XL97: Error Appears When CopyFromRecordSet Uses Empty Variable

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 97, if you run a Visual Basic for Applications macro that uses the Data Access Objects (DAO) CopyFromRecordSet method to retrieve data from an external database, 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
   0137:30459362.

CAUSE

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.

This problem occurs if the Data argument of the CopyFromRecordSet method is either uninitialized or is set to Nothing, as in the following examples.

Variable Is Uninitialized

   Sub Test1()

       Dim X As Object, D As Database, R As Object
       Set D = OpenDatabase("C:\Northwind.mdb")
       Set R = D.OpenRecordset("SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE " & _
           "Country = 'None';")

       ' Variable X is uninitialized.
       ThisWorkbook.Sheets(1).Cells(1, 1).CopyFromRecordset X

   End Sub

Variable Is Set to Nothing

   Sub Test2()
       Dim D As Database, R As Object
       Set D = OpenDatabase("C:\Northwind.mdb")
       Set R = Nothing

       'Variable R is set to Nothing.
       ThisWorkbook.Sheets(1).Cells(1, 1).CopyFromRecordset R

   End Sub

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, make sure that the TypeName function of the Data variable is set to a value other than Nothing. To do this, modify the code so that it resembles the following:

   ' If R is not Nothing and is not uninitialized, then...
   If TypeName(R) <> "Nothing" Then

       '...copy the recordset into Sheet1, cell A1.
       ThisWorkbook.Sheets(1).Cells(1, 1).CopyFromRecordSet R

   End If

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 Microsoft Excel, you use the CopyFromRecordSet method to copy the contents of a recordset object into a worksheet.

If the OpenRecordSet method returns a recordset that contains no data (for example, you used a query that returns no records), the problem described in this article does not occur, and no data is returned to the worksheet. The problem occurs only when the Data argument refers to a variable that does not contain a recordset.