XL97: "Can't Enter Break Mode" Stepping Through a Macro

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you step through a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro, the following message may appear:

   Can't enter break mode at this time

CAUSE

This behavior occurs when both of the following conditions are true:

• You programmatically add an ActiveX control to a worksheet.

  -and-

• You step through the macro.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem when troubleshooting a macro that adds an ActiveX control, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Use another troubleshooting technique; for example, use a

          Debug.Print statement or a watch expression.

          instead of an ActiveX control. You can find Non-ActiveX controls
          on the Forms toolbar.

          Microsoft Excel 97 provides non-ActiveX controls for
          compatibility with earlier versions of Microsoft Excel.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel 97, you can add an ActiveX control to a worksheet to make a custom application. The ActiveX controls that you can add to a worksheet appear on the Control Toolbox toolbar. To display the Control Toolbox toolbar, point to Toolbars on the View menu, and then click Control Toolbox.

Although many of the ActiveX controls are similar in form and function to the controls on the Forms toolbar, the ActiveX controls are also available in UserForms in the Visual Basic Editor.

REFERENCES

For more information about ActiveX Controls, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel Visual Basic Help, type the following text

   Toolbox