XL Err Msg: "Not Enough Stack Space to Run Macro"

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel, when you choose a control in a dialog box that is assigned to an event macro when there are a total of three dialog boxes on the screen that have not been dismissed, you may receive the following error message(s):

   Not Enough Stack Space to Run Macro

   -or-

   Error 28: Out of Stack Space

   -or-

   Run-time error '28':
   Out of stack space

WORKAROUND

To avoid receiving either of these error messages when you call nested dialog boxes, do not assign a dialog control (such as a button or a check box) to a macro event that calls another dialog box. Instead, assign the control to first dismiss the active dialog box, then call the desired dialog box from the same the macro that called the first dialog box. To dismiss the active dialog box, do any of the following:

• Format the control with the Dismiss property:

  1. Select the control and choose Object from Format menu.

  2. In the Format Object dialog box, select the Dismiss check box on the

        Control tab.
  

  -or-

• Assign the control to a macro that contains the following command:

        ActiveDialog.Hide
  

  -or-

• Format the control with the Cancel property:

  1. Select the control and choose Object from Format menu.

  2. In the Format Object dialog box, Select the Cancel check box on the

        Control tab.
  

• For an additional workaround, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

        ARTICLE-ID: Q125805
        TITLE     : XL: Displaying Several Dialog Boxes Without Looping
  
  

MORE INFORMATION

A dialog box is not updated until after the event macro has finished. The event macro is the code that is run when an action, such as choosing a button, is taken in the dialog box. Because the dialog box is not updated, if you call a dialog from another dialog, the first dialog is still loaded (stacked) and is not released until the code that it ran (calling the second dialog) has completed. This condition exists even if the property of the button that called the second dialog is set to dismiss.

In Microsoft Excel 5.0, you can stack dialog boxes (that is, display more than one dialog box on the screen at one time) with the top dialog box active. You can stack two dialog boxes, and still run code assigned to controls on the second dialog box. For example, you can call Dialog Two from Dialog One, and then run a macro assigned to a control on Dialog Two by choosing the control. In addition, you can call Dialog Three from Dialog Two, but you cannot run any event macros from this top level (Dialog Three) dialog box.

Note that you cannot hide a dialog box until the macro that hides the dialog box ends.

Visual Basic Example

Microsoft provides programming examples 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. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/default.asp

1. Create three dialog sheets. Modify each dialog sheet to contain the following:

         Dialog Sheet
         Buttons        Dialog1  Dialog2  Dialog3
         ----------------------------------------
   
         OK               yes      yes      yes
         Cancel           yes      yes      yes
         Go_To_Dialog1    no       yes      yes
         Go_To_Dialog2    yes      no       yes
         Go_To_Dialog3    yes      yes      no
   
   

2. Set the dismiss property for each button by doing the following:

   a. Select the button on the dialog sheet.

   b. From the Format menu, choose Object. Select the Control tab, and

         select the Dismiss check box. Choose OK.
   

3. In a new module in the same workbook, type the following:

      ' Define the variable as Integer type
      Dim dialog_number As Integer
   
      Sub Main()
         dialog_number = 1                  'initialize the variable
         DialogSheets("Dialog1").Show       'display the first dialog sheet
         While dialog_number > 0            'while variable is greater than 0
            Select Case dialog_number       'display a dialog based on the
                                            'value of dialog_number
               Case 1
                                                 'dialog_number is 1
                  DialogSheets("Dialog1").Show   'display dialog1
               Case 2
                                                 'dialog_number is 2
                  DialogSheets("Dialog2").Show   'display dialog2
               Case 3
                                                 'dialog_number is 3
                  DialogSheets("Dialog3").Show   'display dialog3
   
            End Select
         Wend
      End Sub
   
      'The following code sets the value of the dialog_number variable
   
      Sub Go_To_Dialog1()
         dialog_number = 1
      End Sub
   
      Sub Go_To_Dialog2()
         dialog_number = 2
      End Sub
   
      Sub Go_To_Dialog3()
         dialog_number = 3
      End Sub
   
      Sub OK_Or_Cancel()
         dialog_number = 0
      End Sub
   
   

4. Select the Dialog1 sheet tab. Select the Go_To_Dialog2 button, and choose Assign Macro from the Tools menu. From the Macro Name/Reference list, select Go_To_Dialog2() and choose OK.

5. Repeat step 4 for each button, assigning the corresponding macro to each button on each dialog sheet. Assign the OK_Or_Cancel macro to each OK and Cancel button.

REFERENCES

"Visual Basic User's Guide," version 5.0, page 219-239