XL97: How To Display a Progress Bar with a UserForm

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

Article idea submitted by: John Walkenbach

SUMMARY

If you have a Visual Basic for Applications macro that requires a long period of time to complete, you may want to give your user an indication that the macro is progressing normally. This article contains an example that illustrates how to create a progress bar with a UserForm.

MORE INFORMATION

In the following example, a Visual Basic subroutine populates a large range of cells with a random number. This task will take several seconds to complete; the indicator gives you an indication that the macro is running normally.

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.

Create the UserForm

1. Close and save any open workbooks. Then, open a new workbook.

2. Start the Visual Basic Editor, (press ALT+F11).

3. If the Properties window is not visible, click Properties on the View menu (or press F4).

4. On the Insert menu, click UserForm.

5. Draw a Label control on the UserForm.

6. Change the following properties of the Label control to the following values:

          Property        Value
          --------------------------------------------
          Caption         Now updating. Please wait...
   
   

7. Draw a Frame control on the UserForm

8. Change the following properties of the Frame control to the following values:

          Property        Value
          -----------------------------
          Name            FrameProgress
   
   

9. Draw a Label control on the Frame control.

10. Change the following properties of the Label control to the following values:

           Property        Value
           -------------------------------------
           Name            LabelProgress
           BackColor       &H000000FF&
           SpecialEffect   fmSpecialEffectRaised
    
    

Enter the Macro Code

1. Double-click on the UserForm to open the Code window for the UserForm.

2. In the module, type the following code for the UserForm Activate event:

         Private Sub UserForm_Activate()
             ' Set the width of the progress bar to 0.
             UserForm1.LabelProgress.Width = 0
   
             ' Call the main subroutine.
             Call Main
         End Sub
   
   

3. On the Insert Menu, click Module.

4. In the Code window for the module, type the following code:

         Sub ShowUserForm()
             UserForm1.Show
         End Sub
   
         Sub Main()
             Dim Counter As Integer
             Dim RowMax As Integer, ColMax As Integer
             Dim r As Integer, c As Integer
             Dim PctDone As Single
   
             Application.ScreenUpdating = False
             ' Initialize variables.
             Counter = 1
             RowMax = 100
             ColMax = 25
   
             ' Loop through cells.
             For r = 1 To RowMax
                 For c = 1 To ColMax
                     'Put a random number in a cell
                     Cells(r, c) = Int(Rnd * 1000)
                     Counter = Counter + 1
                 Next c
   
                 ' Update the percentage completed.
                 PctDone = Counter / (RowMax * ColMax)
   
                 ' Call subroutine that updates the progress bar.
                 UpdateProgressBar PctDone
             Next r
             ' The task is finished, so unload the UserForm.
             Unload UserForm1
         End Sub
   
         Sub UpdateProgressBar(PctDone As Single)
             With UserForm1
   
                 ' Update the Caption property of the Frame control.
                 .FrameProgress.Caption = Format(PctDone, "0%")
   
                 ' Widen the Label control.
                 .LabelProgress.Width = PctDone * _
                     (.FrameProgress.Width - 10)
             End With
   
             ' The DoEvents allows the UserForm to update.
             DoEvents
         End Sub
   
   

5. Activate Microsoft Excel (press ALT+F11).

6. Run the ShowUserForm subroutine.

The ShowUserForm subroutine shows the UserForm. The procedure attached to the Activate event of the UserForm calls the Main subroutine. The Main subroutine, in addition to its main task (populating cells with random numbers), calls the UpdateProgressBar subroutine, which updates the Label control on the UserForm.

NOTE: Using this technique, your macro will take just a bit longer to complete its intended task(s).

REFERENCES

For more information about the Activate event, click the Office Assistant in the Visual Basic Editor, type "activate event," click Search, and then click to view "Activate, Deactivate Events."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If Microsoft Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q120802
   TITLE     : Office: How to Add/Remove a Single Office
               Program or Component