XL97: Visual Basic does not Signal an Error has Occurred

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 97, when you run a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro that uses Automation objects, Visual Basic may not indicate that the macro has halted when a macro error occurs. In some cases this may cause the Microsoft Excel program to appear as though it has stopped responding.

WORKAROUND

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The following macro starts Microsoft Excel, inserts a new workbook, and inserts an ActiveX control on the worksheet. The code produces an error when it attempts to select a drawing shape that does not exist. The On Error statement at the beginning of the macro traps this run-time error and allows the macro to continue.

   Sub AddCheckBox()

      Dim x As Object

      ' Begin error trapping.
      On Error GoTo errHandler

      ' Create the Microsoft Excel Automation object.
      Set x = CreateObject("Excel.Application.8")

      ' Make the Excel object visible.
      x.Visible = True

      ' Add new workbook.
      x.Workbooks.Add

      ' Create ActiveX check box control.
      x.ActiveSheet.OLEObjects.Add "Forms.CheckBox.1"

      ' Select cell E10.
      x.ActiveSheet.Range("E10").Select

      ' Code will error here.
      x.ActiveSheet.Shapes(1).Select

      ' Display message box.
      MsgBox "Macro Completed"
      Exit Sub

   errHandler:

      ' Activate this instance of Microsoft Excel, so message is visible.
      AppActivate Application.Caption

      ' Display a message that an error has occurred.
      MsgBox "An Error has occurred" & Chr(10) & _
        "RunTime Error " & Err & " " & Error(Err)

      ' Resume processing of the macro.
      Resume Next

   End Sub

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 earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, when you initiate an OLE Automation statement such as CreateObject or GetObject, if a macro error occurs, the host or server program flashes to indicate an error has taken place. The same behavior is seen in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel if a program is made visible and maximized. The only way to determine if the macro has stopped unexpectedly is to switch back to the server program.

REFERENCES

For more information about Automation, click the Index tab in Visual Basic Help, type the following text

   OLE Automation