XL5: Macro Specified with OnSheetActivate/Deactivate Doesn't Run

 Last reviewed: September 12, 1996
Article ID: Q126315
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel, if you use the OnSheetActivate property, or the OnSheetDeactivate property in a Visual Basic for applications, and you do not specify a specific sheet for the property to apply to, the assigned macro may not run when a sheet in Microsoft Excel is activated or deactivated.

If you use the ON.SHEET function in an MS Excel 4.0 macro, and you do not specify a specific sheet for the property or function to apply to, the assigned macro may not run when a sheet in Microsoft Excel is activated or deactivated.

CAUSE

Visual Basic Procedure

In a Visual Basic procedure, this behavior occurs if you use the OnSheetActivate property and the OnSheetDeactivate property in the same procedure. This behavior only occurs if you do not specify a specific sheet for the function to apply to; that is, you use the property of the Application object. The property that appears last in the procedure behaves properly.

For example, when you run the following procedure 

   Sub Test()
      Application.OnSheetActivate = "Act"
      Application.OnSheetDeactivate = "Deact"
   End Sub
only the procedure "Deact" runs when you activate another sheet in Microsoft Excel. Note that in this case, both "Act" and "Deact" should run, because when you activate another sheet, you are deactivating the previously active sheet.

MS Excel 4.0 Macro

In an MS Excel 4.0 macro, this behavior occurs if you use the ON.SHEET function with the activate_logical argument set to TRUE (or omitted) and the ON.SHEET function with the activate_logical argument set to FALSE (to assign a macro to run when a sheet is deactivated), in the same macro. This behavior only occurs if you do not specify a specific sheet for the function to apply to. The function that appears last in the macro behaves properly.

For example, when you run the following macro 

   A1: =ON.SHEET(,"act")
   A2: =ON.SHEET(,"deact",FALSE)
   A3: =RETURN()
only the macro "deact" runs when you activate another sheet in Microsoft Excel. Note that in this case, both "act" and "deact" should run, because when you activate another sheet, you are deactivating the previously active sheet.

WORKAROUNDS

To work around this behavior, and to assign a specific macro to run when any sheet in any open workbook is activated or deactivated, use the following procedure.

Visual Basic Procedure

Use the For Each...Next method to loop through each of the sheets in each of the open workbooks and apply the property to each sheet as in the following example: 

   Sub Test()
      Dim osheet As Object, obook As Object
      For Each obook In Application.Workbooks
         For Each osheet In obook.Sheets
            ' assign macro 'act' to run when sheet is activated
            osheet.OnSheetActivate = "Act"
            ' assign macro 'deact' to run when sheet is deactivated
            osheet.OnSheetDeactivate = "Deact"
         Next osheet
      Next obook
   End Sub
Microsoft provides examples of Visual Basic for Applications procedures for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. The Visual Basic procedures in this article are provided 'as is' and Microsoft does not guarantee that they can be used in all situations. While Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular macro, they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality, nor will they help you construct macros to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to consult one of the Microsoft Solution Providers. Solution Providers offer a wide range of fee-based services, including creating custom macros. For more information about Microsoft Solution Providers, call Microsoft Customer Information Service at (800) 426-9400.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Excel version 5.0c.

MORE INFORMATION

You can use the OnSheetActivate property in a Visual Basic procedure to set the name of a macro that you want to run when the specified sheet is selected. If you use this property with the Application object, that is, if you do not specify a specific sheet, the assigned macro runs when any sheet in any open workbook is activated.

You can use the ON.SHEET function in an MS Excel 4.0 macro to set the name of a macro that runs whenever the specified sheet is activated from another sheet. If you omit the sheet_text argument when you use this function, the assigned macro runs when any sheet in any open workbook is activated.

REFERENCES

For more information about the OnSheetActivate Property, choose the Search button in the Visual Basic Reference and type: 

   OnSheetActivate Property
For more information about ON.SHEET, choose the Search button in the Microsoft Excel Macro Functions Help and type: 

   ON.SHEET function

KBCategory: kbprg kbcode
KBSubcategory: xlwin

Additional reference words: 5.00



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Last reviewed: September 12, 1996
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