XL97: Limitations for Naming Visual Basic Modules

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel 97, the names of Visual Basic for Applications modules are subject to certain limitations. This article explains these limitations how to avoid problems when module names include illegal characters.

MORE INFORMATION

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Changing the Name of a Module in Microsoft Excel 97

In Microsoft Excel 97, you can rename a module by activating the module, clicking to the right of "(Name)" in the Properties window of the Visual Basic Editor, typing a new module name, and pressing ENTER.

You can also programmatically change the name of a module by using code similar to the following:

   ActiveWorkbook.Modules("Module1").Name = "Module7"

Limitations for Naming Modules in Microsoft Excel 97

In Microsoft Excel 97, module names can include the following characters:

• Alphanumerics (A-Z, a-z, 0-9)
• Underscore characters (_)

• Spaces ( )
• Exclamation points (!)
• Periods (.)
• Question marks (?)
• Commas (,)
• Any other nonalphanumeric characters

Module names cannot exceed 31 characters in length.

Module names cannot start with a numeric character (0-9) or an underscore character (_). Module names must start with an alphabetical character (A-Z, a-z).

If you try to rename a module so that its name includes illegal characters, you will receive the following error message:

   Not a legal object name: '<module name>'

Names of Modules That You Created in Earlier Versions of Microsoft Excel

If you open a workbook that contains modules with names that include characters that are illegal in Microsoft Excel 97, the modules and the macros they contain are still available.

None of the modules are renamed by Microsoft Excel 97. However, if a module's name contains an exclamation point, the exclamation point is replaced on the screen by a question mark. However, the actual name of the module does not change.

For example, if you open a Microsoft Excel 5.0 or 7.0 workbook that contains the following three modules, Microsoft Excel 97 may change the module names. The following table illustrates how the module names would appear.

   Original             Module name that appears
   module name          in the Project Window
   ---------------------------------------------

   Module!1             Module?1
   My Module            My Module
   xyz.Module           xyz.Module

For more information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q159465
   TITLE     : XL97: "Module not Found" Error Opening Workbook

Exporting or Importing Modules with Names That Contain Illegal Characters

In Microsoft Excel 97, you can export a Visual Basic module to a separate file by activating the module and clicking Export File on the File menu. This works even if the module name includes illegal characters.

However, when you click Import File on the File menu and attempt to import a file, you may receive the following error message:

   Not a legal object name: '<module name>'

This problem occurs if the VB_Name attribute in the file contains any illegal characters.

To prevent this problem from occurring, use the following steps:

1. On the Start menu, click Run. In the Open box, type "Notepad" (without the quotation marks), and click OK.

2. In Notepad, click Open on the File menu. Select the file you want to import into Microsoft Excel, and click Open.

   The first line of the file should look similar to the following example:

         Attribute VB_Name = "Module 1"
   

3. Change the name inside the quotation marks to a name that does not contain any illegal characters. For example, use Module1 or Module_1.

4. When you are done, click Save on the File menu. Then, click Exit on the File menu.