XL97: Using Quit Method May Cause Illegal Operation

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Quit method in a Visual Basic for Applications macro to quit Microsoft Excel 97, you may receive the following error message:

   This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down.
   If the problem persists, contact the program vendor.

   EXCEL caused an invalid page fault in module EXCEL.EXE at
   014f:3002dbae.

CAUSE

This problem occurs when all of the following conditions are true:

• You are controlling Microsoft Excel 97 through Automation from another program such as Microsoft Word 97, Microsoft Access 97, or Microsoft Visual Basic.

      -and-
  

• In the macro, you set an object variable to refer to a worksheet in Microsoft Excel 97.

      -and-
  

• You dimension the object variable that refers to a worksheet at the module level instead of the procedure level. (The "Dim" line is not contained in the actual subroutine.)

      -and-
  

• You do not release the object variable (by setting it equal to Nothing in the macro) before you quit Microsoft Excel 97.

WORKAROUND

Microsoft provides examples of Visual Basic for Applications procedures for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. The Visual Basic procedures in this article are provided 'as is' and Microsoft does not guarantee that they can be used in all situations. While Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular macro, they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality, nor will they help you construct macros to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to consult one of the Microsoft Solution Providers. Solution Providers offer a wide range of fee-based services, including creating custom macros. For more information about Microsoft Solution Providers, call Microsoft Customer Information Service at (800) 426-9400.

To prevent this problem from occurring, set object variables that refer to Microsoft Excel worksheet objects to Nothing before you quit Microsoft Excel 97. For example, use the following lines of code:

   Set xSheet = Nothing
   xlApp.Quit

   Sub Test()

       Dim xSheet As Object
       '<Code that uses xSheet>

   End Sub

   Dim xSheet As Object

   Sub Test()

       '<Code that uses xSheet>

   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

The following example subroutine demonstrates when this problem may occur:

   'Dimension the object variable outside of the subroutine that uses it.
   Dim xSheet As Object

   Sub MakeXLCrash()

       'Create an instance of Microsoft Excel 97.
       Set xlApp = CreateObject("Excel.Application.8")

       'Make the instance of Microsoft Excel 97 visible.
       xlApp.Visible = True

       'Create a new workbook. Set object variables equal to the workbook
       'and to a sheet in the workbook.
       Set xWorkbook = xlApp.Workbooks.Add
       Set xSheet = xWorkbook.ActiveSheet

       'Quit the instance of Microsoft Excel 97.
       xlApp.Quit

   End Sub