Excel VBA Create PDF using ExportAsFixedFormat frequently hangs - excel

I have a process that takes a series of inputs, retrieves some data, and generates a PDF in a loop.
If I test it on a single entry, it always works. When I run it in a loop, it frequently hangs at some point.
I have isolated the issue that it always occurs on when executing the same line:
Range("Print_Area").ExportAsFixedFormat Type:=xlTypePDF, Filename:=PDF_filename, Quality:=xlQualityStandard, IncludeDocProperties:=True, IgnorePrintAreas:=False, OpenAfterPublish:=False
I have confirmed that the issue is NOT the filename I am trying to save.
When I repeat the process, the same file can be produced successfully.
I have read that this issue can be related to the availability of the printer.
I have tried printing out Application.ActivePrinter before attempting to produce the PDF, but I get the same result before a successful attempt and an attempt that hangs Excel.
I am hitting this issue on Microsoft Excel for Microsoft 365 MSO - 64 bit running in Windows 10.
I would really appreciate any suggestions how to fix this issue.

I solved my own problem.
It turned out that the root of the problem was data retrievals that had not completed when the process of generation the PDF started. Once I ensured that there was no possibility of new data arriving during the PDF process, the problem disappeared.

Related

Excel VBA SaveAs sometimes works, sometimes fails; no idea why

I have used this macro for years on a server based solution, moving over to Sharepoint and I have changed the locations but am hitting a wall. All the code is doing is saving the file as a different name, and then saving it again back as the original name; oddly it only ever fails on the first part, never the second; and often it works all the way through, and then other times when trying to do the first saveas it fails. It also always seems to work if there is no existing filename on the first, its when overwriting that it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. I would kill the file first, but Kill doesnt seem to work with Sharepoint either so that has stopped me doing that to solve the issue. When it fails I get one of two messages but mostly "Run-time error 1004: Method 'SaveAs' if object'_Workbok;failed". But as I say, I can hit it 10 times in a row and it be fine, then suddenly it wont work anymore and I know I am the only person in the file so its not that someone else has it open or anything like that. I have looked at several chains with this error code and they all seem to suddenly say they worked it out because a DIM was in the wrong place or a filename was wrong etc etc, I cannot seem to find such issue, certainly as it works 50% of the time.
ThisWorkbook.SaveAs Filename:= _
"https://x.sharepoint.com/sites/Company/Shared Documents/F-Drive/FUND ADMINISTRATION/Monthly Reporting/" & (ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Misc Data").Range("J3").Value) & "/Factsheets_Presentations_" & (ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Misc Data").Range("J3").Value) & ".xlsm", _
FileFormat:=52, CreateBackup:=False
ThisWorkbook.SaveAs Filename:= _
"https://x.sharepoint.com/sites/Company/Shared Documents/F-Drive/FUND ADMINISTRATION/Monthly Reporting/Factsheet & Presentation Generator.xlsm", _
FileFormat:=52, CreateBackup:=False

SaveAs to SharePoint

I am using the following to save a file to s SP folder
wbCO.SaveAs Filename:=strFile, FileFormat:=xlOpenXMLWorkbook, CreateBackup:=False
The path and file name are all valid and correct so this is not the issue.
strFile = "https://xxx.sharepoint.com/sites/xxx/Shared Documents/Properties/PropertyName/PropertyName_16_Apr.xlsx"
I am getting an odd issue where the file saves with the stated filename but I get a 1004 error saying document not saved.
I have had thsi file working at times and then sometimes it doesn't and I'm guessing it's because it is saving to SP which I always have issues with when using.
I am running this on a Windows platform but it ultimately needs to work on a Mac platform. I know the majority of the code is working but the SaveAs line falls over so help with this would be useful too!
TIA

Unable to save as PDF from VBA in mac

I am trying to save a range from a sheet as PDF through VBA. Following is the code that I have written.
Sheets("PO Format").PageSetup.PrintArea = "$B$6 : $J$42"
Sheets("PO Format").Range("B6:J42").ExportAsFixedFormat Type:=xlTypePDF, Filename:=Sheets("User Settings").Range("B15") & "/" & Sheets("PO Format").Range("F7"), Quality:=xlQualityStandard, IncludeDocProperties:=True, IgnorePrintAreas:=False, OpenAfterPublish:=True
The weird thing is that it is working fine on one system and I able to save it at the mentioned path and then also send out a mail, but while testing it on another system I am getting the error as "Error while printing". Completely clueless. Can anyone help??
In Mac Office 2016 Microsoft have to deal with Apple’s sandbox requirements due to which VBA needs permission to access folders and this is not prompted while trying to save via VBA instead it gives an error. But there are a few places on Mac that one can use to let the code do what it needs to do without user interaction.
one such path is /Users/username/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office
This folder gets created when Office 2016 is installed.
So I saved the PDF to this folder, moved it to the desired location and it is working fine now.
For more details and the code go through http://www.rondebruin.nl/mac/mac034.htm
Make sure that Excel SaveAsPDFandXPS addin is installed, if available for Mac then you should be able to find it on Microsoft site,it available for free. Install it then the code should work just fine.

ExportAsFixedFormat fails sometimes

I have a spreadsheet with forms and macros that worked until recently. The first time I saw the described behavior was the first time I tried using this particular function in Excel 2016 (Windows 10), though I'm not sure that's the cause.
The issue I'm having is with the following line
Worksheets("Label Template - 100X150").ExportAsFixedFormat Type:=xlTypePDF, _
Filename:=pdfFilePath, Quality:=xlQualityMinimum, _
IncludeDocProperties:=False, _
IgnorePrintAreas:=False, OpenAfterPublish:=True
Which comes from the following macro:
Sub PDFLabelsSheet()
'On Error GoTo errHandler
'enter name and select folder for file
strFile = "Labels_PrintGroup-" & lstPrintGroup.Value _
& "_" _
& Format(Now(), "yyyy-mm-dd\_hhmm") _
& ".pdf"
strFile = ThisWorkbook.Path & "\" & strFile
Worksheets("Label Template - 100X150").Visible = True
UnprotectTab "Label Template - 100X150"
pdfFilePath = Application.GetSaveAsFilename(InitialFileName:=strFile, _
FileFilter:="PDF Files (*.pdf), *.pdf", _
Title:="Select Folder and FileName to save")
If pdfFilePath <> "False" Then
Worksheets("Label Template - 100X150").Select
Worksheets("Label Template - 100X150").Range("A1").Select
Worksheets("Label Template - 100X150").Range("A1").Activate
Cells.Activate
Worksheets("Label Template - 100X150").PageSetup.FirstPageNumber = 1
Worksheets("Label Template - 100X150").ExportAsFixedFormat Type:=xlTypePDF, _
Filename:=pdfFilePath, Quality:=xlQualityMinimum, _
IncludeDocProperties:=False, _
IgnorePrintAreas:=False, OpenAfterPublish:=True
End If
exitHandler:
ExecutionEnd
Exit Sub
errHandler:
MsgBox "Something went wrong, a PDF could not be created", vbCritical
Resume exitHandler
End Sub
I've tried permutations of the ExportAsFixedFormat function, changing it to Worksheets("name"), (number), ActiveSheet.... etc.
Prior to executing this particular Sub, the worksheet is unhidden and unprotected. I've tried setting the entire range as PrintArea, I've tried selecting and activating the range to be exported as well.
The most frustrating part is it works sometimes. I've gone as far as putting in code that spits out every property of the PageSetup collection to make sure that something is not blowing things up since the output depends so strictly on the page setup.
When I navigate to this worksheet manually and choose the export function from the file menu, I get the same error. If I click around in that worksheet for a bit the Export function as well as the Macro work.
The PDFLabelSheets Sub does get called from another Sub (invoked by a form's button press) which compiles a boatload of data into this tab, though I've ruled it out as the culprit as successive runs of just the PDF code will succeed then fail without running the other code.
I’ve recently solved a problem that was similar in the following ways:
It involved the failure of the ExportAsFixedFormat, Type:=xlTypePDF
statement
The statement failed with no error message; it simply
stopped the execution of the VBA code
The failure was inconsistent,
and the conditions for failure or success were not obvious
Below is a summary of how I solved it; perhaps this will suggest some useful approaches you can use.
My Excel VBA code was running under Windows 7 as an unattended, end-of-day scheduled task in the background, usually when no one was logged in. Most of the time the code would work, but sometimes it would not. I could not capture the screen after a crash, and capturing the various window contents did not help: there was no useful diagnostic text. I finally tried logging program execution milestones to a disk file, reopening and closing the file for each milestone, so no text would be lost if the program subsequently crashed. That isolated the problem to the ExportAsFixedFormat statement but did not diagnose the problem.
I finally tried having the VBA code save a copy of the workbook just prior to the point of failure. I was hoping that, on re-opening the copy, I’d be able to see what was wrong. That did not help. However, I did notice something strange when comparing the .xlsm files saved on successful and unsuccessful executions – the former were just a little larger.
Digging into the .xlsm files (which are really .zip files), I noticed that, in the xl\printerSettings subfolder, the printerSettings1.bin file was larger after successful runs. Using the SysInternals Strings utility to inspect the .bin files, I found that, in the unsuccessful runs, this file contained only the name of the default printer on the home computer where I had developed the application, which was not the office computer where it was executing. On the successful runs, the .bin file also contained the name of the default printer in the office.
This was the critical difference. In that office, the main computer executes the Excel program shortly after the end of the working day. Ordinarily, during the day this computer prints to a laser printer (set as the default printer) attached to another computer on the network, and that other computer is turned off at the end of the working day. Therefore, depending on accidents of timing, sometimes the end-of-day Excel program would see a valid, available default printer, sometimes not.
Some Excel commands, including the command to save as a .pdf, work properly only when the active printer is valid. There is a similar observation at can't set PageSetup.Orientation = xlLandscape from MS Project, concerning assignments to the fields of .PageSetup. In my case, failing to work properly meant crashing without generating any error message.
I later discovered that my problem was not simply the unavailability of the default laser printer over the network; it was also caused by something irregular about the printer definition. I had added code to log the VBA property Application.ActivePrinter; just prior to a crash, it was returning the value “unknown printer (check your Control Panel)”, rather than containing the name of the printer. When I re-installed the default printer, Application.ActivePrinter always returned the proper printer name, whether or not that printer was available for use, and the program stopped crashing.
My problem was a true Heisenbug – it disappeared whenever I re-ran the Excel workbook at random times. That ultimately turned out to help me confirm its diagnosis. Running unattended, sometimes there was no valid printer. When I logged into my account and ran it attended, either it was during the business day or else LogMeIn temporarily assigned my home printer as a valid default printer. This finally made sense of the fact that the program failed only when it wasn’t being closely observed at the time of execution.
In summary, I’d look at inconsistent printer availability and irregular printer installation as possible underlying causes of failure to consistently export .pdf files using Excel VBA.
Frogrammer-Analyst's analysis is great, but the error is not that ambiguous. You will not have this issue if you login to the server using the user that is running the unattended script. But if you sign out and then try rerunning your script unattended you will see that no printers are mapped and {ExportAsFixedFormat} fails for PDF and or XPS formats.
I have found a solution for my case. A true headeache. Maybe it can help others:
Try uncheking the "PDF/A compliant" option under Options dialog when you export as PDF. After that, run the VBA code again.
For my, it was the solution.
PDF Options

Excel 1004 - Are the Domain Userrights the cause of my Problems?

We are using a central Makro.xlm file and some Workbooks accessing the Makro this way.
Workbooks.Open Makro_Path & Makro_Nam, ReadOnly:=True
Application.Run Makro_Nam & "!MakroIni", WbTyp
The first line works fine - The Makro Workbook is Opened correctly. The second line gives me an 1004 error: Makro not found or all Makros are disabled.
The interesting part is:
We have 2 completely different domains/networks accessing those files. In our older network everything works fine the newer one creates those troubles.
Normally those files are stored on a central server, but for testing purposes they can be run locally - same result.
Does anyone have an idea, wyh on Pcs in the newer network, the makros are loaded correctly, but can not execute? Is it possible, that some global user rights interfer with the Execution of Excel Macros?
The problem was a 64Bit version of Excel in the new network.

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