I am trying to create a user defined function to create a named range and assign a value to the cell. The below code is giving me a #Value error
My code:
Public Function NameARange(CValue As String, NameR As String) as String
Dim ReferAdd As String
ReferAdd = "='" & ActiveSheet.Name & "'!" & ActiveCell.Address
ActiveWorkbook.Names.Add Name:=NameR, RefersTo:=ReferAdd
NameARange = CValue
End Function
Any help to fix this code will be much appreciated. Thanks
Are you sure it's not a #NAME? error that you're getting?
Either way, there are a couple issues with your formula. The short explanation is it doesn't make logical sense.
Let's say you stick that formula in cell A1 of Sheet1...
You're trying to create a named range with a Worksheet Function. Worksheet functions recalculate (re-execute) every time something changes on the worksheet. Excel would try to recreate a new named range by the existing name, over and over and over.
Imagine if you had to sweep the floor anytime sometimes changed in your house... but sweeping the floor changes your house. You'd be stuck in an infinite loop.
You're also want the function to assign a formula to the cell that the function is sitting in. What if you could clone yourself, but the only place that clone could ever stand is exactly where you are standing. Wouldn't work out.
And, finally, you want to finish by returning a value to the same cell that has the function (and the infinite copies of itself)... but not just any value: the value that you called the function with in the first place.
It's like a Catch-22 of a Quagmire of a Paradox.
There is no solution for what you're trying to do except, "don't". Excel won't let you anyhow, which is good because otherwise the universe just might implode.
A user-defined function called by a formula in a worksheet cell cannot
change the environment of Microsoft Excel. This means that such a
function cannot do any of the following:
Insert, delete, or format cells on the spreadsheet.
Change another cell's value.
Move, rename, delete, or add sheets to a workbook.
Change any of the environment options, such as calculation mode or screen views.
Add names to a workbook.
Set properties or execute most methods.
The purpose of user-defined functions is to allow the user to create a custom function that is not included in the functions that ship with Microsoft Excel. The functions included in Microsoft Excel also cannot change the environment. Functions can perform a calculation that returns either a value or text to the cell that they are entered in. Any environmental changes should be made through the use of a Visual Basic subroutine.
During calculation, Excel examines the precedents of the cell that contains a user-defined function. If not all precedents have been calculated so far during the calculation process, Excel eventually calls the user-defined function and passes a Null or Empty cell to the function. Excel then makes sure that enough calculation passes occur for all precedents to be calculated. During the final calculation pass, the user-defined function is passed the current values of the cells. This can cause the user-defined function to be called more frequently than expected, and with unexpected arguments. Therefore, the user-defined function may return unexpected values.
For correct calculation, all ranges that are used in the calculation should be passed to the function as arguments. If you do not pass the calculation ranges as arguments, instead of referring to the ranges within the VBA code of the function, Excel cannot account for them within the calculation engine. Therefore, Excel may not adequately calculate the workbook to make sure that all precedents are calculated before calculating the user-defined function.
(Source: Microsoft : Description of limitations of custom functions in Excel)
Related
I have this formula that looks at various criteria across multiple columns and checks to see that if all the all the criteria match, it will paste data from one column to another. I've tried a couple ways to get it into VBA, but I can't seem to get anything to work. Thanks!
=INDEX($D$2:$D$1112,MATCH(1,($A$2:$A$1112=$U$7)*($C$2:$C$1112=$W$7)*($B$2:$B$1112=F3),0))
You are not going to be able to use that array formula to directly return a value to a cell. VBA does not process an array formula the way that the worksheet can. The best method is to use the worksheet's processing or one of the Application Evaluate methods.
Your lack of a worksheet to reference troubles me. When a formula is in a worksheet cell, it knows what worksheet it is on. When using formulas within VBA, the parent worksheet is a 'best guess' without explicit worksheet referencing.
Here are three methods to put the results from that array formula into Z2:Z4 on the active worksheet. Remember that these cell references should be modified to include the worksheet name.
With ActiveSheet
'this simply puts the formula into the worksheet then reverts the cell from the formula to the returned formula value
.Range("Z2").FormulaArray = "=INDEX($D$2:$D$1112, MATCH(1, ($A$2:$A$1112=$U$7)*($C$2:$C$1112=$W$7)*($B$2:$B$1112=F3), 0))"
.Range("Z2") = .Range("Z2").Value
'this uses the 'square bracket' method of evaluating a formula on-the-fly
'the formula being evaluated can be array or non-array
'this method is does not like building a formula string from pieces of text
.Range("Z3") = [INDEX($D$2:$D$1112, MATCH(1, ($A$2:$A$1112=$U$7)*($C$2:$C$1112=$W$7)*($B$2:$B$1112=F3), 0))]
'similar to the method directly above, Application.Evaluate does just that.
'the formula being evaluated can be array or non-array
'this method is easier to build a formula string from pieces of text
.Range("Z4") = Application.Evaluate("INDEX($D$2:$D$1112, MATCH(1, ($A$2:$A$1112=$U$7)*($C$2:$C$1112=$W$7)*($B$2:$B$1112=F3), 0))")
End With
You need 2 changes:
(1) To use a function in VBA when it is available in native Excel, you need to preface each function with Application.WorksheetFunction. ie:
x = Application.WorksheetFunction.Sum(y,z)
(2) To reference a cell within a sheet, in VBA, you need to access it specifically, in one of a few ways. The simplest for our purposes is the RANGE property, as follows:
x = Application.WorksheetFunction.Sum(Range("A1:A2"))
So to put those two changes together, your formula would look like this:
=Application.WorksheetFunction.INDEX(Range("$D$2:$D$1112",Application.WorksheetFunction.MATCH(1,(RANGE("$A$2:$A$1112"=RANGE("$U$7")*(Range("$C$2:$C$1112"=Range("$W$7")*(Range("$B$2:$B$1112"=Range("F3"),0))
Although I see now having gone through this that you seem to be using an Array Formula - not sure if any special jigging is required to get that to work.
I've come up with a useful trick, where I create a named range that refers to the current worksheet, by using the following formula:
=RIGHT(CELL("filename",INDIRECT("A1")), LEN(CELL("filename",INDIRECT("A1"))) - FIND("]",CELL("filename",INDIRECT("A1"))))&T(NOW())
Where the INDIRECTs are there ONLY to stop Excel from Converting A1 --> Sheet1!A1. This works beautifully until I need to call evaluate on it from VBA (which does happen).
Can anyone tell me how either (1) to evaluate a name with this formula in VBA or (2) to get a sheet non-specific reference into the formula. I'd rather not use VBA, since it'll get evaluated ~12000 times, and that's likely to be slow, but if need be, it's probably ok. However, please bear in mind that the sheet it is calculated from is quite unlikely to be ActiveSheet, so the context for the Range() function in VBA is a little tricky - hence why I'm asking in the first place.
One possible approach: use a simple UDF which just returns the name of the sheet it's called from.
Eg:
Function SheetName()
SheetName = Application.Caller.Parent.Name
End Function
Can I write a UDF in Excel VBA where the return value from the function will override the cell value from it is called from?
The function get information with a sql request. In this case it's only master data for example the item description. If the user will use this function in a worksheet in many cells excel will recalculate the cell value every time you change something. This has poor performance and normally it's only necessary to get the information one time and it hasn't to be updated in this case.
I thought to use application.caller.address method to get the address the function was called from but it seems it can't set the cell value for this address within the function.
So the return value of the function should override the original formula that run the function.
Is this possible
thanks for your help
No.
As you may have noticed Excel cells have multiple layers.
One is the "value". Another one the formula you can assign.
A funtions returns a value, therefore the return value only accesses this layer. So you cannot return a replacement for the formula cause it is on another layer.
A function differs from a sub in the return value, a sub does not return anything. Due to your behaviour of "one time usage" a sub will fit your need more than a function, because you dont want to return a value but to remove or replace certain content from cell (the formula).
However, this does not mean you cannot do this with a function - but still not with a return value. But you need to rewrite the whole formula on a data refresh if you would use such a function.
You may have missed a point that you make you laugh yourself I guess. Excel has such a thing natively. But it is not a function.
Copy your cells and paste them but use "values only".
Totally has the same effect.
Also in terms of recalculation... why not turn it off?
This would you not make to rewrite the function each time.
I'm building a macro in Excelto run rules against a set of data and output whether each row passes or fails the rules. I want to be able to add, remove, or alter the rules without altering the macro. As such I have a DATA worksheet and a RULES worksheet and the macro generates the OUTPUT worksheet and then populates it.
RULES is set up so that each different rule is enumerated on a different row. For this to work I need to be able to enter the actual VBA code relevant to the rule in on RULES, then I need to have the macro look at that column on RULES and execute the code in the cell.
Simplified example of my setup-
DATA has : ID, Dividend1, Dividend2, Divisor. There are n rows on DATA.
An example of a row on DATA might be ID="123", Dividend1=5, Dividend2=7, Divisor=35.
RULES has : Name, Formula, Threshold. For simplicity's sake there is only .
Let's set the as Name="Example", Formula=[see below], Threshold="0.15" (Threshold is used for conditional formatting in the macro, in this example it is unused.)
I'm going to use pseudocode for Formula just to eliminate the need to explain some of the irrelevant particulars of my macro so far. RULES.Formula should contain a line of VBA code that carries out-
If CurrentDATARow.Dividend1 = Empty Then
CurrentDATARow.Dividend2 / CurrentDATARow.Divisor
Else
CurrentDATARow.Dividend1 / CurrentDATARow.Divisor
End If
So, all of this explanation just to give context to this question: What can I do in the VBA of the macro to make it read the contents of RULES.Formula and make it execute that code inline with the rest of the macro?
If you have (say)
IF({dividend1}="",{dividend2}/{divisor},{dividend1}/{divisor})
stored in a "rule" cell (note do not include the "="), you can use Replace() to replace the placeholders with the relevant cell addresses for each cell in the row you're checking.
Then use something like
Dim val
val=Sheet1.Evaluate(yourformulastring) 'evaluate vs. specific worksheet
If Not IsError(val) Then
'check against thresholds etc
End If
If the evaluation results in an error you can test with IsError(val) as shown, otherwise it will return the result of the formula, which you can test against your "threshold" value cell. If you set background colors on your threshold cells you can color each row according to which threshold was exceeded.
NOTE without a worksheet qualifier, Evaluate will calculate the formula based on the ActiveSheet, so make sure the right sheet is active when this runs if you don't use the qualifier.
you could store your Tests/Rules as Excel worksheet formulas in Named ranges. Then you just call them from the cells.
see Ozgrid: Named Formulas
If you give us some example data and the type of calculations or rules I can give you a couple of examples.
I have a UDF non-volatile function in VBA, which requires a global variable (callback to VSTO) initialized.
This function resides in xla or xlam (same behaviour)
Is there a way to cancel calculation of the formula if the variable not yet available?
In Excel Automatic recalculation mode (I don't want to change that) Excel recalculates cells with my function every time I open a workbook, replacing value saved in a cell with error: "#ARG!".
I know how to return empty cell if my variable is not initialized, but is it possible to return original value? I checked with a debugger that it has been saved in the workbook. Trying to return Application.Caller.Value2 causes cyclic reference.
Also, the function isn't called (expected behaviour) if the VBA code is embedded in the workbook (xlsm), or if the workbook is in xls format. However, converting a workbook to xlsx causes the cells to be recalculated after workbook is opened as described.
You can do this in XLM or a C XLL by flagging the function as a macro function. In VBA the only easy way I know is an ugly hack : return Application.Caller.Text if the variable is not initialised.
This suffers from the major flaw that it gives you the formatted value of the cell rather than the actual value.
Otherwise you have to build a way of persisting the value of the cell in the closed-but-saved workbook: possible schemes include using Defined Names, Cell Comments, the registry, external files etc, but I don't think there is a clean VBA solution.
I eventually went with the xlsm approach.