" & vbCrLf & _ "3. Condominium" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _ "You Choice? ")) Value = CDbl(InputBox("Up to how much can you afford?")) TypeOfHouse = Choose(Choice, "Single Family", _ "Townhouse", _ "Condominium") If TypeOfHouse = "Single Family" And Value <= 550000 Then
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If TypeOfHouse = "Single Family" And Value <= 550000 Then MsgBox("Desired House Type: " & vbTab & TypeOfHouse & vbCrLf & _ "Maximum value afforded: " & vbTab & FormatCurrency(Value)) MsgBox("Desired House Matched") Else MsgBox("The House Doesn't Match the Desired Criteria") End If End Sub Here is an example of running the program:
By definition, a logical conjunction combines two conditions. To make the program easier to read, each side of the conditions can be included in parentheses. Here is an example: Sub Exercise . . . No Change If (TypeOfHouse = "Single Family") And (Value <= 550000) Then MsgBox("Desired House Type: " & vbTab & TypeOfHouse & vbCrLf & _ "Maximum value afforded: " & vbTab & FormatCurrency(Value)) MsgBox("Desired House Matched") Else MsgBox("The House Doesn't Match the Desired Criteria") End If End Sub To understand how logical conjunction works, from a list of real estate properties, after selecting the house type, if you find a house that is a single family home, you put it in the list of considered properties: Type of House The house is single family House True
If you find a house that is less than or equal to $550,000, you retain it: Price Range $550,000 Value True
For the current customer, you want a house to meet BOTH criteria. If the house is a town house, based on the request of our customer, its conditional value is false. If the house is less than $550,000, such as $485,000, the value of the Boolean Value is true:
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If the house is a town house, based on the request of our customer, its conditional value is false. If the house is more than $550,000, the value of the Boolean Value is true. In logical conjunction, if one of the conditions is false, the result if false also. This can be illustrated as follows: Type of House Town House False House Value $625,000 False Result Town House AND $625,000 False
Suppose we find a single family home. The first condition is true for our customer. With the AND Boolean operator, if the first condition is true, then we consider the second criterion. Suppose that the house we are considering costs $750,500: the price is out of the customer's range. Therefore, the second condition is false. In the AND Boolean algebra, if the second condition is false, even if the first is true, the whole condition is false. This would produce the following table: Type of House Single Family True House Value $750,500 False Result Single Family AND $750,500 False
Suppose we find a townhouse that costs $420,000. Although the second condition is true, the first is false. In Boolean algebra, an AND operation is false if either condition is false: Type of House Town House False House Value $420,000 True Result Town House AND $420,000 False
If we find a single family home that costs $345,000, both conditions are true. In Boolean algebra, an AND operation is true if BOTH conditions are true. This can be illustrated as follows: Type of House Single Family True House Value $345,000 True Result Single Family AND $345,000 True
These four tables can be resumed as follows: Condition1 AND Condition2 False False False True
If Condition1 is False False True True
If Condition2 is False True False True
As you can see, a logical conjunction is true only of BOTH conditions are true.
Combining Conjunctions
As seen above, the logical conjunction operator is used to combine two conditions. In some cases, you will need to combine more than two conditions. Imagine a customer wants to purchase a single family house that costs up to $450,000 with an indoor garage. This means that the house must fulfill these three requirements: A. The house is a single family home B. The house costs less than $450,001 C. The house has an indoor garage Here is the program that could be used to check these conditions: Sub Exercise Dim TypeOfHouse As String Dim Choice As Integer
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Dim Value As Double Dim IndoorGarageAnswer As Integer Dim Answer As String TypeOfHouse = "Unknown" Choice = _ CInt(InputBox("Enter the type of house you want to purchase" _ & vbCrLf & _ "1. Single Family" & vbCrLf & _ "2. Townhouse" & vbCrLf & _ "3. Condominium" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _ "You Choice? ")) Value = CDbl(InputBox("Up to how much can you afford?")) TypeOfHouse = Choose(Choice, "Single Family", _ "Townhouse", _ "Condominium") IndoorGarageAnswer = _ MsgBox("Does the house have an indoor garage (1=Yes/0=No)?", _ vbQuestion Or vbYesNo, _ "Real Estate") Answer = IIf(IndoorGarageAnswer = vbYes, "Yes", "No") If (TypeOfHouse = "Single Family") And _ (Value <= 550000) And _ (IndoorGarageAnswer = vbYes) Then MsgBox "Desired House Type: " & vbTab & "Maximum value afforded: " & vbTab & FormatCurrency(Value) & vbCrLf & _ "House has indoor garage: " & vbTab & MsgBox "Desired House Matched" Else MsgBox ("The House Doesn't Match the Desired End If End Sub
TypeOfHouse & vbCrLf & _ _ Answer
Criteria")
We saw that when two conditions are combined, the interpreter first checks the first condition, followed by the second. In the same way, if three conditions need to be considered, the interpreter evaluates the truthfulness of the first condition: Type of House A Town House False If the first condition (or any condition) is false, the whole condition is false, regardless of the outcome of the other(s). If the first condition is true, then the second condition is evaluated for its truthfulness: Type of House A Single Family True Property Value B $655,000 False
If the second condition is false, the whole combination is considered false: A True B False A AND B False
When evaluating three conditions, if either the first or the second is false, since the whole condition would become false, there is no reason to evaluate the third. If both the first and the second conditions are false, there is also no reason to evaluate the third condition. Only if the first two conditions are true will the third condition be evaluated whether it is true: Property Value B $425,650 True Indoor Garage C None False
Type of House A Single Family True
The combination of these conditions in a logical conjunction can be written as A AND B AND C. If the third condition is false, the whole combination is considered false: A AND B AND C False
A True
B True
A AND B True
C False
From our discussion so far, the truth table of the combinations can be illustrated as follows: A AND B
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A False True True
B Don't Care False True
C Don't Care Don't Care False
A AND B AND C False False False
The whole combination is true only if all three conditions are true. This can be illustrated as follows: A AND B AND C False False False False False False False True
A False False True True False False True True
B False False False False True True True True
C False True False True False True False True
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Microsoft Excel VBA Programming - Lesson 26: Error Handling
Error Handling
Handling Errors
Introduction to Errors
A computer application is supposed to run as smooth as possible. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. A form may close unexpectedly. A control on a form may hide itself at the wrong time. The application may crash. A calculation may produce unexpected results, etc.
You can predict some of these effects and take appropriate actions. Some other problems are not under your control. Fortunately, both Microsoft Excel and the VBA language provide various tools or means of dealing with errors.
Practical Learning: Introducing Error Handling

1. Open the Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services1 spreadsheet and click the Employees tab
2. Click the Payroll tab 3. Click the TimeSheet tab 4. To save the workbook and prepare it for code, press F12 5. Specify the folder as (My) Documents 6. In the Save As Type combo box, select Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook 7. Click Save
Introduction to Handling Errors

To deal with errors in your code, the Visual Basic language provides various techniques. One way you can do this is to prepare your code for errors. When an error occurs, you would present a message to the user to make him/her aware of the issue (the error). To prepare a message, you create a section of code in the procedure where the error would occur. To start that section, you create a label. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click() ThereWasBadCalculation: End Sub After (under) the label, you can specify your message. Most of the time, you formulate the message using a message box. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click() ThereWasBadCalculation: MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation" End Sub If you simply create a label and its message like this, its section would always execute:
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Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click() Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double Dim WeeklySalary As Double ' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as ' if the user types an invalid number HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary) WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime) ' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary) ThereWasBadCalculation: MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation" End Sub To avoid this, you should find a way to interrupt the flow of the program before the label section. One way you can do this is to add a line marked Exit Sub before the label. This would be done as follows: Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click() Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double Dim WeeklySalary As Double ' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as ' if the user types an invalid number HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary) WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime) ' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary) Exit Sub ThereWasBadCalculation: MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation" End Sub
In Case of Error
Jump to a Label
We saw that you can create a label that would present a message to the user when an error occurs. Before an error occurs, you would indicate to the compiler where to go if an error occurs. To provide this information, under the line that starts the procedure, type an On Error GoTo expression followed by the name of the label where you created the message. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click() On Error GoTo ThereWasBadCalculation Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double Dim WeeklySalary As Double ' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as ' if the user types an invalid number HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary) WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime) ' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary) Exit Sub ThereWasBadCalculation: MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation" End Sub The On Error GoTo indicates to the compiler where to transfer code if an error occurs.
Go to a Numbered Label
Instead of defining a lettered label where to jump in case of error, you can create a numeric label: Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click() Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double Dim WeeklySalary As Double HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary) WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime) WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
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Exit Sub 28: MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation" End Sub After creating the numeric label, you can ask the compiler to jump to it if a problem occurs. To do this, type On Error GoTo followed by the numeric label. The compiler would still jump to it when appropriate. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click() On Error GoTo 28 Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double Dim WeeklySalary As Double HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary) WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime) WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary) Exit Sub 28: MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation" End Sub Notice that the numeric label works like the lettered label. In other words, before writing the On Error GoTo expression, you must have created the label. In reality, this is not a rule. You can ask the compiler to let you deal with the error one way or another. To do this, use the On Error GoTo 0 (or On Error GoTo -1) expression. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click() On Error GoTo 0 Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double Dim WeeklySalary As Double HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary) WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime) WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary) End Sub In this case, if/when the error occurs, you must have a way to deal with it.
Resume the Code Flow

In every code we have explored so far, we anticipated that there could be a problem and we dealt with it. In most cases, after dealing with the error, you must find a way to continue with a normal flow of your program. In some other cases, you may even want to ignore the error and proceed as if everything were normal, or you don't want to bother the user with some details of the error. After you have programmatically deal with an error, to resume with the normal flow of the program, you use the Resume operator. It presents many options. After an error has occurred, to ask the compiler to proceed with the regular flow of the program, type the Resume keyword. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click() On Error GoTo ThereWasBadCalculation Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double Dim WeeklySalary As Double ' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as ' if the user types an invalid number HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary) WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime) ' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime Resume txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary) Exit Sub ThereWasBadCalculation: MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation" End Sub Notice that you can write the Resume operator almost anywhere. In reality, you should identify where the program would need to resume. Where else than after presenting the error message to the user? If you want the program to continue with an alternate value than the one that caused the problem, in the label section, type Resume Next. Here is an example:
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Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click() On Error GoTo ThereWasBadCalculation Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double Dim WeeklySalary As Double ' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as ' if the user types an invalid number HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary) WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime) ' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary) Exit Sub ThereWasBadCalculation: MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation" Resume Next End Sub We know that in our code, there was probably a problem, which is the reason we presented a message to the user. Then, when code resumes, where should the compiler go? After all, the problem was not solved. One way you can deal with the problem is to provide an alternative to what caused the problem, since you are supposed to know what type of problem occurred (in the next sections, we will analyze the types of problems that can occur). In the case of an arithmetic calculation, imagine we know that the problem was caused by the user typing an invalid number (such as typing a name where a number was expected). Instead of letting the program crash, we can provide a number as an alternative. The easiest number is 0. Before asking the compiler to resume, to provide an alternative solution (a number in this case), you can re-initialize the variable that caused the error. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click() On Error GoTo ThereWasBadCalculation Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double Dim WeeklySalary As Double ' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as ' if the user types an invalid number HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary) WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime) ' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary) Exit Sub ThereWasBadCalculation: MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation" HourlySalary = 0 Resume Next End Sub If there are many variables involved, as is the case for us, you can initialize each. Here an example: Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click() On Error GoTo ThereWasBadCalculation Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double Dim WeeklySalary As Double ' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as ' if the user types an invalid number HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary) WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime) ' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary) Exit Sub ThereWasBadCalculation: MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation" HourlySalary = 0 WeeklyTime = 0 Resume Next End Sub
Types of Error
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Introduction
In our introductions to errors, we mostly anticipated only problems related to arithmetic calculations. In reality, a program can face various categories of bad occurrences. The more problems you prepare for, the least phone calls and headaches you will have. Problems are divided in two broad categories.
Syntax Errors
A syntax error occurs if your code tries to perform an operation that the VBA language does not allow. These errors are probably the easiest to locate because the Code Editor is configured to point them out at the time you are writing your code. If you try typing or try inserting an operator or keyword in the wrong place on your code, the Code Editor would point it out. Here is an example:
In this case, if you were trying to use the Do keyword instead of a data type (probably Double in this case), the Code Editor would show it right away. This type of error is pointed out for every keyword and operator you try to use. Notice that, in the above example, we used a valid keyword but at the wrong time. If you mistype a keyword or an operator, you would receive an error. Fortunately, the Code Editor is equipped to know all keywords of the Visual Basic language. Consider the following example:
The programmer mistyped the Mod operator and wrote MAD instead. If you forget to include a necessary factor in your code, you would get a syntax error. For example, if you are creating a binary arithmetic expression that expects a second operand after the operator, you would receive an error. Here is an example:
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In this case, the programmer pressed Enter after the Mod operator, as if the expression was complete. This resulted in an error. These are just a few types of syntax errors you may encounter. As mentioned already, if you work in Microsoft Visual Basic to write your code, most of these errors are easy to detect and fix.
Run-Time Errors
A run-time error occurs when your application tries to do something that the operating system does not allow. In some cases, only your application would crash (Microsoft Excel may stop working). In some other cases, the user may receive a more serious error. As its name indicates, a run-time error occurs when the program runs; that is, after you have created your application. Fortunately, during the testing phase, you may encounter some of the errors so you can fix them before distributing your application. Some other errors may not occur even if you test your application. They may occur to the users after you have distributed your application. For example, you can create a car rental application that is able to display pictures 100% of the time on your computer while locating them from the E: drive. Without paying attention, after distributing your application, the user's computer may not have an E: drive and, when trying to display the pictures, the application may crash. Examples of run-time errors are: a. Trying to use computer memory that is not available b. Performing a calculation that the computer hardware (for example the processor) does not allow. An example is division by 0 c. Trying to use or load a library that is not available or is not accessible, for any reason d. Performing an arithmetic operation on two incompatible types (such as trying to assign to an Integer variable the result of adding a string to a Double value) e. Using a loop that was not properly initialized f. Trying to access a picture not accessible. Maybe the path specified for the picture is wrong. Maybe your code gives the wrong extension to the file, even though the file exists g. Accessing a value beyond the allowable range. For example, using a Byte variable to assign a performed operation that produces a value the variable cannot hold As you may imagine, because run-time errors occur after the application has been described as ready, some of these errors can be difficult to identify. Some other errors depend on the platform that is running the application (the operating system, the processor, the version of the application, the (available) memory, etc).
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VBA For Microsoft Excel - Lesson 27: File Processing
File Processing
Creating a File
Introduction
In Microsoft Excel, instead of a worksheet, you could create a form-based application that your users would use. If (since) you have already used Windows-based applications, you are surely familiar with data entry on a form, in which case you use Windows controls. File processing is the ability to store the values of a document in the computer so you can retrieve such values another time.
File processing is the ability to save values from an application and be able to get those values back when needed. The VBA language supports file processing.
Practical Learning: Introducing File Processing

1. Start Microsoft Excel 2. Double-click Sheet1, type Switchboard 3. Double-click Sheet2 and type Employees 4. Double-click Sheet3 and type Customers 5. Click the next sheet tab (the Insert Worksheet) 6. Double-click the new sheet tab and type Cars 7. Click the next sheet tab (the Insert Worksheet) 8. Double-click the new sheet tab and type Rental Rates 9. Click the Switchboard tab 10. Press and hold Shift 11. Click the Rental Rates tab 12. Release Shift
13. Click Cell B2 and type Bethesda Car Rental 14. Click the Enter button 15. Format it as you see fit:
16. Click the Employees sheet tab 17. To save the workbook, press Ctrl + S 18. In the top combo box, select the C drive (or any drive you want)
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18. In the top combo box, select the C drive (or any drive you want) 19. Click the Create New Folder (Windows XP) or New Folder (Windows Vista) button 20. Type Bethesda Car Rental as the name of the new folder and press Enter 21. Make sure the new folder is selected. Change the file name to Business Records 22. In the Save As Type combo box, select Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook
23. Click Save 24. In the Employees sheet tab, click Cell B6 and type Employee # 25. Create a list of employees 26. Click Cell E7, type =D7 & ", " & C7 and click the Enter button 27. Drag its AutoFill down to Cell E13
28. Click the Customers sheet tab 29. Click Cell B6 and type Driver's Lic. # 30. Create a list of customers
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31. Click the Cars sheet tab 32. Click Cell B6 and type Tag Number 33. Create a list of cars 34. Click the Rental Rates sheet tab 35. Click Cell B6 and type Category 36. Complete the table with the following values: Category Economy Compact Standard Full Size Mini Van SUV Truck Van Daily 35.95 39.95 45.95 49.95 55.95 55.95 42.75 69.95 Weekly 32.75 35.75 39.75 42.75 50.75 50.75 38.75 62.75 Monthly 28.95 32.95 35.95 38.95 45.95 45.95 35.95 55.95 Weekend 24.95 28.95 32.95 35.95 42.95 42.95 32.95 52.95
37. To save the workbook, press Ctrl + S 38. On the Ribbon, click Developer
39. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Visual Basic 40. On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Insert -> UserForm 41. If the Properties window is not available, right-click the form and click Properties. In the Properties window, click (Name) and type frmNewRentalOrder 42. Click Caption and type Bethesda Car Rental - Order Processing - New Rental Order 43. Design the form as follows:
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Control
(Name)
Caption/Text
Other Properties BackColor: &H00808080& BorderColor: &H00000000& ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF& BackColor: &H00808080& BorderColor: &H00000000& ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF&
Label
Processed By
Label
Car Selected
Label Text Box Text Box Label Text Box Label Combo Box cbxCarConditions txtTagNumber txtEmployeeNumber txtEmployeeName
Employee #:
Tag Number:
Condition:
Label
Processed For
BackColor: &H00808080& BorderColor: &H00000000& ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF&
Label Text Box Label Text Box Label Text Box Label Text Box Label Text Box Label Combo Box Label Text Box Label Text Box Label Text Box Label Text Box txtCity txtMileageEnd txtMileageStart txtAddress cbxTankLevels txtCarYear txtCustomerName txtModel txtDrvLicenseNbr txtMake
Make:
Driver's Lic. #:
Model:
Name:
Year: TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight Tank Level:
Address:
Mileage Start: TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight Mileage End: TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight City:
Label
Order Evaluation
BackColor: &H00808080& BorderColor: &H00000000& ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF&
Label Text Box Label Text Box Label Text Box Label Text Box txtTaxRate txtRateApplied txtZIPCode txtState
State:
ZIP Code:
Rate Applied: 24.95 Tax Rate: 5.75 TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight
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fmTextAlignRight
Label
BackColor: &H00808080& BorderColor: &H00000000& ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF& Days: txtDays 0 Tax Amount: txtTaxAmount 0.00 Start Date: txtStartDate End Date: txtEndDate Sub-Total: txtSubTotal 0.00 Order Total: txtOrderTotal 0.00 Receipt #: txtReceiptNumber cmdSave cmdReset Save Reset / New Rental Order TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight
Label Text Box Label Text Box Label Text Box Label Text Box Label Text Box Label Text Box Label Text Box Command Button Command Button
44. Right-click the Employee Number text box and click View Code 45. In the Procedure combo box, select Enter 46. Implement the event as follows: Private Sub txtEmployeeNumber_Enter() REM When the Employee # has focus, activate the Employees worksheet Worksheets(2).Activate End Sub 47. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit 48. Implement the event as follows: Private Sub txtEmployeeNumber_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean) On Error GoTo txtEmployeeNumber_Error ' Check if the user left the Employee Number empty If txtEmployeeNumber.Text = "" Then ' If so, put leave the Employee Name empty txtEmployeeName.Text = "" Else ' If the user entered a valid employee #, use the Microsoft Excel's ' VLOOKUP() function to get the corresponding employee name ' We are using the range of cells from B7 to E13 but you can use a ' range of your choice as long as it contains the employees records txtEmployeeName.Text = _ Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtEmployeeNumber.Text, _ Worksheets(2).Range("B7:E13"), 4, False) End If Exit Sub txtEmployeeNumber_Error: ' If the user entered an invalid employee #, put Unknown in the name If Err.Number = 1004 Then txtEmployeeNumber.Text = "" txtEmployeeName.Text = "Unknown clerk" End If End Sub 49. In the Object combo box, select txtTagNumber 50. In the Procedure combo box, select Enter 51. Implement the event as follows: Private Sub txtTagNumber_Enter() Worksheets(4).Activate End Sub 52. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit
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52. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit 53. Implement the event as follows: Private Sub txtTagNumber_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean) On Error GoTo txtTagNumber_Error ' Check if the user left the Tag Number text box empty If txtTagNumber.Text = "" Then ' If so, leave the car information empty txtTagNumber.Text = "" txtMake.Text = "" txtModel.Text = "" txtCarYear.Text = "" Else ' If the user entered a valid Tag Number, use the Microsoft Excel's ' VLOOKUP() function to get the corresponding car information txtMake.Text = _ Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtTagNumber.Text, _ Worksheets(4).Range("B6:I26"), 2, False) txtModel.Text = _ Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtTagNumber.Text, _ Worksheets(4).Range("B6:I26"), 3, False) txtCarYear.Text = _ Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtTagNumber.Text, _ Worksheets(4).Range("B6:I26"), 4, False) End If Exit Sub txtTagNumber_Error: ' If the user entered an invalid tag #, leave the Tag Number empty If Err.Number = 1004 Then txtTagNumber.Text = "" txtMake.Text = "" txtModel.Text = "" txtCarYear.Text = "" End If End Sub 54. In the Object combo box, select txtDrvLicenseNbr 55. In the Procedure combo box, select Enter 56. Implement the event as follows: Private Sub txtDrvLicenseNbr_Enter() Worksheets(3).Activate End Sub 57. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit 58. Implement the event as follows: Private Sub txtDrvLicenseNbr_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean) On Error GoTo txtDrvLicenseNbr_Error If txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text = "" Then txtCustomerName.Text = "" txtAddress.Text = "" txtCity.Text = "" txtState.Text = "" txtZIPCode.Text = "" Else txtCustomerName.Text = _ Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text, Worksheets(3).Range("B6:I26"), 2, False) txtAddress.Text = _ Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text, Worksheets(3).Range("B6:I26"), 3, False) txtCity.Text = _ Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text, Worksheets(3).Range("B6:I26"), 4, False) txtState.Text = _ Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text, Worksheets(3).Range("B6:I26"), 5, False) txtZIPCode.Text = _ Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text, Worksheets(3).Range("B6:I26"), 6, False) End If Exit Sub txtDrvLicenseNbr_Error: If Err.Number = 1004 Then txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text = "" txtCustomerName.Text = "" txtAddress.Text = "" txtCity.Text = "" txtState.Text = ""
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txtState.Text = "" txtZIPCode.Text = "" End If End Sub 59. In the Object combo box, select txtRateApplied 60. In the Procedure combo box, select Enter 61. Implement the event as follows: Private Sub txtRateApplied_Enter() Worksheets(5).Activate End Sub 62. In the Object combo box, select UserForm 63. In the Procedure combo box, select Activate 64. Implement the event as follows: Private Sub ResetRentalOrder() Dim strRandomNumber As String ' Fill the Conditions combo box cbxCarConditions.AddItem "Needs Repair" cbxCarConditions.AddItem "Drivable" cbxCarConditions.AddItem "Excellent" ' Fill the Tank Level cbxTankLevels.AddItem cbxTankLevels.AddItem cbxTankLevels.AddItem cbxTankLevels.AddItem cbxTankLevels.AddItem combo box "Empty" "1/4 Empty" "1/2 Full" "3/4 Full" "Full"
' For a receipt number, we will create a random number strRandomNumber = CStr(CInt(Rnd * 9)) strRandomNumber = strRandomNumber & CStr(CInt(Rnd * 9)) strRandomNumber = strRandomNumber & CStr(CInt(Rnd * 9)) strRandomNumber = strRandomNumber & CStr(CInt(Rnd * 9)) strRandomNumber = strRandomNumber & CStr(CInt(Rnd * 9)) strRandomNumber = strRandomNumber & CStr(CInt(Rnd * 9)) txtReceiptNumber = strRandomNumber ' In the real world, you would check the list of files ' in the Bethesda Car Rental folder. You would then get the ' name of the last file, or the highest receipt number. You ' would then increase this number by 1, and use that as the ' new receipt number txtEmployeeNumber.Text = "" txtEmployeeName.Text = "" txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text = "" txtCustomerName.Text = "" txtAddress.Text = "" txtCity.Text = "" txtState.Text = "" txtZIPCode.Text = "" txtStartDate.Text = "" txtEndDate.Text = "" txtTagNumber.Text = "" cbxCarConditions.Text = "Excellent" txtMake.Text = "" txtModel.Text = "" txtCarYear.Text = "" cbxTankLevels.Text = "" txtMileageStart.Text = "0" txtMileageEnd.Text = "0" txtRateApplied.Text = "24.95" txtTaxRate.Text = "5.75" txtDays.Text = "0" txtTaxAmount.Text = "0.00" txtSubTotal.Text = "0.00" txtOrderTotal.Text = "0.00" txtNotes.Text = "" ' Display today's date in the date text boxes txtStartDate = Date txtEndDate = Date End Sub Private Sub UserForm_Activate() Call ResetRentalOrder End Sub 65. In the Object combo box, select cmdReset 66. Implement the Click event as follows: Private Sub cmdReset_Click()
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Private Sub cmdReset_Click() Call ResetRentalOrder End Sub 67. On the Standard toolbar, click the Save button 68. Return to Microsoft Excel and click the Switchboard tab sheet 69. In the Developer tab of the Ribbon, in the Controls section, click Insert 70. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button 71. Click the worksheet 72. Right-click the new button and click Properties 73. In the properties window, change the following characteristics (Name): cmdCreateRentalOrder Caption: Create New Rental Order 74. Right-click the button and click View Code 75. Implement the event as follows: Private Sub cmdCreateRentalOrder_Click() frmNewRentalOrder.Show End Sub 76. Press Ctrl + S to save
File Creation
Before performing file processing, the first action you must perform consists of creating a file. To support file creation, the VBA provides a procedure named Open. Its syntax is: Open pathname For Output [Access access] [lock] As [#]filenumber [Len=reclength] The Open statement takes many factors, some are required and others are not. The Open (the name of the procedure) word, the For Output expression, and the As # expression are required. The first argument, pathname, is required. This is a string that can be the name of the file. The file can have an extension or not. Here is an example: Open "example.dat" If you specify only the name of the file, it would be considered in the same folder where the current workbook is (the workbook that was opened when you called this statement). If you want, you can provide a complete path for the file. This would include the drive, the (optional) folder(s), up to the name of the file, with or without extension. Besides the name of the file or its path, the mode factor is required. This factor specifies the actual action you want to perform, such as creating a new file or only opening an existing one. This factor can be one of the following keywords: Output: The file will be created and ready to receive (normal) values Binary: The file will be created and ready to receive values in binary format (as combinations of 1s and 0s) Append: If the file exists already, it will be opened and new values can be added to the end Here is an example of creating a file: Private Sub cmdSave_Click() Open "example.dat" For Output As #1 End Sub The access factor is optional. It specifies what types of actions will be performed in the file, such as writing values to it or only reading existing values. This factor can have one of the following values: Write: After a new file has been created, new values will be written to it Read Write: When a new file has been created or an existing file has been opened, values can be read from it or written to it If you decide to specify the access factor, precede its value with the Access keyword. The lock factor is optional. It indicates how the processor should behave while the file is being used. Its possible values are: Shared: Other applications (actually called processes) can access this file while the current application is accessing it Lock Write: Do not allow other applications (processes) to access this file while the current application (process) is writing to it Lock Read Write: Do not allow other applications (processes) to access this file while the current application (process) is using it
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On the right side of #, type a number, for the filenumber factor, between 1 and 511. If you are working on one file, use the number 1. If you are working on many files, you should use an incremental number. If you have not been keeping track of the number or you get confused at one time, to know the next number you can use, call the FreeFile() function, which returns the next available number in the sequence. The reclength factor is optional. If the file was opened, this factor specifies the length of the record that was read.
Closing a File
When you create a file and start using it, or after opening a file and while you are using it, it uses memory and consumes (or can be consuming) memory (which could be significant). When you have finished using the file, you should free the memory it was using and release the resources it was consuming. To assist you with this, the VBA provides a procedure named Close. Its syntax is: Close [filenumberlist] The filenumberlist factor is the filenumber you would have previously used to create or open the file. Here is an example of closing a file: Private Sub cmdSave_Click() Open "example.dat" For Output As #1 Close #1 End Sub
Printing to a File
After creating a file, you may want to write values to it. To support this, the VBA provides two procedures. One of them is called Print and its syntax is: Print #filenumber, [outputlist] The Print statement takes two factors but only the first is required. The filenumber factor is the filenumber you would have used to create the file. The filenumber is followed by a comma. The outputlist factor can be made of 0, 1 or more parts. Because it is optional, if you do not want to write a value to the file, leave this part empty. If you want to write a value, type a comma after the filenumber factor and follow these rules: If you want to start the value with empty spaces, use the Spc() function and pass an integer (in the parentheses) that represents the number of empty spaces. For example Spc(4) would include 4 empty spaces. This factor is optional, which means you can omit it Instead of a specific number of empty spaces, you can let the operating system specify a built-in number of empty spaces. To do this, call the Tab() function as part of your outputlist factor. The Tab() function specifies the number of columns to include before the value. The Tab() function can be more useful if you are concerned with the alignment of the value(s) you will write in the file. This factor is optional, which means you can omit it To write a string, include it in double-quotes To write a number, whether an integer, a float, or a double, simply include the number normally To write a Boolean value, type it as True or False To write a date or time value, type it between # and # and follow the rules of dates or times of your language such as US English To write a null value, type Null Here is an example of writing some values: Private Sub cmdSave_Click() Open "Employee.txt" For Output As #1 Print Print Print Print #1, #1, #1, #1, "James" "Larenz" True #12/08/2008#
Close #1 End Sub Instead of writing one value per line, you can write more than one value with one statement. To do this, separate them with either a semi-colon or an empty space. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdSave_Click() Open "Employee.txt" For Output As #1
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REM The values are separated by a semi-colon Print #1, "James"; "Larenz" REM The values are separated by an empty space Print #1, True #12/08/2008# Close #1 End Sub
Writing to a File
Besides the Print procedure, the VBA also provides a procedure named Write that can be used to write one or more values to a file. The syntax of the Write statement is the same as that of Print: Write #filenumber, [outputlist] The filenumber factor is required. It must be the filenumber specified when creating the file. The outputlist factor is optional. If you want to skip it, type a comma after the filenumber and end the Write statement. In this case, an empty line would be written to the file. To write the values to the file, follow these rules: To start the value with empty spaces, call the Spc() function and pass a number that represents the number of empty spaces. This factor is optional, which means you can omit it To start the value with a specific number of columns, call the Tab() function and pass the number of columns as argument. This factor is optional, which means you can omit it To write a string, include it in double-quotes To write a number, include it normally To write a Boolean value, type it as #TRUE# or #FALSE# To write a null value, type #NULL# To write a date or time value, type it between # and # Here is an example of writing some values: Private Sub cmdSave_Click() Open "Employee.txt" For Output As #1 Write Write Write Write Write Write #1, #1, #1, #1, #1, #1, "James" "M" "Larenz" #12/08/2008# 24.50 True
Close #1 End Sub You can also write values on the same line. To do this, separate them with an empty space, a comma, or a semi-colon. Here is an example: Private Sub cmdSave_Click() Open "Employee.txt" For Output As #1 REM The values are separated by a semi-colon Write #1, "James"; "M"; "Larenz" REM The values are separated by a comma Write #1, #12/08/2008#, 24.50 Write #1, True Close #1 End Sub
Practical Learning: Saving a File

1. Display the form 2. Double-click the Save button 3. Implement its Click event as follows: Private Sub cmdSave_Click() On Error GoTo cmdSave_Error Rem Make sure the user enters a valid employee number If txtEmployeeNumber.Text = "" Then MsgBox "You must enter a valid employee number." Exit Sub End If Rem Make sure the user enters a valid car tag number If txtTagNumber.Text = "" Then MsgBox "You must enter a valid tag number." Exit Sub
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Exit Sub End If Rem Make sure the user enters a valid customer If txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text = "" Then MsgBox "You must specify a valid car." Exit Sub End If Open "C:\Bethesda Car Rental\" & txtReceiptNumber.Text & _ ".bcr" For Output As #1 Write #1, txtEmployeeNumber.Text Rem Some people would not include the Employee Name in Rem the file because it is already stored in the workbook. Rem But we will include it in our file Write #1, txtEmployeeName.Text Write #1, txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text Rem Some people would not include the customer name, address, Rem city, state, and ZIP code in the file because they are Rem already part of a workbook. Rem But we will include them in our file Write #1, txtCustomerName.Text Write #1, txtAddress.Text Write #1, txtCity.Text Write #1, txtState.Text Write #1, txtZIPCode.Text Write #1, txtStartDate.Text Write #1, txtEndDate.Text Write #1, txtTagNumber.Text Write #1, cbxCarConditions.Text Rem Some people would not include the car make, model, Rem and year in the file because they are Rem already stored in a workbook. Rem But we will include them here Write #1, txtMake.Text Write #1, txtModel.Text Write #1, txtCarYear.Text Write #1, cbxTankLevels.Text Write #1, txtMileageStart.Text Write #1, txtMileageEnd.Text Write #1, txtRateApplied.Text Write #1, txtTaxRate.Text Write #1, txtDays.Text Write #1, txtTaxAmount.Text Write #1, txtSubTotal.Text Write #1, txtOrderTotal.Text Write #1, "Car Rented" Write #1, txtNotes.Text Close #1 Exit Sub cmdSave_Error: MsgBox "There is a problem with the form. It cannot be saved." Resume Next End Sub 4. On the Standard toolbar, click the Save button 5. Return to Microsoft Excel and click the Switchboard tab sheet if necessary 6. In the Developer tab of the Ribbon, in the Controls section, click Insert 7. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button 8. Click the worksheet 9. Right-click the new button and click Properties 10. In the properties window, change the following characteristics (Name): cmdCreateRentalOrder Caption: Create New Rental Order 11. Right-click the button and click View Code 12. Implement the event as follows: Private Sub cmdCreateRentalOrder_Click() frmNewRentalOder.Show End Sub 13. Press Ctrl + S to save 14. Return to Microsoft Excel 15. In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click the Design Mode button to uncheck it 16. Click the button to display the form 17. Enter some values for a rental order
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18. Write down the receipt number on a piece of paper 19. Click the Save button 20. Click the Reset button 21. Enter some values for another rental order
22. Click the Save button 23. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic
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Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 01: Introduction to Microsoft Excel

Introduction to Microsoft Excel

Introduction to Microsoft Excel

Practical Learning: Starting Microsoft Excel

The Office Button

. If you position the

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 01: Introduction to Microsoft Excel

The Options of the Office Button

We will come back to the options on this menu.

The Quick Access Toolbar

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 01: Introduction to Microsoft Excel

The Quick Access Button

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 01: Introduction to Microsoft Excel

Under the title bar, Microsoft Excel displays the Ribbon:

This would display the Ribbon like a main menu:

Changing the Location of the Ribbon

The Tabs of the Ribbon

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 01: Introduction to Microsoft Excel

The Sections of a Tab

The Buttons of the Ribbon

The More Buttons of the Ribbon

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 01: Introduction to Microsoft Excel

The Size of the Ribbon

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 01: Introduction to Microsoft Excel

The Work Area

The Insert Function Button

The Formula Bar

The Column Headers

There are 255 of columns.

The Row Headers

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 01: Introduction to Microsoft Excel

The Scroll Bars

The Sheet Tabs

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 01: Introduction to Microsoft Excel

The Navigation Buttons

The Status Bar

Microsoft Excel File Operations

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 01: Introduction to Microsoft Excel

Saving under a Different Name and New Folder

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 01: Introduction to Microsoft Excel

Practical Learning: Closing Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 02: Introduction to VBA Code

Launching Microsoft Visual Basic

Practical Learning: Starting Microsoft Visual Basic

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 02: Introduction to VBA Code

The Microsoft Visual Basic Interface

The Project Explorer

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 02: Introduction to VBA Code

The Project Explorer

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 02: Introduction to VBA Code

Practical Learning: Creating a Module

The Immediate Window

Practical Learning: Displaying the Immediate Window

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 02: Introduction to VBA Code

VBA in Visual Basic

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 02: Introduction to VBA Code

Practical Learning: Creating a Macro

The Skeleton Code of a Macro

or click the the arrow of the Macros

Microsoft Excel VBA - Lesson 02: Introduction to VBA Code