OFF97: Displaying UserForm Designer Resets Global Variables

• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
• Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you run a macro in a Visual Basic for Applications project, the value for a global variable is reset to nothing (zero).

CAUSE

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

• The project includes a UserForm.

      -and-
  

• The UserForm designer is open (the UserForm is in a window).

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem and ensure that all global variables retain their scope, close all UserForm windows before running a macro in a Visual Basic project.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

The scope of a variable is determined by the way you declare the variable. In Visual Basic for Applications, you can use three kinds of variables: procedure, module, and public. To declare a global variable, use the Public, Dim, or Private keyword in the Declaration section of the module or procedure.

For additional information about the scope and lifetime of variables in Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q141693
   TITLE     : XL: Scope of Variables in Visual Basic for Applications

REFERENCES

For more information about how long the value of a variable is retained, from the Visual Basic Editor, click Contents and Index on the Help menu, click the Index tab in Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Help, type the following text

   variables, lifetime