XL98: Macro to Delete Defined Names with Links

ID: Q185387

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel, workbooks can have two kinds of links: internal or external. Internal links are references to objects within (or internal to) the document (for example, another cell on a given sheet or another cell on another sheet in the same workbook). The following examples demonstrate how an internal link might appear on your sheet:

=C2

-or-

=Sheet1!C2

External links are references to objects outside the document (for example a cell on a sheet in another file). The following example demonstrates how an external link might appear on your sheet:

='<hard drive>:documents:[WORKBOOK1]Sheet1'!$C$2

The macro in the "More Information" section of this article displays all the defined names in the active workbook that has an external reference to a defined name in a different workbook. External links not referenced by a defined name are unaffected. After a defined name is deleted by the macro, the error value "#NAME" is displayed in the cell(s) that use the defined name.

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 professionals 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/overview/overview.asp

To Create a Macro to Delete Defined Names with Links

Press OPTION+F11 to start the Visual Basic Editor.

On the Insert menu, click Module.

Type the following code:


    Option Explicit

    Sub delete_external_names()

      ' Variable declarations.
      Dim response As Integer
      Dim msg As String
      Dim flag As Boolean
      Dim defined_name As Object

      flag = True     ' Check if external links were found.

      ' Loop through each defined name in workbook.
      For Each defined_name In ActiveWorkbook.Names

         ' If a [ was found, then the name has a link.
         If InStr(defined_name.RefersTo, "[") > 0 Then

            flag = False ' set flag to False indicating a link was found

            ' Message displayed to ask if you want to delete name.
             msg = "Do you want to delete the defined name " & "'" & _
                defined_name.Name & "'" & Chr(13) & " that refers to '" & _
                defined_name & "' ?"

             ' Delete the defined name.
             If MsgBox(msg, 292) = vbYes Then defined_name.Delete
          End If
      Next defined_name  ' Get the next defined name.

      If flag = True Then  ' If flag was not set, display message below.

         MsgBox "No defined names with external were links found."
      End If
    End Sub

On the Tools menu, click Macros. Select "delete_external_names" and click Run.

REFERENCES

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q136314 Copying Sheets Between Workbooks Can Create Unexpected Links

Additional query words: XL98

Keywords : kbmacro kbprg kbdta EPUCon xlformula
Version : MACINTOSH:98
Platform : MACINTOSH
Issue type : kbhowto