I am trying to look at some vba code, and it says "project is unviewable". Why is this, and how do I change it?
Details:
XLS file extension
File created Monday, October 14, 1996 6:33:28 PM
What the code does is disable any passwords on VBA Projects so you can look at it. You click on a button on the sheet, and it opens a little window with a button to disable passwords. It only works for projects that ask for a password when you click on them. By project, I mean the ones in the project explorer in VBE.
It's hard to tell without more detail, but the most likely cause is a corrupt file.
EDIT
With the file being created in 96, the odds are good that it used the old macro style for vba which is not viewable in newer version of Excel.
If that is the case, you may not have any recourse.
Sometimes, though in the very old files, the macros were actually written in the old macro style, which put the macro code right on the worksheet. You may want to check for a hidden sheet or hidden cells that might contain old macro code. Typically this kind of thing was done in Excel 4.0 and earlier.
Related
I'm currently learning Excel VBA and since CTRL+Z doesn't undo anything, I'm trying to find a way to undo what my code does when I have to. On my office computer, I can click on the Save button from VBE and it saves my code, but nit the workbook.
On my personal computer (Office 365), when I do the exact same thing, it saves everything, code and workbook so I cannot undo what my code did by not saving it.
Can you help me to understand why? And do you have any idea I can undo what my code did?
Thank you
You have two options:
1) Export code modules to file - either manually by right-clicking on them, or via code (check out VBA Extensibility), or;
2) Do what I do, which is the easy option of just copying chunks of code as text into Notepad.
There doesn’t exist what you’re really looking for: an integral method of “saving” the VBProject but ignoring the workbook - as the VBProject is part of the workbook when it comes to file structure.
I have an xltx that clearly contains macros when i open it, based on the error "ThisWorkbook.RefreshAll err..etc .etc., due to invalid sql connection".
(whether i open the xltx as New or Open).
Once I go to vba project, there is ZERO code of any kind.
I consider myself a VBA expert, but have to confess, I've never worked at ALL with template files. (they seem like a completely unnecessary thing to me).
is there some magic that makes vba code invisible in xltx ?
You need to use XLTM (Excel Macro-Enabled Template)- the difference is the same as between XLSX and XLSM - you can write whatever code you like, but if you don't save it in the macro-enabled format, it won't still be there when you re-open the workbook/create a new spreadsheet based on the template.
You should have had this error message when you saved (although if you just clicked "Yes" it'll have saved anyway, just without the macro code)
If you haven't closed down the template file you're working on, you should still be able to save it as XLTM and retain the code - otherwise it's gone, unless it can be recovered from an autosave:
There will not be any macros in an .XLTX. You can try renaming the file as .XLSM or .XLTM in file explorer to get them back. The message "ThisWorkbook.RefreshAll err..etc .etc., due to invalid sql connection"." also looks like a broken link to a datasource rather than a macro.
I have written some code for an excel spreadsheet. This sub has been added to the ribbon using the standard customizations found in File -> Options -> Customize Ribbon. What is funny though, is that the customization will run the Sub on the EXACT EXCEL FILE that the Sub is written in, i.e. the original.
My users copy the excel file and make adjustments and then run the sub (by clicking the customized button in the ribbon), which then opens the ORIGINAL template file and runs the code. This actually works fine - and I like it because it runs the TEMPLATE code on the ACTIVE sheet. But the only problem is it is also OPENING the original template file. How do I get it to close? Remember it is not the ActiveSheet anymore.
One possible answer is to check if the template is open, then close it (using a static reference), but I would prefer something a little more elegant than that.
You should be able to find the template/original using ThisWorkbook.
Also, if you deliver your workbook's code as a .xlam instead of .xlsm, it will be opened, but there won't be a window for it, so users won't see it.
Not sure if you're using this already, but you might also want to use "for this workbook only" when adding ribbon buttons for a .xlam . (Delivering as .xlam allows you to install buttons from a workbook into the ribbon, without relying on file path and without needing your users to also install buttons (they install .xlam instead).)
Can VBA code be written to perform actions on any Excel file?
When I create a project in Visual Studio, it asks for an Excel file to be linked to it. All the code that I write is in ThisWorkbook.vb and hence acts only on the Excel file linked to the project.
Ideally, I want a script that:
When the user double-clicks, he/she should be allowed to select an Excel file of choice for the actions to be performed on that file.
If the above is not possible, I'd at least like to invoke the VBA script from within an Excel file.
Basically, the VBA code should be independent of any Excel file.
I looked at VBScript, but the syntax for it seems to differ slightly.
You've mentioned Visual Studio, VBA, and VBScript. The solution I'm outlining works directly with VBA rather than Visual Studio or VBScript. (However, you might adapt Visual Studio (C# or VB) along the lines of what I'm outlining below.) Hope it's helpful, so here goes:
Here's what I do, and, it ultimately results in an .xlam Excel AddIn as #chris above has commented.
Overview
I start with ordinary .xslx workbook, to which I add a VBA project, making it an .xlsm. Then create some VBA Subs (macros). Then create some Excel QAT (Quick Access Toolbar) buttons for the workbook, which are bound to (i.e. they invoke) the VBA subs/macros. Then convert the workbook (with VBA in it) to an .xlam, which is an Excel AddIn. When you're all done, the buttons are accessible from any workbook (and the VBA code has access to any user workbooks as well as those originally in your .xlsm). Further, the workbook associated with the .xlam is invisible. So it just looks like you've added some buttons to the QAT that appear on all users .xlsx windows. The .xlam is pretty easy for users to install (though I provide a buttons to uninstall/reinstall/check version). You can upgrade an .xlam independently of users' workbooks; users' workbooks can thus be data only (.xlsx, no VBA).
Details
Write some Excel Subs you want to use later
You need to be aware that the buttons can only invoke macros (VBA Subs) without parameters, so the macros will have to check things like ActiveSheet and ActiveWorkbook and Selection to figure on what sheet the button was pressed, hence what user data to really operate on. (If you need to refer to your workbook with the VBA code in it, use “ThisWorkbook”). You should be aware that there can be naming conflicts, so try to name the parameterless subs with rather long names, such as MySomewhatUniqueProjectName_button1, etc…
Add Buttons to your .xlsm
Using Excel 2010 (I think this works with 2007 or later), I put workbook-specific buttons on the QAT part of the ribbon, which connect to macros (VBA subs) in the VBA code.
To do this, you from the Quick Access Toolbar customization drop down (the tiny down arrow at the very top row of the Excel window, the last icon from left to right) choose "More Commands…". When the “Customize Quick Access Toolbar” dialog box comes up, from the (2nd) "Customize Quick Access Toolbar:" heading (top to the right), choose "For XYZ.xlsm" from the dropdown instead of the "For all documents (default)". And from under "Choose Commands From:", use "Macros" (instead of “Popular Commands”) from the dropdown. Once you have those two things selected, you can move VBA subs from the left box to the right box using “Add >>”. Each so moved will become buttons visible in your QAT. As you’re doing this you can also edit the icon and text for the buttons, add a separator as needed (I always end with a separator in case other .xlam’s use the QAT). (Now is a good time to save this .xlsm.)
Convert the .xlsm into a .xlam
Then I convert the .xlsm to an Excel add-in, by merely saving it as an .xlam file. This will end up (1) hiding the workbook associated with the code you have (though it is still accessible to itself.). Further, now, (2) the (invisible, as now it's an .xlam) workbook will load whenever Excel is loaded. (To keep this fast for when users use Excel but don’t run my VBA code, I don't run any code when the .xlam is loaded, I only run code when a button is pushed.)
You can manage the AddIn using Excel’s AddIn manager. To update the AddIn, you have to use some trickery. While you can copy over it when Excel is not running, on the other hand, you cannot directly uninstall the AddIn, you can only disable it from Excel. But once disabled, you can delete the .xlam, and relaunch Excel, go to the AddIn manager to try to work with the (now gone) AddIn and you’ll get Excel saying it can’t find it, so do you want to delete it. Say yes, and it will be uninstalled.
FYI, Notes
I keep the .xlsm to edit later, but you can actually debug and edit the .xlam and later convert it back to an .xlsm with a minor bit of trickery: find its "ThisWorkbook" entry in VBA, and then the "IsAddIn" property, set to false, its workbook will suddenly appear and you can save as .xlsm, or edit its workbook and set the property back to true to resave as .xlam directly.)
Answer 1
You can do that in VB.Net too. Just make a regular project. (comment by #SLaks)
This worked for me very well and was exactly what I was looking for.
Answer 2
The very descriptive answer posted by #ErikEidt
I haven't tried this, but it seems like a good and alternative way of getting macros to work.
This post is about installing XLAM's without creating links. (Everyone hates links). Consider the trivial addin:
Public Function UDF_HELLO(x)
UDF_HELLO = "Hello " & x
End Function
Put this code and nothing else into a Module and save as "Hello.xlam" on the Desktop (and NOT in the default excel addins folder). Next, while HELLO.XLAM is still open, create a new XLSX workbook with the formula
=UDF_Hello("world")
in cell A1, which simply displays "Hello world" in that cell. Save the workbook and exit Excel. Now, if you reopen the workbook without the XLAM, Excel will complain about "links to other sources ...". Whether you click "Update" or "Don't Update", Excel will mangle the formula in cell A1 like this:
='C:\Documents and Settings\tpascale\Desktop\Hello.xlam'!UDF_Hello("world")
Very often this "forced-linkage" is NOT desirable. In my computing environment there is a lot of ad-hoc analysis and it makes no sense to impose an install regimen on every XLAM we throw together to solve the problem of the day. I just want to hand out XLAM files to users and let those users open them when they need them, WITHOUT having to worry about the slightest mis-step causing their formulas to get mangled.
QUESTION:
Is there a way to instruct Excel to NEVER construct external links for UDFs, and simply to use UDFs if they're loaded and return #VALUEs otherwise ?
I don't know of a way around this with .xla/.xlam add-ins.
But this issue does not occur with .xll add-ins.
These can be created in C using the Excel 2010 SDK, or in managed languages like VB.NET or C# using the free Excel-DNA library.
(Disclaimer: I'm the developer of Excel-DNA. This issue is one of the reasons I went with the .xll interface for making managed UDF add-ins.)
You can have them open the .xla file and have an Auto_Open procedure install the add-in.
http://www.vbaexpress.com/kb/getarticle.php?kb_id=693
After excel closes you can have the add-in uninstall itself.
oAddIn.Installed = False
You can give your add-in a setting for the user to not uninstall after every use by using a worksheet named something then have cell A1 equal to true or false.
I haven't tested this but hopefully it works for you.
This should work to resolve your issue though it does not instruct Excel regarding external links. I have tested it myself by creating the XLAM, saving it to my desktop, installing it in the Excel add-ins and then using it on a new workbook.
Steps:
Once you have saved the add-in, close it.
Go to Excel Options-->Add-Ins
In the Manage drop-down select Excel Add-ins and press 'Go'
In the 'Add-Ins'dialogue that appears click 'Browse' and navigate to
the add-in you just created. Select it and hit 'Ok'
If prompted to save the add-in in the add-ins folder, select 'No'.
Selecting 'Yes' may cause an error if the add-in file suffix does
not match the version of Excel being used.
Your add-in should appear in the 'Add-Ins available' scrollbox,
check its box and hit 'Ok'
Your add-in should now be active whenever you open Excel.
Test this by opening a new workbook and try using your UDF.
Best,
I usually solve this problem by:
Saving an XLA/XLAM file (outside Personal folder, of course)
Connect to it in Tools - Addins
Write pseudo macros in your current Excel file that links to those macros / functions in the XLA/XLAM file.
See the detailed instructions in my reply here.