I am looking for some tips how to resolve a problem with distributing macro to other users in my company.
I’ve created a specific workbook which holds a bunch of various types of data such as dates, strings and numbers. Each of the users have to manage the same types of data, so we use this workbook as a template. Data is stored in a columns to which I’ve applied a conditional formatting and data validation to prevent users from inserting wrong values. This Workbook contains few Worksheets with specific names. Names of this worksheets appear in the code – to make some specific calculations for each one of them (based on the name of the worksheet).
The problem is that there is a probability that in the future I would like to make some changes to the code for example to make my macro more efficient or to implement some changes that are necessary.
I’ve searched through the internet to find the best solution and I think the best is to create an Add-In to Excel. But I’ve some questions about that.
Is this really the best solution? Can someone give me a hint to make it in a better way?
If Add-In is the best, is there a way to add this only to specific workbooks (which are my template)?
Is it possible to install Add-in when someone opens a specific workbook (using Workbook_Open) and uninstall it when workbooks is closing (using Workbook_BeforeClose). I’ve looked for answers on the web, but this matter is not clear to me. If this is possible, would it affect speed of the closing/opening workbooks?
Thanks for any help/advice!
Put the add-in on the network drive and mark it as read-only. Use a local copy to make updates. Make sure to set it to read only each time you copy it, and make sure people are running off the network drive.
Often times when people install an Add-In, they answer YES to the question about copying it to their local drive and that is not the right answer. If they accidentally click YES you will need to edit their registry to remove the local reference.
For distributing an add-in through a shared drive with your own development copy I would highly suggest to read the following link.
It has a description of the installation process, including a very important point that braX brought up in his answer - answering No when asked about copying to personal add-in folder.
Below is an adjusted code from the link that I use to save add-ins. It goes into a normal module in the add-in itself. It saves an add-in a folder and sets its attribute to Read only so that whenever it is used by somebody it will not be locked. This setup allows you to update the file by running this macro at any time without needing to chase down users and get them to close Excel.
Private Sub Deploy()
Dim FolderOnSharedDrive as String
FolderOnSharedDrive = "Folder path to store add-in in here"
With ThisWorkbook
On Error Resume Next
SetAttr FolderOnSharedDrive & .Name, vbNormal
On Error GoTo 0
.SaveCopyAs FolderOnSharedDrive & .Name
SetAttr FolderOnSharedDrive & .Name, vbReadOnly
MsgBox "Deploy Completed to " & FolderOnSharedDrive & .Name
End With
End Sub
It is a good idea to add checks for filepath and perhaps some error-handling.
As to some other issues you bring up:
Add-ins can include worksheets that are not visible that you can use to store settings, paths, etc.
It is possible to make add-in appear only on specific workbooks but it will take some effort:
Include a ribbon for an add-in that includes callback for visibility. Set it to visible whenever specific workbook(template) is active. It will still be loaded to memory in any Excel instance
You can programatically add add-ins on open and remove on close as you suggested, check this question to see some options.
Adding/removing add-ins on close or open will definitely affect the speed, but I cannot say if it will be noticeable.
Related
I seek advice on how to manage userdefined VBA-functions that are used in several workbooks:
Background:
Over time i have created several Excel workbooks (wbs), each with a slightly different purpose, that are ultimately based on a library of my userdefined functions and class modules (From now on: library). The "master"-versions of the wbs are revision-controlled. The wbs are used by several people.
However, I do not use an addin for the library, and hence the modules and class modules are actually locally present in each wb's specific VBA project. This makes it a nightmare when doing either expansions or corrections, as I have to revisit and implement said alterations in each wb.
Furthermore, in each wb there are unique functions, understood such that those are not intended to be shared. Those functions, however, might utilize the library-functions.
Main-Question: How should one manage vba functions across several workbooks shared by several users?
My considerations/Sub questions:
Should I convert the library to a true addin and discard the local copies in each wb?
How do I tell the users that the add-in is required upon getting a copy of the maser-version?
How does one cope with legacy/local versions/branches that are spread among the users? Both current legacy copys and future legacy copies that might be used for reccuring tasks?
Where should such an addin-in be stored (in a shared folder or something)?
Would it be considered "bad practice" to force load the add-in using the workbook_opensub?
Any advice or guidance in best practice is appreciated.
Edit: I have tried to highlight the main question, please consider the sub questions as my own thoughts on the subject.
Until recently, I had several add-ins that lived on a shared drive. I had the users install the add-in using File - Options - Addins and wrote up the instructions to do it. The copy on the shared drive was read-only. For changes, I would code and test on the dev copy on my machine, then deploy it to the shared drive. The next time the user started Excel, the changes would be there.
Then we wanted more people to have the addins and not all of them had access to this shared drive. Also, people complained when they were off the network that it still tried to connect to the addins. So we went a different route.
We used a program called PDQ Deploy to put the addins in everyone's addins directory, so they had a local copy. We also deployed a script that copied the files from a company-wide shared drive to their addins directory. If they weren't connected to the nextwork, the script would fail silently. Finally, we used group policy to 1) create the registry entries to install the addins and 2) create a scheduled task that kicked off the script every night. Updating every day is overkill, but the files are only a few kbs, so we went with it.
Now I can deploy new versions to the company-wide shared drive and everyone will have the changes the next day (or the day after they're back on the network).
I put my vba stuff on the "personal" workbook (Windows menu : Unhide...) and whatever workbook I am using I can use them from there.
You do have to make sure about knowing which one is acrtive though...
Would like to check the value from my master file and copy the data comments from different excel files.
In my master I have a column contained all the user name. Would like to copy the address of the user from different excel file. Would like to open the workbook and look through is the user name in the workbook, if not then then exit and open another workbook.
How should I complete the flow ?
Unfortunately StackOverflow is not a free coding service. Our goal is to help you understand how your code works and engage the community with questions that will also help others in the future. Try running some of the code on your own and see what you can come up with. There are hundreds of sources online, one of my favorite being "Excel Easy", a website that breaks down VBA coding to its simplest form. Check it out and then after you've given it a go yourself feel free to ask any specific question about your code!
What I'm aiming at is getting a list of all currently running scripts in order to check if other users aren't running the same VBA macro at the same time (and if yes, then stop the code etc., similar to what the OP of the below question wanted). This would be for a shared workbook (I learned it's not designed for this type of work, but I need to try it).
https://stackoverflow.com/a/36116091/5947935
I've been trying to make the code in the above answer work in VBA, but it seems it's a vbs thing and I would like to avoid that.
I'm not an expert to say the least, so I'm having trouble understanding how to get this to work in Excel VBA. I don't even know if it's possible at all.
I've found this as well: VBA Getting program names and task ID of running processes and it works fine but it only lists the running processes.
I've no idea however how to merge the two... or even if the WMI is the correct way to go.
I'd appreciate any sort of help.
I used to create a "locking file" which was just an empty text file with the name of the workbook followed by the username and an extension of .LCK
First thing my code did on auto open was look for a locking file then report back to the user which user had it open then cancel the open.
If it didn't find a locking file then it created one and proceeded as normal. If it found one but it was the same username (ie that user had it crash on them) it proceeded with the open.
The last thing the code did was delete the file.
No codes here and theory not tested yet, but the idea of preventing a different user executing a Macro on a shared workbook requires some thinking.
I would create a hidden worksheet, and use one of the cells to store the Environ("USERNAME") when the macro is first started - to indicate who has it running, then clear it when complete, first-in-first-out.
Lets say named range MUser (macro user) is range A1 in that hidden worksheet
When the macro runs, it will first check if MUser is empty, if so then change it's value to Environ("USERNAME") and Save the file before next step (here I am not certain the value is updated on others session).
If MUser is not empty, either abort or retry in a few second.
When macro completes, MUser will be ClearContents, and save the File to free up the workbook for macro.
Idea is here but please test. Post your own code for us to troubleshoot. You may also use Workbook events to "lock" the macro execution this way. Or even use this hidden sheet to make a log record for debug. Also some fail-safe needs to be implemented (such as a time stamp at macro start and override the lock after some minutes).
END GAME: A user saved Workbook opens and mirrors code from a target file.
I am trying to create a simple VBA application that has an Excel front-end and an Access back-end. There will be multiple users who would have the option to save the front-end Excel piece anywhere they desire.
I would like to know the most efficient way to be able to update macros in all user instances when I need to push updates.
Essentially, I would like to mirror code from a "global" file on Workbook_open. In the past I did actually set code to open a separate workbook and run code (dim x as workbook, open, app.runmacro and etc.), But I think that is not really the most efficient way to do it.
Four possible solutions pop to mind for this (other than your option of having an intermediary workbook), there are likely others:
Treat the Workbook as purely an interface, and move the code to the
Access database and have it accept the Workbook as a parameter if
needed. The advantage would be the code could be maintained in one
place (Access), but it would have two main disadvantages. Each user
would need to have Access installed in order for it to instantiate
the application to call methods on, and it would lock in your
"interface" - that is, changes to how it calls Access macros would
still require Workbook updates.
Create a canonical Workbook and have the user Workbook version check
against the canonical Workbook when opened. If the version is
different, open the new one, move all of the data to it, delete the
old one, and save the new copy to the same filename as the old one.
The main disadvantage of this method would be ensuring that old code doesn't run might be difficult, as you would need
to take measures to prevent situations where the user could abort
the update process and still have a working copy of the old code.
Automate the VBE (see this answer for implementation details -
there are numerous resources on how to do this). Depending on how
you wanted to do this, you could either store the current modules as
files and import them, or store the code in the database itself and
query for it. The main disadvantages of this method are that the
VBE can be fickle about changing code that is actually running. I'm
not sure that I'd trust it to change it's own implementation. You
would also need to allow access to the VBE in each user's security
settings, which may pose a security threat.
Store the location of the Workbooks themselves in the database, then
push out updated copies with external code. The Workbook would
report it's filepath when opened, and if it wasn't already recorded
in the database, check to see if it was the most current version,
and then write a record for itself. This has the disadvantage of
only being able to inform the user that they don't have the current
version if they (for example) move the Workbook in Explorer and
don't open it until after your push.
Note that these are all "pull" type as opposed to "push" type solutions with the exception of the last one. Regardless of the method you use for version checking, any push solution is going to share the disadvantage of number 4 - there is no reliable way to make sure that a push catches all the invalidated versions.
We have a problem at work. Im not sure if this is due to an individual or the system admin applying patches during working hours but... we use an Excel sheet at work to track engineering work. It is a shared workbook so that multiple people can work at any time and is working well. Recently people have been losing their work because something is removing the shared status from the file during the day. It is only discovered when people go to save their work or open the workbook again after lunch. Is it possible to write a macro that records when the shared feature is applied or removed. I assume it is a property of the workbook collection/object but cant see how to do it from the docs
Take a look at the Workbook.MultiUserEditing property.
This code snippet (from Microsoft help) would save the workbook in shared mode if the workbook is not currently in shared mode.
If Not ActiveWorkbook.MultiUserEditing Then
ActiveWorkbook.SaveAs fileName:=ActiveWorkbook.FullName, _
accessMode:=xlShared
End If
You may consider placing this code (or similar) in the Workbook_BeforeClose() event or other relevant event.