In Excel 2007, how do I add a description and parameter hints to a user-defined function? When I start typing a function invocation for a built-in function, Excel shows a description and parameter list--a tooltip. I'd like to do the same for the functions I define.
Not just for the formula insert wizard, but in the formula box, so if I key "=myFun(", at the "(" the tooltip pops up just like it does for "=average("
There's no help in VBA Help, none on MSDN and none on any of the Excel and VBA dedicated forums I can find, so this is clearly a long shot.
Not a tooltip solution but an adequate workaround:
Start typing the UDF =MyUDF( then press CTRL + Shift + A and your function parameters will be displayed. So long as those parameters have meaningful names you at-least have a viable prompt
For example, this:
=MyUDF( + CTRL + Shift + A
Turns into this:
=MyUDF(sPath, sFileName)
Professional Excel Development by
Stephen Bullen describes how to
register UDFs, which allows a
description to appear in the Function
Arguments dialog:
Function IFERROR(ByRef ToEvaluate As Variant, ByRef Default As Variant) As Variant
If IsError(ToEvaluate) Then
IFERROR = Default
Else
IFERROR = ToEvaluate
End If
End Function
Sub RegisterUDF()
Dim s As String
s = "Provides a shortcut replacement for the common worksheet construct" & vbLf _
& "IF(ISERROR(<expression>), <default>, <expression>)"
Application.MacroOptions macro:="IFERROR", Description:=s, Category:=9
End Sub
Sub UnregisterUDF()
Application.MacroOptions Macro:="IFERROR", Description:=Empty, Category:=Empty
End Sub
From: http://www.ozgrid.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78123&page=1
To show the Function Arguments dialog, type the function name and press CtrlA. Alternatively, click the "fx" symbol in the formula bar:
I know you've accepted an answer for this, but there's now a solution that lets you get an intellisense style completion box pop up like for the other excel functions, via an Excel-DNA add in, or by registering an intellisense server inside your own add in. See here.
Now, i prefer the C# way of doing it - it's much simpler, as inside Excel-DNA, any class that implements IExcelAddin is picked up by the addin framework and has AutoOpen() and AutoClose() run when you open/close the add in. So you just need this:
namespace MyNameSpace {
public class Intellisense : IExcelAddIn {
public void AutoClose() {
}
public void AutoOpen() {
IntelliSenseServer.Register();
}
}
}
and then (and this is just taken from the github page), you just need to use the ExcelDNA annotations on your functions:
[ExcelFunction(Description = "A useful test function that adds two numbers, and returns the sum.")]
public static double AddThem(
[ExcelArgument(Name = "Augend", Description = "is the first number, to which will be added")]
double v1,
[ExcelArgument(Name = "Addend", Description = "is the second number that will be added")]
double v2)
{
return v1 + v2;
}
which are annotated using the ExcelDNA annotations, the intellisense server will pick up the argument names and descriptions.
There are examples for using it with just VBA too, but i'm not too into my VBA, so i don't use those parts.
Also you can use, this Macro to assign Descriptions to arguments and the UDF:
Private Sub RegisterMyFunction()
Application.MacroOptions _
Macro:="SampleFunction", _ '' Your UDF name
Description:="calculates a result based on provided inputs", _
Category:="My UDF Category", _ '' Or use numbers, a list in the link below
ArgumentDescriptions:=Array( _ '' One by each argument
"is the first argument. tell the user what it does", _
"is the second argument. tell the user what it does")
End Sub
Credits to Kendall and the original post here.
For the UDF Categories
I just create a "help" version of the function. Shows up right below the function in autocomplete - the user can select it instead in an adjacent cell for instructions.
Public Function Foo(param1 as range, param2 as string) As String
Foo = "Hello world"
End Function
Public Function Foo_Help() as String
Foo_Help = "The Foo function was designed to return the Foo value for a specified range a cells given a specified constant." & CHR(10) & "Parameters:" & CHR(10)
& " param1 as Range : Specifies the range of cells the Foo function should operate on." & CHR(10)
&" param2 as String : Specifies the constant the function should use to calculate Foo"
&" contact the Foo master at master#foo.com for more information."
END FUNCTION
The carriage returns improve readability with wordwrap on. 2 birds with one stone, now the function has some documentation.
#will's method is the best. Just add few lines about the details for the people didn't use ExcelDNA before like me.
Download Excel-DNA IntelliSense from https://github.com/Excel-DNA/IntelliSense/releases
There are two version, one is for 64, check your Excel version. For my case, I'm using 64 version.
Open Excel/Developer/Add-Ins/Browse and select ExcelDna.IntelliSense64.xll.
Insert a new sheet, change name to "IntelliSense", add function description, as https://github.com/Excel-DNA/IntelliSense/wiki/Getting-Started
Then enjoy! :)
Unfortunately there is no way to add Tooltips for UDF Arguments.
To extend Remou's reply you can find a fuller but more complex approach to descriptions for the Function Wizard at
http://www.jkp-ads.com/Articles/RegisterUDF00.asp
I tried #ScottK's approach, first as a side feature of my functional UDF, then as a standalone _Help suffix version when I ran into trouble (see below). In hindsight, the latter approach is better anyway--more obvious to a user attentive enough to see a tool tip, and it doesn't clutter up the functional code.
I figured if an inattentive user just typed the function name and closed the parentheses while he thought it over, help would appear and he would be on his way. But dumping a bunch of text into a single cell that I cannot format didn't seem like a good idea. Instead, When the function is entered in a cell with no arguments i.e.
= interpolateLinear()
or
= interpolateLinear_Help()
a msgBox opens with the help text. A msgBox is limited to ~1000 characters, maybe it's 1024. But that's enough (barely 8^/) for my overly tricked out interpolation function. If it's not, you can always open a user form and go to town.
The first time the message box opened, it looked like success. But there are a couple of problems. First of course, the user has to know to enter the function with no arguments (+1 for the _Help suffix UDF).
The big problem is, the msgBox reopens several times in succession, spontaneously while working in unrelated parts of the workbook. Needless to say, it's very annoying. Sometimes it goes on until I get a circular reference warning. Go figure. If a UDF could change the cell formula, I would have done that to shut it up.
I don't know why Excel feels the need recalculate the formula over and over; neither the _Help standalone, nor the full up version (in help mode) has precedents or dependents. There's not an application.volatile statement anywhere. Of course the function returns a value to the calling cell. Maybe that triggers the recalc? But that's what UDFs do. I don't think you can not return a value.
Since you can't modify a worksheet formula from a UDF, I tried to return a specific string --a value --to the calling cell (the only one you can change the value of from a UDF), figuring I would inspect the cell value using application.caller on the next cycle, spot my string, and know not to re-display the help message. Seemed like a good idea at the time--didn't work. Maybe I did something stupid in my sleep-deprived state. I still like the idea. I'll update this when (if) I fix the problem. My quick fix was to add a line on the help box: "Seek help only in an emergency. Delete the offending formula to end the misery.
In the meantime, I tried the Application.MacroOptions approach. Pretty easy, and it looks professional. Just one problem to work out. I'll post a separate answer on that approach later.
A lot of dancing around the answer. You can add the UDF context help, but you have to export the Module and edit the contents in a text editor, then re-import it to VBA. Here's the example from Chip Pearson: Adding Code Attributes
I'm creating small project in Excel, and because I'm a VBA newbie I do encounter a lot of problems that I'm trying to resolve on my own. However i can't cope with this:
I created Sub that accepts two objects: FormName and ControlName.
What i want it to do, is to loop through every Control in specific UserForm and populate every ListBox it encounters, from another ListBox.
I created this funny string comparison, because I need to operate on objects in order to execute the line with AddItem. This comparison actually works well, no matter how ridiculous it is. However when I launch the program, I got
Type Mismatch error
and to my surprise "Next" is being highlighted. I have no idea how to fix this, nor what is wrong.
Public Sub deploy(ByRef FormName As Object, ByRef ControlName As Object)
Dim i As Integer
Dim O As msforms.ListBox
i = 0
For Each O In FormName.Controls
If Left(FormName.Name & O.Name, 16) = Left(FormName.Name & ControlName.Name, 16) Then
O.AddItem (FormName.Podgląd.List(i))
i = i + 1
End If
Next
End Sub
I call this sub using:
Call deploy(UserForm1, UserForm1.ListBox3)
Above, I use Listbox3 because otherwise i got error saying that variable is not defined. However in my comparison I kinda override this.
If someone can explain in simple words, how to fix this type mismatch issue or how to write it in more elegant way
From title you can already tell what is my problem.
Somethink from my side:
I know there is for sure work around to run the macro once with creating boolean or check and hadling the error (with I still dont know how).
I want to know why the macro runs twice. My guess is that it takes mouse movement or somethink like that.
How to fix it?
Or use better alternative of capturing click on text (I want to evoid selection change/change and I am not big fan of using FollowHyperlink with linking on same cell).
Function I am using : =HYPERTEXTOVÝ.ODKAZ("#LinkClick()";"CLICK")
Eng version : =HYPERLINK("#LinkClick()";"CLICK")
Function LinkClick()
Range("A1").Value = Range("A1").Value + 1
End Function
It should be the same function. It is just different in my language :
https://support.office.com/cs-cz/article/hypertextov%C3%BD-odkaz-funkce-333c7ce6-c5ae-4164-9c47-7de9b76f577f
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/hyperlink-function-333c7ce6-c5ae-4164-9c47-7de9b76f577f?omkt=en-US&ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US
PS: My first post and my english isn't best. Thanks for any answers.
You need to Set LinkClick = Selection so you return a cell with your function otherwise the link is invalid.
According to the documentation your formula =HYPERLINK("#LinkClick()";"CLICK") needs a link_location as first parameter HYPERLINK(link_location, [friendly_name]). But because you have a function call there "#LinkClick()" the function needs to return a valid link location, and that is what Set LinkClick = Selection does, it returns the actual selection as link location, so the hyperlink selects what is already selected (means it does nothing at all, but it doesn't complain about an invalid link location).
Option Explicit
Public Function LinkClick() As Range
Set LinkClick = Selection 'make sure a valid link location is returned in the function
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Value = ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Value + 1
End Function
I am using the UIAUtomationClient in VBA. I tried this before but for some reason it doesn't work anymore. I'm trying to get the clickable points on a uiautomationelement.
This is my code in the Automation module.
Function GetMousePoint(element As IUIAutomationElement) As tagPOINT
Dim getPoint As Variant
getPoint = element.GetClickablePoint(GetMousePoint)
End Function
And this is my code in the Main module. importBtn is the UIAutomationElement.
Dim clickAPI As tagPOINT
clickAPI = Automation.GetMousePoint(importBtn)
I keep getting the Compile Error, ByRef Argument Type Mismatch.
Increase the priority for UIAutomation in the References UI.
I have some experience with VBA but I am very new to web scraping with VBA. However I am very enthusiastic about it and thought of a 1000 ways how could I use it and make my job easier. :)
My problem is that I have a website with two input fields and one button. I can write in the input fields (they have ID so I can easily find them)
My code for the input fields:
.Document.getElementById("header_keyword").Value = my_first
.Document.getElementById("header_location").Value = my_last
But I am really stuck with clicking the button.
Here is the html code for the buttons:
<span class="p2_button_outer p2_button_outer_big"><input class="p2_button_inner" type="submit" value="Keresés" /></span>
<span class="p2_button_outer p2_button_outer_big light hide_floating"><a id="tour_det_search" class="p2_button_inner" href="http://www.profession.hu/kereses">Részletes keresés</a></span>
As you can see there are two different buttons near each other, and they share the same class. I am looking for the first/upper one. My problem is that it has no ID, only class, type and value. But I was not able to find getelementsbytype or getelementsbyvalue method.
Is there any solution to find the button by type or value (or both)?
Sorry if I am asking something stupid but as I said previously I am new in scraping...:)
Thank you in advance and have a nice weekend!
Fortunatelly I have worked out the solution. :)
What I did is the following. I made searched for the relevant classes and then using the getAttribute() method and looping thru the classes I searched for the specific value and clicked on it when found it.
Below is the working code:
Set my_classes = .Document.getElementsByClassName("p2_button_inner")
For Each class In my_classes
If class.getAttribute("value") = "Keresés" Then
Range("c4") = "Clicked"
class.Click
Exit For
End If
Next class
Thank you!
You can use the following function. It looks for a first HTML element with the given caption. You can also limit the searching by HTML tag.
(The code is compatible with IE <9 that doesn't contain getElementsByClassName method).
Public Function FindElementByCaption(dom As Object, Caption As String, _
Optional Tag As String, Optional Nested As Boolean = True) As Object
Dim ControlsSet As Variant
Dim Controls As Variant
Dim Control As Object
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Set ControlsSet = VBA.IIf(Nested, dom.all, dom.childNodes)
If VBA.Len(Tag) Then
Set Controls = ControlsSet.tags(VBA.LCase(Tag))
Else
Set Controls = ControlsSet
End If
For Each Control In Controls
If VBA.StrComp(Control.InnerHtml, Caption, vbTextCompare) = 0 Then
Set FindElementByCaption = Control
Exit For
End If
Next Control
End Function
Here is how to apply it in your code:
Dim button As Object
Set button = FindElementByCaption(.Document, "Keresés", "INPUT", True)
If Not button Is Nothing Then
Call button.Click
Else
Call MsgBox("Button has not been found")
End If
CSS selector:
Use a CSS selector to target the element of:
input[value='Keresés']
This says element with input tag, having attribute value with value 'Keresés'.
CSS query:
VBA:
You apply the selector via the querySelector method of document.
ie.document.querySelector("input[value='Keresés']").Click