XL: Cannot Use Array of Data Points with Extend Method

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c

SUMMARY

In the versions of Microsoft Excel listed at the beginning of this article, the Help topic for the Extend method states that the Source argument may be either a Range object or an array of data points. This information is incorrect; the Source argument must be a Range object.

If you run a Visual Basic for Applications macro that attempts to use an array of data points for the Source argument of the Extend method, you receive the following error message:

   Run-time error '1004':
   Reference is not valid.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel, you can use the Extend method to add new data points to an existing series in a chart. For example, if you create a simple column chart that contains a single series, and you want to add new data points to the series, you can use a line of code similar to the following:

   ActiveChart.SeriesCollection.Extend Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("B5:B6")

If you specify an array of data points for the Source argument of the Extend method, you receive an error message. For example, the following sample code causes the problem:

   Dim xExtras
   xExtras = Array(2, 3, 5, 7)
   ActiveChart.SeriesCollection.Extend xExtras