Setting linkedcell of multi-option field - excel

I have an Excel sheet with quite a few groups of option buttons (inserted from form controls and grouped using group boces). What is the easiest way to set the linked cell of each group using VBA code? I tried
ActiveSheet.Shapes.Range("test").Select
.LinkedCell = Range("A1")
but it had no effect. "test" is the name I set for one of the option buttons in the corresponding group.
(The reason for trying to set the LinkedCell via VBA is that these links are sometimes lost for reasons I don't yet understand. If anyone can point out a possible scenario how this could possibly happen in the first place, I would be very grateful.)

Using a named range will only point to one or more cells on a worksheet. It does not refer to a form control. You're likely using a Form Control Option Button somewhere on your worksheet. The code to set the LinkedCell property is
Dim optButton As Shape
Set optButton = Sheet2.Shapes("Option Button 2")
optButton.ControlFormat.LinkedCell = "H4"

Related

Can't use more than one combo box on excel

I have made two active X combo boxes for a list of 220 sites. Before making the active x combo box i have made a sheet that searches through my data and finds the sites that match with what i am typing as i go.
I then used the name manage, refering to the formula in the first cell of the list
=Sheet1!$G$2:INDEX(Sheet1!$G$2:$G$220,COUNTIF(Sheet1!$G$2:$G$220,"?*"))
I have then writen this in the ListFillRange in the properties of my combo box.
It works fine for one, but once i had made the second one and selected the site the first one will no longer let me search through.
I have used the same formulas on both but they originate from different sheets to see if this fixed the problem however that was unsuccessful. (the boxes are on different sheets) When i click on the next sheet after using the box on the first sheet, it still shows part of it as if it is crashing.
The boxes are independent so I'm not sure what to do next as i need to add another 3 on separate sheets.
I am also using this code for each box
Private Sub ComboBox1_Change()
ComboBox1.ListFillRange = "MList"
Me.ComboBox1.DropDown
End Sub
and similar for the other button but with a different range.
There is no need to use VBA for this, the Change Events specifically, if you just want to use and fill the combo boxes with Named Ranges.
The scenario I think you try to do is:
Create Named Ranges that will be the source of your combobox:
Fill the range with your data, select the range, Right Click, Select Define Name and give the range a name. MList in your case I believe.
Create Combobox:
Goto Developer Tab, Insert in your case ActiveX ComboBox, Draw it on your sheet, right click the ComboBox, select properties, find ListFillRange in properties and enter the name of the Named Range you created in step one
Repeat for Combobox 2, with the same or a different Named Range depending on what you try to do
Leave Design Mode
Boths Comboboxes can now be used to type in what you are looking for.
If this is not what you tried to do, please try edit your question and in detail try to explain what you try to do and what you like to accomplish by doing so.

Get the cell address when a form button in it is clicked

I've multiple buttons in multiple cells and when any one of them is clicked, I've to perform a function.
I need to know which cell has this clicked button.
Dim r As Range
Set r = ActiveSheet.Buttons(Application.Caller).TopLeftCell
The above code will give you the cell address of the button (This only works for form buttons not active x buttons).
For some reasons I was obliged to use .Shapes(Application.Caller) because the .Buttons(Application.Caller) was returning a bug.
Dim r As Range
Set r = ActiveSheet.Shapes(Application.Caller).TopLeftCell
While you're in Design Mode (meaning you can move and resize buttons), you can double click on a button and the VBA editor will open up with a subroutine for the Click event of that button. As mentioned above, they're not linked to the cell you happen to have them over in any way.
Form controls aren't linked directly to worksheet cells. They can be 'anchored' to them for size & alignment purposes, but don't as far as I know have any relationship with the cell that would allow you to get a cell reference, assuming one could even be determined without ambiguity.
Each form control can only run one macro though, so surely it is easy to identify that way, no?
My suggestion is to try this:
Dim r As Range
Set r = ActiveSheet.Shapes(Application.Caller).TopLeftCell
MsgBox r.Address
Here you can get the address where the button is placed

Microsoft Excel: Programmatically create a hidden named range

I am told that the Excel object model permits a Range that is not a part of any sheet, yet contains a set of cells and is denoted by a name in the workbook.
Can anyone explain to me how these fit into the Excel object model and how one would go about creating such a thing programatically (either in VBA or .NET source code).
Thanks.
Your question is a little vague, but I'll give it a shot.
Well, as Dave describes, you can give a specific range of cells on a sheet a "Range Name" which you can then refer to programatically, but that doesn't sound like what you are asking.
It sounds like you are asking "is there an abstract RANGE of cells available to be used by VBA code that doesn't literally exist on any worksheet?" The answer to this is no, even named ranges are simply a convenient reference to a real set of cells on a real worksheet.
You can, however, programatically hide a worksheet so that the user doesn't see it, and still work with cells and ranges on that sheet. Just do:
Sheets("Sheet1").Visible = xlSheetHidden
Sheets("Sheet2").Visible = xlSheetVeryHidden
Sheets("Sheet3").Visible = xlSheetVisible
What's "VeryHidden", you ask?
It means that the user can't go to Format, Sheet, Unhide and make the sheet visible.
So if I'm correctly understanding what you want, just programatically hide one of the sheets, then use Dave's technique to create a named reference to a range on this hidden (or VeryHidden) sheet.
That would be a named range. You can reference a selection of cells, and just type a name where it says 'A1' next to the formula bar. That creates a named range that doesn't change.
Alternatively you can create a named range that is based on a formula, and therefore potentially changes as data in the spreadsheet changes. You do this from the 'Define Name' option (which is in the Formulas Ribbon in Office 2010).
Named ranges can be accessed from VBA, and (I'm pretty sure) from .net.
So you'd access the named range from vba like so:
Range["MyNamedRange"]
Yes, there is a NamedRange control in the Microsoft.Office.Tools.Excel namespace in VSTO. This is a host control which is different from the native Range control in the Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.Range namespace.

Excel combobox listfillrange property pointing at a formula-based named range has issues

ActiveX combobox objects in Excel do not behave well when their ListFillRange refers to a formula-based Named Range (Defined Name).
I think I have encountered other errors and possibly even Excel crashes thanks to this, but right now all that happens is the combobox_change() event is triggered anytime ANY cell in the workbook is changed.
I am not sure if this is really a bug, or if there is a fix, or a workaround. If it is a bug, how do I report it to the Excel people?
And finally, the real meat of my question is "How do I work around this issue best?" I would like to have some formula-based named ranges, but it seems like this won't be possible.
To reproduce this bug, do the following:
Create a new workbook. On Sheet3, create a small table 3 columns across, and several rows high.
Create a named range with this formula (or an equivalent): =OFFSET(Sheet3!$A$2:$C$36,0,0,COUNTA(Sheet3!$A:$A),COUNTA(Sheet3!$4:$4)) To do this use Input>Name>Define. Name the range something like "demoRange"
Go to Sheet1 and create a combobox, (it must be on a separate sheet). (Use the Control Toolbox menu, not the Forms menu).
Click on the Design Mode button (the blue triangle with pencil), then right click on the combo box and go to Properties.
In the properties window for the combobox, change the ListFillRange property so that it points at the named range you created in step 2 ("demoRange").
You may want to change the ColumnCount property to 3, and the ColumnWidths property to "50,50,50"
Set the linkedCell property to cell "A1" by typing A1 in the linkedCell property.
Close the properties window, and double click on the combobox to define its change() event.
Put a Debug.Assert(false) or Msgbox("demo") line in the subroutine for the new combobox's change event.
Exit design mode
important - Now select an item in the combobox. The event should trigger normally the first time. (The bug will not show if you don't do this step--something must be selected in the combobox)
Edit cells anywhere in the workbook [Edit] or any other open workbook [/edit], on any sheet and any location. Each time you edit any cell, (at least for me), the onchange event for the combo box is run.
Again, is this normal, and what is the best alternative for what I am doing? This combo box gets linked to various cells, and is supposed to be a replacement for the tiny font in the data validation dropdowns excel provides by default.
My advice is to never use ListFillRange and LinkedCell. They are just trouble. Fill your listbox with List and use the Change event to write to the cell. Somewhere, maybe the Workbook_Open event, fill the listbox
Private Sub Workbook_Open()
Sheet2.ListBox1.Clear
Sheet2.ListBox1.List = Sheet1.Range("demoRange").Value
End Sub
Then in the change event in the Sheet2 module, check that something was clicked and write it to the cell
Private Sub ListBox1_Change()
If Me.ListBox1.ListIndex >= 0 Then
Sheet2.Range("A1").Value = Me.ListBox1.Value
End If
End Sub
I have a few options available that I am aware of thus far. The best I can come up with is this:
Avoid directly using formula-based named ranges. Instead, define a subroutine that will check whether the defined range "demoRange" should be changed from what its current value is. Run this subroutine on the workbook_open and sheet3_deactivate events. If needed, prompt the user to ask if it's all right to update the named range. [edit] The macro that updates "demoRange" could probably just copy from a "demoRange_FormulaBased" named range into "demoRange" which would be static. [/edit]
This solution works well because you can keep using the linkedcell property, you don't have to use VBA to populate the comboboxes, and the named range can still be used for whatever other purposes it already had. Avoid using the onchange event to run this new subroutine, since it might end up being triggered thousands of times if a user opens the Find/Replace dialog and chooses "Replace All".

MS-Excel: How to show the value of a combo box inside a locked cell

Background Details
I have an excel spreadsheet with Activex dropdown (combobox) objects which help the user to know what options are available. I did this because the data validation list dropdowns are way too small in font size, and were gathering a lot of complaints.
So my solution was to add combobox objects which allow the user to select from a range of options. However, I have to link the comboboxes to a cell with the linkedcell property, so that both the user and various formulas can see what has been chosen. I also set up the combobox to disappear when it's not in use (much in the same way as the data validation dropdown button only appears when you select the relevant cell).
Here is the problem:
I don't want the users to edit the value in the linked cell, so I make sure the linked cell is locked whenever the combobox is not selected:
Private Sub comboBox1_GotFocus()
Call unlockComboBoxTargetCell(comboBox1)
End Sub
the procedure above does this:
If (targetComboBox.LinkedCell <> "") Then
Dim targetCell As Variant
Set targetCell = Range(targetComboBox.LinkedCell)
If Not targetCell Is Nothing And targetCell.Locked <> False Then
unlockSheet (activesheet.Name)
targetCell.MergeArea.Locked = False
lockSheet (activesheet.Name)
End If
End If
Equivalent procedures exist to lock the target cell.
However, whenever you do a "Save As" action on the workbook, it seems that the linked and locked cells create a problem: Excel gives this error out of the blue:
"The cell or chart you are trying to change is protected and therefore read-only..."
This error comes up about twice or three times for each cell that is locked and is the linkedcell for a combobox.
Is there a good way to overcome this problem? Right now my best solution is to leave the cells unlocked and place data validation on the cell, so that if the user edits the cell they will at least be refused when they type something invalid. I could make sure that the combobox covers up the linked cell whenever it is selected, but sometimes that means having a very large, annoying combo box with a very tiny dropdown button on its right side.
Perhaps I am being a bit too particular about the user interface?
Thanks in advance for reading this long and involved post.
In the "lockSheet" procedure you have created, the code to 'protect' the worksheet needs an additional parameter, UserInterfaceOnly, set to true.
I imagine the LockSheet sub is something like this;
sub lockSheet(strSheetName as string)
thisworkbook.sheets(strSheetName).Protect
end sub
Try this:
sub lockSheet(strSheetName as string)
thisworkbook.sheets(strSheetName).Protect, UserInterfaceOnly=True
end sub
UserInterfaceOnly allows programmatic changes to the protected sheet.
Bill

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