I am trying to develop a VBA solution within Excel that can identify which shapes are connected to eachother within a worksheet via a standard connector line.
For example, in the snippet attached, I need to create a code that can identify that the control square is connected to the two red circles (titled Risk 1 and Risk 2) and output the following in a message box: "Risk 1 and Risk 2 are connected to Control". I have been able to find code to add connector lines however I cannot figure out how to identify connected shapes. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated! I have also attached the code that I have been able to find thus far.
Sub QuickConnect( )
Dim s1 As Shape, s2 As Shape, conn As Shape
' Create a shape
Set s1 = ActiveSheet.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeCube, 100, 10, 50, 60)
' Create another shape
Set s2 = ActiveSheet.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeCan, 50, 100, 50, 60)
' Create connector with arbitrary coordinates
Set conn = ActiveSheet.Shapes.AddConnector(msoConnectorCurve, 1, 1, 1, 1)
' Connect shapes
conn.ConnectorFormat.BeginConnect s1, 1
conn.ConnectorFormat.EndConnect s2, 1
' Connect via shortest path (changes connection sites)
conn.RerouteConnections
End Sub
Therefore you need to loop through all shapes, check if they are a connector (yes, connector lines are shapes too). And then you can check which shapes are connected by this connector line:
The property .ConnectorFormat.BeginConnectedShape gives you the shape at one end of the connector line and .ConnectorFormat.EndConnectedShape the shape on the other end.
Checkout this:
Option Explicit
Public Sub TestConnections()
Dim shp As Variant
For Each shp In Shapes 'loop through all shapes
If shp.Connector = msoTrue Then 'check if current shape is a connector
'BeginConnectedShape is the shape on the beginning side of the connector
'EndConnectedShape is the shape on the ending side of the connector
Debug.Print shp.Name _
& " connects " & _
shp.ConnectorFormat.BeginConnectedShape.Name _
& " with " & _
shp.ConnectorFormat.EndConnectedShape.Name
End If
Next shp
End Sub
For the following shapes
it outputs
Curved Connector 3 connects Cube 1 with Can 2
Curved Connector 6 connects Cube 5 with Can 2
You can use ConnectorFormat.EndConnectedShape property (Excel) and ConnectorFormat.BeginConnectedShape property (Excel) to achieve what you want.
LOGIC:
Loop through all connector shapes.
Create a Unique collection of shapes to which other shapes are connected with.
Get the Beginning and the Ending shape names.
Find the relation i.e WHO is connected to WHO.
CODE:
I have commented the code but if you still have questions then feel free to ask.
Option Explicit
'~~> Change this if your shapes include the below text
Const mySep As String = "MySep"
Sub Sample()
Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim shpConnector As Shape
Dim shpConnectorCount As Long
Dim i As Long: i = 1
Dim tmpAr As Variant, itm As Variant
Dim colConnector As New Collection
Dim msg As String
Dim finalOutput As String
'~~> Change this to the relevant sheet
Set ws = Sheet1
With ws
'~~> Count the number of connector shapes
For Each shpConnector In .Shapes
If shpConnector.Connector Then shpConnectorCount = shpConnectorCount + 1
Next shpConnector
'~~> If not found then exit sub
If shpConnectorCount = 0 Then Exit Sub
'~~> Resize array based on connector count
ReDim tmpAr(1 To shpConnectorCount)
For Each shpConnector In .Shapes
With shpConnector
If .Connector Then
'~~> Unique collection of shapes to which other
'~~> shapes are connected with
On Error Resume Next
colConnector.Add CStr(.ConnectorFormat.EndConnectedShape.Name), _
CStr(.ConnectorFormat.EndConnectedShape.Name)
On Error GoTo 0
'~~> Store Starting shape and End Shape in an array
tmpAr(i) = .ConnectorFormat.BeginConnectedShape.Name & mySep _
& .ConnectorFormat.EndConnectedShape.Name
i = i + 1
End If
End With
Next
'~~> Loop through the unique collection and the array to create
'~~> Our necessary output
For Each itm In colConnector
msg = ""
For i = LBound(tmpAr) To UBound(tmpAr)
If Split(tmpAr(i), mySep)(1) = itm Then
msg = msg & "," & Split(tmpAr(i), mySep)(0)
End If
Next i
finalOutput = finalOutput & vbNewLine & Mid(msg, 2) & " is/are connected to " & itm
Next itm
End With
MsgBox Mid(finalOutput, 2)
End Sub
IN ACTION:
SCREENSHOT:
Related
I'm trying to link shape data field from external data like excel.
As #JohnGoldsmith suggested I used DropLinked but "I'm getting object name not found" error.
My main agenda is drop multiple shapes on drawing with shape data field "Name", then fill all the shape data field using external data in order. I also used spatial search for dropping shapes on drawing(Thanks to #Surrogate). By the way I'm using Visio Professional 2019.
It's often a good plan to separate chained members so you can identify whether (as #Paul points out) you're having a problem getting to the stencil or the master.
Following is a modified example of link shapes to data. I've ditched all of the spatial search stuff as I think that's a separate issue. If you still have trouble with that I would ask another question and narrow your sample code to not include the data linking part - ie just drop shapes and try and change their position. Bear in mind there's also Page.Layout and Selection.Layout
I think you've got the adding the DataRecordsets in the other linked question, so this example makes the following assumptions:
You have a drawing document open
You have the "Basic Shapes" stencil open (note my version is metric "_M")
You have a DataRecordset applied to the document named "AllNames"
The above record set has a column named "Name" that contains the data you want to link
Public Sub ModifiedDropLinked_Example()
Const RECORDSET_NAME = "AllNames"
Const COL_NAME = "Name"
Const STENCIL_NAME = "BASIC_M.vssx"
Const MASTER_NAME = "Rectangle"
Dim vDoc As Visio.Document
Set vDoc = Application.ActiveDocument
Dim vPag As Visio.Page
Set vPag = Application.ActivePage
Dim vShp As Visio.Shape
Dim vMst As Visio.Master
Dim x As Double
Dim y As Double
Dim xOffset As Double
Dim dataRowIDs() As Long
Dim row As Long
Dim col As Long
Dim rowData As Variant
Dim recordset As Visio.DataRecordset
Dim recordsetCount As Integer
For Each recordset In vDoc.DataRecordsets
If recordset.Name = RECORDSET_NAME Then
dataRowIDs = recordset.GetDataRowIDs("")
xOffset = 2
x = 0
y = 2
Dim vStencil As Visio.Document
Set vStencil = TryFindDocument(STENCIL_NAME)
If Not vStencil Is Nothing Then
Set vMst = TryFindMaster(vStencil, MASTER_NAME)
If Not vMst Is Nothing Then
For row = LBound(dataRowIDs) + 1 To UBound(dataRowIDs) + 1
rowData = recordset.GetRowData(row)
For col = LBound(rowData) To UBound(rowData)
Set vShp = vPag.DropLinked(vMst, x + (xOffset * row), y, recordset.ID, row, False)
Debug.Print "Linked shape ID " & vShp.ID & " to row " & row & " (" & rowData(col) & ")"
Next col
Next row
Else
Debug.Print "Unable to find master '" & MASTER_NAME & "'"
End If
Else
Debug.Print "Unable to find stencil '" & STENCIL_NAME & "'"
End If
Else
Debug.Print "Unable to find DataRecordset '" & RECORDSET_NAME & "'"
End If
Next
End Sub
Private Function TryFindDocument(docName As String) As Visio.Document
Dim vDoc As Visio.Document
For Each vDoc In Application.Documents
If StrComp(vDoc.Name, docName, vbTextCompare) = 0 Then
Set TryFindDocument = vDoc
Exit Function
End If
Next
Set TryFindDocument = Nothing
End Function
Private Function TryFindMaster(ByRef vDoc As Visio.Document, mstNameU As String) As Visio.Master
Dim vMst As Visio.Master
For Each vMst In vDoc.Masters
If StrComp(vMst.NameU, mstNameU, vbTextCompare) = 0 Then
Set TryFindMaster = vMst
Exit Function
End If
Next
Set TryFindMaster = Nothing
End Function
The above code drops six shapes onto the page and adds a Shape Data row (Prop._VisDM_Name) with the corresponding data value. If you want the name text to appear in the shape then you would normally modify the master with an inserted field in the shape's text. (If you get stuck with this part then ask another question.)
One last point is that this example loops through the DataRecordset rows dropping a shape for each one, but there is also a Page.DropManyLinkedU method that allows you to this en masse.
I would like to decode a QRcode selected in a worksheet excel but in vba. So I have this piece of code from Zxing library.
Function Decode_QR_Code_From_Byte_Array()
Dim reader As IBarcodeReader
Dim rawRGB(1000) As Byte
Dim res As Result
Set reader = New BarcodeReader
reader.options.PossibleFormats.Add BarcodeFormat_QR_CODE
Rem TODO: load bitmap data to byte array rawRGB
Set res = reader.DecodeImageBytes(rawRGB, 10, 10, BitmapFormat.BitmapFormat_Gray8)
End Function
My main problems are:
How worked with a selected qrcode in the worksheet in VBA ? (macro) Because I don't want to use "from file"
How decode it with the code ?
You do did not answer my clarification questions... I tried making a piece of code dealing with three shapes type. Please, try the next code. It assumes that the QR code shapes have similar names, able to be used to recognize them. I tried the first two characters to be "QR", but it can be changed for your case. If not a pattern, I also suppose that they should be added on a specific column. This can also be used to identify them.
Please, try the next approach:
Sub DecodeQR()
Dim ws As Worksheet, sh As Shape, chQR As ChartObject, QRFile As String
QRFile = ThisWorkbook.Path & "\QRPict.png"
Set ws = ActiveSheet 'any sheet to be processed
'Add a chart helper to export QR picture:
Set chQR = ws.ChartObjects.Add(left:=1, top:=1, width:=100, height:=100)
For Each sh In ActiveSheet.Shapes ' iterate between existing shapes
If left(sh.Name, 2) = "QR" Or left(sh.Name, 2) = "Pi" Then 'process only QR shapes
chQR.width = sh.width: chQR.height = sh.height 'chart dimensions
If sh.Type = 1 Or sh.Type = 11 Or sh.Type = 13 Then 'shapes keeping a picture
ExportQRPict sh, QRFile, chQR 'export picture to be used for decoding
Debug.Print sh.TopLeftCell.Address, Decode_QR_Code_From_File(QRFile) 'decoding
Else
Debug.Print "Unappropriate shape at " & sh.TopLeftCell.Address
End If
End If
Next sh
Kill QRFile: chQR.Delete
End Sub
Private Sub ExportQRPict(QRSh As Shape, QRFile As String, ch As ChartObject, Optional boolPict As Boolean)
QRSh.CopyPicture: ch.Activate: ActiveChart.Paste
ch.Chart.Export fileName:=QRFile, FilterName:="PNG"
End Sub
Function Decode_QR_Code_From_File(pictPath) As String
Dim reader As IBarcodeReader
Dim res As result
Set reader = New BarcodeReader
reader.Options.PossibleFormats.Add BarcodeFormat_QR_CODE
Set res = reader.DecodeImageFile(pictPath)
Decode_QR_Code_From_File = res.text
End Function
Usually, the QR code shapes are placed to the right side of the cell keeping the text to be encoded. If this is the case, or any relation between the shape cell to belong and the cell keeping the text to be encoded exists, the above code can be adapted to check if the decoded text is the same with the reference one.
I am using Application.Caller in a subroutine that I programmatically tied to the OnAction property of all the shapes I find on a worksheet. Application.Caller returns the name of the shape which initiated the call so that I can then obtain the appropriate shape object to process.
All of this is fine unless there is more than one shape on the sheet with the same name making it impossible to determine which is the caller. Excel manages the naming when inserting, copying and pasting shapes manually in a worksheet but these worksheets are populated through external apps which can cause this naming redundancy.
I am currently managing this by first scanning and renaming the redundant shapes so that I can identify them with the Application.Caller function. However, I do not want to rename them.
Code I've tried:
Set objShape = Application.Caller - unfortunately does not work
iShapeID = Application.Caller.ID - unfortunately does not work
iShapeID = ActiveSheet.Shapes(Application.Caller).ID - works but does not identify the correct caller when there are shapes with the same name
So, my question is: How can I obtain the proper Application.Caller shape object when there are redundantly named shapes on the worksheet?.
Put another way: Is there a way to cast the Application.Caller to a shape object without using the name of the shape returned by Application.Caller ideally using the ID property of the shape?
I don't think there is a an alternative for Application.Caller to return the ID property of the Shape or some other 'trick' to achieve what you want.
The work-around is to ensure that all your Shapes have unique names. If you have a sheet of names with duplicates you can quickly make them unique by re-naming them to preserve the original duplicate but add a suffix e.g. _1 to make them unique.
The sub could work like this (using a Dictionary to track the suffix value):
Sub MakeShapeNamesUnique(ws As Worksheet)
Dim shp As Shape
Dim dic As Object
Dim lng As Long
Set dic = CreateObject("Scripting.Dictionary")
'iterate shapes
For Each shp In ws.Shapes
' does shape name exist ?
If Not dic.Exists(shp.Name) Then
' add name to dictionary if not exists with counter of 0
dic.Add shp.Name, 0
Else
' found a duplicate
' increment counter
dic(shp.Name) = dic(shp.Name) + 1
' rename shape with suffix indicating dupe index
shp.Name = shp.Name & "_" & dic(shp.Name)
End If
Next shp
' job done - clean up the dictionary
Set dic = Nothing
End Sub
Here's the full test code that creates your issue and uses MakeShapeNamesUnique to work-around the problem. If you want to try it out, put it in a blank workbook because it will delete shapes out of the sheet before it starts:
Option Explicit
Sub Test1()
Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim shp As Shape
' reset shapes
Set ws = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Sheet1")
For Each shp In ws.Shapes
shp.Delete
Next shp
' add shape
With ws.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeRectangle, 10, 10, 100, 100)
.Name = "Foo1"
.OnAction = "ShapeAction"
End With
' add another shape
With ws.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeRectangle, 160, 10, 100, 100)
.Name = "Foo2"
.OnAction = "ShapeAction"
End With
' add another shape with duplicate name
With ws.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeRectangle, 310, 10, 100, 100)
.Name = "Foo1"
.OnAction = "ShapeAction"
End With
' add another shape with duplicate name
With ws.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeRectangle, 10, 160, 100, 100)
.Name = "Foo2"
.OnAction = "ShapeAction"
End With
' add another shape with duplicate name
With ws.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeRectangle, 160, 160, 100, 100)
.Name = "Foo1"
.OnAction = "ShapeAction"
End With
' add another shape
With ws.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeRectangle, 310, 160, 100, 100)
.Name = "Foo3"
.OnAction = "ShapeAction"
End With
' uniqueify shape names - comment out to replicate OP problem
MakeShapeNamesUnique ws
End Sub
Sub ShapeAction()
Dim shp As Shape
Set shp = Sheet1.Shapes(Application.Caller)
MsgBox " My name is: " & shp.Name & " and my ID is: " & shp.ID
End Sub
Sub MakeShapeNamesUnique(ws As Worksheet)
Dim shp As Shape
Dim dic As Object
Dim lng As Long
Set dic = CreateObject("Scripting.Dictionary")
'iterate shapes
For Each shp In ws.Shapes
' does shape name exist ?
If Not dic.Exists(shp.Name) Then
' add name to dictionary if not exists with counter of 0
dic.Add shp.Name, 0
Else
' found a duplicate
' increment counter
dic(shp.Name) = dic(shp.Name) + 1
' rename shape with suffix indicating dupe index
shp.Name = shp.Name & "_" & dic(shp.Name)
End If
Next shp
' job done - clean up the dictionary
Set dic = Nothing
End Sub
Counter must be unique, also when adding shapes between.
Sub MakeShapeNamesUnique(ws As Worksheet)
Dim shp As Shape
Dim dic As Object
Dim lng As Long
Set dic = CreateObject("Scripting.Dictionary")
'iterate shapes
For Each shp In ws.Shapes
' does shape name exist ?
If Not dic.Exists(shp.Name) Then
' add name to dictionary if not exists with counter of 0
dic.Add shp.Name, 0
Else
' found a duplicate
' increment counter (must be unique)
Do
dic(shp.Name) = dic(shp.Name) + 1
Loop Until Not dic.Exists(shp.Name & "_" & dic(shp.Name))
' rename shape with suffix indicating dupe index
shp.Name = shp.Name & "_" & dic(shp.Name)
End If
Next shp
' job done - clean up the dictionary
Set dic = Nothing
End Sub
I've written a routine that deletes checkboxes and labels which are dynamically added to a sheet. However, it doesn't realiably delete all the controls. I need to ensure they are completely removed before adding again.
Here is my routine:
Public Sub removeOLEtypesOfType()
On Error Resume Next
Dim intPass As Integer, objShape As Shape
For intPass = 1 To 2
For Each objShape In ActiveSheet.Shapes
Dim strName As String
strName = objShape.Name
If Mid(strName, 1, Len(CHECKBOX_PREFIX)) = CHECKBOX_PREFIX _
Or Mid(strName, 1, Len(LABEL_PREFIX)) = LABEL_PREFIX _
Or Mid(strName, 1, 5) = "Label" Then
objShape.Delete
End If
Next
Next
End Sub
I only added the two pass for loop to ensure the objects are deleted, but even this doesn't delete the remaining items. The issue I have is that I end up with controls that were not deleted in the workbook.
I'm only trying to delete checkboxes and labels where in the case of checkboxes the name is prefixed with:
Public Const CHECKBOX_PREFIX As String = "chkbx"
Labels are prefixed with:
Public Const LABEL_PREFIX As String = "lbl"
The 3rd search comparing with 'Label' is an attempt to mop up but even this doesn't catch all.
Is there any way to delete all shapes / ole objects within a range?
Fixed, I rewrote the sub-routine after a google search on how to delete shapes within a range:
Public Sub removeOLEtypesOfType()
On Error Resume Next
Dim objTopLeft As Range, objBotRight As Range
Dim objRange As Range, objShape As Shape
Set objRange = Sheet1.Range(COLUMN_HEADINGS)
With objRange
Set objTopLeft = .Cells(1).Address(0, 0)
Set objBotRight = .cell(.Cells.Count).Address(0, 0)
For Each objShape In ActiveSheet.Shapes
If Mid(objShape.Name, 1, Len(CHECKBOX_PREFIX)) = CHECKBOX_PREFIX _
Or Mid(objShape.Name, 1, Len(LABEL_PREFIX)) = LABEL_PREFIX Then
If Not Intersect(objTopLeft, objShape.TopLeftCell) Is Nothing And _
Not Intersect(objBotRight, objShape.BottomRightCell) Is Nothing Then
objShape.Delete
End If
End If
Next
End With
End Sub
I am trying to obtain a reference to a Shape in a Worksheet, corresponding to a ChartObject. I found no certain way of doing this. The only approximation, by trial-and-error and simply tested in a few cases, is assuming that the ZOrder of a ChartObject is the same as the Index of the corresponding Shape:
Function chobj2shape(ByRef cho As ChartObject) As Shape
' It appears that the ZOrder of a ChartObject is the same as the Index of
' the corresponding Shape, which in turn appears to be the same as its ZOrderPosition
Dim zo As Long
Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim shc As Shapes
Dim sh As Shape
zo = cho.ZOrder
Set ws = cho.Parent
Set shc = ws.Shapes
Set sh = shc.Item(zo)
Set chobj2shape = sh
'Set sh = Nothing
End Function
(a slight excess of defined variables is used for debugging purposes).
Is there any more certain way of doing this?
Any identifier used for picking the correct Shape should be unique. The name is not necessarily unique (see https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19153331/duplicated-excel-chart-has-the-same-name-name-as-the-original-instead-of-increm), so it is not guaranteed to work. The Index/ZOrderPosition is just a guess, at least satisfying the requirement of uniqueness.
Edit: see answer by #Andres in Excel VBA: Index = ZOrderPosition in a Shapes collection?. It is clear that the ZOrder of a ChartObject is not equal to the Index of either the ChartObject or the corresponding Shape (and I have verified this).
But it appears that ZOrder is equal to ZOrderPosition of the corresponding Shape. This was verified with dump_chartobjects:
Sub dump_chartobjects()
' Dump information on all ChartObjects in a Worksheet.
Dim coc As ChartObjects
Set coc = ActiveSheet.ChartObjects
Dim cho As ChartObject
Dim ich As Long
For ich = 1 To coc.Count
Dim msg As String
Set cho = coc(ich)
With cho
msg = "ChartObject '" & .name & "'" _
& ", type name: " & TypeName(cho) & ", at: " & .TopLeftCell.Address _
& ", index: " & ich & ", .Index: " & .Index _
& ", ZOrder: " & .ZOrder
'& ", hyperlink: " & .Hyperlink
End With
Debug.Print msg
Dim ish As Long
ish = choidx2shpidx(ich, coc.Parent)
Next ich
End Sub
Function choidx2shpidx(coidx As Long, ws As Worksheet) As Long
Dim cozo As Long
Dim coc As ChartObjects
Dim co As ChartObject
Set coc = ws.ChartObjects
Set co = coc(coidx)
cozo = co.ZOrder
choidx2shpidx = zo2idx_shp(cozo, ws)
Dim con As String, shn As String
Dim sh As Shape
Set sh = ws.Shapes(choidx2shpidx)
con = co.name
shn = sh.name
Dim cox As Double, coy As Double
Dim cow As Double, coh As Double
Dim shx As Double, shy As Double
Dim shw As Double, shh As Double
cox = co.Left
coy = co.top
cow = co.Width
coh = co.Height
shx = sh.Left
shy = sh.top
shw = sh.Width
shh = sh.Height
If ((con <> shn) Or (cox <> shx) Or (coy <> shy) Or (cow <> shw) Or (coh <> shh)) Then
Dim msg As String
msg = "ChartObject: '" & con & "', Shape: '" & shn & "'"
'Debug.Print msg
MsgBox msg
choidx2shpidx = -1
End If
End Function
Function zo2idx_shp(zo As Long, ws As Worksheet) As Long
Dim ish As Long
Dim shc As Shapes
Dim sh As Shape
Set shc = ws.Shapes
For ish = 1 To shc.Count
Set sh = shc(ish)
If (sh.ZOrderPosition = zo) Then
zo2idx_shp = ish
Exit Function
End If
Next ish
zo2idx_shp = -1
End Function
After losing hours in a similar issue, I found a couple of concepts related to referencing shapes in excel, but none satisfies me 100%. For accessing a shape you have 4 pure methods:
Shape.Name : Is FAST, but NOT RELIABLE. The name of the shape could be used to get a reference of a shape but provided you don't have duplicated names. Code: ActiveSheet.Shapes("Shape1")
Shape.ZOrderPosition : Very FAST, but NOT RELIABLE. The ZOrder of the shape could be used to get a reference of a shape, because is the same as the index of the shape in the shapes collection. But provided you don't have group of shapes that breaks previous rule (See: https://stackoverflow.com/a/19163848/2843348). Code: ActiveSheet.Shapes(ZOrderFromOneShape)
Set shpRef=Shape: FAST, RELIABLE, but NOT PERSISTENT. I try to use this always I can, specially when I create a new shape. Moreover, if I have to iterate on the new shapes later one I try to keep the object reference inside a collection. However not Persistent, that means if you stop and run you VBA code again to will loose all the references and collection. Code: Set shp = NewShape, or you can add it to a collection: coll.add NewShape for loop it later on.
Shape.ID : RELIABLE, PERSISTENT, but not directly supported! The ID of the shape is very reliable (don't change and cannot be duplicates IDs in a Sheet). However, there is no direct VBA function to get a shape back knowing its ID. The only way is to loop thorough all shapes until the ID match the ID you was looking for, but this can be very SLOW!.
Code:
Function FindShapeByID(ws as excel.worksheet, ID as long) as Excel.Shape
dim i as long
set FindShapeByID = nothing 'Not found...
for i = 1 to ws.shapes.count
if ws.shapes(i).ID = ID then
set FindShapeByID = ws.shapes(i) 'Return the shape object
exit function
end if
next i
End Function
Note 1: If you want to access this function several times, you can improve it by using a cache of Shape IDs. That way you will make the loop only one time.
Note 2: If you move a shape from one sheet to other, the ID of the shape will change!
By mixing and using above knowledge, I have concluded in two main approaches:
FIRST APPROACH
FASTEST BUT VOLATILE: (same as point#3) Try to keep the reference in a object as longer you can. When I have to iterate trough a bunch of shapes later on, I save the references inside a collection and I avoid to use other secondary reference like the name, ZOrder or ID.
For example:
dim col as new Collection
dim shp as Excel.Shape
'' <- Insert the code here, where you create your shape or chart
col.add shp1
'' <- Make other stuffs
for each shp in col
'' <- make something with the shape in this loop!
next shp
The problem of course is that the collection and reference are not permanent. You will loose them when you stop and restart the vba code!
SECOND APPROACH
PERSISTENT: My solution is to save the name and the ID of the shape for later reference. Why? Having the name I can access the shape very fast most of the time. Just in case I found a duplicated name I make the slow loop searching the ID. How can I know if there is a name duplicated? Very simple, just check the ID of the first name search, and if they don't match you have to suppose is duplicated.
Here the code:
Function findShapeByNameAndID(ws As Excel.Worksheet, name As String, ID As Long) As Shape
Dim sh As Excel.Shape
Set findShapeByNameAndID = Nothing 'Means not found
On Error GoTo fastexit
Set sh = ws.Shapes(name)
'Now check if the ID matches
If sh.ID = ID Then
'Found! This should be the usual case!
Set findShapeByNameAndID = sh
Else
'Ups, not the right shape. We ha to make a loop!
Dim i As Long
For i = 1 To ws.Shapes.Count
If ws.Shapes(i).ID = ID Then
'Found! This should be the usual case!
Set findShapeByNameAndID = ws.Shapes(i)
End If
Next i
End If
fastexit:
Set sh = Nothing
End Function
Hope this helps you!
Note 1: Is you want to search shapes that maybe inside groups, then the function is more complicated.
Note 2: The ZOrder looks nice, but cannot find it useful. When I tried to take advantage of it, there was always a missing part...
#TimWilliams is almost right (in his comment). However, there are some situation where Tim's idea could get confusing results.
I think the following code will be more appropriate and correct.
Sub qTest()
Dim cho As ChartObject
Set cho = ActiveSheet.ChartObjects(1)
Dim SH As Shape
Set SH = cho.ShapeRange.Item(1)
SH.Select 'here Shape will be selected..
Debug.Print TypeName(SH) '...which we can check here
End Sub