XL98: How to Use EnableEvents to Disable Event Handling

• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, you can create event handlers, which are Visual Basic for Applications macros that respond to specific events. An event handler can be run by another Visual Basic macro. This article contains an example macro that disables event handling while a Visual Basic for Applications macro is running.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples 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. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/default.asp

Creating a Sample Event Procedure

In this example you set up a Visual Basic for Applications macro that responds to the SelectionChange event in a worksheet. To set up the event handler, follow these steps:

1. Close and save any open workbooks, and then create a new workbook.

2. Start the Visual Basic Editor (press OPTION+F11).

3. If the Project Explorer window is not visible, click Project Explorer on the View menu.

4. Double-click Sheet1 to open the Code window for Sheet1.

5. In the Code window for Sheet1, enter the following code for the SelectionChange event:

         Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Excel.Range)
             MsgBox Target.Address
         End Sub
   
   

6. Switch to Microsoft Excel (press OPTION+F11).

7. Click any cell on Sheet1.

Using a Procedure to Run the Event Handler

The following sample macro runs the event handler. To set up the macro, follow these steps:

1. Start the Visual Basic Editor (press OPTION+F11).

2. On the Insert menu, click Module.

3. Enter the following code into the Visual Basic module:

         Sub FireEvent()
             Dim X as Integer
             For X = 1 To 5
                 Cells(X, 1).Select
             Next X
         End Sub
   
   

4. Switch to Microsoft Excel (press OPTION+F11).

5. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros. Then, click FireEvent and click Run.

Preventing the Event Procedure from Running

To prevent an event handler from running while a macro is running, set the EnableEvents property to False. To use the EnableEvents property in an example, follow these steps:

1. Start the Visual Basic Editor (press OPTION+F11).

2. On the Insert menu, click Module.

3. Type the following macro in the module:

         Sub DisableEvent()
            Dim X As Integer
   
            ' Disable all event firing.
            Application.EnableEvents = False
   
            For X = 1 To 5
               Cells(X, 1).Select
            Next X
   
            ' Re-enable all event firing.
            Application.EnableEvents = True
         End Sub
   
   

4. Switch to Microsoft Excel (press OPTION+F11).

5. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and click Macros. Then, click DisableEvent and click Run.

NOTE: If you do not set the EnableEvents property to True before your macro finishes running, events are disabled. If you set the EnableEvents property to False, make sure that you set it back to True.

REFERENCES

For more information about using event handlers, click the Office Assistant in the Visual Basic Editor, type "events" (without the quotation marks), click Search, and then click to view the "Using events with Microsoft Excel objects" topic.

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If Microsoft Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q179216
   TITLE     : OFF98: How to Use the Microsoft Office Installer Program