XL: How to Find Visual Basic for Applications Help

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
• Microsoft Excel for Windows NT, version 5.0
• Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a
• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

This article describes where to find helpful resources to use when you are programming in Microsoft Excel using Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications.

MORE INFORMATION

There are a number of resources available that provide both explanations of syntax and examples of Visual Basic for Applications code. Some of these resources include Microsoft Excel Help files, the Object Browser, and Knowledge Base articles.

Using the Help Files in Microsoft Excel

Method 1:

If you are working in a module sheet, double-click a word on the module sheet and press F1. If you are using a Macintosh computer, press the Help key on your keyboard instead of F1. Pressing F1 or Help will run Help for that particular object, method, or property.

Method 2:

In Microsoft Excel version 5.x, click the Help menu, and then click contents in the drop-down list. To access the Visual Basic Reference information, click Programming With Visual Basic. Click Programming Language Summary to see an alphabetical list of objects, properties, and functions.

Method 3:

If you are using Microsoft Excel version 7.0 you can use the Answer Wizard. To do this, click Answer Wizard on the Help menu, type the name of the object, method, or property you want to know about, and then click the search button.

Method 4:

On a module sheet in Excel 97 for Windows and Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, click Microsoft Visual Basic Help on the Help menu, type the name of the object, method, or property you want to know about, and then click the search button.

Object Browser

The Object Browser is a great place to look for methods and properties that apply to a particular object. To use the Object Browser you must be on a module sheet. On the view menu click Object Browser. Set the library to Microsoft Excel and select any object from the object/modules list to see methods and properties that apply to it. The question mark button opens the Help file for the selected item.

In Addition, both Excel 97 and Excel 98 provide a search feature that allows you to search for an object, method, or property in a single library or in all the Visual Basic object libraries.

To use this search feature, follow these steps:

1. In a module sheet, click Object Browser on the View menu.

2. In the first box, click the library in which to search or click <All Libraries> to search in all the Visual Basic object libraries.

3. In the second box, type the name of the object, method, or property for which you are searching.

4. Click the binocular icon or press the ENTER key.

Knowledge Base Articles

The following sections explain how to access the Microsoft Knowledge Base on the World Wide Web, The Microsoft Network, and other online services. The Microsoft Knowledge Base includes thousands of articles that answer common questions about using Microsoft Excel.

The Internet

The Microsoft World Wide Web server, named www.microsoft.com, contains information on Microsoft products. The home page (or top-level display) on the server also contains pointers to ftp.microsoft.com and gopher.microsoft.com, making it an ideal entry-point to Internet services at Microsoft. To access the Microsoft Knowledge Base on the World Wide Web:

1. Connect to the Knowledge Base using the address:

         http://www.microsoft.com/support
   

2. Click the Support Online hyperlink.

   ARTICLE-ID:  Q129725
   TITLE     :  Obtaining Knowledge Base Articles on the World Wide Web

The Microsoft Network

To access the Microsoft Knowledge Base on The Microsoft Network:

1. On the Edit menu, click Go To.

2. Click Other Location.

3. When the prompt "Type a Go word for a particular service" appears, type "mssupport" (without the quotation marks).

Other Online Services

To access the Microsoft Knowledge Base on other online services, use the Internet address discussed in "The Internet" section in this article.

Creating Shortcuts

In Microsoft Windows 95, you can create a shortcut to the Microsoft Knowledge Base so that each time you click the shortcut icon, the Knowledge Base appears.

To place a shortcut on the desktop, follow these steps:

1. After you access the Knowledge Base using the instructions earlier in this article, click the KB icon.

2. On the File menu, click Create Shortcut.

To delete a shortcut, drag it to the Recycle Bin.

Reference Books

The following is a list of books that provide assistance with Visual Basic for Applications code:

   "Microsoft Excel Visual Basic Programmer's Guide"

   "Visual Basic User's Guide," version 5.0 Shipped with Microsoft Excel

   "Developing Microsoft Excel 5 Solutions"
   Eric Wells
   Microsoft Press
   ISBN: 1-55615-684-7

   "Developing Microsoft Excel 95 Solutions with Visual Basic for
   Applications"
   Eric Wells
   Microsoft Press
   ISBN 1-55615-893-9

   "Microsoft Excel 5 Visual Basic for Applications Reference"
   Microsoft Corporation
   $24.95 ($33.95 Canada)
   ISBN: 1-55615-624-3

   "Microsoft Excel/Visual Basic Reference," Second Edition
   Microsoft Press
   ISBN 1-55615-920-X

   "Microsoft Excel Visual Basic for Applications Step by Step," Version
   5.0
   Reed Jacobson
   Microsoft Press
   ISBN: 1-55615-589-1

If you are outside the United States, contact the Microsoft subsidiary for your area. To locate your subsidiary, see the Microsoft World Wide Offices Web site at:

   http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/default.htm