Open Excel VBA Editor

To open Excel visual basic editor,

Click the visual basic button on the developer tab.

If the Developer tab is not present, go to File -> Options -> customize ribbon and tick Developer.

You can also open VBA in Excel using Alt + F11 keyboard shortcut.

What is the VBA Editor

Great, now you’re in the editor, what is it? Microsoft Excel’s Visual basic editor can be referred to as, VBA editor, VB editor and even VBE. It is all the same thing. It’s the place where you can create macros and write scripts in Excel VBA.

The most basic sections of the editor is the Project View in which you can see modules listed down the left hand side. Think of this like a folder for your macros. Modules contain the code that is required for your macros to work. Its beyond the scope of this article to go into how to split out your code into objects but modules gives the user a powerful tool to create efficient and well organized code.

To get started writing code you will need to create a new module. Add a new module in VBA editor by clicking on VBAProject(Book1), right click, Insert Model. Delete a module by simply right clicking, Remove Module. Excel will prompt you to confirm before deleting.

Record a Macro in Excel

Recording a macro in Excel is a great way to automate tasks as well as a great tool to help learn more VBA code. A common trick is to record a macro and then review the VBA code to see how it works. Now you know how to open the VBA editor in Excel you should be able to record a macro, open the editor and view the code. You’ll see the system generated VBA can be messy but it will give you the key snippets of code needed for the desired action. These can be things as simple as formatting, copying, pasting, deleting or selecting a sell. Alternatively, you could get quite advanced and carry out entire tasks before going into the Excel visual basic editor to review the code.

The world really is your oyster when you get started recording macros in excel. Top tip is to start with small steps. You can always bulk all your small macros into one at a later stage but when it comes to reviewing each step its useful to keep it separate, at least when you are first getting started.

 Run a Macro in Excel VBA Editor

Once you have entered the VBA editor, created a module and written some code you will want to run the code.

To run VBA code in VBA editor simply click the Run Macro button which is shaped like a small green triangle on the toolbar. You can also Run Macro in Excel VBA editor by pressing F5 shortcut.

This is a very quick introduction to show you how to open VBA in excel, create a new module and also run your macro once written. To write some actual code, as we have suggested above, a great tip is to record macros and then go back and review the code in the MS Excel VBA editor. You’ll be surprised how messy the generated VBA can get but it will give you the key snippets of VBA code you need to get started with Excel VBA programming and is a great way of learning the syntax of VBA. Alternatively, Google is your best friend when it comes to writing macros. So what are you waiting for, press Alt + F11 in Excel and get coding in VBA!

What to do next? REad our quick Introduction to VBA for MS Excel

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We use programming language to build applications that we use in our work and domestic lives. This is true for almost every computer application that we use. There are numerous languages out there, that are at the disposal of the programmers that use them for various purposes. The language that is used to add more functionality to MS Office, or is used as a default programming language for MS Office is called Visual Basic for Application or simply VBA.

Excel being part of the MS Office suite uses the same programming language and we often found functions and macros written in this language in our excel worksheets. Such written functions are called User Defined Functions, similarly code written to automate the task in Excel are called Macros.

In today’s tutorial we will explore what is VBA, its different features, a brief introduction to VBA programming and more.

Accessing the VBA Window in MS Excel:

As we move on to use Excel VBA, the first thing is see where we have this programming option in Excel. The easiest way of accessing the code editor window in excel is to press Alt+F11 while you are using an Excel worksheet. Alternatively see How to Open Excel VBA Editor 

This is the window where we will put all the macros and the functions.

Classification of codes used in MS Excel VBA:

The code we write in VBA can be classified in either of the following three categories:

User Defined Function:

Excel has numerous functions that can be used as we need them. Out of these functions, we came across the situation where neither of them fits in or the formula based solution is too complicated to use, we revert to this option.

We revert to writing function that fulfill a situational or a a very specific need. For example consider following set of code that is written to find the if value is less then zero, is zero or more then it:

Function FindSign(number)
Select Case number
Case Is < 0
FindSign = “-ive”
Case 0
FindSign = “Zero”
Case Is > 0
FindSign = “+ive”
End Select
End Function

Note that the function always start with “Func” that is used to show its a function. In the above example of function, we have used a special command called “Case” to find if a number is less then zero (or negative), equal to zero or is positive (greater then zero). This is just a start-up example of function that can be easily written with IF() statements, but, we can produce really complicated functions as well.

In order for these functions to work, we need to place them in “Modules”. A module can be placed or inserted in a worksheet when we have VBA windows enabled. One need to go to Insert > Module and click to insert the module. Once inserted we will select it and place the function code there.

Once we have done this, we will be able to access the function from functions window.

Thus a user can write any thing he wants to be used a User Defined Function.

The Macros:

Macros also belong to the VBA family and are used to automate the task that are frequently done by a user. Thus they are used to speed up the work and reduce burden on end users. An example of already incorporated macros in MS Office is the option to save file after certain time period. Thus certainly reduced the burden on user and also reduces the chances of loosing data if file is not saved.

Besides this, there are numerous situations where VBA is a must required. Consider following example of vba that will highlight all cells that contains formulas in the range:

Sub CellWithFormulas()
Dim Dataset As Range
Set Dataset = Selection
Dataset.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeFormulas).Interior.Color = vbRed
End Sub

The macros is placed in the same module where we have placed the function. When we execute this macro from the developer’s tab, we have following result:

In this example, cell B3 and B7 contains the formulas.

Event Procedures:

As is indicated by the name, these are the codes that are meant to be used when something or some event happens. The example of an event could be the opening of a workbook, inserting a number in a cell, clicking some cell and many more.

Events Procedures are useful as they are active behind the scene are run as something happens. A very useful example of even procedure is one that is used to highlight the row and column as active cell changes. This makes reading and tracking the data very easy.

Private Sub ActiveCellHighlight(ByVal Target As Range)
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Cells.Interior.ColorIndex = 0 
Target.Interior.ColorIndex = 6
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

The result is a highlighted active cell.

Debugging your code?

The code that a user writes is not always correct and contains errors. In this case we need a debugging mechanism to find the mistake that we have done. For such situation, VBA editors provides us with a handy tool called “Immediate Window”.

This window can be accessed by using key Ctrl + G when VBA editor is active. This window can be used to execute a line of code, to get the information related to the worksheets, set values to the variables and run macros.

For example in the following screen shot, the initial value of the active cell with yellow fill was 10, as we have found by command ?activecell.value. The value is then re-assigned by using the assignment operator and the offset command.

The offset command lets the value to be on the left side of the cells at difference of 2 columns (hence the negative sign: -2). and when we reprint the value of active cell, it is 5.

In the same way, this can be used to run macros, testing small snipts of vba and much more.

Conclusion:

VBA is a very handy tool for excel users and gives them a lot of control over their worksheets. The use of VBA makes worksheets look more professional and more interactive. Please download the attached file for example and the vba code.

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Though this is realistic and practical option it lacks one feature that I really need – auto completion. If it has been present to some extent, the ability to complete the text more dynamically is not present. In today’s post we will learn how to do it with VBA Features.

Let’s start with an example:

Our List:

Let’s assume a list of suppliers that you have – it could be any list but just for the sake of example we are using a list of suppliers to produce invoices. There could be several suppliers with similar names, so we want a list that suggest me the available options.

Starting with VBA:

In order to access the VBA section of your work sheet – first save it as macro enabled worksheet to make sure that what ever you do, it can be saved in appropriate format worksheet. Otherwise, when you will press save, it will ask you to save it in this format.

Now the VBA section can be reached by either pressing Alt+F11 or by Right Click the Sheet Tab>Select View Code. Either way will lead you to the VBA Window. As a first step, select This workbook (for our example sheet named 06 – Using VBA to create ….)

 Inserting a User form:

Go to Insert>User Form and insert a user form. After inserting the form:

• Resize it to suit your taste and need.
• Change the caption of the form by going to Project Properties > Caption> enter Supplier Name List.
• Add a combo box to the User form:
  • Make From Toolbars visible from View > Toolbox
  • Select Combo box and draw one in the form.
  • Similarly selection buttons and adds two to the form. Name them “Insert” and “Cancel”

The final layout of your User form should look like following:

Adding Code to User From Items:

 The next step is to insert the vba codes to the three items in the form to make then operational. We insert this code by selecting and double clicking them with mouse.

Adding Code to Combo box:

First, we select the combo box and double click it to insert the code. We need to initialize the user form and element or items to the dropdown of the combo. We need to add following lines of code:

Sub UserForm_Initialize()
With ComboBox1
.AddItem "A TO ZEE ENGINEERING"
.AddItem "A&N ENTERPRISES"
End With
End Sub

Initialization is in event. In Excel event is like an action – clicking house, pressing enter button etc so when the form is loaded, the above code adds items to the combo box. AddItem method adds items to the combo box.
Once done you should be able to see the items in the user form. To test with, load the user form by pressing F5 and see if items are added to it.

Adding Code to Insert and Cancel Button

For Insert button, add these lines of code – it will insert the selected supplier in the current cell.

Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
Selection.Value = UserForm1.ComboBox1.Value
ActiveSheet.Select
End Sub

For Cancel button, use these lines:

Private Sub CommandButton2_Click()
Unload Me
End Sub

This will eventually unload the form. In order to use Esc button for cancelling and unloading the form, set Cancel Property of this button to TRUE.

Making all these programs work:

We have set how the form’s combo box, Insert and Cancel button will work. But one thing is still left to be set – i.e. how to call the form for use.

This will eventually unload the form. In order to use Esc button for cancelling and unloading the form, set Cancel Property of this button to TRUE.

We need to insert another piece of code to call the form. First, insert a Module from the VBA’s Insert menu. Now you can use the following code for this purpose:

Sub FormLoad()
Load UserForm1
UserForm1.Show vbModeless
End Sub

Note that form should be named UserForm1 otherwise it will not be loaded.

Setting Shortcut Keys:

Since we are done with the vba part, we can set the shortcut keys now. Close all the windows including that of vba. Go to Developers Tab>Macros> and select the Macro named FormLoad>Click Option and it will ask your for shortcut key and the description of the macro. The final output should look like:

For this worksheet, the shortcut key is Ctrl+L

Conclusion:

Now you can open any worksheet, just press the short cut key and the user from will be displayed to insert the Supplier Name in the current cell. Once inserted, you can either press Escape key or cancel to hide the form.
Please download the sample file with all the codes and supplier list from here.

The post Using Userform and VBA to get Dynamic Data Validation appeared first on Excel Zoom.

Delete Every Other Row in Excel

This tutorial will require you to use the Visual Basic Editor to create a macro.

In earlier versions of Excel (prior to 2007), click Tools > Macro > Visual Basic Editor.

In Excel 2007 or later, click Developer tab, and then Visual Basic in the Code group.

In the Project pane, right click your workbook > Insert > Module.

Next, double click the new module (usually Module1 unless there were already modules there) under your workbook. Paste the following code into the new module:

IMPORTANT: Create a backup of your file just in case, because there is no easy way of retrieving the data that is deleted after this macro is run.

Depending on your needs, you may need to change the Y = False to Y = True to delete the correct rows. False will delete the even row numbers, and True will delete the odd row numbers.

To use this macro, select the rows that contain the data where every other row should be deleted. The macro will only work on the selected range, so if you have other data outside of a specific range, it won’t be touched by this macro if you don’t select it first.

Also, note that the True/False setting discussed earlier refers to the actual row numbers in Excel, and not the 1st, 3rd, 5th etc. or 2nd, 4th, 6th etc. rows in your selected range. For example, if you want to delete every other row with Y=False and select rows 2-8, Excel rows 2, 6, and 8 will be deleted. If you select rows 2-8 with Y=True, Excel rows 3, 5, and 7 will be deleted.

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Before we learn how to recover a protected excel sheet password, let’s figure out why people password protect worksheets to begin with.  By protecting a worksheet and the contents of locked cells, users can keep themselves or other users from:

• Accidentally (or intentionally) removing formulas, or other contents of locked cells
• Adding or deleting rows and columns
• Changing cell, column or row formats
• Sorting data
• Using AutoFilter or PivotTable reports
• Editing objects or scenarios

Protecting a worksheet will not keep users from

• Editing any unlocked cells in the worksheet
• Viewing all data in the worksheet, regardless of if it is in a locked cell or not
• Hacking excel passwords / Cracking excel passwords. Excel is not ‘secure’.

Being able to unlock a password protected worksheet is useful, when

• You have forgotten the password on your own worksheet (forgotten excel passwords)
• A co-worker, or other user has password protected a worksheet that you now need to edit, and they are not available to unlock the sheet for you
• You have a need to perform an analysis of the data in a password protected worksheet, but are unable to do so due to the locked cells
• You would like to sort/filter the data in a password protected worksheet, or create a PivotTable report from the data
• Need to recover an excel password

Since Microsoft Excel is not a “secure” program, it is very easy to unlock the password of a password protected worksheet.  This is because there are several different combinations of passwords that Excel will accept to unlock the worksheet.  For example, a worksheet with the password “treehouse”, can also be unlocked with the password “AAAABAABBBB/”.  The opposite is also true (i.e. protecting with the password “AAAABAABBBB/” can be unlocked with the password “treehouse”).  Go ahead; try locking a worksheet with the password treehouse, and use AAAABAABBBB/ to unlock it.

The macro code below will “unlock” one worksheet at a time, using the method used above.  It won’t provide you with the actual password someone typed in, but rather a random sequence of letters or symbols that will work to unlock the worksheet. It should not be used as an excel password hack or for breaking an excel password.

Recover excel password

Step 1 – Open the worksheet in Excel where you have forgotten your excel password. This is so we can try to recover protected excel sheet password with VBA.

Step 2 – Open the VBA Editor (ALT + F11) – see our guide How to open Excel VBA Editor if you are unfamiliar with how to do this.

Step 3 – Insert a new module and use the VBA code below to find your forgot excel password.


Sub PasswordRecovery()
'
'MACROS BY EXCELZOOM.COM
Dim i As Integer, j As Integer, k As Integer
Dim l As Integer, m As Integer, n As Integer
Dim i1 As Integer, i2 As Integer, i3 As Integer
Dim i4 As Integer, i5 As Integer, i6 As Integer
On Error Resume Next
For i = 65 To 66: For j = 65 To 66: For k = 65 To 66
For l = 65 To 66: For m = 65 To 66: For i1 = 65 To 66
For i2 = 65 To 66: For i3 = 65 To 66: For i4 = 65 To 66
For i5 = 65 To 66: For i6 = 65 To 66: For n = 32 To 126
ActiveSheet.Unprotect Chr(i) & Chr(j) & Chr(k) & _
Chr(l) & Chr(m) & Chr(i1) & Chr(i2) & Chr(i3) & _
Chr(i4) & Chr(i5) & Chr(i6) & Chr(n)
If ActiveSheet.ProtectContents = False Then
MsgBox "One usable password is " & Chr(i) & Chr(j) & _
Chr(k) & Chr(l) & Chr(m) & Chr(i1) & Chr(i2) & _
Chr(i3) & Chr(i4) & Chr(i5) & Chr(i6) & Chr(n)
Exit Sub
End If
Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next
Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next
End Sub


Step 4 – Run the VBA code (F5) to recover excel password. You will receive a pop-up like the below to recover the excel sheet password.

It is worth noting that Microsoft is quite clear on its stance that you need to remember or make a note of passwords when protecting a workbook or worksheet and will not offer help in order to recover a lost excel password. See the MS protect a workbook page. So Microsoft cannot help if you have forgotten your excel password or need help recovering a password to open a workbook or worksheet (and probably rightly so!). We notice there is plenty of software available online to help unlock a password protected worksheet in Excel (for all versions of excel) however we like the VBA code noted above as a first option and haven’t tried and tested all third party applications enough to feel comfortable recommending on here.

* Update – Since this code is widely available online I have unrestricted it from our members area to make it available to all. I hope this helps as we all know how frustrating it can be when you are unable to access a worksheet that you need due to a password protected excel forgot password issue at work or at home. This should not be used to crack an excel protected sheet or break into worksheet you should not have access to. It is however, one useful method to unlock an excel password protected excel sheet.

Happy Excelling!  And remember, try not to forget that excel worksheet password in the first place if possible! :-)

The post How to Recover Lost Excel Passwords appeared first on Excel Zoom.

The code below will produce a pop up box as soon as the macro is run. It will ask the user if they are certain that they want to run the macro, and give them the option to proceed, or cancel it right there. Think of it like when you’re about to delete a file from your computer and Windows asks “Are you sure you want to move this file to the Recycle Bin?”. Clicking “Yes” will delete the file, and “No” will cancel the process.

You can edit the text to be displayed in between the quotes “Do you want to run this macro?”. The code will produce two options “OK” and “Cancel”. If you want it to produce “Yes” and “No”, change the vbOKCancel to vbYesNo, and vbCancel to vbNo. Both will do the same thing, it just depends on how you want to present the question.

Copy all the code below. Paste it into your workbook’s Visual Basic editor, either under a Microsoft Excel Object or Module. Replace ** YOUR MACRO CODE HERE ** with your macro’s commands.

Need help? Use our nifty guide to help figure out how to install and use your macros.

The post Confirmation Before Execution appeared first on Excel Zoom.

Using the quarterly sales example above, assume that you’ve taken the time to set up your spreadsheet with placeholder columns for the remainder of the year. When printing the information, you don’t want to just delete the columns, only having to recreate them in the future, and you also don’t want to have to manually hide/unhide them either.

You can use a macro to toggle between hiding and unhiding these empty columns fairly easily. The first bit of code will determine if the total in row 8 for columns B through M is 0. If it is, it will hide the column, otherwise it will make sure the column is not hidden. The second bit of code will select columns B through M and make sure they all are not hidden, so that you can toggle between hiding the unused columns, and showing all the columns.

To use this in your own spreadsheet, you may need to change a few things. 1) Change the Range reference (i.e. “B8:M8”) to whatever range you want evaluated. 2) Change “Columns” in Rng = Selection.Columns.Count to “Rows” if the range you are evaluating is a range of rows not columns. 3) If the criteria is something other than “0”, change the “0” in If ActiveCell = 0 to whatever that criteria happens to be. And finally 4) the two lines that say ActiveCell.Offset(0, 1).Select simply moves the selected cell down 0 cells and to the right one cell. If you’re evaluating down a range of rows, change the 0 to a 1 and the 1 to a 0 so that it moves the selected cell down 1 cell and to the right 0 cells. (Note you can move up a cell by inserting a -1 as the first number and to the left by inserting a -1 as the second number).

Need help? Use our nifty guide to help figure out how to install and use your macros.

Hide Unused Columns:

Unhide all Columns:

The post Hide/Unhide Columns appeared first on Excel Zoom.

This is where a “For” loop is useful. You can have the macro to go down your list, and determine if the cell is blank. If it is, then have the macro fill the cell with a color, otherwise go to the next cell, until it has run through the whole list.

The following code will do exactly what was mentioned above.

• The first line identifies the range of rows to be evaluated. It also tells the macro, that if ‘x’ is less than 20, keep on going.
• The next line tells the macro to select the cell in column 1.
• The ‘If’ section determines if the selected cell is blank, and if it is, it will fill it with a color (in this case 65535=yellow), and if it isn’t blank then just move on and evaluate the rest of the cells until the end of the range.

The post Using a For Loop appeared first on Excel Zoom.

Automatically Create Index in Excel

• Add a tab and call it “Index” or whatever you want to identify it as an index (table of contents, etc.).
• Right click the Index tab and select ‘View Code’.
• Enter the VBA code below. Click on another sheet in your file, then click back on your Index sheet. Hey presto! you’ll notice that it has populated a list of all the sheets in your file, complete with a convenient link to them.

In all your other sheets, cell A1 will have a “Back to Index” link for easy navigation. If you want to use another cell for this backwards navigation, change the code in both places where it says A1 to whatever cell you’d like. Here is what your index in Excel will look like when done.

Need help? Use our nifty guide to help figure out how to install and use your macros.


Private Sub Worksheet_Activate()
'
'MACROS BY EXCELZOOM.COM - create index in excel
'
Dim wSheet As Worksheet
Dim l As Long
l = 1
With Me
.Columns(1).ClearContents
.Cells(1, 1) = "INDEX"
.Cells(1, 1).Name = "Index"
End With
For Each wSheet In Worksheets
If wSheet.Name <> Me.Name Then
l = l + 1
With wSheet
.Range("A1").Name = "Start_" & wSheet.Index
.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=.Range("A1"), Address:="", _
SubAddress:="Index", TextToDisplay:="Back to Index"
End With
Me.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=Me.Cells(l, 1), Address:="", _
SubAddress:="Start_" & wSheet.Index, TextToDisplay:=wSheet.Name
End If
Next wSheet
End Sub


We hope this how to index in excel guide helps making an index in excel painless and easy for you. We love this macro code and have opted to make it available to all free of any charge and unrestricted from our members area so you can enjoy the wizardry of this auto updating index in excel :-) Find that tab in excel with your new Index Sheet and impress all your colleagues in the process..

Have some comments about indexing in Excel, we would love to hear them

The post Automatically Create an Index for Your Excel File appeared first on Excel Zoom.

By using the macro below, you’ll be able to attach the file you have open to an email with the click of a button.

Copy all the code below. Paste it into your PERSONAL.XLS workbook’s Visual Basic editor, under a Module. The following steps also need to be completed to use this macro:

• Change “someone@example.com” to the email address of the person you want to send your file to
• The line “This Email was sent on ” & Format(Date, “mmmm dd, yyyy”) is the subject line. Change it to whatever you would like your subject to say. This one would read “This Email was sent on March 04, 2009” assuming today was March 04, 2009.

Need help? Use our nifty guide to help figure out how to install and use your macros.

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