I'm writing VBA codes for multiple Excel spreadsheets, which will be shared with others from time to time. At some point I find there are lots of duplications in my works. So I want to find a way to share codes in a sort of Excel add-in, like the .xla file.
But when I tried to save the Excel file containing shared codes as .xla file, I got some problems:
The file cannot be edit anymore after I save it in the default add-in folder
If I move the .xls file to a folder other than the add-in folder, and open it directly - I cannot use its classes - which creates problems for sharing the codes
Any ideas to create add-ins in a flexible and powerful way please?
Thanks a lot for the help
Not completely sure this is what you're looking for, but ...
(1) save the .xla/.xlam code by clicking the save icon in the VBA editor. HOWEVER, the thing that saves is the thing currently selected in the Project Explorer pane, which lists all open VB Projects and which is usually on the left. Even if you are staring at your just-edited VBA code, clicking the save icon will not save your code unless it is also selected in the Project Explorer pane. You won't get feedback that anything was saved - but you can verify by checking the file timestamp in a separate window.
(2) if you have an *.xls file which (via the formula bar) refers to VBA functions from your *.xla / *.xlam file, then if you open the *.xls file without opening the .xla,.xlam file first, Excel may create external links to resolve the formulas (i.e. referring to a file which is not open). If you have moved or renamed the *.xla file you can get stuck with those "mangled formulas" and need to edit out the pathname links that Excel inserted using a global substitute. If you arrange to open the .xla,.xlam prior to any *.xls file that uses it, you shouldn't have a problem (e.g. by using the default folder).
Related
How do I create a Word VBA personal code library as I have done in Microsoft Excel..? I had this working, but today it broke and I cannot make it work again. I originally did this because my Normal.dot file blew up and I lost all my macros. I found a blog post that described how to do it, but I cannot find my way back there. I've Google this extensively, but not found a solution.
There are some twists & turns here, as described below...
In Microsoft Excel, one can easily create a "code library project". This is simply a standard XLSB file with VBA modules in it, saved in the ..\Excel\STARTUP folder alongside the PERSONAL.XLSB file.
When the VBA editor is open in any other XLSX/B file, the modules in the code library file are always visible. And thre's not a requirement to create a VBA project reference to see them. The library modules can be natively edited as if they were an integral part of any other file, without requiring the library file to be open in another window to do so, as shown in the picture...
However...in Microsoft Word, it seems to work differently, and...strangely. If the same is done: create a DOCM file with custom code modules, and save it in the ..\Word\Startup\ folder, those modules are not visible in the VBA Project Explorer.
Following along the chain of logic from Excel to Word, and do as others have done...save the DOCM as a DOTM instead, and save it in the ..\Templates folder with the Normal.dotm file. Still, it is not visible in Project Explorer.
It's not until Normal.dotm is opened for editing and the library DOTM is added as a VBA Project Reference that it finally appears in the Project Explorer, but only while Normal is open. Plus...it opens the code library file for editing in another window..! If Normal is saved with that reference, and a new document is created from it, the library code cannot be edited and displays the error "project is unviewable"...
It's not until the library DOTM file is opened for editing in a second window that it's code becomes editable, and it does so in all Word VBA windows on all documents at the same time.
There is one glimmer of hope: if I create a new blank DOC from the library DOTM instead of Normal.DOTM, it works..! Any document created from the library retains a link to the code modules there, including any new or edited ones, and they can be edited natively right there in the Project Explorer. And this includes the code modules in Normal.DOTM too.
It seems the "editability" is one way: documents created from any other template can see & edit both their own code and those in Normal.DOTM, but not the other way around: documents created from Normal.DOTM can only see their own code.
How can this connection be made two-way for all documents, regardless of what template they were created from..??
I've been trying to wrap my head around the possibility it may be a security/malware issue, but I can't come up with one. If macros are already enabled in the Trust settings, malware is already 99% on the way to controlling a machine anyways. The only step left is enabling VBIDE.
A very similar question on Microsoft Answers:
Is there a startup or template file in Words that allows one to store "personal macros", i.e. macros that one wants to have always available while editing documents (I am seeking the equivalent to the PERSONAL.XLSB file in Excel, where I can store macros that then are available in all sheets that I open).
And the solution given:
Word uses the default template Normal.dotm for this purpose. Macros stored in Normal.dotm will be available in all documents. Apart from that, Normal.dotm also serves as the default document template, and it also stores the user's formatted AutoCorrect entries.
Just like Personal.xlsb, Normal.dotm doesn't exist in a clean new installation, but it will be created when needed.
The location for Normal.dotm is
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates
AppData is a hidden folder, so you must display hidden files and folders in order to see it in Windows Explorer.
Similar questions (also on answers.microsoft.com) have been offered same type of solution.
Macros that should be globally available can be stored in Normal.dotm or in a template located in the Startup folder for Word. See also:
And:
In Word, personal settings (those that aren't stored in the Registry) are stored in the Normal template, Normal.dotm. When you change and save settings or create macros, they are automatically saved in Normal.dotm unless you choose to save them in another template. Normal.dotm is automatically loaded when you start Word, and new Blank Documents are based on Normal.dotm.
I already have .docm files that have simple formatting macros embedded in them. The macros work. However I have 100+ different .docm files that use basically the same macro. Instead of changing the macros on all 100+ .docm files when I need to change a format, I would like to place the macro in a separate text file in a stable location on a network drive and have the macro code in each .docm file reference that text file.
I tried a Call Shell(AppName,1) statement where the AppName contains the path of the txt file, but the compiler won't work with a colon.
I researched creating a macro to change other macros embedded within each document, but was advised against it due to virus scanners.
It's not possible to run a macro from a text file, the way you imagine. (Cool idea, but a security risk, I think.)
Better would be to bring all the macros together in a single template (dotm), which you put in your STARTUP folder. When Word loads, it will load this template (with all its Ribbon customizations and macros) as an "add-in". (See also the Developer/Add-ins dialog box, which is where these can be managed.)
In this way, your code can be managed centrally - but you do have to explicitly open the template in order to make changes to the code. It can't be done just over the loaded add-in (that's only possible with Normal.dotm).
You can also have macros in this add-in template that you call from other macros. This can be done using the Applicaton.Run method.
A specific xlsm workbook crashes when I try to save, save as, or when I open the VBA editor. I've tried disabling macros, removing auto calculations, etc. I can't actually get to the code to see if there's a bug causing the crash due to the editor itself causing crashes.
Edit: Also forgot to mention there are links to another workbook in the file - but removing auto-updating/calculating upon save doesn't seem to help. Also, I'm able to modify the workbook, I just can't execute the macros, save, or open the VBA editor.
Edit2: Some additional info. I tried deleting all worksheets and still have the same problems so there must be something wrong in the code.
Looking for a solution to salvage the workbook.
Remove the VBAProject.bin file from the .xlsm file:
copy the .xlsm file
change the extension of the copy to .zip (say Yes to the warning about changing extensions)
open the ZIP file
open the xl folder
cut the VBAProject.bin file and paste it to somewhere outside the ZIP file
rename the ZIP file back to a .xlsm extension
You should now be able to open the .xlsm file in Excel but it will no longer have any macros.
It is theoretically possible to reconstruct the macros from the VBAProject.bin file using the resources linked to in this answer but this may involve considerable effort
I wrote some macro of PowerPoint. Now if I want to run these macros, I need to save my PowerPoint as pptm file. It is kind of matter, as I need to save the final file as pptx not pptm. Is there any way, I can install or run my macro to pptx files? I mean could I install my macro as an add-in, and it is working in pptx file.
If the way works, I can save my macro template powerpoint as pptx,
that is easier and more convenient.
Thanks,
You could create an application add-in which would allow the Public procedures within it to be available independently of the PowerPoint file(s) you are working on in any given session. You could optionally add controls to a custom ribbon tab by editing the fluent UI XML of the file (I have some articles on Stack Exchange to show you how) and link those to your macros.
To create an add-in, save the .pptm file as a .ppam file (the folder location will change accordingly). Then in PowerPoint, assuming you have the Developer tab enabled, you can click Add-Ins and load your add-in from there. If the Developer tab isn't enabled, you need to go into the Backstage by clicking File then Options to add add-is.
To make sure the add-in loads automatically each time PowerPoint starts you can add code to the Auto_Open macro to add the two relevent registry keys (add-in Path and AutoLoad flag) or do this manually using regedit.exe. If you are deploying to many machines, the add-in can be wrapped in a setup.exe or setup.msi package but that is another topic.
No I don't think so there is anyway to run macro without enabling it.
But Alternate solution can be to.
Save the main file as .pptx and you can have another file as .pptm you just need to add sub to open the .pptx or main file and perform the macro fuctions from there
In this way your macros file and .pptx are seperate and you can achieve what you are trying to do via the .pptm files.
Hope this helps.
I have an application (running in IBM Notes, using Lotusscript etc.) that create a new Excel object via OLE automation. In my app I create a new Workbook and saving it to a temporary folder (I am saving it as Excel Worksheet w/o macros -> type 52) so that the resuting file is sth. like that:
tmp_abc1234.xlsx
Then I open the file in Excel programmatically. I have an Excel Addin (filename is "Teamoffice.xlam" loaded where some macros reside I will trigger in the custom save actionbar button. In this save method I also call the save function:
Call ActiveWorkbook.Save
Call ThisWorkbook.Save
For some reason Excel creates a file named "Teamoffice.xlsm" in the "My Documents" folder. The file itself cannot be opened in Excel ("wrong file format error") - of course, it's an Addin!
This works well if I have only one Excel document open from my application. If I open a second (or more) I run into trouble: everytime I save on of those secondary opened (or newly created) documents Excel asks me if I want to overwrite that "Teamoffice.xlsm" file.
I added VBA code to ma macro that detects if this file is there and tries to delete it. With no luck of course, as the first instance of Excel is locking that file already. Overwriting the file when aswering the Excel-question dialog works though, but I don't want that question to appear.
Excel doesn't behave like that when using it stand-alone w/o OLE.
Several questions resulting from this behavior:
Why does Excel create this file? Can I stop it from doing so?
How can I delete the file even if Excel has a handle on it or
Can I tell Excel not tohave a handle on this file (if it's there) and let me kill it?
Can I suppress the question dialog and always say "yes, overwrite it"?
Office version is 2010 - and it makes me going nuts... so thanks in advance!
p.s.: I am not that VBA pro, so please be as detailed as you can effort :-)
I noticed that
ThisWorkbook.Save
was the reason. If I omit it no file is created. Strange that this saved the Addin file as xlsm file though.