Excel VBA Macro to copy a macro - excel

Question

SOLVED. Solution at bottom!
Hopefully you brainiacs can help me out as I've apparently reached the limit of my programming capabilities.
I am looking for a way to write a VBA sub which duplicates another VBA Sub, but replace the name and another input. The case in details:
I am trying to build an Excel template for the organization, which will allow the users to inport/export data to/from Access databases (.accdb), as the end-users reluctance towards using real databases (as opposed to excel lists) apparently lies in their inability to extract/submit the data to/from Excel, where they are comfortable working with the data.
The challenge is, that users who don't know how to link to Access, for sure don't know anything about VBA code. Hence, I have created a worksheet from which the users selects a database using a file-path, table, password, set filters, define where to copy/insert datasets, fields to import etc. A Macro then handles the rest.
However, I want to create a macro which allows the user to create additional database links. As it is right now, this would require the user to open VBE and copy two macros and change one line of code... but that is a recipe for disaster. So how can I add a button to the sheet that copies the code I have written and rename the macro?
... I was considering if using a function, but cannot get my head around how that should Work.
Does it make sense? Any ideas/ experiences? Is there a completely different way around it that I haven't considered?
I'd really appreciate your inputs - even if this turns out to be impossible.
Edit:
Macro Man, you asked for the code - it's rather long due to all the user input fields, so I was trying to save you Guys for it since the code in and of itself is working fine...
Sub GetData1()
' Click on Tools, References and select
' the Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects 2.0 Library
Dim DBFullName As String
Dim Connect As String, Source As String
Dim Connection As ADODB.Connection
Dim Recordset As ADODB.Recordset
Dim Col As Integer
Dim DBInfoLocation As Range
Dim PW As String
Dim WSforData As String
Dim CellforData As String
Dim FieldList As Integer
'******************************
'Enter location for Database conectivity details below:
'******************************
Set DBInfoLocation = ActiveWorkbook.Sheets("DBLinks").Range("C15:I21")
FieldList = ActiveWorkbook.Sheets("DBLinks").Range("P1").Value
'******************************
' Define data location
WSforData = DBInfoLocation.Rows(4).Columns(1).Value
CellforData = DBInfoLocation.Rows(5).Columns(1).Value
'Set filters
Dim FilField1, FilField2, FilFieldA, FilFieldB, FilFieldC, FilFieldD, FilFieldE, FilOperator1, FilOperator2, FilOperatorA, FilOperatorB, FilOperatorC, FilOperatorD, FilOperatorE, FilAdMth1, FilAdMthA, FilAdMthB, FilAdMthC, FilAdMthD As String
Dim Filtxt1, Filtxt2, FiltxtA, FiltxtB, FiltxtC, FiltxtD, FiltxtE As String
Dim ExtFld1, ExtFld2, ExtFld3, ExtFld4, ExtFld5, ExtFld6, ExtFld7, ExtFld As String
Dim FilCnt, FilCntA As Integer
Dim FilVar1 As String
'Set DB field names
FilField1 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(1).Columns(5).Value
FilField2 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(2).Columns(5).Value
FilFieldA = DBInfoLocation.Rows(3).Columns(5).Value
FilFieldB = DBInfoLocation.Rows(4).Columns(5).Value
FilFieldC = DBInfoLocation.Rows(5).Columns(5).Value
FilFieldD = DBInfoLocation.Rows(6).Columns(5).Value
FilFieldE = DBInfoLocation.Rows(7).Columns(5).Value
'Set filter operators
FilOperator1 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(1).Columns(6).Value
FilOperator2 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(2).Columns(6).Value
FilOperatorA = DBInfoLocation.Rows(3).Columns(6).Value
FilOperatorB = DBInfoLocation.Rows(4).Columns(6).Value
FilOperatorC = DBInfoLocation.Rows(5).Columns(6).Value
FilOperatorD = DBInfoLocation.Rows(6).Columns(6).Value
FilOperatorE = DBInfoLocation.Rows(7).Columns(6).Value
'Run through criteria to find VarType(FilCrit1) (the Dimension data type) for the criteria field and set the appropriate data type for the filter
currentLoad = IIf(IsNumeric(DBInfoLocation.Rows(1).Columns(7).Value), CDbl(FilCrit1), IIf((DBInfoLocation.Rows(1).Columns(7).Value = "True" Or DBInfoLocation.Rows(1).Columns(7).Value = "False"), CBool(FilCrit1), IIf(IsDate(DBInfoLocation.Rows(1).Columns(7).Value), CDate(FilCrit1), CStr(FilCrit1))))
currentLoad = IIf(IsNumeric(DBInfoLocation.Rows(2).Columns(7).Value), CDbl(FilCrit2), IIf((DBInfoLocation.Rows(2).Columns(7).Value = "True" Or DBInfoLocation.Rows(2).Columns(7).Value = "False"), CBool(FilCrit2), IIf(IsDate(DBInfoLocation.Rows(2).Columns(7).Value), CDate(FilCrit2), CStr(FilCrit2))))
currentLoad = IIf(IsNumeric(DBInfoLocation.Rows(3).Columns(7).Value), CDbl(FilCrit3), IIf((DBInfoLocation.Rows(3).Columns(7).Value = "True" Or DBInfoLocation.Rows(3).Columns(7).Value = "False"), CBool(FilCrit3), IIf(IsDate(DBInfoLocation.Rows(3).Columns(7).Value), CDate(FilCrit3), CStr(FilCrit3))))
currentLoad = IIf(IsNumeric(DBInfoLocation.Rows(4).Columns(7).Value), CDbl(FilCrit4), IIf((DBInfoLocation.Rows(4).Columns(7).Value = "True" Or DBInfoLocation.Rows(4).Columns(7).Value = "False"), CBool(FilCrit4), IIf(IsDate(DBInfoLocation.Rows(4).Columns(7).Value), CDate(FilCrit4), CStr(FilCrit4))))
currentLoad = IIf(IsNumeric(DBInfoLocation.Rows(5).Columns(7).Value), CDbl(FilCrit5), IIf((DBInfoLocation.Rows(5).Columns(7).Value = "True" Or DBInfoLocation.Rows(5).Columns(7).Value = "False"), CBool(FilCrit5), IIf(IsDate(DBInfoLocation.Rows(5).Columns(7).Value), CDate(FilCrit5), CStr(FilCrit5))))
currentLoad = IIf(IsNumeric(DBInfoLocation.Rows(6).Columns(7).Value), CDbl(FilCrit6), IIf((DBInfoLocation.Rows(6).Columns(7).Value = "True" Or DBInfoLocation.Rows(6).Columns(7).Value = "False"), CBool(FilCrit6), IIf(IsDate(DBInfoLocation.Rows(6).Columns(7).Value), CDate(FilCrit6), CStr(FilCrit6))))
currentLoad = IIf(IsNumeric(DBInfoLocation.Rows(7).Columns(7).Value), CDbl(FilCrit7), IIf((DBInfoLocation.Rows(7).Columns(7).Value = "True" Or DBInfoLocation.Rows(7).Columns(7).Value = "False"), CBool(FilCrit7), IIf(IsDate(DBInfoLocation.Rows(7).Columns(7).Value), CDate(FilCrit7), CStr(FilCrit7))))
'Set Filter criteria
FilCrit1 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(1).Columns(7).Value
FilCrit2 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(2).Columns(7).Value
FilCrit3 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(3).Columns(7).Value
FilCrit4 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(4).Columns(7).Value
FilCrit5 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(5).Columns(7).Value
FilCrit6 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(6).Columns(7).Value
FilCrit7 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(7).Columns(7).Value
'Set additional filter-method
FilAdMth1 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(1).Columns(8).Value
FilAdMthA = DBInfoLocation.Rows(3).Columns(8).Value
FilAdMthB = DBInfoLocation.Rows(4).Columns(8).Value
FilAdMthC = DBInfoLocation.Rows(5).Columns(8).Value
FilAdMthD = DBInfoLocation.Rows(6).Columns(8).Value
'Set which fields to extract
ExtFld1 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(1).Columns(9).Value
ExtFld2 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(2).Columns(9).Value
ExtFld3 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(3).Columns(9).Value
ExtFld4 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(4).Columns(9).Value
ExtFld5 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(5).Columns(9).Value
ExtFld6 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(6).Columns(9).Value
ExtFld7 = DBInfoLocation.Rows(7).Columns(9).Value
'Filter on query
'Only criteria of value type string should have single quotation marks around them
FilCnt = 0
If FilField1 <> "" Then
If VarType(FilCrit1) = vbString Then
Filtxt1 = " WHERE [" & FilField1 & "] " & FilOperator1 & " '" & FilCrit1 & "'"
Else
Filtxt1 = " WHERE [" & FilField1 & "] " & FilOperator1 & " " & FilCrit1
End If
FilCnt = 1
End If
If FilField2 <> "" And FilCnt = 1 Then
If VarType(FilCrit2) = vbString Then
Filtxt2 = " " & FilAdMth1 & " [" & FilField2 & "] " & FilOperator2 & " '" & FilCrit2 & "'"
Else
Filtxt2 = " " & FilAdMth1 & " [" & FilField2 & "] " & FilOperator2 & " " & FilCrit2
End If
FilCnt = 2
End If
'Filter on Dataset
FilCntA = 0
If FilFieldA <> "" Then
If VarType(FilCrit3) = vbString Then
FiltxtA = FilFieldA & " " & FilOperatorA & " '" & FilCrit3 & "'"
Else
FiltxtA = FilFieldA & " " & FilOperatorA & " " & FilCrit3
End If
FilCntA = 1
End If
If FilFieldB <> "" And FilCntA = 1 Then
If VarType(FilCrit4) = vbString Then
FiltxtB = " " & FilAdMthA & " " & FilFieldB & " " & FilOperatorB & " '" & FilCrit4 & "'"
Else
FiltxtB = " " & FilAdMthA & " " & FilFieldB & " " & FilOperatorB & " " & FilCrit4
End If
FilCntA = 2
End If
If FilFieldC <> "" And FilCntA = 2 Then
If VarType(FilCrit5) = vbString Then
FiltxtC = " " & FilAdMthB & " " & FilFieldC & " " & FilOperatorC & " '" & FilCrit5 & "'"
Else
FiltxtC = " " & FilAdMthB & " " & FilFieldC & " " & FilOperatorC & " " & FilCrit5
End If
FilCntA = 3
End If
If FilFieldD <> "" And FilCntA = 3 Then
If VarType(FilCrit6) = vbString Then
FiltxtD = " " & FilAdMthC & " " & FilFieldD & " " & FilOperatorD & " '" & FilCrit6 & "'"
Else
FiltxtD = " " & FilAdMthC & " " & FilFieldD & " " & FilOperatorD & " " & FilCrit6
End If
FilCntA = 4
End If
If FilFieldE <> "" And FilCntA = 4 Then
If VarType(FilCrit7) = vbString Then
FiltxtE = " " & FilAdMthD & " " & FilFieldE & " " & FilOperatorE & " '" & FilCrit7 & "'"
Else
FiltxtE = " " & FilAdMthD & " " & FilFieldE & " " & FilOperatorE & " " & FilCrit7
End If
FilCntA = 5
End If
' Select Fields to Extract
ExtFld = "*"
If ExtFld1 <> "" Then
ExtFld = "[" & ExtFld1 & "]"
End If
If ExtFld2 <> "" Then
ExtFld = "[" & ExtFld1 & "],[" & ExtFld2 & "]"
End If
If ExtFld3 <> "" Then
ExtFld = "[" & ExtFld1 & "],[" & ExtFld2 & "],[" & ExtFld3 & "]"
End If
If ExtFld4 <> "" Then
ExtFld = "[" & ExtFld1 & "],[" & ExtFld2 & "],[" & ExtFld3 & "],[" & ExtFld4 & "]"
End If
If ExtFld5 <> "" Then
ExtFld = "[" & ExtFld1 & "],[" & ExtFld2 & "],[" & ExtFld3 & "],[" & ExtFld4 & "],[" & ExtFld5 & "]"
End If
If ExtFld6 <> "" Then
ExtFld = "[" & ExtFld1 & "],[" & ExtFld2 & "],[" & ExtFld3 & "],[" & ExtFld4 & "],[" & ExtFld5 & "],[" & ExtFld6 & "]"
End If
If ExtFld7 <> "" Then
ExtFld = "[" & ExtFld1 & "],[" & ExtFld2 & "],[" & ExtFld3 & "],[" & ExtFld4 & "],[" & ExtFld5 & "],[" & ExtFld6 & "],[" & ExtFld7 & "]"
End If
' Database path info
PW = DBInfoLocation.Rows(3).Columns(1).Value
' Your path will be different
DBFullName = DBInfoLocation.Rows(1).Columns(1).Value
DBTable = DBInfoLocation.Rows(2).Columns(1).Value
' Open the connection
Set Connection = New ADODB.Connection
Connect = "Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;"
Connect = Connect & "Data Source=" & DBFullName & ";Jet OLEDB:Database Password=" & PW & ";"
Connection.Open ConnectionString:=Connect
' Create RecordSet & Define data to extract
Set Recordset = New ADODB.Recordset
With Recordset
'Get All Field Names by opening the DB, extracting a recordset, entering the field names and closing the dataset
Source = DBTable
.Open Source:=Source, ActiveConnection:=Connection
For ColH = 0 To Recordset.Fields.Count - 1
ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets("DBLinks").Range("A1").Offset(ColH + 3, FieldList - 1).Cells.Clear
ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets("DBLinks").Range("A1").Offset(ColH + 3, FieldList - 1).Value = Recordset.Fields(ColH).Name
ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets("RangeNames").Range("A1").Offset(ColH + 2, (DBInfoLocation.Rows(1).Columns(2).Value) - 1).Cells.Clear
ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets("RangeNames").Range("A1").Offset(ColH + 2, (DBInfoLocation.Rows(1).Columns(2).Value) - 1).Value = Recordset.Fields(ColH).Name
Next
Set Recordset = Nothing
End With
' Get the recordset, but only extract the field names of those defined in the spreadsheet.
' If no fields have been selected, all fields will be extracted.
Set Connection = New ADODB.Connection
Connect = "Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;"
Connect = Connect & "Data Source=" & DBFullName & ";Jet OLEDB:Database Password=" & PW & ";"
Connection.Open ConnectionString:=Connect
Set Recordset = New ADODB.Recordset
With Recordset
If FilCnt = 0 Then 'No filter
Source = "SELECT " & ExtFld & " FROM " & DBTable
End If
' Filter Data if selected
If FilCnt = 1 Then
Source = "SELECT " & ExtFld & " FROM " & DBTable & Filtxt1
End If
If FilCnt = 2 Then
Source = "SELECT " & ExtFld & " FROM " & DBTable & Filtxt1 & Filtxt2
End If
.Open Source:=Source, ActiveConnection:=Connection
If FilCntA = 1 Then
Recordset.Filter = FiltxtA
End If
If FilCntA = 2 Then
Recordset.Filter = FiltxtA & FiltxtB
End If
If FilCntA = 3 Then
Recordset.Filter = FiltxtA & FiltxtB & FiltxtC
End If
If FilCntA = 4 Then
Recordset.Filter = FiltxtA & FiltxtB & FiltxtC & FiltxtD
End If
If FilCntA = 5 Then
Recordset.Filter = FiltxtA & FiltxtB & FiltxtC & FiltxtD & FiltxtE
End If
'Debug.Print Recordset.Filter
' Clear data
For Col = 0 To Recordset.Fields.Count - 1
If WSforData <> "" Then
ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets(WSforData).Range(CellforData).Offset(0, Col).EntireColumn.Clear
End If
'ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets("DBLinks").Range("A1").Offset(Col + 3, FieldList - 1).Cells.Clear
Next
' Write field names
For Col = 0 To Recordset.Fields.Count - 1
If WSforData <> "" Then
ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets(WSforData).Range(CellforData).Offset(0, Col).Value = Recordset.Fields(Col).Name
End If
Next
' Write recordset
If WSforData <> "" Then
ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets(WSforData).Range(CellforData).Offset(1, 0).CopyFromRecordset Recordset
ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets(WSforData).Columns.AutoFit
End If
End With
' Clear recordset and close connection
Set Recordset = Nothing
Connection.Close
Set Connection = Nothing
End Sub
This piece of the "DBLinks" worksheet is probably also needed for full understanding of the code:
DBLinks user input area for database connectivity
SOLUTION:
I followed the advice to look into VBProject.VBComponents which copied the macro. I created a simple form which asked for the name to use for the macro and the rest of the inputs comes from the relative reference. I will spare you for a full copy of my long and less than graceful code, but the essential of the code are:
In case someone else could benefit from my experience: In the Click-action of the command button on the form:
Private Sub cmdCreateDB_Click()
'Go to Tools, References and add: Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Extensibility 5.3
Dim VBProj As VBIDE.VBProject
Dim VBComp As VBIDE.VBComponent
Dim CodeMod As VBIDE.CodeModule
Dim LineNum As Long
Const DQUOTE = """" ' one " character
Set VBProj = ActiveWorkbook.VBProject
Set VBComp = VBProj.VBComponents("Module1")
Set CodeMod = VBComp.CodeModule
Dim txtDBLinkName As String
txtDBLinkName = Me.txtDBName
With CodeMod
LineNum = .CountOfLines + 1
.InsertLines LineNum, " Sub " & txtDBLinkName & "()"
LineNum = LineNum + 1
.InsertLines LineNum, " ' Click on Tools, References and select"
LineNum = LineNum + 1
.InsertLines LineNum, " ' the Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects 2.0 Library"
' And then it goes on forever through all the lines of the original code...
' just remember to replace all double quotations with(Without Square brackets):
' [" & DQUOTE & "]
'And it ends up with:
LineNum = LineNum + 1
.InsertLines LineNum, " Set Recordset = Nothing"
LineNum = LineNum + 1
.InsertLines LineNum, " Connection.Close"
LineNum = LineNum + 1
.InsertLines LineNum, " Set Connection = Nothing"
LineNum = LineNum + 1
.InsertLines LineNum, " End Sub"
End With
Unload Me
End Sub
Thank you everyone for your help. - Especially you #findwindow for coming up with the path to a solution.

Answer 1

For the sake of completion, here's how this could be dealt with without metaprogramming.
Problems that boil down to "do the same thing - but..." can often be solved by making the program as generic as possible. All data specific to a single use-case should be passed down from above in a clear manner, allowing the program to be reused.
Let's look at an example of how this could be implemented in order to generate query strings from one or many ranges of varying sizes.
The first step is to group all data that belongs to the concept of a Filter. Since VBA doesn't have object literals, we can use an Array, a Collection or a Type to represent a Filter instead.
Generating the query strings requires distinction between QueryFilters and RecordFilters. Looking at the code, the two variants are similar enough to be handled by a simple Boolean within a single Type.
Option Explicit
Private Type Filter
Field As String
Operator As String
Criteria As Variant
AdditionalMethod As String
ExtractedFields As String
IsQueryFilter As Boolean
FilterString As String
End Type
Now we can use a single variable instead of keeping track of multiple variables to represent a single concept.
One way a Filter can be generated is by using a Range.
' Generates a Filter from a given Range of input data.
Private Function GenerateFilter(ByRef source As Range) As Filter
With GenerateFilter
.Field = CStr(source)
.Operator = CStr(source.Offset(0, 1))
.Criteria = source.Offset(0, 2)
.AdditionalMethod = CStr(source.Offset(0, 3))
.ExtractedFields = CStr(source.Offset(0, 4))
.IsQueryFilter = CBool(source.Offset(0, 5))
.FilterString = GenerateFilterString(GenerateFilter)
End With
End Function
Just as a single concept can be declared as a Type, a group of things can be declared as an Array (or a Collection, Dictionary, ...). This is useful, as it lets us decouple the logic from a specific Range.
' Generates a Filter for each row of a given Range of input data.
Private Function GenerateFilters(ByRef source As Range) As Filter()
Dim filters() As Filter
Dim filterRow As Range
Dim i As Long
ReDim filters(0 To source.Rows.Count)
i = 0
For Each filterRow In source.Rows
filters(i) = GenerateFilter(filterRow)
i = i + 1
Next
GenerateFilters = filters()
End Function
We now have a function that can return an Array of Filters from a given Range - and, as long as the columns are laid down in the right order, the code will work just fine with any Range.
With all of the data in a convenient package, it's easy enough to assemble the FilterString.
' Generates a FilterString for a given Filter.
Private Function GenerateFilterString(ByRef aFilter As Filter) As String
Dim temp As String
temp = " "
With aFilter
If .AdditionalMethod <> "" Then temp = temp & .AdditionalMethod & " "
If .IsQueryFilter Then
temp = temp & "[" & .Field & "]"
Else
temp = temp & .Field
End If
temp = temp & " " & .Operator & " "
If VarType(.Criteria) = vbString Then
temp = temp & "'" & .Criteria & "'"
Else
temp = temp & .Criteria
End If
End With
GenerateFilterString = temp
End Function
The data can then be merged to strings that can be used in queries regardless of how many Filters of either type are present in the specified Range.
' Merges the FilterStrings of Filters that have IsQueryString set as True.
Private Function MergeQueryFilterStrings(ByRef filters() As Filter) As String
Dim temp As String
Dim i As Long
temp = " WHERE"
For i = 0 To UBound(filters)
If filters(i).IsQueryFilter Then temp = temp & filters(i).FilterString
Next
MergeQueryFilterStrings = temp
End Function
' Merges the FilterStrings of Filters that have IsQueryString set as False.
Private Function MergeRecordFilterStrings(ByRef filters() As Filter) As String
Dim temp As String
Dim i As Long
For i = 0 To UBound(filters)
If Not filters(i).IsQueryFilter Then _
temp = temp & filters(i).FilterString
Next
MergeRecordFilterStrings = temp
End Function
' Merges the ExtractedFields of all Filters.
Private Function MergeExtractedFields(ByRef filters() As Filter) As String
Dim temp As String
Dim i As Long
temp = ""
For i = 0 To UBound(filters)
If filters(i).ExtractedFields <> "" Then _
temp = temp & "[" & filters(i).ExtractedFields & "],"
Next
If temp = "" Then
temp = "*"
Else
temp = Left(temp, Len(temp) - 1) ' Remove dangling comma.
End If
MergeExtractedFields = temp
End Function
With all of that done, we can finally plug a single Range in and get the generated strings out. It would be trivial to change filterRange or generate Filters from multiple Ranges.
Public Sub TestStringGeneration()
Dim filters() As Filter
Dim filterRange As Range
Set filterRange = Range("A1:A10")
filters = GenerateFilters(filterRange)
Debug.Print MergeQueryFilterStrings(filters)
Debug.Print MergeRecordFilterStrings(filters)
Debug.Print MergeExtractedFields(filters)
End Sub
TL;DR
Split code to reusable Functions & Subs
Favor sending data as arguments
Avoid hard-coding
Group data that represent a single concept
Use Arrays or other data structures over multiple variables