What I thought would be quick excel vba, doesn't seem to be quick anymore. Basically, i want to loop through a set of questions within a given time. when the given time has expired or all questions completed, exit the loop (close the form and return). BTW, would like to show a timer countdown on the form as well. is it possible to achieve it?
I can get a form to show questions with answer options but not sure how to add the time criteria.
As far I know, this is not an ease task to achieve. Briefly speaking, one of the possible ways to do it is:
1. write your own class module for this program
2. create a form with questions, through the form constructor (Form_Initialize) create a new instance of your class (from point 1.) and link it to the form through variables, in addition your form needs to have variables to pass the information supplied by user at a later stage (your questions) to the object behind for storing
3. when your class is instantiated, the object will have a piece of code that contains a timer, and this timer will fire events, let's say, every second to refresh your form (to show how much time is left for answering questions), see UserForm.Repaint method. The questions that have been answered so far would be re-inserted into the form on repaint (info should be stored in your class object, then re-used to update the form through timer events).
Check this link as a starting point:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/gg264327.aspx
or search for: RaiseEvent Statement in Excel Help (in VB Editor).
To see how to create vba classes:
http://www.cimaware.com/resources/article_39.html
In general, you need to search for information on how to:
create class modules,
separate object model (instantiated class) from the form,
pass information between the form and the model,
make the model to repaint your form at regular intervals (firing events)
I think Application.OnTime method may can help.
Scheduling Events With OnTime And Windows Timers
---updated---
As requested in comment section, I include the essential part on how the function works
'variable to keep time interval the timer run again
Public RunWhen As Double
'main function that kick off the exam
Public Sub startExam()
'a label display how much time left, says start with 60 seconds
DisplayTime.Caption = "60"
'call a function that load and display question on screen
'assume call LoadQuestion again when user provided quiz answer, not implemented
LoadQuestion (1)
'start the
call Timer()
End Sub
'the timer function repeat itself
Sub Timer()
'set the next run time for Timer function
RunWhen = Now + TimeSerial(0, 0, 1)
'set the schedule
Application.OnTime EarliestTime:=RunWhen, Procedure:="Timer", Schedule:=True
'update the time left on screen
UserForm1.DisplayTime.Caption = UserForm1.DisplayTime.Caption - 1
'if the time deduced to 0, stop the schedule and alert user
If UserForm1.DisplayTime.Caption = "0" Then
Application.OnTime EarliestTime:=RunWhen, Procedure:="Timer", chedule:=False
MsgBox "TimesUp"
End If
End Sub
Related
I am working on a very large VBA project in Excel at my job. We are about 1500 lines of code for just one feature and have about a dozen more features to add. Because of this, I've been trying to break everything down so that I can keep code for each feature in separate places. OOP sucks in VBA... The problem being that these controls MUST have events fired. Of course, some events (like the TextBox_AfterUpdate event) are not available when you dynamically create controls. It's a bit convoluted because of everything that is going on, so I'll break it down the best I can:
I have a class module that represents a tab for a multipage control. When a user clicks on a tab, the Userform calls this class module and THERE I have the controls created dynamically. This way I can keep the code in that class module. I have a sub that I deemed as the "AfterUpdate" sub and put code that I needed to run there. Now the problem is to get that sub to be called at the appropriate time.
So what I did is to set up a Timer of sorts to check and see if the "ActiveControl" is said textbox. If it is not, we can assume that focus has left and we can raise that event. Here's the code I'm using:
An abbreviated version of the tab creation...
Private WithEvents cmbMarketplace As MSForms.ComboBox
Public Sub LoadTab(ByVal oPageTab As Object)
If TabLoaded Then Exit Sub
Set PageTab = oPageTab
Dim tmp As Object
Set tmp = PageTab.Add("Forms.Label.1")
tmp.Top = 6: tmp.Left = 6: tmp.Width = 48
tmp.Caption = "Marketplace:"
Set cmbMarketplace = PageTab.Add("Forms.ComboBox.1", "cmbMarketplace")
' LOAD OTHER CONTROLS '
TabLoaded = True
Start_Timer
End Sub
Then Start_Timer:
Public Sub Start_Timer()
TimerActive = True
Application.OnTime Now() + TimeValue("00:00:01"), "Timer"
End Sub
And the sub that is to be fired:
Public Sub Timer()
If TimerActive Then
' DO SOME RANDOM THINGS '
Application.OnTime Now() + TimeValue("00:00:01"), "Timer"
End If
End Sub
Does this seem like a reasonable approach to solving the problem I'm facing? I'm open to suggestions...
That's the first problem. This seems like a lot of work to accomplish this. (I'm working on getting visual studio, but I don't know if that's going to happen)
The above code will work but the "Timer" sub will not get raised at all. I get no errors if I just run the code. Everything is created, everything works as I would hope. However, if I step through the code, I eventually will get the following error:
Cannot run the macro "...xlsm!Timer". The macro may not be available in this workbook or all macros may be disabled.
Obviously neither of those suggestions are valid. Macros ARE enabled and the sub is in the same darn class module. I tried making it public, same problem. Tried "ClassModule1!Timer" to no avail. I'm at my wits end trying to figure this out. Thinking of having people write ALL this in the Userform or just giving up.
Does anybody have any suggestions on how to effectively break up large chunks of code? And does anybody have a clue why this sub will not run and seemingly cannot be found?
I understand that this is a confusing situation, so if you need more info or code examples or want to know why I have something set up the way I do, let me know.
Thanks!
Obviously neither of those suggestions are valid. Macros ARE enabled and the sub is in the same darn class module.
There's the problem: a macro cannot be in a class module. The message is entirely correct: VBA cannot see the Timer procedure, because it's not accessible.
A class module is a blueprint for an object, VBA (or any OOP language for that matter) can't do anything with a class module, without an instance of that class - i.e. an object.
Your timer callback needs to be a Public Sub in a standard module, so that it can be called directly as a macro. Public procedures of a class modules are methods, not macros.
Depending on what ' DO SOME RANDOM THINGS ' actually stands for, this may or may not require some restructuring.
1500-liner spaghetti code can be written in any language BTW.
I want to save an excel at every 2 seconds. Data is updated in this excel through DDE and want to read this data every 2 seconds. Unfortunately this data is not saved on hard disk.
I am aware of macro which can be used to save file after specified point of time but do not want to use macro.
Since data is updated frequently in this sheet through DDE (at every 100 MS) so sheet change event triggers too often.
Below is the code which i am trying but not getting success.
Dim ctme, ptme As Integer
Private Sub Workbook_Open()
ctme = Second(Now)
ptme = ctme - 2
End Sub
Private Sub Workbook_SheetChange(ByVal Sh As Object, ByVal Target As Range)
ctme = Second(Now)
If (ctme - ptme) = 2 Then
Me.Save
ptme = ctme
End If
End Sub
Please help
Nidhi, people here are trying to help you and you need to understand that no one has the access to your brain to understand what you actually meant to ask. So it is quite natural to ask questions to understand the issue clearly before suggesting any answer. The people here, get equally frustrated when they are unable to understand a simple question, the time they spend could have been easily saved, had the person spent a little extra time in explaining the things better. So giving credit to those who are trying to help you, will not harm at all.
Ok, coming back to your question. I may be wrong, but I think that SheetChange event is not fired on DDE update. Please correct me if I am wrong.
The next option can be Application.OnTime functionality.
Write the following code in Workbook Open Method:
Private Sub Workbook_Open()
Dim currentTime As Date
currentTime = DateAdd("s", 2, Now)
Application.OnTime currentTime, "SaveFile"
End Sub
Then Add a new Module and add the following Function there in new Module:
Public Sub SaveFile()
ThisWorkbook.Save
Dim currentTime As Date
currentTime = DateAdd("s", 2, Now)
Application.OnTime currentTime, "SaveFile"
End Sub
The above code will create a timer which would run every two seconds to save your file. There are pros and cons for this approach, but it's Excel's best possible Timer functionality. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Vikas
(this is totally away from the OP tags but just thought I'd put forward a possible alternative)
Create a small .NET console application.
User one of the Timer objects available to create this timed loop you require.
Then using a reference to Excel Interop library on each sweep of the loop it looks like you might need to open this workbook, save it, and then close it again .....depending on the calculations within the book and the size of the Excel file is it physically possible on your machine to open/calculate/save within 2 seconds?
I have a VBA (Excel 2010) system which involves selecting an item from a listbox and then displaying it in another form. Here is a very simplified version of what happens.
' Part of frmForm1 code module
sub lstListbox_Click
dim MyEvent as string
dim i as integer
i=me.lstListbox.listindex
MyEvent=me.lstlistbox.list(i)
' Now show the item in the second form
Load frmForm2
me.hide
ThisWorkbook.LoadDataIntoForm2 (frmForm2, MyEvent)
frmForm2.show
unload frmForm2
me.show
end sub
The listbox accepts the click, and first the event (the event handler is giver above). Key parts of the event handler are:
Load the second form (to display the detail data)
Pass the second form as a UserForm parameter to a procedure (LoadDataIntoForm2)
Hide the host form (frmForm1) and show the second form (frmForm2)
When the second form processes an Exit click, the code looks like this:
' Part of frmForm2 code module
sub cmdExit_Click
me.hide
end sub
The first time round it works fine - but when I return to frmForm1 (in the tail end of the lstListBox_Click procedure), even though the rest of the form is operative, the listbox remains stubbornly unresponsive.
I've managed to abstract this down to a little demo system if that would help - the same behavior is seen there. (It's regular .xls file, but that seems not to be easily acceptable as an upload)
Has anyone seen this before? And does anyone have any ideas how I might get this to work the way I want it to?
Thanks,
Tony
The default for the .Show method is to make the form modal. Explicitly set it to modeless:
Sub lstListbox_Click
...
Me.Show vbModeless
End Sub
I have to run a thread create in the code.
In the form1 i have a button that run the new separate thread for elaborate some data, so i need it for not freeze the form.
I have inizialized thread:
dim th as thread = new thread (addressof elaborate)
And at the button.click event:
th.isbackground= true
th.start()
Now, at the form load i have iconized my program, but when i start new thread the tray icon is duplicated from it.
I want to resolve that when start new thread it's not show new notifyicon.
Any ideas?
(i don't have found anything online, only Multiple notification icons appear when using multithreading)
Create a class called Elab
inside that class, put a sub called work
Add a timer to your form that is disabled
with a tickcount of say 1000
Declare this in your form class:
Dim El as Elab
inside Form_Load() put:
El = New Elab()
Under your button, put this:
Dim gThread as new System.Threading.Thread(Address of El.Work)
Timer1.Enabled = True
Inside Elab declare a variable called Result:
Public Result as boolean
When elab has finished whatever it is doing, set result as true, and store the results in public variables you can access later.
Inside the timer:
If El.Result = True then
'Get results, deal with data
end if
This isn't written particularly well, and isn't a working example, but is to mearly point you in the right direction, by giving a thread an address of a sub inside a class, you can then access the same class from other threads, which means your form doesn't freeze, and you're not creating a new instance of your form, you are just accessing an existing classes sub routine; just make sure to give yourself a way to get the results (in this example i suggested a timer, but a "get result" button would do the same job) once the thread has completed.
Remeber:
If you need Elab to finish before a particular part of code can continue (for example, elab might add two numbers, and you need the result to continue) you can start the thread and do this:
Do until El.Result = True
Application.DoEvents()
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1)
Loop
gThread.Join()
Hope this helps a little.
So the answer to your question is; don't put your sub inside a form, instead put it in a class that you can create an instance of.
Is it better to show ProgressBar UserForms in VBA as modal or modeless? What are the best practices for developing progress indicators in VBA?
Modeless UserForms require the use of Application.Interactive = False, whereas Modal UserForms by their very nature block any interaction with the application until the core procedure has finished, or is cancelled.
If Application.Interactive = False is used, however, the Esc key interrupts code execution, so the use of Application.EnableCancelKey = xlErrorHandler and error handling (Err.Number = 18) is required in both the UserForm and the calling procedure.
Resource intensive calling procedures can also result in CommandButton_Click and UserForm_Activate events misfiring in modeless UserForms.
In general, progress indicators that use modal UserForms seem simpler, because the code that is being executed is fully contained in the UserForm module, and there is less need for passing of variables.
The problem, however, with using modal UserForms for progress indicators is that a separate UserForm module is required for every procedure that needs a progress indicator, because the calling procedure has to be inside the UserForm_Activate procedure.
So, while it is possible to have a single reusable progress indicator in a modeless UserForm, it will be less reliable than executing the code from within multiple modal UserForms.
Which way is better?
Thanks!
There's also a third way, using the Application.StatusBar.
You can even simulate a true progress bar by using a sequence of U+25A0 and U+25A1 characters.
I am going to close this one out and say Modal is the winner. I have tried both ways, but you end up trying to close too many loopholes with modeless userforms. Modal is more difficult because it is more strict, but it encourages you to break up your code into smaller chunks which is better in the long run anyway.
Definately Modal.
If you are going to consider Modeless, you ought to run it on a seperate out-of-process thread and not on the Excel.exe main thread.
I think that the initial topic is worth of replying since the question was formulated so nicely that google finds it first.
Section 1 - Theory
The first thing to say is that to transfer the variables between the modules is not difficult at all.
The only thing you need to do is to create a separate module and put there all the global variables. Then you will be able to read them everywhere in all forms, sheets, modules.
The second thing is the window should be a MODELESS. Why that?
The answer is to keep the mobility of the code, i.e.
the function where the most routine process is executed is not to be located in the UserForm module
you can call the window with progress bar from everywhere and
the only connection between the routine function/procedure are the global variables
This is a great advantage to be versatile here.
Section 2 - Practice
1) Create a module "Declaration" with the global variables:
Public StopForce As Integer
'this variable will be used as an indicator that the user pressed the cancel button
Public PCTDone As Single
' this is the % of the work that was done already
Public CurrentFile As String
' any other parameter that we want to transfer to the form.
2) Create the form with the button. In OnClick event of the button there should be a code where we refer to the global variable StopForce in Declaration module
Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
Declaration.StopForce = 1
End Sub
3) Add one procedure where you update the progress bar
Sub UpdateProgressBar(PCTDone_in As Single)
With UserForm1
' Update the Caption property of the Frame control.
.FrameProgress.Caption = Format(PCTDone_in, "0%")
' Widen the Label control.
.LabelProgress.Width = PCTDone_in * _
(.FrameProgress.Width)
' Display the current file from global variable
.Label1.Caption = Declaration.CurrentFile
End With
End Sub
4) in any other module we must have the functions or the procedure/sub where the routine is done:
For i=1 to All_Files
Declaration.CurrentFile = myFiles (i)
FormFnc.UpdateProgressBar (i / .Range("C11").Value)
DoEvents
If Declaration.StopForce = 1 Then
GoTo 3
End If
Next i
Actually you have following properties, resulting in pros/cons depending on your need:
Type | Impact on UI | Impact on caller execution
----------|--------------|-----------------------------
Modal | Blocked | Blocked until Form is closed
Modeless | Not blocked | Continues
If you want to block the UI AND let the caller continue, then you need to open the Form in modal mode with Application.OnTime.