XL: Resources for Programming with Visual Basic for Applications

• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

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All Microsoft customers have 24-hour access to a wide range of no-cost and low-cost information services that also provide information about programming with Microsoft Excel Visual Basic for Applications. This article discusses some of the cost-effective and expedient ways for you to access technical information about developing custom solutions with Microsoft Excel. By using the resources suggested in the "More Information" section of this article, you can answer many of your development questions without speaking directly to a Microsoft Technical Support engineer.

MORE INFORMATION

Online Help

The Help files included with Microsoft Excel are useful for learning the syntax for specific Visual Basic for Applications methods or properties. To bring up the context-sensitive Help file for a particular Visual Basic for Applications command, type the command on a module sheet, and then press the F1 key. You will be provided with the syntax, a description, and an example of how the command is used.

Microsoft Knowledge Base on the Internet's World Wide Web

Many articles in the Knowledge Base contain sample code for common Visual Basic for Applications solutions. The advantage of accessing the articles online is that you can copy the code from your browser and paste it on a module sheet. This saves you the time it would take to manually enter the code.

Follow these steps to access the Microsoft Knowledge Base on the Internet:

1. Connect to the Knowledge Base using the following URL:

         http://www.microsoft.com/msexcelsupport/
   

2. Click the "Knowledge Base" category. (Hint: You can add this site to your list of favorites so that it is easily accessible in the future.)

3. In the Choose A Product list, click Excel.

4. In the "Enter One Or More Words To Look For" list, type words that describe the type of information you are looking for. See the next two sections for keywords or article identifiers you can also use.

5. Click GO.

Searching for Information in the Knowledge Base

Listed below are some keywords you can use to effectively search the Knowledge Base for sample code. To limit your search to articles containing Visual Basic for Applications code, include "Visual Basic" (with the quotation marks) in your search string.

Keywords:

   kbprg      For articles discussing programming issues (macros or
              Visual Basic procedures)

   kbcode     For articles that contain sample Visual Basic code

   kbmacro    For articles that contain Microsoft Excel version 4.0
              macro code

   kbhowto    Step-by-step examples or procedures to accomplish a task

Helpful Knowledge Base Articles

The following articles answer some frequently asked questions and can help you get started in developing your custom solutions in Visual Basic for Applications. To obtain any of these articles, search on the Q number (that is, the identification number or ARTICLE-ID number) that is associated with each of the following articles:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q120198
   TITLE     : XL: How to Select Cells/Ranges Using Visual Basic
               Procedures

   ARTICLE-ID: Q141691
   TITLE     : XL: Visual Basic Example Using If and Case Statements

   ARTICLE-ID: Q146055
   TITLE     : XL: How to Create a MS Excel Chart with a Dynamic Range

   ARTICLE-ID: Q141762
   TITLE     : How to Use Looping Structures in Visual Basic for
               Applications

   ARTICLE-ID: Q130372
   TITLE     : XL AppNote: Sample Code for Controlling Dialog Boxes

   ARTICLE-ID: Q143345
   TITLE     : Visual Basic Macro to Determine Which Button was Selected

   ARTICLE-ID: Q146197
   TITLE     : How to Find Technical Information About Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Press and Third-Party Reference Books

Title: Excel 5 for Windows--Power Programming Techniques Author: John Walkenbach Publisher: IDG Books Worldwide Date: 1994 ISBN: 1-56884-303-8 Pages: 726 Includes: One 3.5-inch high-density floppy disk

Title: Developing Excel 95 Solutions Author: Eric Wells Publisher: Microsoft Press Date: 1995 ISBN: 1-55615-893-9 Pages: 821 Includes: One 3.5-inch high-density floppy disk

Title: Teach Yourself Excel Programming with Visual Basic for

       Applications in 21 Days

Title: Microsoft Excel Visual Basic for Applications Author: Reed Jacobson Publisher: Microsoft Press Date: 1995 ISBN: 1-55615-830-0 Pages: 319 Includes: One 3.5-inch high-density floppy disk