XL: Can't Use ActivateMicrosoftApp Method to Activate Excel

ID: Q125181

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
Microsoft Excel for Windows NT, version 5.0
Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel, you cannot use the ActivateMicrosoftApp method in a Visual Basic procedure to activate Microsoft Excel.

CAUSE

The ActivateMicrosoftApp method does not support activating Microsoft Excel. You can use the ActivateMicrosoftApp method to activate one of the following Microsoft Applications, using the corresponding Microsoft Excel constant as the index argument:


   Microsoft Word            xlMicrosoftWord
   Microsoft PowerPoint      xlMicrosoftPowerPoint
   Microsoft Mail            xlMicrosoftMail
   Microsoft Access          xlMicrosoftAccess
   Microsoft FoxPro          xlMicrosoftFoxPro
   Microsoft Project         xlMicrosoftProject
   Microsoft Schedule Plus   xlMicrosoftSchedulePlus

Note that there is no Microsoft Excel constant defined for Microsoft Excel, and you cannot activate the Microsoft Excel application using the ActivateMicrosoftApp method.

WORKAROUND

To activate Microsoft Excel in a Visual Basic procedure, use the AppActivate method as in the following example:

AppActivate "Microsoft Excel"

Note that the AppActivate statement activates the application with the window title that you specify. For example, if a document window is maximized in Microsoft Excel, the Microsoft Excel application title includes the document name, such as Microsoft Excel--BOOK1.XLS. You must specify the application window title exactly as it appears in the application when you use the AppActivate method. The following example saves the application window title in Microsoft Excel as the variable "title" and then uses this variable with the AppActivate method later in the procedure:


   Sub Test
      Dim title as String
      ' Set variable title equal to exact application window title
      title = Application.Caption
      ' Activate Microsoft Word
      ActivateMicrosoftApp (xlMicrosoftWord)
      ' Activate Microsoft Excel again
      AppActivate title
   End Sub

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 professionals 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.

REFERENCES

For more information about the AppActivate Statement, choose the Search button in the Visual Basic Reference and type:

AppActivate

For more information about the ActivateMicrosoftApp Method, choose the Search button in the Visual Basic Reference and type:

ActivateMicrosoftApp Method

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbprg
Version : WINDOWS:5.0,5.0c,7.0,97; winnt:5.0
Platform : WINDOWS winnt
Issue type :