1

Using Microsoft Excel

Introduction
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application used to create lists, perform calculations, and
analyze numbers. It can be used in business, economics, or accounting, etc.
While the default features of Microsoft Excel should be enough in most scenarios, in some cases
you will want more complex functionality to perform advanced operations. To make this possible,
Microsoft Excel is accompanied by Microsoft Visual Basic, a programming environment that allows
you to use the Visual Basic language to enhance the usefulness and functionality of a
spreadsheet.

Introduction to Microsoft Excel

To use Microsoft Excel, you can launch like any regular Microsoft Windows application. You can
click Start -> (All) Programs -> Microsoft Office -> Microsoft Office Excel 2007. If you have a
Microsoft Excel document in Windows Explorer, in My Documents, or in an email, etc, you can
double-click it. This would also start Microsoft Excel and would open the document.
The classic way users launch Microsoft Excel is from the Start menu on the task bar. You can also
start the application from a shortcut on the desktop. There are many ways you can create a
shortcut on your desktop. To create a Microsoft Excel shortcut on the desktop, do one of the
following:

Practical Learning: Starting Microsoft Excel

To start Microsoft Excel, from the Taskbar, click
Start -> (All) Programs -> Microsoft Office -> Microsoft Office Excel

The Office Button

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Introduction

When Microsoft Excel opens, it displays an interface divided in various sections. The top section
displays the title bar which starts on the left side with the Office Button
mouse on it, a tool tip would appear:

. If you position the

The Options of the Office Button

When clicked, the Office Button displays a menu:

As you can see, the menu of the Office Button allows you to perform the routine Windows
operations of a regular application, including creating a new document, opening an existing file, or
saving a document, etc. If you right-click the office button, you would get a short menu:

We will come back to the options on this menu.

The Quick Access Toolbar

Introduction
The Quick Access Toolbar

is on the right side of the Office Button. It displays a

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few buttons. If you right-click the Quick Access toolbar, a menu would appear:

To hide the Quick Access toolbar, you can right-click it and click Remove Quick Access Toolbar. If
you position the mouse on a button, a tool tip would appear.
In the beginning, the Quick Access toolbar displays only three buttons: Save, Undo, and Redo. If
you want more buttons than that, you can right-click the Quick Access toolbar and click Customize
Quick Access Toolbar... This would display the Excel Options dialog box:

To add a button to the Quick Access toolbar, on the left list of Add, click an option and click Add.
After making the selections, click OK.
To remove a button from the Quick Access toolbar, right-click it on the Quick Access toolbar and
click Remove From Quick Access Toolbar.

The Quick Access Button

A button with a down-pointing arrow displays on the right side of the Quick Access toolbar. You
can click or right-click that button to display its menu:

The role of this button is to manage some aspects of the top section of the Microsoft Excel
interface, including deciding what buttons to display on the Quick Access toolbar. For example,
instead of using the Customize Quick Access Toolbar menu item as we saw previously, you can
click an option from that menu and its corresponding button would be added to the Quick Access

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toolbar. If the options on the menu are nor enough, you can click either Customize Quick Access
Toolbar or More Commands... This would open the Excel Options dialog box.
The main or middle area of the top section displays the name of the application: Microsoft Excel.
You can right-click the title bar to display a menu that is managed by the operating system.
On the right side of the title bar, there are three system buttons that allow you to minimize,
maximize, restore, or close Microsoft Access.
Under the title bar, there is another bar with a Help button on the right side.

The Ribbon
Introduction
Under the title bar, Microsoft Excel displays the Ribbon:

By default, the Ribbon displays completely in the top section of Microsoft Excel under the title bar.
One option is to show it the way the main menu appeared in previous versions of Microsoft Excel.
To do this:
Right-click the Office Button, the Quick Access toolbar, or the Ribbon itself, and click Minimize
the Ribbon
Click or right-click the button on the right side of the Quick Access toolbar:

This would display the Ribbon like a main menu:

To show the whole Ribbon again:

Right-click the Office Button, the Quick Access toolbar, or one of the Ribbon menu items, and
click Minimize the Ribbon to remove the check mark on it
Click or right-click the button on the right side of the Quick Access toolbar and click Minimize
the Ribbon to remove the check mark on it
Double-click one of the menu items of the Ribbon

Changing the Location of the Ribbon

By default, the Quick Access toolbar displays on the title bar and the Ribbon displays under it. If
you want, you can switch their locations. To do that, right-click the Office Button, the Quick
Access toolbar, or the Ribbon, and click Show Quick Access Toolbar Below the Ribbon:

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To put them back to the default locations, right-click the Office Button, the Quick Access toolbar,
or the Ribbon, and click Show Quick Access Toolbar Above the Ribbon.

The Tabs of the Ribbon

The ribbon is a type of property sheet made of various property pages. Each page is represented
with a tab. To access a tab:
You can click its label or button, such as Home or Create
You can press Alt or F10. This would display the access key of each tab:

To access a tab, you can press its corresponding letter on the keyboard. For example, when
the access keys display, if you press Home, the Home tab would display
If your mouse has a wheel, you can position the mouse anywhere on the ribbon, and role the
wheel (on the mouse). If you role the wheel down, the next tab on the right side would be
selected. If you role the wheel up, the previous tab on the left side would be selected. You can
keep rolling the wheel until the desired tab is selected
To identify each tab of the Ribbon, we will refer to them by their names.

The Sections of a Tab

Each tab of the ribbon is divided in various sections, each delimited by visible borders of vertical
lines on the left and right. Each section displays a title in its bottom side. In our lessons, we will
refer to each section by that title. For example, if the title displays Font, we will call that section,
"The Font Section".
Some sections of the Ribbon display a button
would open a dialog box or a window.

. If you see such a button, you can click it. This

The Buttons of the Ribbon

Since there are various buttons and sometimes they are unpredictable, to know what a particular
button is used for, you can position your mouse on it and a tool tip would appear:

You can also use context sensitive help in some cases to get information about an item.
You can add a button from a section of the Ribbon to the Quick Access toolbar. To do that,
right-click the button on the Ribbon and click Add to Quick Access Toolbar:

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Remember that, to remove a button from the Quick Access toolbar, you can right-click it on the
Quick Access toolbar and click Remove From Quick Access Toolbar.

The More Buttons of the Ribbon

In some sections of the Ribbon, on the lower-right corner, there is a button:

That button is used to display an intermediary dialog box for some actions.

The Size of the Ribbon

When Microsoft Excel is occupying a big area or the whole area of the monitor, most buttons of
the Ribbon appear with text. Sometimes you may need to use only part of the screen. That is, you
may need to narrow the Microsoft Excel interface. If you do, some of the buttons may display part
of their appearance and some would display only an icon. Consider the difference in the following
three screenshots:

In this case, when you need to access an object, you can still click it or click its arrow. If the item
is supposed to have many objects, a new window may appear and display those objects:

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From this:

To this:

The Work Area

The Name Box
Under the Ribbon, there is a white box displaying a name like A1 (it may not display A1...), that
small box is called the Name Box:

The Insert Function Button

On the right side of the Name box, there is a gray box with an fx button. That fx button is called
the Insert Function button.

The Formula Bar

On the right side of the Insert Function button is a long empty white box or section called the
Formula Bar:

You can hide or show the Formula Bar anytime. To do this, on the Ribbon, click View. In the
Show/Hide section:
To hide the Formula Bar, remove the check mark on the Formula Bar check box
To show the Formula Bar, check the Formula Bar check box

The Column Headers

Under the Name Box and the Formula bar, you see the column headers. The columns are labeled
A, B, C, etc:

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There are 255 of columns.

The Row Headers

On the left side of the main window, there are small boxes called row headers. Each row header is
labeled with a number, starting at 1 on top, then 2, and so on:

The Cells
The main area of Microsoft Excel is made of cells. A cell is the intersection of a column and a row:

A cell is identified by its name and every cell has a name. By default, Microsoft Excel appends the
name of a row to the name of a column to identify a cell. Therefore, the top-left cell is named A1.
You can check the name of the cell in the Name Box.

The Scroll Bars

On the right side of the cells area, there is a vertical scroll bar that allows you to scroll up and
down in case your document cannot display everything at a time:

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In the lower right section of the main window, there is a horizontal scroll bar that allows you to
scroll left and right if your worksheet has more items than can be displayed all at once:

Sometimes the horizontal scroll bar will appear too long or too narrow for you. If you want, you
can narrow or enlarge it. To do this, click and drag the button on the left side of the horizontal
scroll bar:

The Sheet Tabs

On the left side of the horizontal scrollbar, there are the worksheet tabs:

By default, Microsoft Excel provides three worksheets to start with. You can work with any of
them and switch to another at any time by clicking its tab.

The Navigation Buttons

On the left side of the worksheet tabs, there are four navigation buttons:

If you happen to use a lot of worksheets or the worksheet names are using too much space, which
would result in some worksheets being hidden under the horizontal scroll bar, you can use the
navigation buttons to move from one worksheet to another.

The Status Bar

Under the navigation buttons and the worksheet tabs, the Status Bar provides a lot of information
about the job that is going on.

Microsoft Excel File Operations

Saving a File
A Microsoft Excel file gets saved like any traditional Windows file. To save a file:
You can press Ctrl + S

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On the Quick Access Toolbar, you can click the Save button
You can click the Office Button and click Save
Two issues are important. Whenever you decide to save a file for the first time, you need to
provide a file name and a location. The file name helps the computer identify that particular file
and register it.
A file name can consist of up to 255 characters, you can include spaces and dashes in a name.
Although there are many characters you can use in a name (such as exclamation points, etc), try
to avoid fancy names. Give your file a name that is easily recognizable, a little explicit. For
example such names as Time Sheets, Employee's Time Sheets, GlobalEX First Invoice are explicit
enough. Like any file of the Microsoft Windows operating systems, a Microsoft Excel file has an
extension, which is .xls but you don't have to type it in the name.
The second important piece of information you should pay attention to when saving your file is
the location. The location is the drive and/or the folder where the file will be saved. By default,
Microsoft Excel saves its files in the My Documents folder. You can change that in the Save As
dialog box. Just click the arrow of the Save In combo box and select the folder you want.
Microsoft Excel allows you to save its files in a type of your choice. To save a file in another
format:
Press F12 or Shift + F12
You can click the Office Button and position the mouse on Save As and select the desired
option:

On the Quick Access Toolbar, you can click the Save button . Then, in the Save As dialog
box, click the arrow of the Save As Type combo box and select a format of your choice
There are other things you can do in the Save As dialog box:

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Saving under a Different Name and New Folder

You can save a file under a different name or in another location, this gives you the ability to
work on a copy of the file while the original is intact.
There are two primary techniques you can use to get a file in two names or the same file in two
locations. When the file is not being used by any application, in Windows Explorer (or in My
Computer, or in My Network Places, locate the file, right-click it and choose Copy. To save the file
in a different name, right-click in the same folder and choose Paste. The new file will be named
Copy Of... You can keep that name or rename the new file with a different name (recommended).
To save the file in a different location, right-click in the appropriate folder and click Paste; in this
case, the file will keep its name.
In Microsoft Excel, you can use the Save As dialog box to save a file in a different name or save
the file with the same name (or a different name) in another folder. The Save As dialog box also
allows you to create a new folder while you are saving your file (you can even use this technique
to create a folder from the application even if you are not saving it; all you have to do is create
the folder, click OK to register the folder, and click Cancel on the Save As dialog box).

Opening a File
The files you use could be created by you or someone else. They could be residing on your
computer, on another medium, or on a network. Once one of them is accessible, you can open it
in your application.
You can open a document either by double-clicking its icon in Windows Explorer, in My Computer,
from the Find Files Or Folders window, in My Network Places, or by locating it in the Open dialog
box. To access the open dialog box, on the main menu, click File -> Open... You can also click the
Open button on the Standard toolbar.
A shortcut to call the Open dialog box is Ctrl + O.

Files Properties
Every file has some characteristics, attributes, and features that make it unique; these are its
properties. You can access a file's properties from three main areas on the computer:
If the file is saved on the desktop and/or it has a shortcut on the desktop, if you open My
Computer, Windows Explorer, or the folder (as a window) where the file is stored, right-click
the file and click Properties. If the file were saved on the desktop, you would see only some of
its properties, the most you can do there is to assign a Read-Only attribute. In My Computer
and Windows Explorer, you will be able to change the file's properties.
Before opening a file or while in the Open dialog box, you can view some of the file's
properties although you won't be able to change them.
When the file is opened in Microsoft Excel, you can click the Office Button, position the mouse
on Prepare, and click Properties. This would display some of the most common attributes of
the file:

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To change an item, you can click its text box and edit or replace the content. To get more
options, you can click the Document Properties button and click Advanced Properties...
A file's properties are used for various reasons. For example, you can find out how much size the
file is using, where it is located (the hosting drive and/or folder), who created the file, or who was
the last person to access or modify it. The Properties dialog box is also a good place to leave
messages to other users of the same file, about anything, whether you work as a team or you
simply want to make yourself and other people aware of a particular issue regarding the file.

Practical Learning: Closing Microsoft Excel

To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office Button and click Exit Excel.
If you are asked whether you want to save the file, click No

Home

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13

Microsoft Visual Basic Fundamentals

Introduction
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application that provides simple to advanced means of creating
and managing any type of list. To enhance it beyond its default function, it ships with a language
called Microsoft Visual Basic or simply Visual Basic.
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is a computer language based on Microsoft Visual
Basic. It allows you to write code that can automatically perform actions on a document and/or
its content. When using that language, you write pieces of code, using an external environment.
Microsoft Visual Basic is a programming environment that gets automatically installed when you
setup Microsoft Excel. It stays apart because most people would not need or use it. This means
that, if you want to use the Microsoft Visual Basic programming environment that ships with
Microsoft Excel, you must ask for it, which can be easily done.

Launching Microsoft Visual Basic

In our lessons, we will learn how to use both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Visual Basic to create
and manage spreadsheets. The Microsoft Visual Basic programming environment we will use
depends on Microsoft Excel. As a result, to use Microsoft Visual Basic, you must first open
Microsoft Excel. Then, to write code, you must open Microsoft Visual Basic. There are various ways
you can do this, depending on your intention.
Before using code, you should add a new tab, the Developer tab, to the Ribbon. To do this, you
can click the Office Button and click Excel Options. In the Excel Options dialog box, click the Show
Developer tab in the Ribbon check box and click OK. The Ribbon would become equipped with a
new tab:

From the Developer tab of the Ribbon, to launch Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click the Visual
Basic button.

Practical Learning: Starting Microsoft Visual Basic

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. Click the Office Button and click Excel Options
3. In the Excel Options dialog box, click the Show Developer tab in the Ribbon check box:

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4. Click OK
5. In the Code section of the Developer tab of the Ribbon, to launch Microsoft Visual Basic, click
Visual Basic:

The Microsoft Visual Basic Interface

Introduction
When it opens, like any regular Windows application, Microsoft Visual Basic displays a title bar in
the top section. Under the title bar, the application displays a menu, followed by a Standard
toolbar.
To assist you with your development, Microsoft Visual Basic can display various windows.

The Project Explorer

The Project Explorer window shows a list of the code segments that are available to your
worksheet. It is usually available whenever you open Microsoft Visual Basic. It is usually
positioned in the top-left section. If it is not present, to display it, on the main menu of Microsoft
Visual Basic, you can click View -> Project Explorer. To close it, you can click its Close button
.
You can move the Project Explorer to another section of the interface. To do this, click its title bar
and drag it away it from there:

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To put the window back where it was previously, you can double-click its title bar.

The Project Explorer

The Properties window is usually positioned in the bottom-left section of the screen. When it does
not appear, to display it, on the main menu, click View -> Properties Window:

The Properties Window shows the characteristics of an object that is selected. Like any other
window, to move the Properties window from its position, drag its title bar:

The main area of Microsoft Visual Basic uses a gray background. This area is gray because, in
reality, Microsoft Visual Basic is a multiple document interface (MDI) that can be used to display
various windows at the same time. At times, this gray area will be occupied with other windows.

Modules
A module is a blank window that resembles a piece of paper on which you write code. When you
use Microsoft Excel and work on a document, a default module is automatically allocated for it,
whether you use it or not. You can also create a module that is independent of any worksheet.

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To create a module, on the main menu of Visual Basic, you can click Insert -> Module.

Practical Learning: Creating a Module

1. On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Insert -> Module
2. Notice that a blank window with a blinking caret appears

The Immediate Window

To help you test code, Microsoft Visual Basic provides a special window called the Immediate
Window. To display it, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click View ->
Immediate Window.

Practical Learning: Displaying the Immediate Window

1. To display the Immediate Window, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click View -> Immediate
Window
2. Notice that a window with an Immediate title bar appears at the bottom with a blinking caret

3. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the Standard toolbar of Visual Basic, click the View Microsoft
Excel button
4. To close Microsoft Visual Basic, on the main menu, click File -> Close and Return to Microsoft
Excel

VBA in Visual Basic

Introduction
In the spreadsheet you will create, you use Microsoft Excel to create normal documents using the
default settings of the application. To apply some advanced features to a spreadsheet, you can use
Microsoft Visual Basic that is automatically installed with Microsoft Excel.
To create a spreadsheet with functionality beyond the defaults, you write code. Microsoft Visual

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Basic is a programming environment that uses a computer language. That language is called
Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Although VBA is a language of its own, it is in reality derived
from the big Visual Basic computer language developed by Microsoft. In our lessons, we will learn
how to use VBA in Microsoft Excel.
To take advantage of the functionalities of the Microsoft Visual Basic environment, there are many
suggestions you can use or should follow. Because VBA is normal computer language, there are
various rules you must follow for the language to work.

Using VBA
In our lessons, we will use the word VBA sometimes but most of the time, we use the expression
"Visual Basic Language". When we use "Visual Basic language", we refer to a concept that is
recognized by all child languages of Visual Basic, including VBScript and VBA. When we will use
the word VBA, we refer to a concept that either is proper to VBA as a language and is not
necessarily applied to some other flavors of Visual Basic, or to the way the Visual Basic language
is used in Microsoft Excel. For example, the word String is used in all Visual Basic languages but
the word Variant is not used in the 2008 version of the Visual Basic language.

Macros
Creating a Macro
To launch Microsoft Visual Basic using the default installation of Microsoft Excel and launching
from a macro:
On the Ribbon, you can click View. In the Macros section, click the arrow under the Macros
button and click Record a Macro:

Click Developer. In the Code section, click the Record Macro button
In each case, the Record Macro dialog box would come up:

On the Record Macro dialog box, accept or enter a name for the macro. As an option, you can type
a description of the macro in the bottom text box. Once you are ready, click OK. This would bring
you to the document in Microsoft Excel where you can do what you want.
After doing what is necessary, to end the creation of the macro, on the Ribbon:
Click View. In the Macros section, click the the arrow of the Macros button and click Stop
Recording:

Click Developer. In the Code section, click the Stop Recording button

Practical Learning: Creating a Macro

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1. Start Microsoft Excel

18

2. On the Ribbon, click Developer.

In the Code section, click Record Macro
3. Set the Name of the macro as Variables

4. Click OK
5. In the document, whatever box is selected (don't click any), type =2
6. On the Formula Bar, click the Enter button
7. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Stop Recording

The Skeleton Code of a Macro

When you create a macro, skeleton code is generated for you. To access the code generated for a
macro, on the Ribbon:

Click View. In the Macros section, click Macros

button and click View Macros

or click the the arrow of the Macros

Click Developer. In the Code section, click the Macros button

Any of these actions would open the Macros dialog box that would display the list of macros in the
current document:

To see the code of a macro, click its name and click Edit.

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Practical Learning: Viewing the Code of a Macro

1. To open Microsoft Visual Basic, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros
2. In the Macros dialog box, make sure Exercise1 is selected and click Edit

VBA in a Macro
We will try to reduce as much as possible the code that will be written for you. Still, there are
some lines and words we will keep or use but will ignore them for now. As we move on in our
lessons, you will understand what everyone of those words means. The code generated in the
above Practical Learning section was:
Sub Exercise()
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "=2"
End Sub
The first line of code has the word Sub. We will introduce it later on. Exercise1 is the name of the
macro we created. We will come back to names in a few sections in this lesson. We will also come
back to the role of parentheses. The section of code ends with the End Sub line. We will come
back to it when we study the procedures. For now, consider the Sub Exercise1() and End Sub
lines as the minimum requirements we need as this time, that we don't need to be concerned
with, but whose roles we can simply ignore at this time.
The most important line of our code, and the only line we are concerned with, is:
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "=2"
This line has three main sections: ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1, =, and "=2". For now, understand
that the ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 expression means "whatever box is selected in the document".
The = sign is called the assignment operator. As its name indicates, the assignment operator is
used to assign something to another, to give a value to something, or more precisely to store
something somewhere.
The thing on the right side of = is called a value. Therefore, "=2" is a value. Based on this, the
expression ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "=2" means "Assign the thing on the right side of = to
the thing on the left side of =." Another way to put it is, "Store the value on the right side of the
assignment operator to the selected box on the left side of the assignment operator." For now,
until indicated otherwise, consider that that's what that line of code means.

Using a Macro
After creating a macro, you can use it to see its result. This is also referred to as executing a
macro or running a macro.
To execute a macro, on the Ribbon:

Click View. In the Macros section, click Macros

button and click View Macros

or click the the arrow of the Macros

Click Developer. In the Code section, click the Macros button

In the Macro dialog box, click the name of the macro and click Run.

Writing Code
Code Indentation
Indentation is a technique that allows you to write easily readable code. It consists of visually
showing the beginning and end of a section of code. Indentation consists of moving code to the
right side.
The easiest and most common way to apply indentation consists of pressing Tab before typing
your code. By default, one indentation, done when pressing Tab, corresponds to 4 characters. This
can be automatically set using the Tab Width text box of the Editor property page in the Options
dialog box. To change it, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click Tools ->
Options and click the Editor tab:

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If you don't want the pressing of Tab to be equivalent to 4 characters, change the value of the Tab
Width text box to a reasonable value and click OK. Otherwise, it is (strongly) suggested that you
keep to its default of 4 characters.

Comments
A comment is a piece of text in code that would not be considered when reading your code. As
such, a comment can be written any way you want.
In the Visual Basic language, the line that contains a comment can start with a single quote. Here
is an example:
This line will not be considered as part of the code
Alternatively, you can start a comment with the Rem keyword. Anything on the right side of rem,
Rem, or REM would not be read. Here is an example:
' This line will not be considered as part of the code
Rem I can write anything I want on this line
Comments are very useful and you are strongly suggested to use them regularly.
The code that was generated in our Practical Learning section contains a few lines of comment:
Sub Exercise1()
'
' Exercise1 Macro
'
'
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "=2"
End Sub

Practical Learning: Closing Microsoft Excel

1. To close Microsoft Visual Basic, on the main menu, click File -> Close and Return to Microsoft
Excel
2. To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office Button and click Exit Excel.
If you are asked whether you want to save the file, click No

Previous

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21

Variables
Introduction
To use some values in code, you must first create them. The computer memory is made of small
storage areas used to hold the values of your application. When you use a value in your code,
the computer puts it in a storage area. When you need it, you let the computer know. The
machine "picks it up", brings it to you, and then you can use it as you see fit.
In the world of computer programming, a variable is a value you ask the computer to temporarily
store in its memory while the program is running.

Practical Learning: Creating a Macro

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. On the Ribbon, click Developer.
In the Code section, click Record Macro
3. Set the Name of the macro as Variables

4. Click OK
5. In the document, whatever box is selected (don't click any), type =2
6. On the Formula Bar, click the Enter button
7. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Stop Recording
8. To open Microsoft Visual Basic, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros
9. In the Macros dialog box, make sure Variables is selected and click Edit

Declaring a Variable
When writing your code, you can use any variable just by specifying its name. When you provide
this name, the computer directly reserves an area in memory for it. Microsoft Visual Basic allows
you to directly use any name for a variable as you see fit. Fortunately, to eliminate the possibility
of confusion, you can first let Visual Basic know that you will be using a variable.
In order to reserve that storage area, you have to let the computer know. Letting the computer
know is referred to as declaring the variable. To declare a variable, you start with the Dim word,
like this:
Dim
A variable must have a name. The name is written on the right side of the Dim word. There are
rules you should follow when naming your variables:

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The name of a variable must begin with a letter or an underscore

22

After starting with a letter or an underscore, the name can be made of letters, underscores,
and digits in any order
The name of a variable cannot have a period
The name of a variable can have up to 255 characters.
The name of a variable must be unique in the area where it is used
There are some words you should (must) not use to name your variables. Those words are
reserved for the VBA internal use. Therefore, those words are called keywords. Some of them are:
And (Bitwise) And
(Condition)

As

Boolean

ByRef

Byte

ByVal

Case

CBool

CByte

CDate

Call

CDbl

CInt

CLng

Const

CSng

CStr

Date

Dim

Do

Double

Each

Else

ElseIf

End

EndIf

Error

False

For

Function

Get

GoTo

If

Integer

Let

Lib

Long

Loop

Me

Mid

Mod

New

Next

Not

Nothing

Option

Or (Bitwise)

Or
(Condition)

Private

Public

ReDim

REM

Resume

Select

Set

Single

Static

Step

String

Sub

Then

To

True

Until

vbCrLf

vbTab

With

While

Xor

As mentioned already, to declare a variable, type Dim followed by a name. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Something
End Sub
Declaring a variable simply communicates to Visual Basic the name of that variable. You can still
use a mix of declared and not-declared variable. If you declare one variable and then start using
another variable with a similar but somewhat different name, Visual Basic would still consider that
you are using two variables. This can create a great deal of confusion because you may be trying
to use the same variable referred to twice. The solution to this possible confusion is to tell Visual
Basic that a variable cannot be used if it has not been primarily declared. To communicate this, on
top of each file you use in the Code Editor, type:
Option Explicit
This can also be done automatically for each file by checking the Require Variable Declaration
in the Options dialog box.

Practical Learning: Using a Variable

1. On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Tools -> Options...
2. Click the Editor property page if necessary. In the Code Settings section, put a check mark in
the Require Variable Declaration check box

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23

3. Click OK and return to Microsoft Excel

4. To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office button and click Exit Excel
5. When asked whether you want to save, click No
6. Re-start Microsoft Excel

Declaring Many Variables

In a regular application, it is not unusual to want to use many variables. Once again, you should
make it a habit to always declare a variable before using it. To declare a new variable after
declaring a first one, you can simply go to the next line and use the Dim keyword to declare the
new variable. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Something
Dim Whatever
End Sub
In the same way, you can declare as many variables as you want. Instead of declaring each
variable on its own line, you can declare more than one variable on the same line. To do this, use
one Dim keyword and separate the names of variables with commas. Here are examples:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Father, Mother
Dim Son, Daughter, Nephew, Niece
Dim GrandMa
End Sub
Notice that each line uses its own Dim keyword and every new line of declaration(s) must have a
Dim keyword.

Value Assignment
We saw that when you declare a variable, the computer reserves a memory space for it but the
space is kept empty. After declaring the value, you can store a value you want in the memory
that was reserved for it.
To store a value in the memory reserved for a variable, you can assign a value to the variable. To
do this, type the name of the variable, followed by the assignment operator which is =, followed
by the value you want to store. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Value
Value = 9374
End Sub
As we will learn in the next few lessons, there are different types of values you will use in your
document. Also as we will see, the value you (decide to) store must be in accordance with the
type of memory that the computer had reserved for the variable.
After assigning a value to a variable, you can use that variable knowing the value it is currently
holding. At any time and when necessary, you can change the value held by a variable. That's
why it is called a variable (because its value can vary or change). To change the value held by a
variable, access the variable again and assign it the new desired value.

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Introduction to Data Types

A Variable As
A data type tells the computer what kind of variable you are going to use. Before using a variable,
you should know how much space it will occupy in memory. Different variables use different
amount of space in memory. The information that specifies how much space a variable needs is
called a data type. A data type is measured in bytes.
To specify the data type that will be used for a variable, after typing Dim followed by the name of
the variable, type the As keyword, followed by one of the data types we will review next. The
formula used is:
Dim VariableName As DataType
We mentioned earlier that you could use various variables if you judge them necessary. When
declaring such variables, we saw that you could declare each on its own line. To specify the data
type of a variable, use the same formula as above. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As DataType
Dim LastName As DataType
End Sub
We also saw that you could declare many variables on the same line as long as you separate the
names of the variables with commas. If you are specifying the data type of each, type the comma
after each variable. Here are examples:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As DataType, LastName As DataType
Dim Address As DataType, City As DataType, State As DataType
Dim Gender As DataType
End Sub
This code appears as if there is only one type of data. In the next few sections, we will review
various types of values that are available. To declare variables of different data types, you declare
each on its own line as we saw earlier:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FullName As DataType1
Dim DateHired As DataType2
Dim EmploymentStatus As DataType3
End Sub
You can also declare variables of different data types on the same line. To do this, use one Dim
keyword and separate the declarations with commas. Here are.examples:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FullName As DataType1, DateHired As DataType2
Dim EmploymentStatus As DataType3
End Sub

Type Characters
To make variable declaration a little faster and even convenient, you can replace the As DataType
expression with a special character that represents the intended data type. Such a character is
called a type character and it depends on the data type you intend to apply to a variable. When
used, the type character must be the last character of the name of the variable. We will see what
characters are available and when it can be applied.

Value Conversion
Every time the user enters a value in an application. That value is primarily considered as text.
This means that, if you want to use such a value in an expression or a calculation that expects a
specific value other than text, you must convert it from that text. Fortunately, Microsoft Visual
Basic provides an effective mechanism to convert a text value to one of the other values we will
see next.
To convert text to another value, there is a keyword adapted for the purpose and that depends on
the type of value you want to convert it to. We will mention each when necessary.

Integral Numeric Variables

Introduction
If you are planning to use a number in your program, you have a choice from different kinds of
numbers that the Visual Basic language can recognize. The Visual Basic language recognizes as a
natural number any number that doesn't include a fractional part. In the Visual Basic language,

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24

the number is made of digits only as a combination of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. No other

character is allowed. In future lessons, we will learn that in Microsoft Excel, you can use a comma
to separate the thousands, which would make the number easy to read. Microsoft Excel recognizes
the comma separator, the Visual Basic language doesn't.
By default, when we refer to a natural number, we expect it in decimal format as a combination of
digits. The Visual Basic language also supports the hexadecimal format. A hexadecimal number
starts with &H followed by a combination of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, a, b, c, d, e, f, A, B, C, D,
E, and F. An example would be &H28E4AABF.

Byte
To declare a variable that would hold natural numbers that range from 0 to 255, use the Byte
data type. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim StudentAge As Byte
End Sub
There is no type character for the Byte data type.
After declaring the variable, you can assign it a small positive number. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Value As Byte
Value = 246
End Sub
You can also use the number in hexadecimal format as long as the number is less than 255.
If you give either a negative value or a value higher to 255, when you attempt to access it, you
would receive an error:

To convert a value to a small number, you can use CByte(). The formula to use would be:
Number = CByte(Value to Convert to Byte)
When using CByte(), enter the value to convert in the parentheses.

Practical Learning: Using Byte Variables

1. In the code, click ActiveCell, press Home, press Enter, and press the up arrow key
2. To use byte variables, change the code as follows:
Sub Variables()
Dim Shirts As Byte
Dim Pants As Byte
Dim OtherItems As Byte
Dim TotalItems As Byte
Shirts = 6
Pants = 4
OtherItems = 2
TotalItems = Shirts + Pants + OtherItems
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = TotalItems
End Sub
3. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the Standard toolbar, click the View Microsoft Excel button
4. In Microsoft Excel, click any box

5. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click the Macros button

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25

6. In the Macros dialog box, make sure Exercise1 is selected and click Run

7. To return to Microsoft Visual Basic, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click Visual Basic

Integer
To declare a variable that would hold a number that ranges from -32768 to 32767, use the
Integer data type. Here is an example of declaring an integer variable:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Tracks As Integer
End Sub
Instead of using As Integer, you can use the % type character. Therefore, the above declaration
could be done as follows:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Tracks%
End Sub
After declaring the variable, you can assign the desired value to it. If you assign a value lower
than -32768 or higher than 32767, when you decide to use it, you would receive an error.
If you have a value that needs to be converted into a natural number, you can use CInt() using
the following formula:
Number = CInt(Value to Convert)
Between the parentheses of CInt(), enter the value, text, or expression that needs to be
converted.

Long
A long integer is a number that can be used for a variable involving greater numbers than
integers. To declare a variable that would hold such a large number, use the Long data type.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Population As Long
End Sub
The type character for the Long data type is @. The above variable could be declared as:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Population@
End Sub
A Long variable can store a value between 2,147,483,648 and 2,147,483,647 (remember
that the commas are used to make the numbers easy to read; do not be used them in your code).
Therefore, after declaring a Long variable, you can assign it a number in that range.
To convert a value to a long integer, call CLng() using the following formula:
Number = CLng(Value to Convert)
To convert a value to long, enter it in the parentheses of CLng().

Decimal Variables
Single Precision
In computer programming, a decimal number is one that represents a fraction. Examples are 1.85
or 426.88. If you plan to use a variable that would that type of number but precision is not your
main concern, declare it using the Single data type. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Distance As Single
End Sub
The type character for the Single data type is !. Based on this, the above declaration could be
done as:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Distance!
End Sub
A Single variable can hold a number between 1.401298e45 and 3.402823e38. for negative

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26

values or between 1.401298e45 and 3.402823e38 for positive values.

If you have a value that needs to be converted, use CSng() with the following formula:
Number = CSng(Value to Convert)
In the parentheses of CSng(), enter the value to be converted.

Double Precision
If you want to use a decimal number that requires a good deal of precision, declare a variable
using the Double data type. Here is an example of declaring a Double variable:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Distance As Double
End Sub
Instead of As Double, the type character you can use is #:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Distance#
End Sub
A Double variable can hold a number between 1.79769313486231e308 and
4.94065645841247e324 for negative values or between 4.94065645841247e324 and
1.79769313486231e308 for positive values.
To convert a value to double-precision, use CDbl() with the following formula:
Number = CDbl(Value to Convert)
In the parentheses of CDbl(), enter the value that needs to be converted.

Practical Learning: Using Decimal Variables

1. Change the code as follows:
Sub Variables()
Dim Side As Double
Dim Perimeter As Double
Side = 32.75
Perimeter = Side * 4
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Perimeter
End Sub
2. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the Standard toolbar, click the View Microsoft Excel button
3. In Microsoft Excel, click any box

4. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click the Macros button

5. In the Macros dialog box, make sure Exercise1 is selected and click Run

6. To return to Microsoft Visual Basic, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click Visual Basic

A String
A string is a character or a combination of characters that constitute text of any kind and almost
any length. To declare a string variable, use the String data type. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim CountryName As String
End Sub
The type character for the String data type is $. Therefore, the above declaration could be written
as:
Sub Exercise()
Dim CountryName$
End Sub
As mentioned already, after declaring a variable, you can assign a value to it. The value of a
string variable must be included inside of double-quotes. Here is an example:

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27

28

Sub Exercise()
Dim CountryName As String
CountryName = "Brsil"
End Sub
If you have a value that is not primarily text and you want to convert it to a string, use CStr()
with the following formula:
CStr(Value To Convert to String)
In the parentheses of the CStr(), enter the value that you want to convert to string.

Practical Learning: Using a String

1. Change the code as follows:
Sub Variables()
Dim CustomerName As String
CustomerName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi"
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = CustomerName
End Sub
2. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the Standard toolbar, click the View Microsoft Excel button
3. In Microsoft Excel, click any box

4. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click the Macros button

5. In the Macros dialog box, make sure Exercise1 is selected and click Run

6. To return to Microsoft Visual Basic, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click Visual Basic

Currency Values
The Currency data type is used to deal with monetary values. Here is an example of declaring it:
Sub Exercise()
Dim StartingSalary As Currency
End Sub
Instead of using the As Currency expression, you can use @ as the type character to declare a
currency variable. Here is an example of declaring it:
Sub Exercise()
Dim StartingSalary@
End Sub
A variable declared with the Currency keyword can store a value between
922,337,203,685,477.5808 and 922,337,203,685,477.5807. Once again, keep in mind that the
commas here are used only to make the number easy to read. Don't use the commas in a number
in your code. Also, when assigning a value to a currency-based variable, do not use the currency
symbol.
Here is an example of assigning a currency number to a variable:
Sub Exercise()
Dim StartingSalary As Currency
StartingSalary = 66500
End Sub
If you want to convert a value to currency, use CCur() with the following formula:
Number = CCur(Value to Convert)
To perform this conversion, enter the value in the parentheses of CCur().

Practical Learning: Using Currency Values

1. Change the code as follows:
Sub Variables()

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Dim NumberOfShirts As Byte

Dim PriceOneShirt As Currency
Dim TotalPriceShirts As Currency
NumberOfShirts = 5
PriceOneShirt = 1.25
TotalPriceShirts = NumberOfShirts * PriceOneShirt
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = TotalPriceShirts
End Sub
2. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the Standard toolbar, click the View Microsoft Excel button
3. In Microsoft Excel, click any box

4. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click the Macros button

5. In the Macros dialog box, make sure Exercise1 is selected and click Run

6. To return to Microsoft Visual Basic, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click Visual Basic

A Date
In Visual Basic, a Date data type can be used to store a date value. Therefore, to declare either a
date or a time variables, use the Date data type. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim DateOfBirth As Date
End Sub
After declaring the variable, you can assign it a value. A date value must be included between two
# signs. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim DateOfBirth As Date
DateOfBirth = #10/8/1988#
End Sub
There are various formats you can use for a date. We will deal with them in another lesson.
If you have a string or an expression that you want to convert to a date value, use CDate() based
on the following formula:
Result = CDate(Value to Convert)
In the parentheses of CDate(), enter the value that needs to be converted.

Practical Learning: Using a Date

1. Change the code as follows:
Sub Variables()
Dim DepositDate As Date
DepositDate = #2/5/2008#
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = DepositDate
End Sub
2. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the Standard toolbar, click the View Microsoft Excel button
3. In Microsoft Excel, click any box

4. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click the Macros button

5. In the Macros dialog box, make sure Exercise1 is selected and click Run

6. To return to Microsoft Visual Basic, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click Visual Basic

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29

A Time

30

In Visual Basic, the Date data type can also be used to store a time value. Here is an example of
declaring a variable that can hold a time value:
Sub Exercise()
Dim ShiftTimeIn As Date
End Sub
After declaring the variable, to assign a value to it, include the value between two # signs. The
value follows different rules from a date.
To convert a value or an expression to time, use CDate().

Any-Type Variables
A Variant
So far, we declared variables knowing the types of values we wanted them to hold. VBA provides
a universal (or vague) data type you can use for any type of value. The Variant data type is used
to declare a variable whose type is not explicitly specified. This means that a Variant data type
can hold any type of value you want.
Here are examples of Variant-declared variables that hold different types of values:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FullName As Variant
Dim EmploymentStatus As Variant
Dim HourlySalary As Variant
Dim DateHired As Variant
FullName = "Patricia Katts"
EmploymentStatus = 2
HourlySalary = 35.65
DateHired = #6/22/2004#
End Sub

A Variable Without a Data Type

In the variables we declared in the last few sections, we specified a data type for each. You can
declare a variable without giving its data type. Here are examples:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FullName
Dim EmploymentStatus
Dim HourlySalary
Dim DateHired
End Sub
Of course, you can declare more than one variable on the same line.
To indicate how much space is needed for the variable, you must assign it a value. Here are
examples:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FullName
Dim EmploymentStatus
Dim HourlySalary
Dim DateHired
FullName = "Patricia Katts"
EmploymentStatus = 2
HourlySalary = 35.65
DateHired = #6/22/2004#
End Sub
Once the variable holds a value, you can use it as you see fit.

The Scope or Lifetime of a Variable

Introduction
So far, we were declaring our variables between the Sub Name and the End Sub lines. Such a
variable is referred to as a local variable. A local variable is confined to the area where it is
declared. Here is an example:
Option Explicit
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As String

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FirstName = "Patricia"
End Sub

31

You cannot use such a variable outside of its Sub Name and the End Sub lines.

Global Variables
A global variable is a variable declared outside of the Sub Name and the End Sub lines. Such a
variable is usually declared in the top section of the file. Here is an example:
Option Explicit
Dim LastName As String
Sub Exercise()
End Sub
After declaring a global variable, you can access it in the other areas of the file. Here is an
example:
Option Explicit
Dim LastName As String
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As String
FirstName = "Patricia"
LastName = "Katts"
End Sub
Although we declared our global variable inside of the file where it was used, you can also declare
a global variable in a separate module to be able to use it in another module.

The Access Level of a Global Variable

Introduction
When using a global variable, the Visual Basic language allows you to control its access level. The
access level of a variable is a process of controlling how much access a section of code has on the
variable.

Private Variables
A variable is referred to as private if it can be accessed only by code from within the same file
(the same module) where it is used. To declare such a variable, instead of Dim, you use the
Private keyword. Here is an example:
Option Explicit
Private LastName As String
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As String
FirstName = "Patricia"
LastName = "Katts"
End Sub
Remember that a private variable can be accessed by any code in the same module. In the next
lesson, we will learn how to create other sections of code.

Public Variables
A variable is referred to as public if it can be accessed by code either from within the same file
(the same module) where it is declared or from code outside its module. To declare a public
variable, instead of Dim, you use the Public keyword. Here is an example:
Option Explicit
Private LastName As String
Public FullName As String
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As String
FirstName = "Patricia"
LastName = "Katts"
FullName = FirstName & " " & LastName
End Sub

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As a reminder, a public variable is available to code inside and outside of its module. This means
that you can create a module, declare a public variable in it, and access that variable in another
file (module) where needed.

32

A private variable is available inside its module but not outside its module. If you declare a private
variable in a module and try accessing it in another module, you would receive an error:
Module 1:
Option Explicit
Private FullName As String
Module 2:
Option Explicit
Private LastName As String
Private FirstName As String
Sub Exercise()
FirstName = "Patricia"
LastName = "Katts"
FullName = FirstName & " " & LastName
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName
End Sub
This would produce:

Practical Learning: Closing Microsoft Excel

1. To close Microsoft Visual Basic, on the main menu, click File -> Close and Return to Microsoft
Excel
2. To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office Button and click Exit Excel.
If you are asked whether you want to save the file, click No

Previous

Copyright 2008-2010 FunctionX, Inc.

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Next

33

VBA Operators
Introduction
An operation is an action performed on one or more values either to modify one value or to
produce a new value by combining existing values. Therefore, an operation is performed using at
least one symbol and one value. The symbol used in an operation is called an operator. A
variable or a value involved in an operation is called an operand.
A unary operator is an operator that performs its operation on only one operand.
An operator is referred to as binary if it operates on two operands.

Dimensioning a Variable
When interacting with Microsoft Excel, you will be asked to provide a value. Sometimes, you will
be presented with a value to view or change. Besides the values you use in a spreadsheet, in the
previous lesson, we learned that we could also declare variables in code and assign values to
them.
In the previous lesson, we saw that we could use the Dim operator to declare a variable. Here
is an example:
Option Explicit
Sub Exercise()
Dim Value
End Sub
After declaring a variable like this, we saw that we could then use it as we saw fit.

The Assignment Operator

We mentioned that you could declare a variable but not specify the type of value that would be
stored in the memory area reserved for it. When you have declared a variable, the computer
reserves space in the memory and gives an initial value to the variable. If the variable is
number based, the computer gives its memory an intial value of 0. If the variable is string
based, the computer fills its memory with an empty space, also referred to as an empty string.
Initializing a variable consists of giving it a value as soon as the variable has been declared. To
initialize a variable, you use the assignment operator which is "=". You type the name of the
variable, followed by =, and followed by the desired value. The value depends on the type of
variable. If the variable is integral based, give it an appropriate natural number. Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Integral As Integer
Integral = 9578
End Sub
If the variable is made to hold a decimal number, initialize it with a number that can fit in its
type of variable. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Distance As Double
Distance = 257.84
End Sub
If the variable is for a string, you can initialize it with an empty string or put the value inside of
double-quotes.

The Line Continuation Operator: _

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If you plan to write a long piece of code, to make it easier to read, you may need to divide it in
various lines. To do this, you can use the line continuation operator represented by a white
space followed by an underscore.
To create a line continuation, put an empty space, then type the underscore, and continue your
code in the next line. Here is an example:
Sub _
Exercise()
End Sub

The Parentheses: ()
Parentheses are used in various circumstances. The parentheses in an operation help to create
sections in an operation. This regularly occurs when more than one operators are used in an
operation. Consider the following operation:
8 + 3 * 5
The result of this operation depends on whether you want to add 8 to 3 then multiply the result
by 5 or you want to multiply 3 by 5 and then add the result to 8. Parentheses allow you to
specify which operation should be performed first in a multi-operator operation. In our example,
if you want to add 8 to 3 first and use the result to multiply it by 5, you would write (8 + 3) * 5.
This would produce 55. On the other hand, if you want to multiply 3 by 5 first then add the
result to 8, you would write 8 + (3 * 5). This would produce 23.
As you can see, results are different when parentheses are used on an operation that involves
various operators. This concept is based on a theory called operator precedence. This theory
manages which operation would execute before which one; but parentheses allow you to
completely control the sequence of these operations.

The Comma ,
The comma is used to separate variables used in a group. For example, a comma can be used to
delimit the names of variables that are declared on the same line. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String, FullName As String
End Sub

The Double Quotes: ""

A double-quote is used to delimit a
delimitation, the double-quote is always
"". What ever is inside the double-quotes
the double-quotes is called a string. Here

group of characters and symbols. To specify this

used in combination with another double-quote, as in
is the thing that need to be delimited. The value inside
is an example:

Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String, FullName As String
FirstName = "Valre"
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FirstName
End Sub

The Colon Operator :

Most of the time, to make various statements easier to read, you write each on its own line.
Here are examples:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String
FirstName = "Valre"
LastName = "Edou"
End Sub
The Visual Basic language allows you to write as many statements as necessary on the same
line. When doing this, the statements must be separated by a colon. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String
FirstName = "Valre" : LastName = "Edou"
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FirstName
End Sub

String Concatenation: &

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34

The & operator is used to append two strings or expressions. This is considered as concatenating
them. For example, it could allow you to concatenate a first name and a last name, producing a
full name. The general syntax of the concatenation operator is:
Value1 & Value2
In the same way, you can use as many & operators as you want between any two strings or
expressions. After concatenating the expressions or values, you can assign the result to another
variable or expression using the assignment operator. Here are examples:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String, FullName As String
FirstName = "Valre"
LastName = "Edou"
FullName = FirstName & " " & LastName
End Sub

Carriage Return-Line Feed

If you are displaying a string but judge it too long, you can segment it in appropriate sections as
you see fit. To do this, you can use vbCrLf. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String, FullName As String
Dim Accouncement As String
FirstName = "Valre"
LastName = "Edou"
FullName = FirstName & " " & LastName
Accouncement = "Student Registration - Student Full Name: " & _
vbCrLf & FullName
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Accouncement
End Sub

Arithmetic Operators
Positive Unary Operator: +
Algebra uses a type of ruler to classify numbers. This ruler has a middle position of zero. The
numbers on the left side of the 0 are referred to as negative while the numbers on the right
side of the rulers are considered positive:
-

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

0
-

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

A value on the right side of 0 is considered positive. To express that a number is positive, you
can write a + sign on its left. Examples are +4, +228, +90335. In this case the + symbol is
called a unary operator because it acts on only one operand.
The positive unary operator, when used, must be positioned on the left side of its operand,
never on the right side.
As a mathematical convention, when a value is positive, you don't need to express it with the +
operator. Just writing the number without any symbol signifies that the number is positive.
Therefore, the numbers +4, +228, and +90335 can be, and are better, expressed as 4, 228,
90335. Because the value does not display a sign, it is referred as unsigned.
The Negative Operator -

As you can see on the above ruler, in order to express any number on the left side of 0, it must
be appended with a sign, namely the - symbol. Examples are -12, -448, -32706. A value
accompanied by - is referred to as negative.
The - sign must be typed on the left side of the number it is used to negate.
Remember that if a number does not have a sign, it is considered positive. Therefore, whenever
a number is negative, it MUST have a - sign. In the same way, if you want to change a value
from positive to negative, you can just add a - sign to its left.

Addition +
The addition is performed with the + sign. It is used to add one value to another. Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Side#
Dim Perimeter#

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35

Side# = 42.58
Perimeter# = Side# + Side# + Side# + Side#
End Sub
Besides arithmetic operations, the + symbol can also be used to concatenate strings, that is, to
add one string to another. This is done by appending one string at the end of another. Here is
an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName$, LastName$, FullName$
FirstName$ = "Danielle"
LastName$ = "Kouma"
FullName$ = FirstName$ + " " + LastName$
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName$
End Sub

Multiplication *
The multiplication operation allows you to add a number to itself a certain number of times set
by another number. The multiplication operation is performed using the * sign. Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Side#
Dim Area#
Side# = 42.58
Area# = Side# * Side#
End Sub

Subtraction The subtraction operation is performed using the - sign. This operation produces the difference
of two or more numbers. It could also be used to display a number as a negative value. To
subtract 28 from 65, you express this with 65-28.
The subtraction can also be used to subtract the values of two values.

Integer Division \
Dividing an item means cutting it in pieces or fractions of a set value. Therefore, the division is
used to get the fraction of one number in terms of another. The Visual Basic language provides
two types of operations for the division. If you want the result of the operation to be a natural
number, called an integer, use the backlash operator "\" as the divisor. The formula to use is:
Value1 \ Value2
This operation can be performed on two types of valid numbers, with or without decimal parts.
After the operation, the result would be a natural number.

Decimal Division /
The second type of division results in a decimal number. It is performed with the forward slash
"/". Its formula is:
Value1 / Value2
After the operation is performed, the result is a decimal number.

Exponentiation ^
Exponentiation is the ability to raise a number to the power of another number. This operation
is performed using the ^ operator (Shift + 6). It uses the following formula:
yx
In Microsoft Visual Basic, this formula is written as:
y^x
and means the same thing. Either or both y and x can be values, variables, or expressions, but
they must carry valid values that can be evaluated. When the operation is performed, the value
of y is raised to the power of x.

Remainder: Mod
The division operation gives a result of a number with or without decimal values, which is fine
in some circumstances. Sometimes you will want to get the value remaining after a division
renders a natural result.

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The remainder operation is performed with keyword Mod. Its formula is:
Value1 Mod Value2
The result of the operation can be used as you see fit or you can display it in a control or be
involved in another operation or expression.

Bit Manipulations
Introduction
From our introduction to variables, you may remember that the computer stores its
data in memory using small locations that look like boxes and each box contains a
bit of information. Because a bit can be represented only either as 1 or 0, we can
say that each box contains 1 or 0. Bit manipulation consists of changing the value
(1 or 0, or 0 or 1) in a box. As we will see in the next few operations, it is not just
about changing a value. It can involve reversing a value or kind of "moving" a box
from its current position to the next position.
The operations on bits are performed on 1s and 0s only. This means that any
number in decimal or hexadecimal format involved in a bit operation must be
converted to binary first.
You will almost never perform some of the operations we are going to review. You
will hardly perform some other operations. There is only one operation you will
perform sometimes: the OR operation.

"Reversing" a Bit
Remember that, at any time, a box (or chunk) in memory contains either 1 or 0:

Bit reversal consists of reversing the value of a bit. If the box contains 1, you can
reverse it to 0. If it contains 0, you can reverse it to 1. To support this operation,
the Visual Basic language provides the Not Operator.
As an example, consider the number 286. The decimal number 286 converted to
binary is 100011110. You can reverse each bit as follows:
286

Not 286

Bitwise Conjunction
Bitwise conjunction consists of adding the content of one box (a bit) to the content
of another box (a bit). To support the bitwise conjunction operation, the Visual
Basic language provides the And operator.
To perform the bit addition on two numbers, remember that they must be converted
to binary first. Then:
If a bit with value 0 is added to a bit with value 0, the result is 0
Bit0

Bit1

Bit0 And Bit1

If a bit with value 1 is added to a bit with value 0, the result is 0

Bit0

Bit1

Bit0 And Bit1

If a bit with value 0 is added to a bit with value 1, the result is 0

Bit0

Bit1

Bit0 And Bit1

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37

If a bit with value 1 is added to a bit with value 1, the result is 1

Bit0

Bit1

Bit0 And Bit1

As an example, consider the number 286 bit-added to 475. The decimal number
286 converted to binary is 100011110. The decimal number 4075 converted to
binary is 111111101011. Based on the above 4 points, we can add these two
numbers as follows:
286 0

4075 1

286 And 4075 0

Therefore, 286 And 4075 produces 100001010 which is equivalent to:

Bit8 Bit7 Bit6 Bit5 Bit4 Bit3 Bit2 Bit1 Bit0
256 128

64

32

16

256

286 And 4075

This means that 286 And 4075 = 256 + 16 + 2 = 266

This can also be programmatically calculated as follows:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number1 As Integer
Dim Number2 As Integer
Dim Result As Integer

Number1 = 286
Number2 = 4075
Result = Number1 And Number2
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Result
End Sub

Bitwise Disjunction
Bitwise disjunction consists of disjoining one a bit from another bit. To support this
operation, the Visual Basic language provides the Or operator.
To perform a bitwise conjunction on two numbers, remember that they must be
converted to binary first. Then:
If a bit with value 0 is added to a bit with value 0, the result is 0
Bit0

Bit1

Bit0 Or Bit1

If a bit with value 1 is added to a bit with value 0, the result is 1

Bit0

Bit1

Bit0 Or Bit1

If a bit with value 0 is added to a bit with value 1, the result is 1

Bit0

Bit1

Bit0 Or Bit1

If a bit with value 1 is added to a bit with value 1, the result is 1

Bit0

Bit1

Bit0 Or Bit1

As an example, consider the number 305 bit-disjoined to 2853. The decimal number
305 converted to binary is 100110001. The decimal number 2853 converted to
binary is 101100100101. Based on the above 4 points, we can disjoin these two
numbers as follows:

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38

305 0

2853 1

305 Or 2853 1

39

Therefore, 305 Or 2853 produces 101100110101 which is equivalent to:

Bit11 Bit10 Bit9 Bit8 Bit7 Bit6 Bit5 Bit4 Bit3 Bit2 Bit1 Bit0
2048 1024 512 256 128
305 Or 2853

2048

512 256

64

32

16

32

16

This means that 286 And 4075 = 2048 + 512 + 256 + 32 + 16 + 4 + 1 = 2869
This can also be programmatically calculated as follows:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number1 As Integer
Dim Number2 As Integer
Dim Result As Integer

Number1 = 286
Number2 = 4075
Result = Number1 Or Number2
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Result
End Sub

Bitwise Exclusion
Bitwise exclusion consists of adding two bits with the following rules. To support
bitwise exclusion, the Visual Basic language provides an operator named Xor:
If both bits have the same value, the result is 0
Bit0

Bit1

Bit0 Xor Bit1

If both bits are different, the result is 1

Bit0

Bit1

Bit0 Xor Bit1

As an example, consider the number 618 bit-excluded from 2548. The decimal
number 618 converted to binary is 1001101010. The decimal number 2548
converted to binary is 100111110100. Based on the above 2 points, we can
bit-exclude these two numbers as follows:
618 0

2548 1

618 Xor 2548 1

Therefore, 305 Or 2853 produces 101110011110 which is equivalent to:

Bit11 Bit10 Bit9 Bit8 Bit7 Bit6 Bit5 Bit4 Bit3 Bit2 Bit1 Bit0
2048 1024 512 256 128
618 Xor 2548

2048

512 256 128

64

32

16

16

This means that 286 And 4075 = 2048 + 512 + 256 + 128 + 16 + 8 + 4 + 2 =
2974
This can also be programmatically calculated as follows:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number1 As Integer
Dim Number2 As Integer
Dim Result As Integer

Number1 = 286
Number2 = 4075
Result = Number1 Xor Number2
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Result

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End Sub

Previous

40

Copyright 2008-2010 FunctionX

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Next

41

Introduction to Procedures
Procedures
A procedure is a section of code created to carry an assignment, separate from a spreadsheet,
whose action can be used to complement a spreasheet. You create the procedure by writing
code. One of the advantages of a procedure is that, once it exists, you can access it when
necessary and as many times as you want.
There are two categories of procedures you will use in your spreadsheets: those that are already
installed with Microsoft Excel and those you will create.

Practical Learning: Introducing Procedures

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. On the Ribbon, click Developer

3. In the Code section, click the Visual Basic button

4. To create a module, on the main menu, click Insert -> Module
5. If the Properties window is not available, on the main menu, click View -> Properties Windows.
In the Properties window, click (Name)
6. Type Procedures and press Enter
In the Visual Basic language, like most other languages, there are two types of procedures:
functions and sub procedures.

Introduction to Sub-Procedures
A sub procedure is an assignment that is carried but does not give back a result. To create a sub
procedure, start with the Sub keyword followed by a name (like everything else, a procedure
must have a name). The name of a procedure is always followed by parentheses. At the end of
the sub procedure, you must type End Sub. Therefore, the primary formula to create a sub
procedure is:

Sub ProcedureName()
End Sub
The name of a procedure should follow the same rules we learned to name the variables. In
addition:
If the procedure performs an action that can be represented with a verb, you can use that
verb to name it. Here are examples: show, display
To make the name of a procedure stand, you should start it in uppercase. Examples are Show,
Play, Dispose, Close
You should use explicit names that identify the purpose of the procedure. If a procedure would
be used as a result of another procedure or a control's event, reflect it on the name of the sub
procedure. Examples would be: afterupdate, longbefore.
If the name of a procedure is a combination of words, you should start each word in
uppercase. An example is AfterUpdate
The section between the Sub and the End Sub lines is referred to as the body of the procedure.
Here is an example:
Sub CreateCustomer()
End Sub
In the body of the procedure, you carry the assignment of the procedure. It is also said that you
define the procedure or you implement the procedure.
One of the actions you can in the body of a procedure consists of declaring a variable. There is no
restriction on the type of variable you can declare in a procedure. Here is an example:

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42

Sub CreateCustomer()
Dim strFullName As String
End Sub
In the same way, you can declare as many variables as you need inside of a procedure. The
actions you perform inside of a procedure depend on what you are trying to accomplish. For
example, a procedure can simply be used to create a string. The above procedure can be changed
as follows:
Sub CreateCustomer()
Dim strFullName As String
strFullName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi"
End Sub

Calling a Sub Procedure

Once you have a procedure, whether you created it or it is part of the Visual Basic language, you
can use it. Using a procedure is also referred to as calling it.
Before calling a procedure, you should first locate the section of code in which you want to use it.
To call a simple procedure, type its name. Here is an example:
Sub CreateCustomer()
Dim strFullName As String
strFullName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi"
End Sub
Sub Exercise()
CreateCustomer
End Sub
Besides using the name of a procedure to call it, you can also precede it with the Call keyword.
Here is an example:
Sub CreateCustomer()
Dim strFullName As String
strFullName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi"
End Sub
Sub Exercise()
Call CreateCustomer
End Sub
When calling a procedure, without or without the Call keyword, you can optionally type an
opening and a closing parentheses on the right side of its name. Here is an example:
Sub CreateCustomer()
Dim strFullName As String
strFullName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi"
End Sub
Sub Exercise()
CreateCustomer()
End Sub

Procedures and Access Levels

Like a variable access, the access to a procedure can be controlled by an access level. A procedure
can be made private or public. To specify the access level of a procedure, precede it with the
Private or the Public keyword. Here is an example:
Private Sub CreateCustomer()
Dim strFullName As String
strFullName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi"
End Sub
The rules that were applied to global variables are the same:
Private: If a procedure is made private, it can be called by other procedures of the same
module. Procedures of outside modules cannot access such a procedure.
Also, when a procedure is private, its name does not appear in the Macros dialog box
Public: A procedure created as public can be called by procedures of the same module and by
procedures of other modules.
Also, if a procedure was created as public, when you access the Macros dialog box, its name
appears and you can run it from there

Introduction to Functions
Introduction
Like a sub procedure, a function is used to perform an assignment. The main difference between a
sub procedure and a function is that, after carrying its assignment, a function gives back a result.

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We also say that a function "returns a value". To distinguish both, there is a different syntax you
use for a function.

Creating a Function
To create a function, you use the Function keyword followed by a name and parentheses. Unlike
a sub procedure, because a function returns a value, you must specify the type of value the
function will produce. To give this information, on the right side of the closing parenthesis, you
can type the As keyword, followed by a data type. To indicate where a function stops, type End
Function. Based on this, the minimum syntax used to create a function is:
AccessModifier Function FunctionName() As DataType
End Function
As seen for a sub procedure, a function can have an access modifier.
The Function keyword is required.
The name of a function follows the same rules and suggestions we reviewed for names of sub
procedures.
The As keyword may be required (in the next sections, we will review the alternatives to the As
DataType expression).
The DataType factor indicates the type of value that the function will return. If the function will
produce a word or a group of words, you can create it as String. The other data types are also
valid in the contexts we reviewed them in the previous lesson. Here is an example:
Function GetFullName() As String
End Function

Practical Learning: Creating a Function

Click an empty area in the Code editor and, to create a function, type the following code:

Option Explicit
Function GetCustomerName() As String
End Function

Using a Type Character

As done with variables, you can also use a type character as the return type of a function and
omit the As DataType expression. The type character is typed on the right side of the function
name and before the opening parenthesis. An example would be GetFullName$(). As with the
variables, you must use the appropriate type character for the function:
Character
$
%
&
!
#
@

The function must return

A string
An integral value between -32768 and 32767
An integer of small or large scale
A decimal number with single precision
A decimal number with double precision
A monetary value

Here is an example:
Function GetFullName$()
End Function
As mentioned for a sub procedure, the section between the Function and the End Function lines
is the body of the function. It is used to describe what the function does. As done on a sub
procedure, one of the actions you can perform in a function is to declare a (local) variable and use
it as you see fit. Here is an example:
Function CallMe() As String
Dim Salute As String
Salute = "You can call me Al"
End Function

Returning a Value From a Function

After performing an assignment in a function, to indicate the value it returns, somewhere after
the assignment and before the End Function line, you can type the name of the function,
followed by the = sign, followed by the value that the function returns. Here is an example in
which a function returns a name:
Function GetFullName$()
Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String
FirstName = "Patricia"

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43

LastName = "Katts"

44

GetFullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName

End Function

Practical Learning: Implementing a Function

1. To implement the function, change its code as follows:

Option Explicit
Function GetCustomerName() As String
GetCustomerName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi"
End Function
2. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the Standard toolbar, click the View Microsoft Excel button

Calling a Function
As done for the sub procedure, in order to use a function in your program, you must call it. Like a
sub procedure, to call a function, you can simply type its name in the desired section of the
program. Here is an example:
Function CallMe() As String
Dim Salute As String
Salute = "You can call me Al"
CallMe = Salute
End Function
Sub Exercise()
CallMe
End Sub
When calling the function, you can optionally type the parentheses on the right side of its name.
The primary purpose of a function is to return a value. To better take advantage of such a value,
you can assign the name of a function to a variable in the section where you are calling the
function. Here is an example:
Function GetFullName$()
Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String
FirstName = "Patricia"
LastName = "Katts"
GetFullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName
End Function
Sub Exercise()
Dim FullName$
FullName = GetFullName()
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName
End Sub

Calling a Function in a Spreadsheet

By now, we have seen that the primary (if not the only) difference between a function and a sub
procedure is that a function returns a value. Because a sub procedure does not return a value, it
cannot be directly accessed from a spreadsheet and you cannot use it with the
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Value we have been using since the previous lesson. On the other
hand, since a function returns a value, you can retrieve that value and assign it to our
ctiveCell.FormulaR1C1 routine. Here is an example:
Function GetFullName$()
Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String
FirstName = "Patricia"
LastName = "Katts"
GetFullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName
End Function
Sub Exercise()
Dim FullName$
FullName = GetFullName()
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName
End Sub
Better yet, if/when possible, you do not have to first declare a variable that would hold the value
returned by a function. You can directly assign the function to the
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 routine. Here is an example:
Function GetFullName$()
Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String

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FirstName = "Patricia"
LastName = "Katts"

45

GetFullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName

End Function
Sub Exercise()
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = GetFullName()
End Sub
In the same way, since a function returns a value, you can use it directly in your spreadsheet. To
do this, click any box in the work area. After clicking the box, type =, followed by the name of the
function. As you are typing the name of the function, Microsoft Excel would present a list of
functions that match that name. If you see the name of the function, you can double-click it, or
you can just keep typing. After typing the name of the function, type its parentheses, and press
Enter or click the Enter button

on the Formula Bar.

Practical Learning: Calling a Function

1. In Microsoft Excel, click any box
2. To call the function we had created, type =G and notice the suggested list of functions:

3. If you see GetCustomerName in the list, double-click it. Otherwise, complete it with
=GetCustomerName() and, on the Formula Bar, click the Enter button

4. On the Ribbon, click Visual Basic

A Function and a Procedure

Depending on an author, in the Visual Basic language, the word "procedure" means either a
sub-procedure created with the Sub keyword, or a function created with the Function keyword.
In the same way, for the rest of our lessons, the word procedure will be used to represent both
types. Only when we want to be precise will we use the expression "a sub-procedure" to explicitly
mean the type of procedure that does not return a value. When the word "function" is used in our
lessons, it explicitly refers to the type of procedure that returns a value.

Arguments and Parameters

A Review of Local and Global Variables
In the previous lesson, we saw that you could declare a global variable outside of any
procedure. When using various procedures in a module, one of the characteristics of a
global variable is that it is automatically accessible to other procedures:
Private: A private global variable can be accessed by any procedure of the same
module. No procedure of another module, even of the same program, can access it
Public: A public global variable can be accessed by any procedure of its module and any
procedure of another module
Based on this characteristic of the procedures of a module having access to global variables
of the same module, you can declare such variables and initialize or modify them in any
procedure of the same code file.
Here is an example:

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Option Explicit

46

Private Length As Double

Private Width As Double
Private Sub GetLength()
Length = 48.24
End Sub
Private Sub GetWidth()
Width = 25.82
End Sub
Private Function CalculatePerimeter() As Double
GetLength
GetWidth
CalculatePerimeter = (Length + Width) * 2
End Function

Introduction to Arguments
So far, to use a value in a procedure, we had to declare it. In some cases, a procedure may
need an external value in order to carry its assignment. A value that is supplied to a
procedure is called an argument.
When creating a procedure that will use an external value, declare the argument that
represents that value between the parentheses of the procedure. For a sub procedure, the
syntax you use would be:
Sub ProcedureName(Argument)
End Sub
If you are creating a function, the syntax would be:
Function ProcedureName(Argument) As DataType
Function Sub
The argument must be declared as a normal variable, omitting the Dim keyword. Here is an
example that creates a function that takes a string as argument:
Function CalculatePayroll(strName As String) As Double
Function Sub
While a certain procedure can take one argument, another procedure can take more than
one argument. In this case, in the parentheses of the procedure, separate the arguments
with a comma. Here is an example of a sub procedure that takes two arguments:
Sub EvaluateInvoice(EmplName As String, HourlySalary As Currency)
End Sub
In the body of a procedure that takes one or more arguments, use the argument(s) as you
see fit as if they were locally declared variables. For example, you can involve them with
values inside of the procedure. You can also exclusively use the values of the arguments to
perform the assignment.

Practical Learning: Creating a Function With Arguments

To create functions that take arguments, type the following

Option Explicit
Public Function CalculatePerimeter(Length As Double, _
Width As Double) As Double
Dim Perimeter As Double
Perimeter = (Length + Width) * 2
CalculatePerimeter = Perimeter
End Function
Public Function CalculateArea(Length As Double, Width As Double) As Double
Dim Area As Double
Area = Length * Width
CalculateArea = Area
End Function

Calling a Procedure With Argument

The value provided for an argument is also called a parameter. To call a procedure that
takes an argument, type its name. Then you have various options to access its argument(s).
Earlier, we saw that, to call a procedure, you could just use its name. After the name of the
procedure, you can type the opening parenthesis "(", followed by the name of the

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argument, followed by =, and the value of the argument. If the procedure takes more than
one argument, separate them with commas. Here is an example:
Private Function GetFullName$(First As String, Last As String)
Dim FName As String
FName = First & Last
GetFullName = FName
End Function
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String
Dim FullName As String
FirstName = "Patricia "
LastName = "Katts"
FullName = GetFullName(FirstName, LastName)
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName
End Sub
As mentioned previously, you can also use the Call keyword to call a procedure.
When you call a procedure that takes more than one argument, you must provide the
values of the arguments in the order they are listed inside of the parentheses. Fortunately,
you don't have to. If you know the names of the arguments, you can type them in any
order and provide a value for each. To do this, in the parrentheses of the procedure you are
calling, type the name of the argument whose value you want to specify, followed by the :=
operator, and followed by the desired value for the argument. Here is an example:
Private Function GetFullName$(First As String, Last As String)
Dim FName As String
FName = First & Last
GetFullName = FName
End Function
Sub Exercise()
Dim FullName$
FullName$ = GetFullName(Last:="Roberts", First:="Alan ")
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName
End Sub
The above technique we have just seen for using the parentheses is valid for sub
procedures and functions. If the procedure you are calling is a sub, you can omit the
parentheses. If calling a sub procedure, after the name of the procedure, put an empty
space, followed by the name of the argument assigned the desired value. Here is an
example:
Private Sub ShowResult(ByVal Result As Double)
Result = 145.85
End Sub
Public Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Double
ShowResult Number
End Sub
If the sub procedure is taking more than one argument, separate them with commas.

Practical Learning: Calling a Procedure With Argument

1. In Microsoft Excel, click any box
2. To call the function we had created, type =C and notice the suggested list of functions:

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47

48

3. In the list of suggested functions, double-click CalculatePerimeter. If you don't see it,
complete the typing with =CalculatePerimeter(
4. After the opening parenthesis, type 48.26, 25.42 as the arguments, then type the
closing parenthesis ")"

5. On the Formula Bar, click the Enter button

6. Press Enter
7. Type =CalculateArea(48.26, 25.26) and press Enter

8. On the Ribbon, click Visual Basic

Techniques of Passing Arguments

Passing Arguments By Value
When calling a procedure that takes an argument, we were supplying a value for that
argument. When this is done, the procedure that is called makes a copy of the value of the
argument and makes that copy available to the calling procedure. That way, the argument
itself is not accessed. This is referred to as passing an argument by value. To show this,
type the ByVal keyword on the left side of the argument. Here are examples:
Private Function GetFullName$(ByVal First As String, ByVal Last As String)
Dim FName As String
FName = First & Last
GetFullName$ = FName

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End Function

49

If you create a procedure that takes an argument by value and you have used the ByVal
keyword on the argument, when calling the procedure, you do not need to use the ByVal
keyword; just the name of the argument is enough, as done in the examples on arguments
so far. Here is an example:
Private Function GetFullName$(ByVal First As String, ByVal Last As String)
Dim FName As String
FName = First & Last
GetFullName$ = FName
End Function
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As String, LastName As String
Dim FullName As String
FirstName = "Raymond "
LastName = "Kouma"
FullName = GetFullName(FirstName, LastName)
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = FullName
End Sub

Practical Learning: Passing Arguments By Value

1. To specify that the arguments are passed by value, change the functions as follows:

Public Function CalculatePerimeter(ByVal Length As Double, _

ByVal Width As Double) As Double
Dim Perimeter As Double
Perimeter = (Length + Width) * 2
CalculatePerimeter = Perimeter
End Function
Public Function CalculateArea(ByVal Length As Double, _
ByVal Width As Double) As Double
Dim Area As Double
Area = Length * Width
CalculateArea = Area
End Function
2. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the toolbar, click the View Microsoft Excel button

Passing Arguments By Reference

An alternative to passing arguments as done so far is to pass the address of the argument
to the called procedure. When this is done, the called procedure does not receive a simple
copy of the value of the argument: the argument is accessed by its address; that is, at its
memory address. With this technique, any action carried on the argument will be kept by
the argument when the procedure ends. If the value of the argument is modified, the
argument would now have the new value, dismissing or losing the original value it had. This
technique is referred to as passing an argument by reference. Consider the following code:
Private Sub ShowResult(ByVal Result As Double)
Result = 145.85
End Sub
Public Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Double
ShowResult Number
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Number
End Sub
When the Exercise() procedure starts, a variable named Number is declared and its value is
set to 0 (the default value of a newly declared Double variable). When the ShowResult
variable is called, it assigns a value to the variable but since the variable is declared by
value, when the procedure exits, the variable comes back with its original value, which was
0. As a result, when this code is run, the Number variable keeps its 0 value.
If you want a procedure to change the value of an argument, you can pass the argument by
reference. To pass an argument by reference, on its left, type the ByRef keyword. This is
done only when creating the procedure. When you call the procedure, don't include the
ByRef keyword. When the called procedure finishes with the argument, the argument
would keep whatever modification was made on its value. Now consider the same program
as above but with arguments passed by reference:
Private Sub ShowResult(ByRef Result As Double)
Result = 145.85
End Sub

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Public Sub Exercise()

Dim Number As Double

50

ShowResult Number
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Number
End Sub
When the Exercise() procedure starts, the Number variable is declared and its value is set
to 0. When the ShowResult variable is called, it assigns a value to the variable. Since the
variable is declared by reference, when the procedure exits, the variable comes back with
the new value it was given. As a result, when this code runs, the Number variable has a
new value.
Using this technique, you can pass as many arguments by reference and as many
arguments by value as you want. As you may guess already, this technique can be used to
make a sub procedure return a value, which a regular sub routine cannot do. Furthermore,
passing arguments by reference allows a procedure to return as many values as possible
while a regular function can return only one value.

Practical Learning: Closing Microsoft Excel

1. To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office Button and click Exit Excel
2. When asked whether you want to save the file, click No

Previous

Copyright 2008-2010 FunctionX

Next

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51

Classes and Objects

Introduction
The Microsoft Visual Basic language uses the concept of class to identify or manage the parts of
an application. Consider an object like a house. It has such characteristics as its type (single
family, townhouse, condominium, etc), the number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms, etc:

These characteristics are used to describe a house to somebody who wants to buy it. To get such
an object, you must first define the criteria that describe it. Here is an example:
House
[
Address
Type of House
Number of Bedrooms
Number of Bathrooms
Has Indoor Garage
The Living Room is Covered With Carpet
The Kitchen Has an Island Stove
]
This information is used to describe a house. Based on this, House is called a class. To actually
describe a real house, you must provide information for each of the above characteristics. Here is
an example:
House: Langston
[
Address: 6802 Leighton Ave
Type of House: Single Family
Number of Bedrooms: 4
Number of Bathrooms: 3
Has Indoor Garage: Yes
The Living Room is Covered With Carpet: Yes
The Kitchen Has an Island Stove: No
]
In this case, Langston is not a class anymore, it is a real house and is explicitly described.
Therefore, Langston is called an object. Based on this, a class is a technique used to provide the
criteria to define an object. An object is the result of a description based on a class.

Practical Learning: Introducing Objects

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. On the Ribbon, click Developer
3. In the Controls section, click Insert
4. Under ActiveX Controls, click any object and click the main area of the spreadsheet

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The Properties of an Object

52

In our example of a house, we used words to describe it. Examples are: Address, Type of House,
Number of Bedrooms, Number of Bathrooms. In computer programming, the characteristics used
to describe an object are referred to as its properties.
To display the characteristics of a Windows control, in Microsoft Excel:
You can right-click the control and click Properties
If the control is selected in the work area, in the Controls section of the Ribbon, click the
Properties button
Any of these two actions would display the Properties window for the control that was rightclicked:

The Properties window would stay on the screen of Microsoft Excel as long as you want. To show
the properties of another control, simply click it in the work area.
If you are working in Microsoft Visual Basic, to show the characteristics of a control, right-click it
and click Properties. This also would display the Properties window and show the characteristics of
the selected control. While the Properties window in Microsoft Excel floats and does not hold a
specific position, by default, in Microsoft Visual Basic, the Properties window is position on the
lower-left side.
You can move it by dragging its title bar.

Practical Learning: Introducing Properties

Right-click the object you added and click Properties

The Methods of an Object

Introduction
While most objects only provide characteristics to describe them, other objects can perform
actions. For example, a house can be used to protect people when it is raining outside. In
computer programming, an action that an object can perform is referred to as method.
Earlier, we defined a House class with its properties. Unlike a property, a method must display
parentheses on this right side to differentiate it from a property. An example would be:
House
[
Address
TypeOfHouse
NumberOfBedrooms
NumberOfBathrooms
HasIndoorGarage
LivingRoomCoveredWithCarpet
KitchenHasIslandStove
ProtectFromOutside()
]
When an object has a method, to access that method, type the name of the object, followed by a
period, followed by the name of the method, and followed by parentheses. For example, if you

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have a House object named Langston and you want to ask it to protect its inside from outside
rain, you would type:
Langston.ProtectFromOutside()
This is also referred to as calling a method.

Methods and their Arguments

When asked to perform an action, a method may need one or more values to work with. If a
method needs a value, such a value is called an argument. While a certain method may need one
argument, another method would need more than one. The number of arguments of a method
depends on its goal. The arguments of a method are provided in parentheses.
Suppose you have a House object and you want it to protect what is inside. There may be
different reasons why the inside needs to be protected: may be from the rain, may be from the
windy dust, may be at night time from too much light that prevents from sleeping, etc. Based on
this, you may have to provide additional information to indicate why or how the inside should be
protected. For this reason, when such a method is called, this additional information must be
provided, in the parentheses of the method. Here is an example:
House
[
Address
TypeOfHouse
NumberOfBedrooms
NumberOfBathrooms
HasIndoorGarage
LivingRoomCoveredWithCarpet
KitchenHasIslandStove
ProtectFromOutside(Reason)
]
As mentioned above, a method can be created to take more than one argument. In this case, the
arguments are separated with commas. Here is an example:
House
[
Address
TypeOfHouse
NumberOfBedrooms
NumberOfBathrooms
HasIndoorGarage
LivingRoomCoveredWithCarpet
KitchenHasIslandStove
ProtectFromOutside(Reason, WhenToProtect)
]
The arguments are used to assist the object with performing the intended action. Once a method
has been created, it can be used. Once again, using a method is referred to as calling it. If a
method takes one argument, when calling it, you must provide a value for the argument,
otherwise the method would not work.
To call a method that takes an argument, type the name of the method followed by the opening
parenthesis (, followed by the value that will be the argument, followed by a closing parenthesis
). The argument you pass can be a regular constant value or it can be the name of another
object.
If the method is taking more than one argument, to call it, type the values for the arguments, in
the exact order indicated, separated from each other by a comma.

Default Arguments
We have mentioned that, when calling a method that takes an argument, you must supply a value
for the argument. There is an exception. Depending on how the method was created, it may be
configured to use its own value if you fail, forget, or choose not, to provide one. This is known as
the default argument. Not all methods follow this rule.
If a method that takes one argument has a default value for it, then you don't have to supply a
value when calling that method. Such an argument is considered optional.
If a method takes more than one argument, some argument(s) may have default values while
some others do not. The arguments that have default values can be used and you don't have to
supply them.
We will mention default arguments when we come to a method that takes some.

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53

Techniques of Accessing the Members of an Object

Me
In previous lessons and sections, we saw that an object was made of properties and
methods. We also saw how to access a property of an object. For example, imagine
you have a House class defined as follows:
House
[
Address
TypeOfHouse
NumberOfBedrooms
NumberOfBathrooms
HasIndoorGarage
LivingRoomCoveredWithCarpet
KitchenHasIslandStove
ProtectFromOutside()
]
If you have an object named Camden and that is of type House. To access some of
its properties, you would use code as follows:
Camden.Address
Camden.TypeofHouse
If you are working inside of a method of the class, for example if you are working in
the body of the ProtectFromOutside method, you can also access the properties the
same way, this time without the name of the object. This could be done as follows:
ProtectFromOutside()
Address
TypeofHouse
NumberOfBedrooms
NumberOfBathrooms
End
When you are accessing a member of a class inside of one of its own methods, you
can precede that member with the Me object. You must include the period operator
between Me and the member of the class. Here is an example:
ProtectFromOutside()
Me.Address
Me.TypeofHouse
Me.NumberOfBedrooms
Me.NumberOfBathrooms
End
Remember that the Me object is used to access the members of an object while you
are inside of another member of the object.

With
We have seen that you can use the name of an object to access its members. Here
is an example:
Camden.Address
Camden.TypeOfHouse
Camden.NumberOfBedrooms
Camden.NumberOfBathrooms
Camden.HasIndoorGarage
Instead of using the name of the object every time, you can start a section with the
With keyword followed by the name of the object. In another line, end the section
with the End With expression:
With Camden
End With
Between the With and the End With lines, to access a member of the class that the
object is built from, type a period followed by the desired member. This would be
done as follows:
With Camden
.Address
.TypeOfHouse
.NumberOfBedrooms
.NumberOfBathrooms
.HasIndoorGarage
End With
As you access a member, you can perform on it any action you judge necessary.

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54

Design Time and Run Time

55

The Properties window allows you view or change a characteristic of the control. The
properties of an object can be changed when designing it or by writing code. The
time you are designing an application is referred to as design time. The time the
application (form) displays to the user is referred to as run time.
You can manipulate the characteristics of a control both at design and at run times.
This means that you can set some properties at design time and some others at run
time.

Practical Learning: Closing Microsoft Excel

1. To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office Button and click Exit Excel
2. When asked whether you want to save the file, click No

Previous

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56

The Appearance of the Properties Window

Introduction
To manipulate an object, you can use the Properties window:

Practical Learning: Introducing Properties

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. On the Ribbon, click Developer
3. In the Controls section, click Insert
4. Under ActiveX Controls, click any object and click the main area of the spreadsheet
5. Right-click the object you added and click Properties

The Name of a Property

After adding a control to your application, you can manipulate its characteristics. If you are
working in Microsoft Excel, to put a control into edit mode, in the Controls section of the Ribbon ,

click the Design Mode button

Each field in the Properties window has two sections: the propertys name and the property's
value:

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57

The name of a property is represented in the left column. This is the official name of the property.
Notice that the names of properties are in one word. Based on this, our House class would have
been defined as follows:
House
[
Address
TypeOfHouse
NumberOfBedrooms
NumberOfBathrooms
HasIndoorGarage
LivingRoomCoveredWithCarpet
KitchenHasIslandStove
]
You can use this same name to access the property in code.

Accessing a Control's Property

To access a property of a control using code, type the name of the control, followed by a period,
followed by the name of the property. Based on this, if you have a House object named Langston,
to access its TypeOfHouse property, you would write:
Langston.TypeOfHouse

The Value of a Property

The box on the right side of each property name represents the value of the property that you can
set for an object. There are various kinds of fields you will use to set the properties. To know what
particular kind a field is, you can click its name. To set or change a property, you use the box on
the right side of the propertys name: the property's value, also referred to as the field's
value.

The Default Value of a Control's Property

To programmatically change the value of a property, type the name of the control, followed by a
period, followed by the name of the property, followed by =. Then, on the right side of equal, you
must provide the value but this depends on the type of value.
The people who developed the controls also assigned some primary values to their properties. This
is the type of value that a property either is most likely to have or can use unless you decide to
change it. The primary value given to a property is referred to as its default value. Most of the
time, you can use that property. In some other assignments, the default value will not be suitable.

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Types of Properties

58

Empty Fields

By default, these fields don't have a

default value. Most of these properties
are dependent on other settings of
project.
To set the property on such a field, you
can type in it or sometimes you will
need to select from a list.

Text Fields
There are fields that expect you to type
a value. Most of these fields have a
default value.
To change the value of the property,
click the name of the property, type the
desired value, and press Enter or Tab.
While some properties, such as the
Caption, would allow anything, some
other fields expect a specific type of
text, such as a numeric value.
To programmatically change the value
of a text-based property, on the right
side of the = sign, you can type the
value in double quotes. For example,
suppose you have a House object
named Langston. If you want to specify
its address, you would write:
Langston.Address = "6802 Leighton Ave"

Numeric Fields
Some fields expect a numeric value. In this case, you can click the name of the
field and type the desired value. If you type an invalid value, you would receive
a message box notifying you of the error:

When this happens, click OK and type a valid value. If the value is supposed to
be an integer, make sure you don't type it with a fractional part.

Expandable Fields

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Some fields have a - or a + button. This

indicates that the property has a set of
sub-properties that actually belong to
the same property and are defined
together. To expand such a field, click
its + button and a button will
appear.
To collapse the field, click the
button. Some of the properties are
numeric based. With such a property,
you can click its name and type the
numeric value. Some other properties
are created from a sub-list. If you
expand such a field, it would display
various options. With such a property,
you should select from a list.

Boolean Fields
Some fields can have only a
True or False value. These are
Boolean fields. To change their
value, you can either select from
the combo box or double-click
the property to switch to the
other value.
To programmatically specify the
value of a Boolean property, on
the right side of the = symbol,
type True or False. Here is an
example:
Langston.HasIndoorGarage= True

Intermediary Fields

Some fields use a value that can be

set through an intermediary action.
Such fields display a browse button
. When you click the button, a dialog
box would come up and you can set
the value for the field.

List-Based Fields
To change the value of some of the fields, you would first click the arrow of
their combo box to display the available values. After clicking the arrow, a list
would display:

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60

There are various types of list-based fields. Some of them display just two
items. To change their value, you can just double-click the field. Some other
fields have more than two values in the list. To change them, you can click
their arrow and select from the list. You can also double-click a few times until
the desired value is selected. Some other items would dispplay a window from
where you would click the option you want:

To programmatically specify the value of a list-based property, you must use

one from a list. For example, suppose you had defined a list of types of house
as tpeSingleFamily, tpeTownHouse, and tpeCondominium. To use one of these
values for a House object named Langston, you would type:
Langston.TypeOfHouse = tpeSingleFamily
In most cases, each member of such a list also uses a natural number. An
example would be:
TypeOfHouse Value
0

tpeSingleFamily

tpeTownHouse

tpeCondominium

Although we used 0, 1, and 2 in this list, there are no predefined rules as to the
number allocated for each member of the list. The person who created the list
also decided what number, if any, each member of the list would have (if you
are curious, in most programming languages or libraries, these types of
properties are created using an enumeration (in C++ or in the the .NET
Framework) or a set (Borland VCL)). Based on this, the above code would also
be written as:
Langston.TypeOfHouse = 0

Practical Learning: Closing Microsoft Excel

1. To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office Button and click Exit Excel
2. When asked whether you want to save the file, click No

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61

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62

Forms Fundamentals
Introduction to Forms
A computer application, such as those that run on Microsoft Windows, is equipped with objects
called Windows controls. These are the objects that allow a person to interact with the computer.
The primary control used on most applications is called a form.

Practical Learning: Introducing Forms

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. On the Ribbon, click Developer
3. In the Code section, click Visual Basic

Creating a Form
To create a form, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click Insert -> UserForm.
This would add a form to your project. In the same way, you can add as many forms as you want.
The form is primarily used as a platform on which you add other controls. For this reason, a form
is referred to as a container. By itself, a form is not particularly useful. You should add other
objects to it.
When you create or add a form, a module is also automatically created for it. To access the
module associated with a form, you can right-click the form and click View Code.

Practical Learning: Creating a Form

1. To create a form, on the main menu, click Insert -> UserForm
2. To access its associated module, right-click the form and click View Code
3. To return to the form, on the main menu, click Window and click the menu item that has
(UserForm).

Using a Form
Showing a Form
Although you create a form in Microsoft Visual Basic, you view its results in Microsoft Excel. You
have various options.
A form is referred to as modal if the user cannot access anything from the same application while
the form is displaying. A form is called modeless if the user can click something of the same
application behind that form while the form is displaying.
To display the run-time view of a form in modal view:
While in Microsoft Visual Basic, you can press F5
On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click Run -> Run Sub/UserForm
On the Standard toolbar of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click the Run Sub/UserForm button
. This would send the form to Microsoft Excel and display it in the normal view
You can also programmatically display a form. To support this, the UserForm object is equipped
with a method named Show. Its syntax is:
Public Sub UserForm.Show(Optional ByVal Modal As Boolean)
This method takes one Boolean argument that is optional. If you omit it, the form would display as
modal and the user cannot do anything else in Microsoft Excel as long as the form is not closed.
That's the default behavior. If you want to display the form as modeless, pass the argument as
False. Here is an example:
Private Sub Exercise()
UserForm1.Show False
End Sub

Printing a Form
If you have equipped a form with many aesthetic objects you want to see on a piece of paper, you

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can print it. To support printing, the UserForm object is equipped with a method named PrintForm.
Its syntax is:
Public Sub PrintForm
This method takes no argument. When called, it sends the (body of the) form directly to the
printer. Here is an example of calling it:
Private Sub Exercise()
UserForm1.PrintForm
End Sub

Hiding a Form
As opposed to displaying a form, if it is already showing, you can hide it. To allow you to hide a
form, the UserForm object is equipped with a method named Hide. Its syntax is:
Pyblic Sub UserForm.Hide
This method takes no argument. When called, it hides the form (without closing it). Here is an
example of calling it:
Private Sub Exercise()
UserForm1.Hide
End Sub

Closing a Form
After using a form, the user can close it by clicking the system close button. To programmatically
close a form, use the End statement. Here is an example:
Private Sub Exercise()
End
End Sub

The Characteristics of a Form

The Name of a Form
Like every object on a computer, the primary characteristic of a form is its name. After creating a
form, access its Properties window, click (Name), type the desired name and press Enter

Practical Learning: Naming a Form

If the Properties window is not displaying, right-click the form and click Properties window.
In the Properties window, click (Name) and type frmCleaningOrders

The location of a Form

When a form displays in normal view to the user, it is usually centered. The user can then drag its
title bar to move it around. You too can move a form.
If you want to specify the position a form would assume when it displays, at design time, access
its Properties window. Then change the values of the Left and the Top properties. You can also
programmatically control the location of a form. You have two options. You can assign the desired
values to its Left and/or Top properties. Here is an example:
Private Sub Exercise()
UserForm1.Left = 400
End Sub
Al alternative is to call the Move method. Its syntax is:
Public Sub UserForm.Move(ByVal Left As Single, ByVal Top As Single, Optional ...)
This method takes two required arguments. The first represents the left distance and the second is
the top distance. Here is an example:
Private Sub Exercise()
UserForm1.Move 200, 200
End Sub

The Size of a Form

When you have just added a new form, it assumes a default size. If that size doesn't fit your
intentions, you can change.
To change the size of a form, you can access its Properties window. Then change the values of the
Height and Width. To programmatically change the size of a form, you have many options. You
can assign the desired values to its Height and/or to its Width. Here is an example:
Private Sub Exercise()
UserForm1.Width = 600
End Sub
Another option is to call the Move method. In reality, this method takes two required arguments

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and two optional arguments. Its actual syntax is:

Public Sub UserForm.Move(ByVal Left As Single, ByVal Top As Single, _
Optional ByVal Width As Single, Optional ByVal Height As Single)
The last two optional arguments allow you to specify the size of the form. Here is an example:
Private Sub Exercise()
UserForm1.Move 200, 200, 1040, 600
End Sub

Practical Learning: Resizing a Form

1. Position the mouse in the lower-right section of the form
2. Click and drag right and down
3. Return to Microsoft Excel
4. To close Microsoft Excel, click the Office Button and click Exit Excel
5. When asked whether you want to save the file, click No

Previous

Copyright 2008-2010 FunctionX, Inc.

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65

Controls Fundamentals
Introduction
By itself, a form means nothing. Its role is revealed in the objects it holds. You can add such
objects to a form or the body of a spreadsheet.

Practical Learning: Introducing Properties

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. On the Ribbon, click Developer
3. In the Code section, click Visual Basic

The Spreadsheet
When working in Microsoft Excel, you can use Windows controls either on the work area or in a
form in Microsoft Visual Basic. Therefore, just like a form, a spreadsheet also is a container of
controls.

Introduction to Windows Controls

The main objects used to help a person interact with the computer are Windows controls. There
are two main ways you can access these objects when working with Microsoft Excel.
If you are working in Microsoft Excel, you can add or position some Windows controls on the
document. To do that, on the Ribbon, click Developer. In the Control section, click Insert:

This would display the list of controls available in Microsoft Excel. The controls appear in two
sections: Form Controls and ActiveX Controls. If you are working on a spreadsheet in Microsoft
Excel, you should use only the controls in the ActiveX Controls section. If you are working on a
form in Microsoft Visual Basic, a Toolbox equipped with various controls will appear.

Practical Learning: Accessing Windows Controls

1. To create a form, on the main menu, click Insert -> UserForm
2. To access its associated module, right-click the form and click View Code
3. To return to the form, on the main menu, click Window and click the menu item that has
(UserForm).
4. In Microsoft Visual Basic, notice that a Toolbox appears next to the form

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5. To return to Microsoft Excel, on the Taskbar, click Microsoft Excel

6. To display the controls, in the Controls section of the Ribbon, click Insert

Using Additional Objects

The Developer tab of the Ribbon in Microsoft Excel provides the most regularly used controls.
These controls are enough for any normal spreadsheet you are developing. Besides these objects,
other controls are left out but are still available. To use one or more of these left out controls, in
the Controls section of the Ribbon, click Insert and click the More Controls button:

This would open the More Controls dialog box:

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You can scroll up and down in the window to locate the desired control. If you see a control you
want to use, click it and click OK.
In Microsoft Visual Basic, to access more controls, on the main menu, you can click Tools ->
Additional Controls... This would open the Additional Controls dialog box:

To select a control, you can click its check box. After selecting the controls, click OK.

The Names of Controls

Every control in the Developer tab of the Ribbon or in the Toolbox of Microsoft Visual Basic has a
specific name. You may be familiar with some of these controls. If you are not sure, you can
position the mouse on a control and a tool tip would come up. In our lessons, we will use the tool
tip of a control to name it. The names we will use are:
Forms
Name
Controls

ActiveX Controls Name

Command Button

Label

Combo Box

Toggle Button

Check Box
List Box

TabStrip

Text Box

MultiPage

Scroll Bar

ScrollBar

Spin Button

Text Box

Option Button

Image

Label

RefEdit

Image

Frame

Toggle Button

Adding a Control to a Container

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Adding One Control

To use one of the controls from the Ribbon or the Toolbox, you can click it. If you then simply click
its container, the control would be added where you clicked and with some default dimensions.
In Microsoft Excel, if you click the button control in the Form Controls section and click the work
area, just after the control has been added the Assign Macro dialog box would come up:

In our lessons, when working in Microsoft Excel, we will avoid using the objects in the Form
Controls section.
If you want, instead of clicking and releasing the mouse, you can click and drag. This allows you
to "draw" the control and give the dimensions of your choice. If the control has already been
added but you want it to assume different dimensions, you can click it to select it and then drag
one of its border handles.
To programmatically add a control to a spreadsheet, use the following formula:
Private Sub Exercise()
Worksheets(1).OLEObjects.Add "Forms.ControlName.1"
End Sub
The only thing you need to know and change about this formula is the ControlName factor. We
will learn about Worksheets(1) in Lesson 12. Use the following names:
Use this Name

To Get a

Use this Name

To Get

CheckBox

Check Box

ComboBox

Combo Box

CommandButton

Command Button

Label

Label

ListBox

List Box

Image

Image

OptionButton

Option Button

ScrollBar

Scroll Bar

SpinButton

Spin Button

TextBox

Text Box

ToggleButton

Toggle Button

Here is an example that creates and positions a text box on a spreadsheet:

Private Sub Exercise()
Worksheets(1).OLEObjects.Add "Forms.TextBox.1"
End Sub

Adding Many Controls

The above technique is used to add one control at a time. If you want to add the same control
again, you must click it on the Ribbon or in the Toolbox and click its container again. If you plan
to add the same control many times, in the Toolbox of Microsoft Visual Basic, double-click the
control and click the form as many times as necessary. When you have reached the desired
number of copies of that control, to dismiss it, in the Toolbox, click the same control again, click
another control, or click the Select Objects button.

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Practical Learning: Accessing Windows Controls

1. To add a control to the document, Under ActiveX Controls, click the Command Button button
and click a box (any box in the work area)
2. To add another control, in the Controls section of the Ribbon, click the arrow under Insert and
click the Combo Box button
previously added button

and click somewhere in the work area away from the

3. On the Taskbar, click Microsoft Visual Basic to return to it

4. On the Toolbox, click the CommandButton and click somewhere in the top-left section of the
form (no need for precision at this time)
5. On the Toolbox, click the ComboBox and click somewhere in the middle-center section of the
form (no need for precision at this time)
6. On the Toolbox, click the CheckBox and click somewhere in the lower-right section of the form
(no need for precision at this time)
7. To return to Microsoft Excel, click the View Microsoft Excel button

Control Selection
Single Control Selection
After you have added a control to a container, in order to perform any type of
configuration on the control, you must first select it. Sometimes you will need to
select a group of controls.
To select a control in the work area in Microsoft Excel, first, in the Controls section

. After clicking it, right-click the

of the Ribbon, click the Design Mode button
control and press Esc. If you are working in Visual Basic, to select a control, click it
on the form.
In Microsoft Excel, when a control is selected, it is surrounded by 8 small circles,
also called handles. Here is an example:

In Microsoft Visual Basic, when a control is selected, it is surrounded by 8 small

squares:

Practical Learning: Selecting Controls

1. Position the mouse on CommandBut that was positioned on the form and click.
Notice that you are able to select the button

2. In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click the Design Mode button

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3. In the work area, click the CommandBut button again

4. Click the combo box. Notice that, this time, you cannot select the controls
5. To return to controls to edit mode, in the Controls section of the Ribbon, click

the Design Mode button

6. To return to Microsoft Visual Basic, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click the

Visual Basic button

Multiple Control Selection

To select more than one control on a spreahsheet, click the first. Press and hold
Shift. Then click each of the desired controls. If you click a control that should not
be selected, click it again. After selecting the group of controls, release Shift:

If you are working on a form in Microsoft Visual Basic, first click one of the controls
you want to select, then press and hold Ctrl. Click each of the desired controls. If
you click a control that should not be selected, click it again. After selecting the
group of controls, release Ctrl that you were holding. As another technique you can
use to select various controls, click an unoccupied area on the form, hold the mouse
down, drawing a fake rectangle that would either include each of the desired
controls or would touch each, then release the mouse:

Every control touched by the fake rectangle or included in it would be selected:

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When a group of controls is selected, the first selected control displays 8 handles
but its handles are white while the others are dark.

Practical Learning: Selecting and Using Various Controls

1. On the form, click one of the controls
2. Press and hold Ctrl
3. Click one of the other controls
4. Release Ctrl
5. To dismiss the selection, press Esc

Control Deletion
If there is a control on your form or your work area but you don't need it, you can
remove it. To delete a control, first select it and then press Delete. You can also
right-click a control and click Cut.
To remove a group of controls, first select them, then press Delete or right-click the
selection and click Cut.

Practical Learning: Deleting Controls

1. While still in Microsoft Visual Basic, press Ctrl + A to select all controls
2. Press Delete to remove them
3. To display them again, press Ctrl + Z
4. To return to Microsoft Excel, click the View Microsoft Excel button

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72

The Location of a Control on a Form

Introduction
In the previous lesson, we saw that a characteristic, also called a property, of a control is
information used to describe or define an object. The description can be done visually or
programmatically. Some of the visual description is done by designing the object; that is, by
changing its aspects using the mouse, the keyboard, and the tools provided by Microsoft Excel
and Microsoft Visual Basic.

Practical Learning: Introducing Controls Design

1. Start Microsoft Excel and, on the Ribbon, click the Developer tab
2. To launch the programming environment, in the Code section of the Ribbon, click the Visual

Basic button
3. To create a form, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Insert -> UserForm
4. On the Toolbox, click the CommandButton and click somewhere on the form (no need for
precision)
5. On the Toolbox, click ComboBox and click the form away from the previously added
CommandButton

Moving a Control
When you add a control to the work area in Microsoft Excel or to a form in Microsoft Visual Basic,
it assumes a position on its container. If you want, you can change that location by moving the
control.
To move a control, click it and drag in the direction of your choice. To move a group of controls,
first select them. Click it and drag the selection in the direction of your choice
When a control has been selected, as your mouse moves over it, its pointer displays a different
cursor. One of these cursors can be used to move a control. This cursor is represented as a cross
with four arrows:

To move a control, click its border and hold the mouse down, drag in the direction of your choice.
When you get to the desired location, release the mouse.

Control Centering Towards the Middle of the Form

You can also position one or more controls in the middle of the form. To do that, select the
control, then, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Format -> Center In Form -> Vertically.

Aligning Controls
Horizontal Alignment
When many controls are selected on a form, one of the controls has dark handles:

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In our descriptions, the control with the dark handles will be referred to as the base control.
During form design, to better position the controls, you can use the main menu with the Format
group. Microsoft Visual Basic also provides the UserForm toolbar to assist you. To display the
UserForm toolbar, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click View -> Toolbars ->
UserForm.
If you have a certain control on the form and want to position it exactly at equal distance between
the left and the right borders of the form, select the control, then, on the main menu of Microsoft
Visual Basic, click Format -> Center in Form -> Horizontally. To get the same option, on the
UserForm toolbar, click the arrow of the Center button and click Horizontally:

Horizontal alignment affects controls whose distance from the left border of the form must be the
same. To perform this type of alignment, you can use the main menu where you would click
Format -> Align, and select one of the following options:
Lefts: All selected controls will have their left border coincide with the left border of the base
control
Centers: The middle handles of the selected controls will coincide with the middle handles of
the base control
Rights: All selected controls will have their right border coincide with the right border of the
base control
To get the same options using the UserForm toolbar, click the arrow of the Align button and select
the desired option: Lefts, Centers, or Rights:

Vertical Alignment
Another option you have consists of moving controls up or down for better alignment. Once again
you must first select the controls. Then, on the main menu, click Format -> Align, and click one of
the following options:
Tops: All selected controls will have their top border coincide with the top border of the base
control but their left border would have the same distance with the left border of the parent
Middles: The top handles of the selected controls will align vertically with the top handle of
the base control
Bottoms: All selected controls will have their bottom border coincide with the bottom border
of the base control but their left border would have the same distance with the left border of
the parent
To get the same options using the UserForm toolbar, click the arrow of the Align button and select
the desired option: Tops, Middles, or Bottoms.

Horizontal Spacing and Alignment

Suppose you have a group of horizontally aligned controls as follows:

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Obviously the controls on this form are not enjoying the most professional look. The Format group
of the main menu allows you to specify a better horizontal alignment of controls with regards to
each other. To use it, first select the controls. Then, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic,
click Format -> Horizontal Spacing, and click one of the following options:
Make Equal: Microsoft Visual Basic will calculate the horizontal distances that separate each
combination of two controls and find their average. This average is applied to the horizontal
distance of each combination of two controls:

Increase: Microsoft Visual Basic will move each control horizontally, except the base control
(the control that has white handles) by one unit away from the base control. This will be done
every time you click the Increase Horizontal Spacing button or the Format -> Horizontal
Spacing -> Increase menu item

Decrease: Microsoft Visual Basic will move each control horizontally, except the base control
(the control that has white handles) by one unit towards the base control. This will be done
every time you click the Decrease Horizontal Spacing button or the Format -> Horizontal
Spacing -> Decrease menu item

Remove: Microsoft Visual Basic will move all controls (horizontally), except for the left
control, to the left so that the left border of a control touches the right border of the next
control

Vertical Spacing and Alignment

Suppose you have a group of horizontally aligned controls as follows:

The controls on this form are not professionally positioned with regards to each other. Once again,
the Format group of the main menu allow you to specify a better vertical alignment of controls
relative to each other. To align them, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Format ->
Vertical Spacing and click one of the following options:
Make Equal: Microsoft Visual Basic will calculate the total vertical distances that separate
each combination of two controls and find their average. This average is applied to the vertical
distance of each combination of two controls

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Increase: Microsoft Visual Basic will move each control vertically, except the base control
(the control that has darker handles) by one unit away from the base control. This will be
done every time you click the Increase Horizontal Spacing button or the Format -> Horizontal
Spacing -> Increase menu item

Decrease: Microsoft Visual Basic will move each control, except the base control (the control
that has darker handles) by one unit towards the base control. This will be done every time
you click the Decrease Horizontal Spacing button or the Format -> Horizontal Spacing ->
Decrease menu item

Remove: Microsoft Visual Basic will move all controls vertically, except for the top control, to
the top so that the top border of a control touches the bottom border of the next control
towards the top

The Widths of Controls

Introduction
If you click a controls button on the Toolbox and click a UserForm, the control assumes a
default width. The width of a control is the distance from its left to its right borders.
To visual specify the width of a control, click it, position the mouse on one of its left or right
handle until the mouse cursor appears with a horizontal bar with two arrows
. Then click and
drag left or right in the direction of your choice. When you get the desired with, release the
mouse.
The distance from the left border to the right border of a control is referred to as its Width
property. Therefore, to specify the width of a control with precision, click the control. In the

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Properties window, click Width and type the desired value. To programmatically specify the width
of a control, access it using its name, type the period, followed by Width, the assignment
operator, and the desired value.
If a control displays or contains text, such as the caption of a button, click the control. On the
main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Format and click Size to Fit.

Enlarging or Narrowing Controls

Instead of one, you can also resize a group of controls at the same time. To enlarge or shrink
many controls, select them. Position the mouse on the left or right handle of one of the selected
controls to get the desired cursor
widths, then release the mouse.

. Click and drag left or right until you get the desired

Consider the following form:

Imagine you would like each of these buttons to have just enough space to accommodate its
caption. First select the controls that will be resized. To resize the controls, on the main menu of
Microsoft Visual Basic, click Format and click Size to Fit. If you do, the controls will be resized
based on the contents of their value:

If all the controls are text boxes, their widths would be reduced to be able to hold a character.
Consider the following form:

Imagine one of the controls has a certain width and you want to apply that width to the other
controls. Select the controls but make as the base control the object that has the width you want.
Here is an example where the button labeled Order Processing is selected as the base:

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On the main menu, you can click Format -> Make Same Size -> Width. Alternatively, on the
UserForm toolbar, you can click the arrow of the right button and click Width:

After doing this, the controls would be enlarged or narrowed based on the width of the control
that was set as the base:

The Heights of Controls

Introduction
The height of a control is the distance from its top to its bottom borders. This can be illustrated as
follows:
The location and dimension of a control

To visual specify the height of a control, click it, position the mouse on one of its top or bottom
. Then click and
handle until the mouse cursor appears with a vertisal bar with two arrows
drag up or down in the direction of your choice until you get the desired height. Then release the
mouse.
To specify the width of a control with precision, click the control. In the Properties window, click
Height and type the desired value. To programmatically specify the height of a control, access it
using its name, type the period, followed by Height, followed by =, and the desired value.

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If a control displays or contains text, such as the caption of a button, click the control. On the
main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Format and click Size to Fit.
To programmatically specify the height of a control, type its name, access its Height property and
assign the desired value.

Shrinking or Heightening Various Controls

You can resize many controls at the same time. To do this, select the controls. Position the mouse
on the top or bottom handle of one of the selected controls to get the desired cursor
and drag up or down. All of the selected controls would be resized.

. Click

You can shrink or heighten many controls based on the height of one of the controls. To start,
select the controls but use as base the control that has the height you would like to apply on the
other controls. Here is an example where the button labeled Get is set as the base:

On the main menu, you can click Format -> Make Same Size -> Height. Or, on the UserForm
toolbar, you can click the arrow of the right button and click Height.
After doing this, the controls would get shrunk or tall based on the width of the control that was
set as the base:

The Widths and Heights of Controls

Resizing a Control
Instead of separately setting the width or the height of a control or a group of controls, you can
specify both pieces of information at the same time.
To visually specify both the width and the height of a control:
Click and hold the mouse on a control. Drag in the direction of your choice
Click the control to select it. Position the mouse on one of its borders but not on the handles
until the mouse cursor appears as a cross with four arrows
direction of your choice

. Click and drag in the

When you get to the desired position, release the mouse.

To resume, to resize a control, click it to select it. Position the mouse on a border, a handle, or a
corner of the selected control. Use the appropriate mouse cursor:
Cursor Role
Moves the seized border in the North-West <-> South-East direction
Shrinks or heightens the control
Moves the seized border in the North-East <-> South-West direction
Narrows or enlarges the control
Changes both the width and height of a control

Resizing the Controls

Imagine you have added three controls to a form and the design appears as follows:

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To visually resize various controls, first select them. Position the mouse on the border or corner of
one of the selected controls until you get the cursor that would resize to the direction of your
choice:

Click and drag in the direction of your choice:

Once you get the desired size, release the mouse.

To precisely change the sizes of various controls at the same time, first select them. Then, in the
Properties window, change the values of the Width and Height properties. The new value would be
applied to all selected controls. Alternatively, Microsoft Visual Basic provides tools to automatically
do this for you.

Control Maintenance
Copying a Control
If you had applied some design on a control and you want to replicate that design, you can copy
the control. This is mostly a simple operation of copy n' paste. You can copy a control on the work
area or on a form and paste it on the same container (you are not allowed to copy a control from
the work area to a form and vice versa). You can also copy a control from one work area and
paste it in another work area. You can copy a control from one form and paste it in another form.
When you copy and paste a control, there are some characteristics it would retain and some
others it would loose. Normally, it would keep its aesthetic characteristics (such as the color) and
its size but it will loose some others (such as its location and its programmatic characteristics such
as its name.
To copy a control:
Right-click the control and click Copy
Click the control to select it and press Ctrl + C
To copy a group of controls, first select the controls:
Right-click in the selection and click Copy
Press Ctrl + C
To paste the copied controls, in the work area or on a form:
Right-click the destination (work area or form) and click Paste
Press Ctrl + V

Deleting Controls
If you have added a control to the work area or a form but you don't need it anymore, you can
remove it from the container. You can also delete a group of controls in one step.
To remove a control from a work area or from a form:
Click the control and press Delete
Right-click the control and click Cut
To remove a group of controls, select them:
Press Delete

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Right-click one of the selected controls and click Cut

Tab Ordering
When using the controls of a form, you can press Tab to move from one control to another. For
example, after entering a value in a text box of a form, if there is another text box on the right
side, when you press Tab, the caret should move to that right control. If there is no control on the
right side, the caret should move to the control under the one previously used. If the caret or
focus is in the last bottom control on a form and you press Tab, the caret should move back to the
first record. This follows the arranged sequence of the controls on the form. For this reason, the
controls on a form should be aligned in the order of a logical sequence.
When you add a control to a form that already has other controls, it is sequentially positioned at
the end of the existing controls. The sequence of controls navigation is set using the Tab Order
dialog box. To access the Tab Order dialog box:
Right-click the form and click Tab Order

On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click View -> Tab Order

Primary Characteristics of Windows Controls

The Name of a Control
Every object used in a computer must have a name. This allows you and the operating system to
know at any time what object you are referring to. When you add a new control to the work area
in Microsoft Excel or to a form in Microsoft Visual Basic, the object receives a default name. For
example, the first CommandButton you add is named CommandButton1. If you add another
button, it would be named CommandButton2, and so on. The default name assigned may not be
indicative enough for the role a control is playing, especially when you use many controls on the
same container. Therefore, you should assign your own custom names to the controls you use.
In the Properties window, the name of a control is represented with the (Name) field. To change
the name of a control, click (Name) and type the desired name. There are rules you must follow
when naming your controls. The name of a control:
Must start with a letter
After the first letter, can contain letters, digits, and underscores only
Cannot contain space
Based on these rules, you can adapt your own.

Practical Learning: Naming Windows Controls

1. On the form, right-click CommandButton1 and click Properties
2. In the Properties window, click (Name) and type cmdSubmit
3. On the form, click the combo box
4. In the Properties window, click (Name) and type cboSizes

Border Style
Some controls display a border when they are drawn and some others don't. Some of these
controls allow you to specify a type of border you want to show surrounding the control. This
characteristic is controlled by the BorderStyle property.

The Text or Caption of a Control

The Caption or Text of a Control
Some controls are text-based, meaning they are meant to display or sometimes request text from
the user. For such controls, this text is referred to as caption while it is simply called text for some
other controls. This property is not available for all controls.

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If a control displays text, it may have a property called Caption in the Properties window. After
adding such a control to a work area or a form, its Caption field would display the same text as
its name. At design time, to change the caption of the control, click its Caption field in the
Properties window and type the desired value. For most controls, there are no strict rules to follow
for this text. Therefore, it is your responsibility to type the right value. Some other controls have
this property named Text. For such a control, when you add it to a work area or a form, its Text
field in the Properties window may be empty. If you want, you can click the Text field and type
the desired text.
The text provided in Caption or a Text field of a text-based control can only be set as is
at design time. If you want the text to change while the application is running, you can format it.
For example, such a control can display the current time or the name of the user who is logged in.
These format attributes cannot be set at design time. To change the text of a text-based control at
run time, either assign a simple string or provide a formatted string to the Caption or the Text
property.

Practical Learning: Setting Controls Text

1. On the form, click the button
2. In the Properties window, click Caption and type Submit
3. On the form, click the combo box
4. In the Properties window, click Text field and type Large

The Alignment of the Text or Caption of a Control

If a control is text-based, when you provide text to it or when you type text in it, by default, text
is positioned to the left side of the control. This is appropriate if the value entered is a string
(regular text). In some cases, such as numbers, you may prefer the value to be position in the
center or on the right side of the control. This characteristic is referred to as the alignment of
text. Once again, not all controls have this option.
The ability to control the alignment of text is done through the TextAlign property:

It provides three options:

TextAlign

Result

1 - frmTextAlignLeft

Text will be aligned to the left of the control

2 - fmTextAlignCenter

Text will be position in the center of the control

3 - fmTextAlignRight

Text will be aligned to the left of the control

To programmatically specify the text alignment of a control that supports this characteristics,
assign the desired option to this property. Here is an example:
TextBox1.TextAlign = fmTextAlignRight

The Font of Text of a Control

The font specify what face, size, and style a control should use to display its text. To specify or
change the font of a control, click it to select in. In the Properties window, click Font and click the
browse button . This would display the Font dialog box:

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81

82

From this dialog box, you can select the font name, the style, the size, and the effect(s). Once you
are ready, click OK.

The Location of a Control

Introduction
We saw when you add a control to the work area or to a form, it gets a default position. After
adding the control, it is positioned in the body of the parent using a Cartesian coordinate system
whose origin is located on the top-left corner of the parent window. If the parent is the work area
in Microsoft Excel, the origin is under the small boxes under the Formula Bar:

If you create a form in Microsoft Visual Basic, the origin of its location is located just under the
title bar to the left:

The horizontal measurements move from the origin to the right. The vertical measurements move
from the origin to the bottom. The location of a control is both:
The distance between the top border of the work area or of the form and the top border of the
control
The distance from the left border of the work area or of the form to the left border of the
control

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Setting the Location of a Control

83

In the Properties window, the distance between the top border of the work area or of the form and
the top border of the control is represented by the Top property. The distance between the left
border of the form and the left border of the control is represented by the Left property:
The Location of a Control on a Form

To move a control with precision, click it to select it and access its Properties window. In the
Properties window, change either or both the Left and the Top values. To programmatically specify
the location of a control, access its using its name. Then access its Width or its Height properties
and assign the desired value.

The Size of a Control

The Width of a Control
We saw different ways of visually resizing a control. As seen already, the width of a control is the
distance from its left to its right borders:

The width of a control is represented by the Width property. Therefore, to specify the width of a
control with precision, access it using its name, type the period, followed by Width, the
assignment operator, and the desired value.

The Height of a Control

As described already, the height of a control is the distance from its top to its bottom borders:

To programmatically specify the height of a control, access it using its name, type the period,
followed by Height, followed by =, and the desired value.

The Colors of a Control

Introduction
Colors are used to paint something about a control. For example, you can change the color of a
control or just the color of the text that a control is displaying. Both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft

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Visual Basic support colors at various levels.

84

To visual change a color, you can use the Properties window. In the Properties window, the fields
that support the color options are provided as a combo box. When you click the arrow of the
combo box, a window made of two parts would display:

The color window is divided in two property pages labeled Palette and System. The Palette
property page is probably the easiest section to specify a color because it provides small boxes
that each shows its color. The colors are represented each by a name. Those are official names
recognized by the Microsoft Windows operating systems but you should not use those colors in
your code.
To programmatically support colors, Microsoft Visual Basic provided two systems. Microsoft Visual
Basic provides a few constants values you can use as colors. These contants are:
Constants

Resulting Color

vbBlack

Black

vbBlue

Blue

vbCyan

Cyan

vbGreen

Green

vbMagenta

Magenta

vbRed

Red

vbWhite

White

vbYellow

Yellow

As you can see, this is a limited list. Obviously there should be other ways to specify a color. In
Microsoft Windows operating systems, a color is recognized as a number made of three parts. The
first part is small number that ranges from 0 to 255. This part represents the red section. The
second part also is a number from 0 to 255 and represents the green value.The third part also is a
number from 0 to 255 and represents the blue part. To support this, the Visual Basic language
provides a function named RGB and whose syntax is:
Function RGB(Red As Byte, Green As Byte, Blue As Byte) As Long
This function takes three arguments. Each argument should be a number between 0 and 255. If
the arguments are valid, the function would produce a Long value that represents a color
recognized by Microsoft Windows. Here is an example:
BackColor = RGB(28,174, 77)
As mentioned already, the RGB() function produces a Long integer that represents a color. If you
already know the number that represents the color, you can use it as the color. For example, you
can assign it to the colored property. Here is an example:
BackColor = 4912394
This number is provided in decimal format. As an alternative, you can provide it in hexadecimal
format. Here is an example:
BackColor = &HF420DD

The Background of a Control

When you add a new control to a work area or a form, the control is painted with a certain color
but this depends on the control. The background color of a control is the color used to paint the
surface of the control.
To change the background color of a control, first select it. In the Properties window, click
BackColor and select the desired color.

The Text Color of a Control

To make its text visible, a control shows it in a certain that, by default, is black. If you want, you
can change that color.
To support the color used to display its text, each control is equipped with a property named
ForeColor. Therefore, to visually change the color of text of a control, select that control. In the
Properties window, click ForeColor and select the desired color. Here are examples:

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85

To programmatically specify or change the text color of a control, access it. Then access its
ForeColor property and assign it the desired color.

The Border Color of a Control

Almost every control has a border. This shows where the control starts and where it ends. The
controls that show a border paint it with a certain color. Most controls that have a border use a
type of 3-D effect. This depends on the control. To control the color of the border of a control,
click it to select it. In the Properties window, click BorderColor and select the desired color. To
programmatically specify or change the border color of a control, assign the desired color to its
BorderColor property.

Operating System Characteristics of Controls

The Tab Stop of a Control
You can navigate through controls using the Tab key. When that key is pressed, the focus moves
from one control to the next. By their designs, not all controls can receive focus and not all
controls can participate in tab navigation. Even controls that can receive focus must be primarily
included in the tab sequence.
The participation to tab sequence is controlled by the Boolean TabStop property in the Properties
window. Every visual control that can receive focus is already configured to have this property set
to True. If you want to remove a control from this sequence, set its TabStop value to False.

The Tab Index of a Control

If a control has the TabStop property set to True, to arrange the navigation order of controls,
you can click a control on the form. Then, in the Properties window, set or change the value of its
TabIndex field. The value must be a positive natural number.

Control's Visibility
A control is referred to as visible if it can be visually located on the screen. You can use a control
only if you can see it. You have the role of deciding whether a control must be seen or not and
when. The visibility of an object is controlled by the its Visible property.
At design time, when you add a control to the work area or to a form, it is visible by default. This
is because its Visible property is set to True in the Properties window. If you don't want a control
to primarily appear when the form comes up, you can set its Visible property to False.

Control's Availability
To be able to use a control, it must allow operations on it. For example, if a control is supposed to
receive text, you can enter characters in it only if this is made possible. To make a control
available, the object must be enabled. The availability of an object is controlled by the Enabled
property.
By default, after adding a control to a form, it is enabled and its Enabled property in the
Properties window is set to True. An enabled control displays its text or other characteristics in
their normal settings. If you want to disable a control, set its Enabled property to False.

Practical Learning: Designing a Form

1. Click each control on the form and press Delete
2. Design the form as follows:

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86

Control

Caption/Text

Frame

Order Identification

Label

Employee #:

Name

TextBox

txtEmployeeNumber

TextBox

txtEmployeeName

Label

Customer Phone:

TextBox

txtCustomerPhone

TextBox

txtCustomerName

Label

Date Left:

TextBox
Label

txtDateLeft
Time Left:

TextBox
Label

txtTimeLeft
Date Expected:

TextBox
Label

txtDateExpected
Time Expected:

TextBox
Label

txtTimeExpected
Date Picked Up:

TextBox
Label

Other Properties

txtDatePickedUp
Time Picked Up:

TextBox

txtTimePickedUp

Frame

Items to Clean

Label

Item

Label

Unit Price

Label

Qty

Label

Sub-Total

Label

Shirts

TextBox

1.50

txtUnitPriceShirts

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

TextBox

txtQuantityShirts

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

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txtSubTotalShirts

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

2.25

txtUnitPricePants

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

TextBox

txtQuantityPants

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

TextBox

0.00

txtSubTotalPants

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

ComboBox

None

cbxNameItem1

TextBox

0.00

txtUnitPriceItem1

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

TextBox

txtQuantityItem1

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

TextBox

0.00

txtSubTotalItem1

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

ComboBox

None

cbxNameItem2

TextBox

0.00

txtUnitPriceItem2

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

TextBox

txtQuantityItem2

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

TextBox

0.00

txtSubTotalItem2

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

ComboBox

None

cbxNameItem3

TextBox

0.00

txtUnitPriceItem3

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

TextBox

txtQuantityItem3

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

TextBox

0.00

txtSubTotalItem3

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

ComboBox

None

cbxNameItem4

TextBox

0.00

txtUnitPriceItem4

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

TextBox

txtQuantityItem4

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

TextBox

0.00

txtSubTotalItem4

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

Frame

Order Summary

Label

Cleaning Total:

TextBox

0.00

txtCleaningTotal

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

Label

Tax Rate:

TextBox

5.75

txtTaxRate

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

Label

Label

Tax Amount:

TextBox

0.00

txtTaxAmount

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

Label

Order Total:

TextBox

0.00

txtOrderTotal

TextAlign: 3 fmTextAlignRight

Label

Order Status:

TextBox

0.00

Label

Pants

TextBox

cbxOrderStatus

ComboBox
Button

Close

btnClose

3. Return to Microsoft Excel

4. To save the file, press Ctrl + S
5. In the Save As Type combo box, select Excel Macro-Enabled
6. Change the File Name to gdcs1
7. Click Save

Controls' Methods: Giving Focus

On a form that has many controls, at one particular time, only one control can receive input from
the user. The control that is currently receiving input or actions from the user is said to have

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87

focus.

88

To give focus to a control, the user can click the intended control or press Tab a few times until
the control receives focus. To programmatically give focus to a control, type the name of the
control, followed by the period operator, followed by the SetFocus method. An example would be:
Private Sub Example()
txtAddress.SetFocus
End Sub

Previous

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Next

89

Controls Messages
Introduction
You can add Windows controls to a work area or to a form to help a user interact your
application. When a control is used, it must communicate with the operating system. For
example, when a user clicks, the object that was clicked must inform the operating system that
it has been clicked. This is the case for every control used in an application. Because a typical
application can involve many controls, a mechanism was designed to manage the occurrence of
actions.
To communicate its intention to the operating system, a Windows control must compose a
message and send it (to the operating system).

The Parts of a Message

In order to make a message clear, the control that wants to send it must provide three
important pieces of information:
WHO sent the message? When a control sends a message, it must identify itself because
there can be many controls sending different messages at the same time. The operating
system will need to know where the message came from. This is one of the reasons why
every control must have a name. Also because each message is particular to the control that
sent it, the message is considered a private matter.
Based on this, the code of a message starts with Private Sub, followed by the name of the
control that is sending the message:
Private Sub ControlName
WHAT message? When a control is sending a message, it must specify the type of message. A
control can be able to send various types of messages. For example, when a control gets
clicked, it sends a Click message. If the same control receives focus but you press a key, the
control sends a keyboard-related message. When the mouse passes over that same control, its
sends a different type of message.
Every message a control can send has a name. To see the types of message available for a
particular control, open Microsoft Visual Basic. In the Object combo box, select the name of
the control. Then, click the arrow of the Procedure combo box:

By convention, the name of the message follows the name of the control but they are
separated with an underscore. It would appear as:
Private Sub ControlName_Push
Arguments: An argument is additional information needed to process a message. When a
control sends a message, it may need to accompany it with some information. For example, if
you position the mouse on a control and click, the operating system may need to know what
button of the mouse was used to click. On the other hand, if you select an object and start
dragging, the operating system may need to know if a key such as Shift or Ctrl was held down
while you were dragging.

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An additional piece of information that the control provides is provided as an argument. While
some messages may need to provide only one piece of information, some messages would
require more than one argument. Some other messages don't need any additional information
at all: the name of the message would completely indicate how the message must be
processed.
The arguments of a message are provided in parentheses. They would appear as:
Private Sub ControlName_Push(Argument1, Argument2, Argument_n)
After specifying the message, you can type code that tells the operating system what to do to
process the message. To indicate the end of the code that relates to a message, type End Sub
Private Sub ControlName_Push(Argument1, Argument2, Argument_n)
End Sub
As mentioned earlier, a message must be composed and sent. The action of sending a message is
called an event. It is also said that the controls "fires" an event. Based on the above descriptions,
to compose and send a message, in the Object combo box, you can select the name of the control
that will send the message, then select the desired message in the Procedure combo box. When
you do this, Microsoft Visual Basic will write the first line that specifies the name of the control,
the name of the event, its arguments if any, and would write End Sub for you. You can then enter
the necessary code between those two lines.
Most Windows control have a special event referred to as the default. This is the even that is the
most obvious that the control can fire. For example, when you think of a button, the first action
that comes to mind is Click. For this reason, Click is the default event of a button. If you add a
control to a work area or to a form and double-click the control, its default event would be
invoked and the skeleton of that event would be written in the corresponding module. If you don't
want to use that event or to fires another event for the same control, you can simply select the
event in the Procedure combo box.

Practical Learning: Introducing Messages and Events

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. Save the document as Messages
3. To open Microsoft Visual Basic, on the Ribbon, click Developer and, in the Code section, click
Visual Basic
4. To create a form, on the Standard toolbar, click the Insert UserForm button
5. Right-click the form and click Properties
6. In the Properties window, click (Name) and type frmPayroll
7. On the Toolbox, click the TextBox and click the form
8. Complete the design of the form as follows:

Control

Name

Caption

Label

lblHourlySalary

Hourly Salary:

TextBox

txtHourlySalary

Label

lblWeeklyHours

TextBox

txtWeeklyHours

CommandButton

cmdCalculate

Label

lblWeeklySalary

TextBox

txtWeeklySalary

Other Properties
TextAlign: 3 - frmTextAlignRight

Weekly Hours:
TextAlign: 3 - frmTextAlignRight
Weekly Salary:
TextAlign: 3 - frmTextAlignRight

9. Save the file

Common Events of Windows Controls

Click
To interact with the computer, one of the most usually performed actions is to click. The mouse is
equipped with two buttons. The most clicked button is the left one.
Because the action simply consists of clicking, when you press this button, a simple event, called
Click is sent or fired. When you press the (left) button on the mouse, the mouse pointer is usually

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90

on a Windows control. Based on this, the control that is clicked "owns" the event and must
manage it. Therefore, no detailed information is provided as part of the event. The operating
system believes that the control that fired the event knows what to do. For this reason, whenever
you decide to code an OnClick event, you should make sure you know what control sent or fired
the event. This is (one of) the most common events of Windows controls.

Practical Learning: Generating a Click Event

1. To generate a Click event for the button, on the form, double-click the Calculate button and
notice that its Click event has been generated
2. Implement the Click event as follows:
Private
Dim
Dim
Dim

Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
HourlySalary As Currency
WeeklyHours As Double
WeeklySalary As Currency

HourlySalary = CCur(txtHourlySalary.Text)
WeeklyHours = CDbl(txtWeeklyHours.Text)
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyHours
txtWeeklySalary.Text = CStr(WeeklySalary)
End Sub
3. To test the form, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Run -> Run Sub/UserForm
4. Enter 15.48 in the Hourly Salary and 36.50 in the Weekly Hours text boxes and click
Calculate

5. Close the form

Double-Click
Another common action you perform on a control may consist of double-clicking it. This action
causes the control to fire an event known as DblClick.

Practical Learning: Generating a Double-Click Event

1. On the form, right-click the Calculate button and click View Code
2. In the Object combo box, select UserForm
3. In the Procedure combo box, select DblCllck and notice the structure of the event:
Private Sub UserForm_DblClick(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
lblHourlySalary.BackColor = vbBlue
lblWeeklyHours.BackColor = vbBlue
lblWeeklySalary.BackColor = vbBlue
lblHourlySalary.ForeColor = vbWhite
lblWeeklyHours.ForeColor = vbWhite
lblWeeklySalary.ForeColor = vbWhite
BackColor = vbBlue
End Sub
4. To test the form, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Run -> Run Sub/UserForm
5. Double-click the form

6. Close the form

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91

Entering a Control

92

Just as an application can have many forms, a form can be equipped with various controls. Such is
the case for any data entry form. On a form that is equipped with many controls, only one control
can be changed at a time. Such a control is said to have focus. To give focus to a control, you can
click it or can keep pressing Tab until the desired control indicates that it has focus. In a form with
many controls, the control that has focus may display a caret or a dotted line around its selection
or its caption.
When a form or a control receives focus, it fires the Enter event. We mentioned that a user can
give focus to a control by clicking it. If the control is text-based, then a caret blinking in the
control indicates that the control has focus.
The Enter event does not take any argument:
Private Sub TextBox1_Enter()
End Sub

Exiting a Control
After using a control, you can switch to another control either by clicking another or by pressing
Tab. This causes the focus to shift from the current control to another. If the focus shifts to
another control, the control that had focus fires an Exit event.
The Exit event takes one argument, :
Private Sub TextBox1_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
End Sub

Keyboard Events
Word processing consists of manipulating text and characters on your computer until you get the
fantastic result you long for. To display these characters, you press some keys on your keyboard.
If the application is configured to receive text, your pressing actions will display characters on the
screen. The keyboard is also used to perform various other actions such as accepting what a
dialog box displays or dismissing it.
When you press the keys on a keyboard, the control in which the characters are being typed
sends one or more messages to the operating system. There are three main events that Microsoft
Windows associates to the keyboard.
KeyDown: When you press a key on the keyboard, an event called KeyDown is fired. The
KeyDown event takes two arguments:
Private Sub TextBox1_KeyDown(ByVal KeyCode As MSForms.ReturnInteger, _
ByVal Shift As Integer)
End Sub
KeyUp: When you release a key that was pressed, an event called KeyUp fires.
These two previous events apply to almost any key on the keyboard, even if you are not typing;
that is, even if the result of pressing a key did not display a character on the document.
Private Sub TextBox1_KeyUp(ByVal KeyCode As MSForms.ReturnInteger, _
ByVal Shift As Integer)
End Sub
KeyPress: The KeyPress event fires if the key you pressed is recognized as a character key;
that is, a key that would result in displaying a character in a document.
Private Sub TextBox1_KeyPress(ByVal KeyAscii As MSForms.ReturnInteger)
End Sub
Some keys on the keyboard don't display anything on a document. Instead, they perform (only)
an action. Examples of such keys are Enter, Tab, Esc. Therefore, if you mean to find out what key
you pressed, use the KeyDown event instead of the KeyPress event.

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93

Pressing a Mouse Button Down

A mouse is equipped with buttons, usually two, that you press to request an action.
Compared to the keyboard, the mouse claims many more events that are directly or
indirectly related to pressing one of its buttons.
When you press one of the buttons on the mouse, an event, called MouseDown fires.
This event carries enough information as three arguments.
Private Sub txtFirstName_MouseDown(Button As Integer, Shift As Integer,
X As Single, Y As Single)
End Sub
The operating system needs to know what button was pressed; this is represented
as the left or the right button. The left button is known as vbLeftButton. The
right button is referenced as vbRightButton. If the mouse is equipped with a
middle button, it would vbMiddleButton. In reality, these buttons have
(constant) numeric values of 0, 1, and 2 respectively.
Secondly, the operating system needs to know whether a special key, Shift, Ctrl,
or Alt, was pressed. These buttons are called vbShiftMask, vbCtrlMask, and
vbAltMask respectively. In reality, they are represented with 1, 2, and 4
respectively.
Lastly, the operating system needs to know the screen coordinates of the mouse
pointer, that is, the coordinates of the point where the mouse landed. X
represents the distance from the top left corner of the parent to the mouse. Y
represents the vertical measure of the point from the top-left corner down.

Releasing a Mouse Button

When you release a button that was pressed on the mouse, a new event fires. This
event is called MouseUp. It provides the same types of information as the
MouseDown event:
Private Sub txtFirstName_MouseUp(Button As Integer, Shift As Integer,
X As Single, Y As Single)
End Sub

Moving the Mouse

The MouseMove event is sent while you are moving the mouse on a control. It
provides the same pieces of information as the MouseDown and the MouseUp
events:
Private Sub txtFirstName_MouseMove(Button As Integer, Shift As Integer,
X As Single, Y As Single)
End Sub

Changing Text
One of the most important messages of a text box occurs when its content changes.
That is, when the text it has is deleted, added to, or edited. When you click in a text
box control and start typing it or change its text, the control fires a Change event.

Practical Learning: Using the Change Event of a Text Box

1. To add a new form, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Insert ->
UserForm
2. In the Properties window, change its (Name) to frmEmployeeInformation
3. Design the form as follows:

Control

Name

Label
TextBox

Caption
First
Name:

txtFirstName

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94

Last
Name:

Label
TextBox

txtLastName
Full
Name:

Label
TextBox

txtFullName

4. Double-click the top text box and implement its Change event as follows:
Private
Dim
Dim
Dim

Sub txtFirstName_Change()
FirstName As String
LastName As String
FullName As String

FirstName = txtFirstName.Text
LastName = txtLastName.Text
FullName = FirstName & " " & LastName
txtFullName.Text = FullName
End Sub
5. In the Object combo box, select txtLastName and implement its Change event as
follows:
Private
Dim
Dim
Dim

Sub txtLastName_Change()
FirstName As String
LastName As String
FullName As String

FirstName = txtFirstName.Text
LastName = txtLastName.Text
FullName = FirstName & " " & LastName
txtFullName.Text = FullName
End Sub
6. To test the form, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Run -> Run
Sub/UserForm
7. Click the top text box, type Julienne and press Tab
8. In the other text box, start typing Pal and notice that the Full Name text box is
changing

9. Complete it with Palace and close the form

Previous

Copyright 2004-2009 FunctionX, Inc.

Next

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95

Fundamentals of Collections
Introduction
A collection is a series of items where each item has the same characteristics. In other words, all
items can be described the same way. Programmatically, a collection is a series of items where
all items share the same properties and methods, if any. For example, a collection can be made
of employees of a company where each employee can be described with a characteristics such as
a name.

Practical Learning: Introducing Objects

1. Start Microsoft Excel and open the gdcs1 document you created in Lesson 10
2. To open Microsoft Visual Basic, on the Ribbon, click Developer and, in the Code section, click
Visual Basic:

3. Right-click the form and click View Code

Creating a Collection
In our lessons, we will not create new collections. We will only use two categories: the Collection
class and the built-in collection.
To support collections, the Visual Basic language is equipped with a class named Collection.
Actually, the Collection class we are going to study here is the one defined in VBA. The parent Visual
Basic language has a somewhat different Collection class with additional functionality not found in the
VBA's version.

This class can be used to create a collection. To do this, declare a variable of type Collection. Here
is an example:

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Sub Exercise()
Dim Employees As Collection
End Sub

96

After declaring the variable, to allocate memory for it, use the Set operator to assign a New
instance to the variable. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Employees

As Collection

Set Employees = New Collection

End Sub
Instead of always creating a new collection unless you have to, VBA for Microsoft Excel comes
equipped with many collections so that you almost may never need to create your own collection.
The collections that are already built in the VBA language are referred to as built-in collections.
The built-in collection classes are derived from the Visual Basic's Collection class. As a result, all
of their primary functionality comes from the Collection class. This also means that everything
we will mention for the Collection class applies to any built-in collection.
To use a built-in collection, you can declare a variable for it. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim CurrentSheets As Worksheets
End Sub
In reality, and as we will next in the next lessons, when Microsoft Excel starts, most (if not all) of
the built-in collection classes are already available so that you do not have to declare their
variable before using them.

Characteristics of, and Operations on, a Collection

Adding an Item to a Collection
The primary operation to perform on a collection consists of adding items to it. To support this,
the Collection class is equipped with a method name Add. Its syntax is:
Public Sub Add( _
ByVal Item As Object, _
Optional ByVal Key As String, _
Optional ByVal { Before | After } As Object = Nothing _
)
This method takes three arguments. Only the first is required. The Item argument specifies the
object to be added to the collection. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Employees

As Collection

Set Employees = New Collection

Employees.Add "Patricia Katts"
End Sub
In the same way, you can add as many items as you want:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Employees

As Collection

Set Employees = New Collection

Employees.Add
Employees.Add
Employees.Add
Employees.Add
End Sub

"Patricia Katts"
"James Wiley"
"Gertrude Monay"
"Helene Mukoko"

Remember that if you are using one of the built-in collection classes, you do not have to declare a
variable for it. You can just call the Add method on it to add an item to it. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Worksheets.Add
End Sub

Practical Learning: Introducing Objects

1. In the Object combo box, make sure UserForm is selected.
In the Procedure combo box, select Activate
2. Type the code as follows:

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Private Sub UserForm_Activate()

Rem Create the "other" cleaning items
cbxNameItem1.AddItem "None"
cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Women Suit"
cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Dress"
cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Regular Skirt"
cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Skirt With Hook"
cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Men 's Suit 2Pc"
cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Men 's Suit 3Pc"
cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Sweaters"
cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Silk Shirt"
cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Tie"
cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Coat"
cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Jacket"
cbxNameItem1.AddItem "Swede"
cbxNameItem2.AddItem
cbxNameItem2.AddItem
cbxNameItem2.AddItem
cbxNameItem2.AddItem
cbxNameItem2.AddItem
cbxNameItem2.AddItem
cbxNameItem2.AddItem
cbxNameItem2.AddItem
cbxNameItem2.AddItem
cbxNameItem2.AddItem
cbxNameItem2.AddItem
cbxNameItem2.AddItem
cbxNameItem2.AddItem

"None"
"Women Suit"
"Dress"
"Regular Skirt"
"Skirt With Hook"
"Men 's Suit 2Pc"
"Men 's Suit 3Pc"
"Sweaters"
"Silk Shirt"
"Tie"
"Coat"
"Jacket"
"Swede"

cbxNameItem3.AddItem
cbxNameItem3.AddItem
cbxNameItem3.AddItem
cbxNameItem3.AddItem
cbxNameItem3.AddItem
cbxNameItem3.AddItem
cbxNameItem3.AddItem
cbxNameItem3.AddItem
cbxNameItem3.AddItem
cbxNameItem3.AddItem
cbxNameItem3.AddItem
cbxNameItem3.AddItem
cbxNameItem3.AddItem

"None"
"Women Suit"
"Dress"
"Regular Skirt"
"Skirt With Hook"
"Men 's Suit 2Pc"
"Men 's Suit 3Pc"
"Sweaters"
"Silk Shirt"
"Tie"
"Coat"
"Jacket"
"Swede"

cbxNameItem4.AddItem
cbxNameItem4.AddItem
cbxNameItem4.AddItem
cbxNameItem4.AddItem
cbxNameItem4.AddItem
cbxNameItem4.AddItem
cbxNameItem4.AddItem
cbxNameItem4.AddItem
cbxNameItem4.AddItem
cbxNameItem4.AddItem
cbxNameItem4.AddItem
cbxNameItem4.AddItem
cbxNameItem4.AddItem

"None"
"Women Suit"
"Dress"
"Regular Skirt"
"Skirt With Hook"
"Men 's Suit 2Pc"
"Men 's Suit 3Pc"
"Sweaters"
"Silk Shirt"
"Tie"
"Coat"
"Jacket"
"Swede"

Rem Create the orders status

cbxOrderStatus.AddItem "Processing"
cbxOrderStatus.AddItem "Ready"
cbxOrderStatus.AddItem "Picked Up"
End Sub
3. Close Microsoft Visual Basic
4. Save the document

Accessing an Item in a Collection

The items of a collection are organized in an arranged sequence where each item
holds a specific index. the first item in the collection holds an index of 1. The second
item holds an index of 2, and so on.
To give you access to the items of a collection, the Collection class is equipped with
a property named Item. There are two ways you can use this property.
To formally use the Item property, type the name of the collection object, followed
by the period operator, followed by Item and optional parentheses. After the Item
property or inside its parentheses, type the index of the desired item. Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Employees

As Collection

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97

98

Set Employees = New Collection

Employees.Add
Employees.Add
Employees.Add
Employees.Add

"Patricia Katts"
"James Wiley"
"Gertrude Monay"
"Helene Mukoko"

Employees.Item 2
End Sub
Remember that you an also use parentheses:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Employees

As Collection

Set Employees = New Collection

Employees.Add
Employees.Add
Employees.Add
Employees.Add

"Patricia Katts"
"James Wiley"
"Gertrude Monay"
"Helene Mukoko"

Employees.Item (2)
End Sub
Instead of using the Item property, you can apply the index directly to the collection
object. Here are examples:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Employees

As Collection

Set Employees = New Collection

Employees.Add
Employees.Add
Employees.Add
Employees.Add

"Patricia Katts"
"James Wiley"
"Gertrude Monay"
"Helene Mukoko"

Employees.Item 2
Employees.Item (2)
Employees 2
Employees (2)
End Sub
All these four techniques (notations) give you access to the item whose index you
provided.

Removing an Item From a Collection

As opposed to adding a new item, you can delete one. To support this operation, the
Collection class is equipped with a method name Remove. Its syntax is:
Public Sub Remove(Index As Integer)
This method takes one argument. When calling it, pass the index of the item you
want to delete. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Employees

As Collection

Set Employees = New Collection

Employees.Add
Employees.Add
Employees.Add
Employees.Add

"Patricia Katts"
"James Wiley"
"Gertrude Monay"
"Helene Mukoko"

Employees.Remove 2
End Sub
This code deletes the second item in the collection.

The Number of Items in a Collection

When you start a new collection, obviously it is empty and its number of items is 0.
To keep track of the number of items in a collection, the Collection class is
equipped with a property named Count whose type is an integer. Remember that
all built-in collection classes inherit their behavior from the Collection class. This
means that the built-in collection classes are equipped with a property named
Count to hold their number of items.
We saw how you can add new items to a collection. Every time you add a new item
to the collection, the Count property increases by 1.

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We also know how to remove an item from a collection. Whenever an existing item
is deleted, the value of the Count property is decreased by 1.

99

At anytime, to know the number of items that a collection is currently holding, get
the value of its Count property.

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100

Workbooks Fundamentals
Introduction
When you start Microsoft Excel, it immediately creates a new workbook. You can start working
on it and, eventually, you can save it. You are then said to save the workbook. On the other
hand, if you have an existing workbook somewhere in the computer or from an attached
document sent from a message to you, you can open it as a document.

Practical Learning: Introducing Workbooks

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. From the resources that accompany these lessons, open the CPAR1 workbook
3. To save it, press F12
4. In the Save As Type combo box, select Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm)
5. Accept the name of the file and click Save
6. On the ribbon, click Developer
7. In the Controls section, click Insert
8. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button (ActiveX Control)
9. Click the empty area in the lower-left section of the worksheet
10. Right-click the newly added button and click Properties
11. Change its properties as follows:
(Name): cmdNewAutoRepair
Caption: New Auto Repair
12. Move and enlarge the button

13. Right-click the button and click View Code

14. Write the code as follows:

Option Explicit
Private AutoRepairExists As Boolean
Private Sub cmdNewAutoRepair_Click()
AutoRepairExists = False
End Sub
15. Return to Microsoft Excel

Referring to a Workbook
In the VBA language, a workbook is an object that belongs to a collection called Workbooks.
Each workbook of the Workbooks collection is an object of type Workbook, which is a class.
As seen in the previous lesson with regards to collections, each workbook of the Workbooks
collection can be identified using the Item property. To programmatically refer to a workbook,
access the Item property and pass either the index or the file name of the workbook to it.
After referring to a workbook, if you want to perform an action on it, you must get a reference to
it. To do this, declare a Workbook variable and assign the calling Item() to it. This would be
done as follows:
Private Sub cmdSelectWorkbook_Click()
Dim SchoolRecords As Workbook

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Set SchoolRecords = Workbooks.Item(2)

End Sub

101

Creating a Workbook
When it starts, Microsoft Excel creates a default blank workbook for you. Instead of using an
existing workbook or while you are working on another workbook, at any time, you can create a
new workbook.
As mentioned already, a workbook is an object of type Workbook and it is part of the
Workbooks collection. To support the ability to create a new workbook, the Workbooks
collection is equipped with a method named Add. Its syntax is:
Workbooks.Add(Template) As Workbook
You start with the Workbooks class, a period, and the Add method. This method takes only one
argument but the argument is optional. This means that you can call the method without an
argument and without parentheses. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdNewWorkbook_Click()
Workbooks.Add
End Sub
When the method is called like this, a new workbook would be created and presented to you. After
creating a workbook, you may want to change some of its characteristics. To prepare for this,
notice that the Add() method returns a Workbook object. Therefore, when creating a workbook,
get a reference to it. To do this, assign the called method to a Workbook variable. Here is an
example:
Private Sub cmdNewWorkbook_Click()
Dim SchoolRecords As Workbook
Set SchoolRecords = Workbooks.Add
End Sub
After doing this, you can then use the new variable to change the properties of the workbook.

Saving or Opening a Workbook

Introduction
After working on a new workbook, you can save it. After programmatically creating a workbook, if
you want to keep it when the user closes Microsoft Excel or when the computer shuts down, you
must save it. You and the user have the option of using the Save As dialog box.

The Default File Location

When the user starts saving a file, the Save As dialog box displays, showing the contents of the
(My) Documents folder. To find out what the default folder is, you can click the Office button and
click Excel Options. In the Excel Options dialog box, check the content of the Default File Location
text box:

To support the ability to programmatically change the default folder, the Application class is
equipped with a property named DefaultFilePath. Therefore, to programmatically specify the
default folder, assign its string to the Application.DefaultFilePath property. Here is an example:
Private Sub Exercise()
Application.DefaultFilePath = "C:\Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services"
End Sub

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When this code has executed, the Default File Location of the Excel Options dialog box would be
changed.

Saving a Workbook
To visually save a workbook, you can click the Office Button and click Save. You can also press
Ctrl + S. If the document was saved already, it would be saved behind the scenes without your
doing anything else.
To support the ability to programmatically save a workbook, the Workbook class is equipped with
a method named Save. Its syntax is:
Workbook.Save()
As you can see, this method takes no argument. If you click the Office Button and click Save or if
you call the Workbook.Save() method on a work that was not saved yet, you would be prompted
to provide a name to the workbook.
To save a workbook to a different location, you can click the Office Button, position the mouse on
Save As and select from the presented options. You can also press F12. To assist you with
programmatically saving a workbook, the Workbook class is equipped with a method named
SaveAs. Its syntax is:
Workbook.SaveAs(FileName,
FileFormat,
Password,
WriteResPassword,
ReadOnlyRecommended,
CreateBackup,
AccessMode,
ConflictResolution,
AddToMru,
TextCodepage,
TextVisualLayout,
Local)
The first argument is the only required one. It holds the name or path to the file. Therefore, you
can provide only a name of the file with extension when you call it. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdNewWorkbook_Click()
Dim SchoolRecords As Workbook
Set SchoolRecords = Workbooks.Add
SchoolRecords.SaveAs "SchoolRecords.xlsx"
End Sub
If you provide only the name of a file when calling this method, the new workbook would be saved
in the current directory or in My Documents (Documents in Windows Vista). If you want, an
alternative is to provide a complete path to the file.

Practical Learning: Saving a Workbook

1. In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click Insert
2. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button
3. On the worksheet, click under the previously added button
4. Using the Properties window, change the characteristics of the button as follows:
(Name): cmdSaveAutoRepair
Caption: Save and Close Auto Repair
5. Move and enlarge the button appropriately:

6. Right-click the button and click View Code

7. Write its code as follows:

Private Sub cmdSaveAutoRepair_Click()

ActiveWorkbook.Save
End Sub
8. Return to Microsoft Excel

Saving a Workbook for the Web

To save a workbook for the
Workbook.SaveAs() method:

web,

pass the

first

and the

second argument

of

the

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102

103

Workbook.SaveAs(FileName, FileFormat)
In this case, pass the second argument as xlHTML. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Workbooks(1).SaveAs "Affiche10.htm", xlHtml
End Sub

Opening a Workbook
Microsoft Excel is a multiple document interface (MDI) application. This means that you can open
many workbooks at the same time and be limited only by the memory on your computer. For this
reason, the ability to programmatically open a workbook is handled by the Workbooks collection.
To support this, the Workbooks class is equipped with a method named Open. Its syntax is:
Workbooks.Open(FileName,
UpdateLinks,
ReadOnly,
Format,
Password,
WriteResPassword,
IgnoreReadOnlyRecommended,
Origin,
Delimiter,
Editable,
Notify,
Converter,
AddToMru,
Local,
CorruptLoad)
FileName is the only required argument. When calling this method, you must provide the name of
the file or its path. This means that you can provide a file name with its extension. Here is an
example:
Private Sub cmdOpenWorkbook_Click()
Workbooks.Open "SchoolRecords.xlsx"
End Sub
If you provide only the name of a file, Microsoft Excel would look for it in the current directory or in
My Documents (Documents in Windows Vista). If Microsoft Excel cannot file the file, you would
receive an error:

As you can imagine, a better alternative is to provide a complete path to the file.

Practical Learning: Opening a Workbook

1. In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click Insert
2. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button
3. On the worksheet, click on the right side of Invoice #
4. Using the Properties window, change the characteristics of the button as follows:
(Name): cmdOpenAutoRepair
Caption: open Auto Repair
5. Move and enlarge the button appropriately:

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104

6. Right-click the button and click View Code

7. Write its code as follows:

Private Sub cmdOpenAutoRepair_Click()

Workbooks.Open = "1000.xlsm"
End Sub

Closing Workbooks
Closing a Workbook
After using a workbook or to dismiss a document you don't need, you can close it. To support this
operation, the Workbook class is equipped with a method named Close. Its syntax is:
Public Sub Close(Optional ByVal SaveChanges As Boolean,
Optional ByVal Filename As String,
Optional ByVal RouteWorkbook As Boolean)
All three arguments are optional. The first argument indicates whether you want to save the
changes, if any have been made on the workbook since it was opened. If no change had been made
since the time the workbook was created or since the last time it was opened, this argument is not
considered.
If the first argument is set to True and the workbook has changes that need to be save, the second
argument specifies the name of the file to save the workbook to.
The third argument specifies whether the workbook should be sent to the next user.

Practical Learning: Closing a Workbook

1. In the Object combo box, select cmdSaveAutorepair
2. Change its code as follows:

Private Sub cmdSaveAutoRepair_Click()

ActiveWorkbook.Save
ActiveWorkbook.Close
End Sub
3. Return to Microsoft Excel

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Closing Many Workbooks

105

If you have many workbooks you don't need, you can close all of them. To support this operation,
the Workbooks collection class is equipped with a method named Close. Its syntax is:
Public Sub Workbooks.Close()
This method takes no argument. When called, it closes all workbooks that are currently opened in
Microsoft Excel.

Microsoft Excel as an MDI

Microsoft Excel is a multiple document interface (MDI). This means that the application allows you to
switch from one workbook to another, or be able to display all of them sharing the same screen.
When many workbooks have been opened in, to display many of them, you can arrange them in:
Tiled:

Sub Exercise()
Windows.Arrange ArrangeStyle:=xlTiled
End Sub
Horizontal:

Sub Exercise()
Windows.Arrange ArrangeStyle:=xlHorizontal
End Sub
Vertically:

Sub Exercise()
Windows.Arrange ArrangeStyle:=xlVertical
End Sub
Cascade:

Sub Exercise()
Windows.Arrange ArrangeStyle:=xlCascade
End Sub

Accessing a Workbook
To access a workbook, the Workbook class is equipped with a method named Activate. Its syntax
is:
Workbook.Activate()
This method takes no argument. Therefore, to call it, you can get a reference to the workbook you
want to access, then call the Activate() method. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdSelectWorkbook_Click()
Dim SchoolRecords As Workbook
Set SchoolRecords = Workbooks.Item(2)
SchoolRecords.Activate
End Sub
You can also do this with less code by applying the index directly to the Workbooks collection. Here
is an example:
Private Sub cmdSelectWorkbook_Click()
Workbooks(2).Activate
End Sub

Viewing Many Workbooks

If you create or open many workbooks and while you are working on them, each is represented on
the taskbar by a button. To programmatically refer to a workbook, access the Item property and
pass either the index or the file name of the workbook to it. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdSelectWorkbook_Click()
Workbooks.Item (2)
End Sub
After referring to a workbook, if you want to perform an action on it, you must get a reference to it.
To do this, declare a Workbook variable and assign the calling Item() to it. This would be done as
follows:
Private Sub cmdSelectWorkbook_Click()
Dim SchoolRecords As Workbook
Set SchoolRecords = Workbooks.Item(2)
End Sub

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106

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107

Worksheets Fundamentals
Introduction
A worksheet is a document in Microsoft Excel. A worksheet is an object created inside a
workbook. That is, a workbook is a series of worksheets that are treated as a group.

Practical Learning: Introducing Worksheets

1. Start Microsoft Excel or a new document
2. To save the document, press Ctrl + S
3. Save it as ROSH1
4. On the Ribbon, click Developer

5. In the Code section, click the Visual Basic button

6. To create a form, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Insert -> UserForm
7. Right-click the form and click Properties
8. Change its Caption to Red Oak High School - Management

Identifying a Worksheet
A worksheet is an object of type Worksheet. The various worksheets you will use are stored in a
collection called Worksheets. Another name for the collection that contains the worksheets is
called Sheets. In most cases, you can use either of these two collections. Each worksheet is an
object of type Worksheet.

Referring to a Worksheet
In the previous lesson, we saw that, if you have only one workbook opened, to refer to it, you
can pass an index of 1 to the Item property of the Workbooks collection to access its Workbook
object. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Workbooks.Item(1)
End Sub
You can omit the Item name if you want and you would get the same result:
Sub Exercise()
Workbooks(1)
End Sub
Because the worksheets of a document are part of the workbook that is opened, to support them,
the Workbook class is equipped with a property named Worksheets or Sheets. Therefore, after
identifying the workbook, use the period operator to access the Worksheets or the Sheets
property. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Workbooks.Item(1).Sheets
End Sub
As mentioned already, the worksheets are stored in the Worksheets collection, which is actually
a class. Each worksheet can be located based on an indexed property named Item. The Item
property is a natural number that starts at 1. The most left worksheet has an index of 1. The
second worksheet from left has an index of 2, and so on. To access a worksheet, type one of the
Worksheets or Sheets collections, followed by the period operator, followed by Item() and,
between the parentheses, type the index of the worksheet you want. For example, the following
code will access the second worksheet from left:
Private Sub Exercise()
Workbooks.Item(1).Sheets.Item(2)
End Sub
Just as we saw that you can omit the Item word on the Workbooks object, you can also omit it
on the Worksheets or the Sheets object. This can be done as follows:
Sub Exercise()
Workbooks.Item(1).Worksheets(2)
End Sub

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Or as follows:

108

Sub Exercise()
Workbooks(1).Worksheets(2)
End Sub
Each tab of a worksheet has a label known as its name. By default, the most left tab is labeled
Sheet1. The second tab from left is labeled Sheet2. To refer to a worksheet using its label, call the
Worksheets or the Sheets collection and pass the label of the tab you want, as a string. Here is
an example that refers to the worksheet labeled Sheet3:
Sub Exercise()
Workbooks.Item(1).Sheets.Item("Sheet3")
End Sub
On all the code we have written so far, we were getting a worksheet from the currently opened
workbook. As mentioned already, by default, when Microsoft Excel starts, it creates a default
workbook and gets a Workbooks.Item(1) reference. This means that you do not have to
indicate that you are referring to the current workbook: it is already available. Consequently, in
your code, you can omit Workbooks.Item(1) or Workbooks(1). Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Sheets.Item("Sheet3")
End Sub

Getting a Reference to a Worksheet

In the above code segments, we assumed that you onlywant to perform an action on a worksheet
and move on. Sometimes you may want to get a reference to a worksheet. To do this, declare a
variable of type Worksheet. To initialize it, access the desired worksheet from the workbook using
the Item property and assign it to the variable using the Set operator. Here is an example that
gets a reference to the second worksheet of the currently opened workbook and stores that
reference to a variable:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Second As Worksheet
Set Second = Workbooks.Item(1).Sheets.Item(2)
End Sub

Selecting a Worksheet
To select a worksheet, access the Sheets collection, pass the name of the desired worksheet as
string, and call Select. Here is an example that selects a worksheet labeled Sheet1:
Private Sub Exercise()
Sheets("Sheet1").Select
End Sub
The worksheet that is selected and that you are currently working on is called the active
worksheet. It is identified as the ActiveSheet object (it is actually a property of the current
document).

Worksheets Names
To rename a worksheet, pass its index or its default name as a string to the Sheets (or the
Worksheets) collection, then access the Name property of the collection and assign the desired
name. Here is an example:
Private Sub Exercise()
Sheets("Sheet1").Name = "Employees Records"
End Sub
This code will change the name of the Sheet1 worksheet to Employees Records.
As we saw earlier, you can refer to, or select, a worksheet, using its name. If you had renamed a
worksheet, you can use that name to select it. Here is an example that selects a worksheet named
Tuition Reimbursement:
Private Sub Exercise()
Sheets("Tuition Reimbursement").Select
End Sub

Practical Learning: Naming Worksheets

1. Design the form as follows:

Control

Name

Caption

Label
TextBox
Label

Rename:
txtSheetOldName
As

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TextBox

txtNewName

CommandButton

cmdRename

109
Rename

2. Double-click the button and implement its Click event as follows:

Private Sub cmdRename_Click()

Worksheets(txtSheetOldName.Text).Name = txtSheetNewName.Text
txtSheetOldName.Text = ""
txtSheetNewName.Text = ""
End Sub
3. To use the form, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Run -> Run Sub/UserForm
4. In the Rename text box, type Sheet1
5. In the As text box, type Student Registration

6. Click Rename and notice that the To rename the first worksheet, double-click the Sheet1 tab
to put it in edit mode
7. In the Rename text box, type Sheet2
8. In the As text box, type Emergency Information and click Rename

9. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic

Working on Many Worksheets

Freezing a Cell or More Rows
You can use a column to freeze its cells. To freeze or unfreeze a cell, call the ActiveWindow
object and access its FreezePanes property, which is Boolean. If you set it to True, the window is
divided in four parts based on the cell that either is currently selected or you will have indicated.
Here is an example of using it:
Sub Freezing()
ActiveWindow.FreezePanes = True
End Sub

Splitting the Interface

To split a worksheet, use the ActiveWindow object and access its Boolean Split property. To
split, set this property to true:
Sub Splitting()
ActiveWindow.Split = True
End Sub
To un-split, set this property to False.

The Sequence of Worksheets

To move a worksheet, use the Move() method of the Worksheets or the Sheets collection. The
syntax of this method is:
Worksheets(Index).Move(Before, After)
Both arguments are optional. If you don't specify any argument, Microsoft Visual Basic would
create a new workbook with one worksheet using the index passed to the collection with a copy of
that worksheet. Suppose you are (already) working on a workbook that contains a few worksheets
named Sheet1, Sheet2, and Sheet3. If you call this method on a collection with the index set to
one of these worksheets, Microsoft Excel would make a copy of that worksheet, create a new
workbook with one worksheet that contains a copy of that worksheet. For example, the following
code with create a new workbook that contains a copy of the Sheet2 of the current workbook:

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Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()

Sheets.Item("Sheet2").Move
End Sub

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In this case, the name of the worksheet you are passing as argument must exist. Otherwise you
would receive an error. Instead of using the name of the worksheet, you can pass the numeric
index of the worksheet that you want to copy. For example, the following code will create a new
workbook that contains one worksheet named Sheet3:
Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
Sheets.Item(3).Move
End Sub
If calling the Item property, make sure the index is valid, otherwise you would receive an error.
To actually move a worksheet, you must specify whether it would be positioned to the left or the
right of an existing worksheet. To position a worksheet to the left of a worksheet, assign it the
Before factor. To position a worksheet to the left of a worksheet, assign it the After argument.
Consider the following code:
Private Sub cmdMove_Click()
Worksheets("Sheet3").Move After:=Worksheets("Sheet1")
End Sub
This code will move the worksheet named Sheet3 to the right of a worksheet named Sheet1.

Adding New Worksheets

To create a new worksheet, you can specify whether you want it to precede or succeed an existing
worksheet. To support creating a new worksheet, call the Add() method of the Worksheets or
the Sheets collection. Its syntax is:
Workbook.Sheets.Add(Before, After, Count, Type)
All of these arguments are optional. This means that you can call this method as follows:
Private Sub cmdNewWorksheet_Click()
Sheets.Add
End Sub
If you call the method like that, a new worksheet would be created and added to the left side of
the active worksheet.
If you want to create a new worksheet on the left side of any worksheet you want, you can first
select that worksheet and call the Add() method. For example, suppose you have three
worksheets named Sheet1, Sheet2, and Sheet3 from left to right and you want to insert a new
worksheet between Sheet2 and Sheet3, you can use code as follows:
Private Sub cmdNewWorksheet_Click()
Sheets("Sheet2").Select
Sheets.Add
End Sub
To be more precise, you can specify whether the new worksheet will be positioned to the left or to
the right of another worksheet used as reference.

Practical Learning: Creating Worksheets

1. Change the design of the form as follows:

Control

Name

Caption
Create a
new
worksheet
named:

Label
TextBox

txtNewWorksheet

CommandButton

cmdNewWorksheet

2. Double-click the Create button and implement its Click event as follows:

Private Sub cmdNewWorksheet_Click()

Worksheets.Add Before:=Worksheets("Sheet3")
Worksheets(Worksheets.Count - 1).Name = txtNewWorksheet.Text
txtNewWorksheet.Text = ""
End Sub
3. To test the code, on the Standard toolbar of Microsoft Visual Basic, click the Run
Sub/UserForma button
4. Click the Create A New Worksheet Named text box and type 6th Grade

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111

5. Click Create

6. In the same way, create new worksheets named 5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade, 2nd
Grade, and 1st Grade
7. Close the form

Removing Worksheets
To remove a worksheet, call the Delete() method of its collection. When calling this method, pass
the name of the worksheet you want to remove to the collection.

Practical Learning: Deleting Worksheets

1. Change the design of the form as follows:

Control

Name

Label
TextBox

Caption
Delete the worksheet named:

txtRemoveSheet

CommandButton cmdDelete

Delete

2. Double-click the Create button and implement its Click event as follows:

Private Sub cmdRemoveSheet_Click()

Worksheets("Sheet3").Delete
txtRemoveSheet.Text = ""
End Sub

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3. To test the code, on the Standard toolbar of Microsoft Visual Basic, click the Run
Sub/UserForm button
4. Click the Delete The Worksheet Named text box, type Sheet3

5. Click Delete

6. After reading the warning, click Delete

7. In the same way, delete the worksheet named Sheet2
8. Close the form
9. Save the document

Accessing a Worksheet
To access a worksheet, the Worksheet class is equipped with a method named Activate. Its
syntax is:
Worksheet.Activate()
This method takes no argument. To call it, get a reference to the worksheet you want to access
and call the Activate() method. You can also do this with less code by applying the index directly
to the Worksheets collection. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdSelectWorkbook_Click()
Worksheets(2).Activate
End Sub

Practical Learning: Introducing File Processing

1. To create a new workbook, press Ctrl + N
2. Double-click Sheet1, type Switchboard
3. Double-click Sheet2 and type Employees
4. Double-click Sheet3 and type Customers
5. Click the next sheet tab (the Insert Worksheet)
6. Double-click the new sheet tab and type Cars
7. Click the next sheet tab (the Insert Worksheet)

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112

8. Double-click the new sheet tab and type Rental Rates

9. Click the Switchboard tab
10. Press and hold Shift
11. Click the Rental Rates tab
12. Release Shift

13. Click Cell B2 and type Bethesda Car Rental

14. Click the Enter button
15. Click the Employees sheet tab
16. Click Cell B6 and type Employee #
17. Create a few employees
18. Click the Customers sheet tab
19. Click Cell B6 and type Driver's Lic. #
20. Create a few customers
21. Click the Cars sheet tab
22. Click Cell B6 and type Tag Number
23. Create a few cars
24. On the Ribbon, click Developer

25. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Visual Basic

26. On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Insert -> UserForm
27. If the Properties window is not available, on the main menu, click View -> Properties Window.
In the Properties window, click (Name) and type frmRentalOrder
28. Click Caption and type Bethesda Car Rental - Order Processing - Rental Order
29. Add a Command Button to the form and change its properties as follows:
(Name): cmdEmployees
Caption: Employees
30. Right-click Employees button and click View Code
31. Implement the event as follows:

Private Sub cmdEmployees_Click()

Worksheets(2).Activate
End Sub
32. Display the form again
33. Add another Command Button and change its characteristics as follows:
(Name): cmdCustomers
Caption: Customers
34. Double-click the Customers button and implement the event as follows:

Private Sub cmdCustomers_Click()

Worksheets(3).Activate
End Sub
35. Return to the form
36. Add another Command Button and change its characteristics as follows:
(Name): cmdCars
Caption: Cars
37. Double-click the Cars button and implement the event as follows:

Private Sub txtCars_Click()

Worksheets(4).Activate
End Sub
38. Show the form one more time
39. Add another Command Button and change its characteristics as follows:
(Name): cmdRentalRates
Caption: Rental Rates
40. Double-click the new button and implement its Click event as follows:

Private Sub cmdRentalRates_Click()

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114

Worksheets(5).Activate
End Sub
41. On the Standard toolbar, click the Run Sub/UserForm button
42. Click each button and notice that the corresponding worksheet displays
43. Close the form
44. Close Microsoft Visual Basic
45. Close Microsoft Excel
46. If asked whether you want to save, click No

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115

Columns Fundamentals
Introduction
A worksheet is arranged in columns. In VBA for Microsoft Excel, to programmatically refer to a
column, you will use a collection. In your code, one of the classes you can use to access a
column is named Range. As we will see in various examples, you can directly access this class.
If you want to get a reference to a column or a group of columns, declare a variable of type
Range:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Series As Range
End Sub
To initialize the variable, you will identify the workbooks and the worksheets you are using. We
will see various examples later on.

The Columns Collection

When Microsoft Excel starts, it displays the columns that have already been created. To support
its group of columns, the Worksheet class is equipped with a property named Columns. There
are various ways you can identify a column: using its index or using its label.

Identifying a Column
A Column by its Index
The columns on a worksheet are arranged by positions. A position is in fact referred to as the
index of the column. The first column on the left has the index 1, the second from left has the
index 2, and so on. Based on this, to refer to its column, pass its index to the parentheses of the
Columns collection. Here are two examples:
Sub Exercise()
REM This refers to the first column
Workbooks(1).Worksheets(2).Columns(1)
' This refers to the 12th column
Workbooks(1).Worksheets(2).Columns(12)
End Sub
In the previous lesson, we saw that you can omit calling the Workbooks(1) property to identify
the first workbook if you know you are referring to the default workbook. Therefore, the above
codee can be written as follows:
Sub Exercise()
REM This refers to the fourth column
Worksheets(2).Columns(4)
End Sub
This code now indicates that you are referring to the fourth column in the second worksheet.
When this code runs, Microsoft Excel must be displaying the second worksheet. If you run this
code while Microsoft Excel is displaying a worksheet other than the second, you would receive an
error:

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This means that if you trying accessing a column from a worksheet other than the one indicated in
your code, the code would fail. If you want to access a specific column in any worksheet from the
workbook that Microsoft Excel is currently showing, you can omit indicating the worksheet from
the Worksheets collection. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
REM This refers to the fourth column
Columns(4)
End Sub
This time, the code indicates that you are referring to the fourth column of whatever worksheet is
currently active.

A Column by its Name

To programmatically refer to a column using its name, pass its letter or combination of letters as a
string in the parentheses of the Columns collection. Here are two examples:
Sub Exercise()
Rem This refers to the column named/labeled A
Columns("A")
' This refers to the column named DR
Columns("DR")
End Sub

Adjacent Columns
To programmatically refer to adjacent columns, you can use the Columns collection. In its
parentheses, type the name of a column that would be on one end of the range, followed by a
colon ":", followed by the name of the column that would on the other end. Here is an example
that refers to columns in the range D to G:
Sub ColumnReference()
Rem Refer to the range of columns D to G
Columns("D:G")
End Sub
You can also select columns using the Range class. To do this, in the ch the name of the first
column, followed by a colon, followed by the name of the column on the other end. Here is an
example:
Sub ColumnReference()
Rem This refers to the columns in the range D to G
Range("D:H")
End Sub

Non-Adjacent Columns
Columns are refered to as non-adjacent when they do not follow each other. For example,
columns B, D, and G are non-adjacent. To programmatically refer to non-adjacent columns, use
the Range collection. In its parentheses, type each name of a column, followed by a colon,
followed by the same name of column, then separate these combinations with commas. Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise()
Rem This refers to Column H, D, and B
Range("H:H, D:D, B:B")
End Sub
To refer to all columns of a worksheet, use the Columns name. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Columns
End Sub

Columns Selection
Selecting a Column
To support column selection, the Column class is equipped with a method named Select. This
method does not take any argument. Based on this, to select the fourth column using its indexed,
you would use code as follows:
Sub Exercise()
Rem This selects the fourth column
Columns(4).Select
End Sub
To select a column using its name, you would use code as follows:
Sub Exercise()
Rem This selects the column labeled ADH

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116

Columns("ADH").Select
End Sub

117

When a column has been selected, it is stored in an object called Selection. You can then use
that object to take an action to apply to the column.

Selecting a Range of Adjacent Columns

To programmatically select a range of columns, in the parentheses of the Columns collection,
enter the name of the first column on one end, followed by a colon ":", followed the name of the
column that will be at the other end. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Rem This selects the range of columns from Column D to Column G
Columns("D:G").Select
End Sub
You can use this same notation to select one column. To do this, use the Range collection. In the
parentheses of the colection, enter the name of the column, followed by a colon, followed by the
same column name. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Rem This selects Column G
Range("G:G").Select
End Sub

Selecting Non-Adjacent Columns

To programmatically select non-adjacent columns, use the technique we saw earlier to refer to
non-adjacent columns, then call the Select method. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Rem This selects Columns B, D, and H
Range("H:H, D:D, B:B").Select
End Sub
When many columns have been selected (whether adjacent or not), their selection is stored in an
object named Selection. You can access that object to apply a common action to all selected
columns.

Creating Columns
Adding a New Column
To support the creation of columns, the Column class is equipped with a method named Insert.
This method takes no argument. When calling it, you must specify the column that will succeed
the new one. Here is an example that will create a new column in the third position and move the
columns from 3 to 16384 to the right:
Sub CreateColumn()
Columns(3).Insert
End Sub

Adding New Columns

To programmatically add a new column, specify its successor using the Range class. Then call the
Insert method of the Column class. Here is an example that creates new columns in places of
Columns B, D, and H that are pushed to the right to make place for the new ones:
Sub CreateColumns()
Range("H:H, D:D, B:B").Insert
End Sub

Deleting Columns
Deleting a Column
To provide the ability to delete a column, the Column class is equipped with a method named
Delete. This method does not take an argument. To delete a column, use the Columns collection
to specify the index or the name of the column that will be deleted. Then call the Delete method.
Here is an example that removes the fourth column. Here is an example:
Sub DeleteColumn()
Columns("D:D").Delete
End Sub

Deleting Many Columns

To programmatically delete many adjacent columns, specify their range using the Columns
collection and call the Delete method. Here is an example:

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Sub DeleteColumns()
Columns("D:F").Delete
End Sub

118

To delete many non-adjacent columns, use the Range class then call the Delete method of the
Column class. Here is an example that deletes Columns C, E, and P:
Sub DeleteColumns()
Range("C:C, E:E, P:P").Delete
End Sub

The Width of Columns

Introduction
To support column sizes, the Column class is equipped with a property named ColumnWidth.
Therefore, to programmatically specify the width of a column, access it, then access its
ColumnWidth property and assign the desired value to it. Here is an example that sets Column
C's width to 4.50:
Sub Exercise()
Columns("C").ColumnWidth = 4.5
End Sub

Automatically Resizing the Columns

To use AutoFit Selection, first select the column(s) and store it (them) in a Selection object,
access its Columns property, then call the AutoFit method of the Columns property. This can be
done as follows:
Private Sub Exercise()
Selection.Columns.AutoFit
End Sub

Setting the Width Value of Columns

To specify the widths of many columns, access them using the Range class, then access the
ColumnWidth property, and assign the desired value. Here is an example that sets the widths of
Columns C, E, and H to 5 each:
Sub Exercise()
Range("C:C, E:E, H:H").ColumnWidth = 5#
End Sub

Hiding, Freezing, and Splitting Columns

Hiding and Revealing Columns
To programmatically hide a column, first select it, then assign True to the Hidden property of the
EntireColumn object of Selection. Consider the following code:
Private Sub Exercise()
Columns("F:F").Select
Selection.EntireColumn.Hidden = True
End Sub
To unhide a hidden column, assign a False value to the Hidden property:
Private Sub Exercise()
Columns("F:F").Select
Selection.EntireColumn.Hidden = False
End Sub

Splitting the Columns

To split the columns, call the ActiveWindow object, access its SplitColumn and assign it the
column number. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
ActiveWindow.SplitColumn = 4
End Sub
To remove the splitting, access the same property of the ActiveWindow object and assign 0 to it.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
ActiveWindow.SplitColumn = 0
End Sub

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120

Rows Fundamentals
Introduction
We already know that a worksheet organizes its information in columns. To show the values in a
worksheet, each column holds a particular value that corresponds to another value in the same
horizontal range. The group of values that correspond to the same horizontal arrangement is
called a row.

Identifying a Row
To support the rows of a worksheet, the Worksheet class is equipped with a property named
Rows. Therefore, to refer to a row, you can use the Worksheets collection or the Worksheet
object to access the Rows property. Another way you can refer to rows is by using the Range
object.
To identify a row, indicate its worksheet and you can pass its number to the parentheses of the
Rows collection. Here is an example that refers to the 5th row of the second worksheet of the
current workbook:
Sub Exercise()
Workbooks.Item(1).Worksheets.Item(2).Rows(5)
End Sub
As reviewed for the columns, this code would work only if the second worksheet of the current
workbook is displaying. If you run it while a worksheet other than the second is active, you would
receive an error. To access any row, omit the Workbooks and the Worksheets collections.
As mentioned already, you can refer to a row using the Range object. To do that, pass a string to
the Range object. In the parentheses, type the number of the row, followed by a colon, followed
by the number of the row. Here is an example that refers to Row 4:
Sub Exercise()
Range("4:4")
End Sub
If you want to refer to the rows more than once, you can declare a variable of type Range and
initialize it using the Set operator and assign it the range you want. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim SeriesOfRows As Range
Set SeriesOfRows = Workbooks.Item(1).Worksheets.Item("Sheet1").Range("4:4")
SeriesOfRows.Whatever
End Sub

Identifying a Group of Rows

A group of rows is said to be in a range if they are next to each other. To refer to rows in a range,
in the parentheses of the Rows collection, pass a string that is made of the number of the row
from one end, followed by a colon, followed by the row number of the other end. Here is an
example that refers to rows from 2 to 6:
Sub Exercise()
Rows("2:6")
End Sub
The rows of a group qualify as non-adjacent if they are or they are not positioned next to each
other. To refer to non-adjacent rows, pass a string to the Range collection. In the parentheses,
type the number of each row followed by a colon, followed by the same number. These
combinations are separated by commas. Here is an example that refers to Rows 3, 5, and 8:
Sub Exercise()
Range("3:3, 5:5, 8:8")
End Sub
To refer to all rows of a worksheet, use the Rows name. Here is an example:

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Sub Exercise()
Rows
End Sub

121

Rows Selection
Selecting a Row
To support row selection, the Row class is equipped with a method named Select. Therefore, to
programmatically select a row, access a row from the Rows collection using the references we
saw earlier. Then call the Select method. Here is an example that selects Row 6:
Sub Exercise()
Rows(6).Select
End Sub
We also saw that you could refer to a row using the Range object. After accessing the row, call the
Select method. Here is an example that selects Row 4:
Sub Exercise()
Range("4:4").Select
End Sub
When a row has been selected, it is stored in an object called Selection. You can then use that
object to apply an action to the row.

Selecting a Group of Rows

To programmatically select a range of rows, refer to the range using the techniques we saw
earlier, then call the Select method. Here is an example that selects rows from 2 to 6:
Sub Exercise()
Rows("2:6").Select
End Sub
To programmatically select non-adjacent rows, refer to them as we saw earlier and call the Select
method. Here is an example that selects Rows 3, 5, and 8:
Sub Exercise()
Range("3:3, 5:5, 8:8").Select
End Sub
To programmatically select all rows of a worksheet, call the Select method on the Rows collection.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Rows.Select
End Sub
When many rows have been selected (whether adjacent or not), their selection is stored in an
object named Selection. You can access that object to apply a common action to all selected
rows.

Managing Rows
The Height of a Row
To support the height of a row, the Row object is equipped with a property named RowHeight.
Therefore, to programmatically specify the height of a row, access the row using a reference as we
saw earlier, access its RowHeight property and assign the desired value to it. Here is an example
that sets the height of Row 6 to 2.50
Sub Exercise()
Rows(6).RowHeight = 2.5
End Sub

Adding a New Row

To provide the ability to add a new row, the Row class is equipped with a method named Insert.
Therefore, to programmatically add a row, refer to the row that will be positioned below the new
one and call the Insert method. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Rows(3).Insert
End Sub

Adding New Rows

To programmatically add new rows, refer to the rows that would be below the new ones, and call
the Insert method. Here is an example that will add new rows in positions 3, 6, and 10:

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Sub Exercise()
Range("3:3, 6:6, 10:10").Insert
End Sub

122

Removing Rows
Deleting a Row
To support row removal, the Row class is equipped with a method named Delete
that takes no argument. Based on this, to delete a row, access it using a reference
as we saw earlier, and call the Delete method. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Rows(3).Delete
End Sub
Of course, you can use either the Rows collection or the Range object to refer to the
row.

Deleting Rows
To delete a group of rows, identify them using the Range collection. Then call the
Delete method. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("3:3, 6:6, 10:10").Delete
End Sub

Using Rows
Moving Rows
To move a group of rows, access the Range collection and identify them. Call the
Cut method. Access its Destination argument to which you will assign the rows
where you are moving. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Rows("11:12").Cut Destination:=Rows("16:17")
End Sub

Copying and Pasting Rows

To copy a row (or a group of rows), use the Rows collection to identify the row(s).
Call the Copy method on it. Access the Destination argument and assign the
destination row(s) to it. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Rows("10:15").Copy Destination:=Rows("22:27")
End Sub

Hiding and Revealing Rows

To programmatically hide a row, first select. Then, access the Hidden property of
the EntireRow object of Selection. Here is an example:
Private Sub Exercise()
Rows("6:6").Select
Selection.EntireRow.Hidden = True
End Sub
This code example will hide row 6. In the same way, to hide a group of rows, first
select their range, then write Selection.EntireRow.Hidden = True.

Splitting the Rows

To split the rows, call the ActiveWindow object, access its SplitRow and assign it
the row number. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
ActiveWindow.SplitRow = 4
End Sub
To remove the splitting, access the same property of the ActiveWindow object and
assign 0 to it. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
ActiveWindow.SplitRow = 0
End Sub

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123
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124

A Cell in a Worksheet
Introduction
A spreadsheet is a series of columns and rows. These columns and rows intersect to create cells:

When Microsoft Excel starts, it creates 16,384 columns and 1,048,576 rows. As a result, a
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet has 16,384 * 1,048,576 = 17,179,869,184 cells available.

The Active Cell

To access a cell, you can click it. This becomes the active cell. In VBA, the active cell is
represented by an object named ActiveCell.

Referencing Cells
To identify a cell, you can use the Range object. In the parentheses of the Range object, pass a
string that contains the name of the cell. Here is an example that refers to the cell located as D6:
Sub Exercise()
Workbooks.Item(1).Worksheets.Item("Sheet1").Range("D6")
End Sub
To get a reference to a cell, declare a variable of type Range. To initialize the variable, identify
the cell and assign it to the variable using the Set operator. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Cell As Range
Set Cell = Workbooks.Item(1).Worksheets.Item("Sheet1").Range("D6")
End Sub
Cells are referred to as adjacent when they touch each other. To refer to a group of adjacent cells,
in the parentheses of the Range object, pass a string that is made of the address of the cell that
will be on one corner, followed by a colon, followed by the address of the cell that will be on the
other corner. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("B2:H6")
End Sub
You can use this same technique to refer to one cell. To do this, use the same cell address on both
sides of the colon. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("D4:D4")
End Sub
Instead of referring to one group of adjacent cells, you can refer to more than one group of
non-adjacent cells. To do this, pass a string to the Range object. In the string, create each range
as you want but separate them with commas. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()

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Range("D2:B5, F8:I14")
End Sub

125

Selecting Cells
Introduction
Before doing anything on a cell or a group of cells, you must first select it. To support cell
selection, the Range object is equipped with a method named Select. Therefore, to
programmatically select a cell, after referencing it, call the Select method. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("D6").Select
End Sub
When you have selected a cell, it is stored in an object named Selection. You can use this object
to take an action on the cell that is currently selected.

Selecting Cells
To programmatically select a group of adjacent cells, refer to the group using the techniques we
saw earlier, then call the Select method.
To programmatically select all cells of a column, access the Columns collection and pass the
column name as a string, then call the Select method. Here is an example we saw in Lesson 9:
Sub Exercise()
Rem This selects all cells from the fourth column
Columns(4).Select
End Sub
To perform this operation using the name of a column, pass that name as argument. Here is an
example that selects all cells from Column ADH:
Sub Exercise()
Rem This selects all cells from the column labeled ADH
Columns("ADH").Select
End Sub
You can also perform this operation using the Range object. To do this, use the Range collection.
In the parentheses of the colection, enter the name of the column, followed by a colon, followed
by the same column name. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Rem This selects all cells from Column G
Range("G:G").Select
End Sub
To programmatically select all cells that belong to a group of adjacent columns, in the parentheses
of the Columns collection, enter the name of the first column on one end, followed by a colon ":",
followed the name of the column that will be at the other end. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Rem This selects all cells in the range of columns from Column D to Column G
Columns("D:G").Select
End Sub
To select the cells that belong to a group of non-adjacent columns, use the technique we saw
earlier to refer to non-adjacent columns, then call the Select method. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Rem This selects the cells from columns B, D, and H
Range("H:H, D:D, B:B").Select
End Sub
To programmatically select all cells that belong to a row, access a row from the Rows collection,
then call the Select method. Here is an example that all cells from Row 6:
Sub Exercise()
Rows(6).Select
End Sub
You can also use the Range object. After accessing the row, call the Select method. Here is an
example that selects all cells from Row 4:
Sub Exercise()
Range("4:4").Select
End Sub
To select all cells that belong to a range of rows, refer to the range and call the Select method.
Here is an example that selects all cells that belong to the rows from 2 to 6:
Sub Exercise()
Rows("2:6").Select
End Sub
To select all cells that belong to non-adjacent rows, refer to the rows and call the Select method.
Here is an example that selects all cells belonging to Rows 3, 5, and 8:
Sub Exercise()
Range("3:3, 5:5, 8:8").Select
End Sub

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To programmatically select cells in the same region, enter their range as a string to the Range
object, then call the Select method. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("B2:H6").Select
End Sub
Remember that you can use the same technique to refer to one cell, thus to select a cell. Here is
an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("D4:D4").Select
End Sub
To select more than one group of non-adjacent cells, refer to the combination as we saw earlier
and call the Select method. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("D2:B5, F8:I14").Select
End Sub
To select all cells of a spreadsheet, you can call the Select method on the Rows collection. Here
is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Rows.Select
End Sub
Instead of the Rows collection, you can use the Columns collection instead and you would get
the same result.
When you have selected a group of cells, the group is stored in an object named Selection. You
can use this object to take a common action on all of the cells that are currently selected.

The Name of a Cell

We already saw that, to refer to a cell using its name, you can pass that name as a string to the
Range object.
After creating a name for a group of cells, to refer to those cells using the name, call the Range
object and pass the name as a string.

The Gridlines and Headings of a Worksheet

Showing the Gridlines of Cells
To show or hide the gridlines, call the ActiveWindow and access its DisplayGridlines property.
This is a Boolean property. If you set its value to True, the gridlines appear. If you set it to False,
the gridlines disappear. Here is an example of using it:
Sub Exercise()
ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False
End Sub

Showing the Headings of a Worksheet

To show or hide the headers of columns, get the ActiveWindow object and access its
DisplayHeadings Boolean property. To show the headers, set this property to True. To hide the
headers, set the property to False. Here is an example:
Sub ShowHeadings()
ActiveWindow.DisplayHeadings = False
End Sub

Operations on Cells
Adding Cells
We know that, to insert a column made of (vertical) cells, you can access the Columns collection,
specify an index in its parentheses, and call the Insert method. Here is an example:
Sub CreateColumn()
Columns(3).Insert
End Sub
We also know how to create a series of rows made of cells horizontally.

Cell Data Entry

Data entry consists of adding one or more values into one or more cells. This can be done
manually, automatically, or programmatically. We already know that a cell that is currently
selected in a worksheet is called ActiveCell. Therefore, to programmatically add a value to the
active cell, assign that value to this object.

Practical Learning: Introducing Data Entry

1. Start Microsoft Excel

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126

2. On the Ribbon, click Developer

127

3. In the Code section, click Record Macro

4. Set the Macro Name to CreateWorkbook
5. In the Shortcut Key text box, type W to get Ctrl + Shift + W

6. Click OK
7. On the Ribbon, click Stop Recording

8. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros

9. In the Macro dialog box, make sure CreateWorkbook is selected and click Edit
10. Change the code as follows:

Option Explicit
Sub CreateWorkbook()
' CreateWorkbook Macro
' This macro is used to create a workbook for the
' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W
Rem Just in case there is anything on the
Rem worksheet, delete everything
Range("A:K").Delete
Range("1:20").Delete
Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet
Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services"
Range("B5") = "Order Identification"
Range("B6") = "Receipt #:"
Range("G6") = "Order Status:"
Range("B7") = "Customer Name:"
Range("G7") = "Customer Phone:"
Range("B9") = "Date Left:"
Range("G9") = "Time Left:"
Range("B10") = "Date Expected:"
Range("G10") = "Time Expected:"
Range("B11") = "Date Picked Up:"
Range("G11") = "Time Picked Up:"
Range("B13")
Range("B14")
Range("D14")
Range("E14")
Range("F14")

=
=
=
=
=

"Items to Clean"
"Item"
"Unit Price"
"Qty"
"Sub-Total"

Range("B15")
Range("H15")
Range("B16")
Range("B17")
Range("H17")
Range("B18")
Range("H18")
Range("I18")
Range("J18")
Range("B19")
Range("H19")
Range("B20")
Range("H20")

=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=

"Shirts"
"Order Summary"
"Pants"
"None"
"Cleaning Total:"
"None"
"Tax Rate:"
"5.75"
"%"
"None"
"Tax Amount:"
"None"
"Order Total:"

Rem Change the widths and heights of some columns and rows
Rem In previous lessons, we learned all these things
Range("E:E, G:G").ColumnWidth = 4
Columns("H").ColumnWidth = 14
Columns("J").ColumnWidth = 1.75
Rows("3").RowHeight = 2

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128

Range("8:8, 12:12").RowHeight = 8
Rem Hide the gridlines
ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False
End Sub
11. To return to Microsoft Excel, click the View Microsoft Excel button
12. To fill the worksheet, press Ctrl + Shift + W

13. Close Microsoft Excel

14. When asked whether you want to save, click No

Previous

Copyright 2007-2009 FunctionX, Inc.

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Next

129

Cell Formatting With a Font

Introduction
A font is a description of characters designs to represent meaningful (or graphical) characters. A
font is an object made of various characteristics, including a name, a size, and a style.
To define a font, the VBA library provides a class named Font. This class is equipped with the
necessary characteristics.

Practical Learning: Introducing Cell Formatting

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. On the Ribbon, click Developer
3. In the Code section, click Record Macro
4. Set the Macro Name to CreateWorkbook
5. In the Shortcut Key text box, type W to get Ctrl + Shift + W

6. Click OK
7. On the Ribbon, click Stop Recording

8. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros

9. In the Macro dialog box, make sure CreateWorkbook is selected and click Edit
10. Change the code as follows:
Option Explicit
Sub CreateWorkbook()
' CreateWorkbook Macro
' This macro is used to create a workbook for the
' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W
Rem Just in case there is anything on the
Rem worksheet, delete everything
Range("A:K").Delete
Range("1:20").Delete
Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet
Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services"
Range("B5") = "Order Identification"
Range("B6") = "Receipt #:"
Range("G6") = "Order Status:"
Range("B7") = "Customer Name:"
Range("G7") = "Customer Phone:"
Range("B9") = "Date Left:"

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Range("G9") = "Time Left:"

Range("B10") = "Date Expected:"
Range("G10") = "Time Expected:"
Range("B11") = "Date Picked Up:"
Range("G11") = "Time Picked Up:"
Range("B13")
Range("B14")
Range("D14")
Range("E14")
Range("F14")

=
=
=
=
=

"Items to Clean"
"Item"
"Unit Price"
"Qty"
"Sub-Total"

Range("B15")
Range("H15")
Range("B16")
Range("B17")
Range("H17")
Range("B18")
Range("H18")
Range("I18")
Range("J18")
Range("B19")
Range("H19")
Range("B20")
Range("H20")

=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=

"Shirts"
"Order Summary"
"Pants"
"None"
"Cleaning Total:"
"None"
"Tax Rate:"
"5.75"
"%"
"None"
"Tax Amount:"
"None"
"Order Total:"

Rem Change the widths and heights of some columns and rows
Rem In previous lessons, we learned all these things
Range("E:E, G:G").ColumnWidth = 4
Columns("H").ColumnWidth = 14
Columns("J").ColumnWidth = 1.75
Rows("3").RowHeight = 2
Range("8:8, 12:12").RowHeight = 8
Rem Hide the gridlines
ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False
End Sub
11. To return to Microsoft Excel, click the View Microsoft Excel button
12. To fill the worksheet, press Ctrl + Shift + W

13. Close Microsoft Excel

14. When asked whether you want to save, click No

The Name of a Font

To programmatically specify the name of a font, refer to the cell or the group of cells on which you
want to apply the font, access its Font object, followed by its Name property. Then assign the
name of the font to the cell or group of cells.

Practical Learning: Selecting a Font

1. Change the code as follows (if you do not have the Rockwell Condensed font, use Times New
Roman):
Sub CreateWorkbook()
' CreateWorkbook Macro
' This macro is used to create a workbook for the
' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services

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130

' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W

Rem Just in case there is anything on the
Rem worksheet, delete everything
Range("A:K").Delete
Range("1:20").Delete
Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet
Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services"
Range("B2").Font.Name = "Rockwell Condensed"
Range("B5") = "Order Identification"
Range("B5").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("B6")
Range("G6")
Range("B7")
Range("G7")

=
=
=
=

"Receipt #:"
"Order Status:"
"Customer Name:"
"Customer Phone:"

Range("B9") = "Date Left:"

Range("G9") = "Time Left:"
Range("B10") = "Date Expected:"
Range("G10") = "Time Expected:"
Range("B11") = "Date Picked Up:"
Range("G11") = "Time Picked Up:"
Range("B13") = "Items to Clean"
Range("B13").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("B14")
Range("D14")
Range("E14")
Range("F14")

=
=
=
=

"Item"
"Unit Price"
"Qty"
"Sub-Total"

Range("B15") = "Shirts"
Range("H15") = "Order Summary"
Range("H15").Font.Name = "Cambria"
. . . No Change
End Sub
2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + W to see the result

3. Return to Microsoft Visual Basic

The Size of a Font

Besides its name, a font is also known for its size. To programmatically specify the font size of a
cell or a group of cells, refer to that cell or the group of cells, access its Font object, followed by
its Size property, and assign the desired value to it.

Practical Learning: Setting the Font Size of a Cell

1. Change the code as follows:
Sub CreateWorkbook()
' CreateWorkbook Macro
' This macro is used to create a workbook for the
' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W

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131

Rem Just in case there is anything on the

Rem worksheet, delete everything
Range("A:K").Delete
Range("1:20").Delete
Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet
Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services"
Range("B2").Font.Name = "Rockwell Condensed"
Range("B2").Font.Size = 24
Range("B5") = "Order Identification"
Range("B5").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("B5").Font.Size = 14
. . . No Change
Range("B13") = "Items to Clean"
Range("B13").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("B13").Font.Size = 14
Range("B14")
Range("D14")
Range("E14")
Range("F14")

=
=
=
=

"Item"
"Unit Price"
"Qty"
"Sub-Total"

Range("B15") = "Shirts"
Range("H15") = "Order Summary"
Range("H15").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("H15").Font.Size = 14
. . . No Change
End Sub
2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + W to see the result

3. Return to Microsoft Visual Basic

The Style of a Font

The style of a font is a technique of drawing the characters of the text
. To support font styles, the Font object is equipped with various Boolean properties that are Bold,

Italic, Underline, and Strikethrough. Therefore, to grammatically specify the font style of a cell
or a group of cells, access the cell or the group of cells, access its Font object, followed by the
desired style, and assign the desired Boolean value.

Practical Learning: Formatting With Styles

1. Change the code as follows:
Sub CreateWorkbook()
' CreateWorkbook Macro
' This macro is used to create a workbook for the
' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W
Rem Just in case there is anything on the
Rem worksheet, delete everything
Range("A:K").Delete

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132

133

Range("1:20").Delete
Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet
Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services"
Range("B2").Font.Name = "Rockwell Condensed"
Range("B2").Font.Size = 24
Range("B2").Font.Bold = True
Range("B5") = "Order Identification"
Range("B5").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("B5").Font.Size = 14
Range("B5").Font.Bold = True
. . . No Change
Range("B13") = "Items to
Range("B13").Font.Name =
Range("B13").Font.Size =
Range("B13").Font.Bold =
Range("B14")
Range("D14")
Range("E14")
Range("F14")

=
=
=
=

Clean"
"Cambria"
14
True

"Item"
"Unit Price"
"Qty"
"Sub-Total"

Range("B15") = "Shirts"
Range("H15") = "Order Summary"
Range("H15").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("H15").Font.Size = 14
Range("H15").Font.Bold = True
. . . No Change
End Sub
2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + W to see the result
3. Return to Microsoft Visual Basic

Text Color
A character or text can use a color to get a better visual representation. The VBA supports colors
at different levels. To support colors, the Font object is equipped with a property named Color. To
specify the color, assign the desired color to the property. The VBA provides a (limited) list of
colors that each can be specified using a named constant. They are:
Color Name

Constant

Value

Black

vbBlack

&h00
&hFF

Red

vbRed

Green

vbGreen

&hFF00

Yellow

vbYellow

&hFFFF

Blue

vbBlue

&hFF0000

Magenta

vbMagenta

&hFF00FF

Cyan

vbCyan

&hFFFF00

White

vbWhite

&hFFFFFF

Color

Therefore, the available colors are vbBlack, vbRed, vbGreen, vbYellow, vbBlue, vbMagenta,
vbCyan, and vbWhite. These are standard colors. In reality, a color in Microsoft Windows is
represented as a value between 0 and 16,581,375 (in the next lesson, we will know where that
number comes from). This means that you can assign a positive number to the Font.Color
property and use the equivalent color.
The colors in the Font Color button are represented by a property named ThemeColor. Each one
of the colors in the Theme Colors section has an equivalent name in the VBA. If you know the
name of the color, assign it to the ThemeColor property.
As another alternative to specify a color, in the next lesson, we will see that you can use a
function named RGB to specify a color.

Practical Learning: Specifying the Color of Text

1. Change the code as follows:
Sub CreateWorkbook()
' CreateWorkbook Macro
' This macro is used to create a workbook for the
' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W
Rem Just in case there is anything on the
Rem worksheet, delete everything
Range("A:K").Delete
Range("1:20").Delete
Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet
Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services"

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Range("B2").Font.Name = "Rockwell Condensed"

Range("B2").Font.Size = 24
Range("B2").Font.Bold = True
Range("B2").Font.Color = vbBlue
Range("B3:J3").Interior.ThemeColor = xlThemeColorLight2
Range("B5") = "Order Identification"
Range("B5").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("B5").Font.Size = 14
Range("B5").Font.Bold = True
Range("B5").Font.ThemeColor = 5
. . . No Change
Range("B13") = "Items to Clean"
Range("B13").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("B13").Font.Size = 14
Range("B13").Font.Bold = True
Range("B13").Font.ThemeColor = 5
Range("B14")
Range("D14")
Range("E14")
Range("F14")

=
=
=
=

"Item"
"Unit Price"
"Qty"
"Sub-Total"

. . . No Change
Range("H15") = "Order Summary"
Range("H15").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("H15").Font.Size = 14
Range("H15").Font.Bold = True
Range("H15").Font.ThemeColor = 5
. . . No Change
End Sub
2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + W to see the result

Cell Alignment
Cells Merging
To programmatically merge some cells, first select them and access the MergeCells Boolean
property. Then assign True or False depending on your intentions.

Practical Learning: Merging Cells

Change the code as follows:
Sub CreateWorkbook()
. . . No Change
Rem Merge the cells H15, I15, H16, and I16
Range("H15:I16").MergeCells = True
Rem Hide the gridlines

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134

ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False
End Sub

Cells Content Alignment

To programmatically align the text of a cell or a group of cells, access that cell or the group of
cells, access either the HorizontalAlignment or the VerticalAlignment property, and assign the
desired value to it.

Practical Learning: Controlling Cells Alignment

Change the code as follows:
Sub CreateWorkbook()
. . . No Change
Rem Merge the cells H15, I15, H16, and I16
Range("H15:I16").MergeCells = True
Rem Align the merged text to the left
Range("H15:H16").VerticalAlignment = xlCenter
Rem Hide the gridlines
ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False
End Sub

Cells Content Indentation

To programmatically indent the content of a cell or the contents of various cells, refer to that cell
or to the group of cells and access its IndentLevel property. Then assign the desired value. Here
is an example:
Range("A1").IndentLevel = 5

Cells Borders
The Line Style of a Border
A cell appears as a rectangular box with borders and a background. To programmatically
control the borders of a cell or a group of cells, refer to the cell or the group of cells and
access its Borders object. This object is accessed as an indexed property. Here is an
example:
Range("B2").Borders()
In the parentheses of the Borders property, specify the border you want to change. The
primary available values are: xlEdgeBottom, xlEdgeTop, xlEdgeLeft, and xlEdgeRight.
Sometimes you may have selected a group of cells and you want to take an action on the
line(s) between (among) them. To support this, the Borders property can take an index
named xlInsideVertical for a vertical border between two cells or an index named
xlInsideHorizontal for a horizontal border between the cells.
After specifying the border you want to work on, you must specify the type of characteristic
you want to change. For example, you can specify the type of line you want the border to
show. To support this, the Borders object is equipped with a property named LineStyle. To
specify the type of line you want the border to display, you can assign a value to the
LineStyle property. The available values are xlContinuous, xlDash, xlDashDot,
xlDashDotDot, xlDot, xlDouble, xlSlantDashDot, and xlLineStyleNone. Therefore, you
can assign any of these values to the property. To assist you with this, you can type
LineStyle followed by a period and select the desired value from the list that appears:

Practical Learning: Specifying the Styles of Cells Border

Change the code as follows:
Sub CreateWorkbook()
' CreateWorkbook Macro
' This macro is used to create a workbook for the
' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services

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135

' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W

Rem Just in case there is anything on the
Rem worksheet, delete everything
Range("A:K").Delete
Range("1:20").Delete
Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet
Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services"
Range("B2").Font.Name = "Rockwell Condensed"
Range("B2").Font.Size = 24
Range("B2").Font.Bold = True
Range("B2").Font.Color = vbBlue
Range("B5") = "Order Identification"
Range("B5").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("B5").Font.Size = 14
Range("B5").Font.Bold = True
Range("B5").Font.ThemeColor = 5
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B6") = "Receipt #:"
Range("D6:F6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("G6") = "Order Status:"
Range("I6:J6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B7") = "Customer Name:"
Range("D7:F7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("G7") = "Customer Phone:"
Range("I7:J7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B8:J8").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B9") = "Date Left:"
Range("D9:F9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("G9") = "Time Left:"
Range("I9:J9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B10") = "Date Expected:"
Range("D10:F10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("G10") = "Time Expected:"
Range("I10:J10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B11") = "Date Picked Up:"
Range("D11:F11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("G11") = "Time Picked Up:"
Range("I11:J11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B13") = "Items to
Range("B13").Font.Name =
Range("B13").Font.Size =
Range("B13").Font.Bold =
Range("B14")
Range("D14")
Range("E14")
Range("F14")

=
=
=
=

Clean"
"Cambria"
14
True

"Item"
"Unit Price"
"Qty"
"Sub-Total"

Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeTop).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B15") = "Shirts"
Range("B15").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("H15") = "Order Summary"
Range("H15").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("H15").Font.Size = 14
Range("H15").Font.Bold = True
Range("B16") = "Pants"
Range("B16").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B17") = "None"

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136

Range("B17").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("H17") = "Cleaning Total:"
Range("I17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B18") = "None"
Range("B18").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("H18") = "Tax Rate:"
Range("I18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I18") = "5.75"
Range("J18") = "%"
Range("B19") = "None"
Range("B19").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("H19") = "Tax Amount:"
Range("I19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B20") = "None"
Range("B20").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:C14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B15:C15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D15:F15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B16:C16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D16:F16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B17:C17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D17:F17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B18:C18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D18:F18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B19:C19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D19:F19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B20:F20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("H20") = "Order Total:"
Range("I20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Rem Change the widths and heights of some columns and rows
Rem In previous lessons, we learned all these things
Range("E:E, G:G").ColumnWidth = 4
Columns("H").ColumnWidth = 14
Columns("J").ColumnWidth = 1.75
Rows("3").RowHeight = 2
Range("8:8, 12:12").RowHeight = 8
Rem Merge the cells H15, I15, H16, and I16
Range("H15:I16").MergeCells = True
Rem Align the merged text to the left
Range("H15:H16").VerticalAlignment = xlCenter
Range("H16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Rem Hide the gridlines
ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False
End Sub

The Weight of a Border

After specifying the type of line to apply to a border, you can control the thickness of the
line. To support this, the Borders object is equipped with a property named Weight. The

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137

available values are xlHairline, xlThin, xlMedium, and xlThick.

Practical Learning: Specifying the Weight of Cells Border

1. Change the code as follows:
Sub CreateWorkbook()
' CreateWorkbook Macro
' This macro is used to create a workbook for the
' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W
Rem Just in case there is anything on the
Rem worksheet, delete everything
Range("A:K").Delete
Range("1:20").Delete
Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet
Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services"
Range("B2").Font.Name = "Rockwell Condensed"
Range("B2").Font.Size = 24
Range("B2").Font.Bold = True
Range("B2").Font.Color = vbBlue
Range("B5") = "Order Identification"
Range("B5").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("B5").Font.Size = 14
Range("B5").Font.Bold = True
Range("B5").Font.ThemeColor = 5
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium
Range("B6") = "Receipt #:"
Range("D6:F6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D6:F6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G6") = "Order Status:"
Range("I6:J6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I6:J6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B7") = "Customer Name:"
Range("D7:F7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D7:F7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G7") = "Customer Phone:"
Range("I7:J7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I7:J7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B8:J8").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B8:J8").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("B9") = "Date Left:"
Range("D9:F9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D9:F9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G9") = "Time Left:"
Range("I9:J9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I9:J9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B10") = "Date Expected:"
Range("D10:F10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D10:F10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G10") = "Time Expected:"
Range("I10:J10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I10:J10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B11") = "Date Picked Up:"
Range("D11:F11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D11:F11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G11") = "Time Picked Up:"
Range("I11:J11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I11:J11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium
Range("B13") = "Items to
Range("B13").Font.Name =
Range("B13").Font.Size =
Range("B13").Font.Bold =

Clean"
"Cambria"
14
True

Range("B14") = "Item"

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139

Range("D14") = "Unit Price"

Range("E14") = "Qty"
Range("F14") = "Sub-Total"
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeTop).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeTop).Weight = xlThin
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("C14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("D14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("E14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B15") = "Shirts"
Range("B15").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B15").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("H15") = "Order Summary"
Range("H15").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("H15").Font.Size = 14
Range("H15").Font.Bold = True
Range("B16") = "Pants"
Range("B16").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B16").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("B17") = "None"
Range("B17").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B17").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("H17") = "Cleaning Total:"
Range("I17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B18") = "None"
Range("B18").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B18").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("H18") = "Tax Rate:"
Range("I18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("I18") = "5.75"
Range("J18") = "%"
Range("B19") = "None"
Range("B19").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B19").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("H19") = "Tax Amount:"
Range("I19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B20") = "None"
Range("B20").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B20").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("C15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B14:C14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:C14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("B15:C15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B15:C15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D15:F15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D15:F15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B16:C16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B16:C16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D16:F16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D16:F16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous

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Range("D16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B17:C17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B17:C17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D17:F17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D17:F17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B18:C18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B18:C18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D18:F18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D18:F18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B19:C19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B19:C19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D19:F19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D19:F19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B20:F20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B20:F20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("H20") = "Order Total:"
Range("I20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Rem Change the widths and heights of some columns and rows
Rem In previous lessons, we learned all these things
Range("E:E, G:G").ColumnWidth = 4
Columns("H").ColumnWidth = 14
Columns("J").ColumnWidth = 1.75
Rows("3").RowHeight = 2
Range("8:8, 12:12").RowHeight = 8
Rem Merge the cells H15, I15, H16, and I16
Range("H15:I16").MergeCells = True
Rem Align the merged text to the left
Range("H15:H16").VerticalAlignment = xlCenter
Range("H16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("H16:I16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium
Rem Hide the gridlines
ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False
End Sub
2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + W to see the result

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140

141

3. Return to Microsoft Visual Basic

The Color of a Border

To programmatically specify the color of a border, access the Borders indexed property of a
cell or a group of cells and specify the border whose color you want to change, as we saw in
the previous section. To support colors, the Borders object is equipped with a property
named Color. To specify the color, assign the desired color to the property. The VBA
provides a (limited) list of colors such as vbBlack, vbWhite, vbRed, vbGreen, and vbBlue.
In reality, a color in Microsoft Windows is represented as a color between 0 and 16,581,375.

Practical Learning: Controlling the Colors of Cells Borders

1. Change the code as follows:
Sub CreateWorkbook()
' CreateWorkbook Macro
' This macro is used to create a workbook for the
' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W
. . . No Change
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium
Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).ThemeColor = 5
. . . No Change
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium
Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).ThemeColor = 5
. . . No Change
Range("H16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("H16:I16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium
Range("H16:I16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).ThemeColor = 5
Rem Hide the gridlines
ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False
End Sub
2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + W to see the result
3. Return to Microsoft Visual Basic

The Cell's Background

A cell has a background color which, by default, is white. If you want to change a
background, specify the cell or group of cells, using the Range class. The Range class is
equipped with a property named Interior. From this property, you can access the
ThemeColor and assign the desired color.

Practical Learning: Painting the Background of Cells

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142

1. Change the code as follows:

Sub CreateWorkbook()
' CreateWorkbook Macro
' This macro is used to create a workbook for the
' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W
Rem Just in case there is anything on the
Rem worksheet, delete everything
Range("A:K").Delete
Range("1:20").Delete
Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet
Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services"
Range("B2").Font.Name = "Rockwell Condensed"
Range("B2").Font.Size = 24
Range("B2").Font.Bold = True
Range("B2").Font.Color = vbBlue
Range("B3:J3").Interior.ThemeColor = xlThemeColorLight2
Range("B5") = "Order Identification"
Range("B5").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("B5").Font.Size = 14
Range("B5").Font.Bold = True
Range("B5").Font.ThemeColor = 5
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium
Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).ThemeColor = 5
Range("B6") = "Receipt #:"
Range("D6:F6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D6:F6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G6") = "Order Status:"
Range("I6:J6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I6:J6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B7") = "Customer Name:"
Range("D7:F7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D7:F7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G7") = "Customer Phone:"
Range("I7:J7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I7:J7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B8:J8").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B8:J8").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("B9") = "Date Left:"
Range("D9:F9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D9:F9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G9") = "Time Left:"
Range("I9:J9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I9:J9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B10") = "Date Expected:"
Range("D10:F10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D10:F10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G10") = "Time Expected:"
Range("I10:J10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I10:J10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B11") = "Date Picked Up:"
Range("D11:F11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D11:F11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G11") = "Time Picked Up:"
Range("I11:J11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I11:J11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium
Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).ThemeColor = 5
Range("B13") = "Items to Clean"
Range("B13").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("B13").Font.Size = 14
Range("B13").Font.Bold = True
Range("B13").Font.ThemeColor = 5

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Range("B14")
Range("D14")
Range("E14")
Range("F14")

=
=
=
=

143

"Item"
"Unit Price"
"Qty"
"Sub-Total"

Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeTop).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeTop).Weight = xlThin
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("C14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("D14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("E14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B15") = "Shirts"
Range("B15").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B15").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("H15") = "Order Summary"
Range("H15").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("H15").Font.Size = 14
Range("H15").Font.Bold = True
Range("H15").Font.ThemeColor = 5
Range("B16") = "Pants"
Range("B16").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B16").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("B17") = "None"
Range("B17").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B17").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("H17") = "Cleaning Total:"
Range("I17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B18") = "None"
Range("B18").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B18").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("H18") = "Tax Rate:"
Range("I18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("I18") = "5.75"
Range("J18") = "%"
Range("B19") = "None"
Range("B19").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B19").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("H19") = "Tax Amount:"
Range("I19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B20") = "None"
Range("B20").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B20").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("C15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B14:C14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:C14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("B15:C15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B15:C15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D15:F15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D15:F15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B16:C16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B16:C16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D16:F16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous

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Range("D16:F16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B17:C17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B17:C17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D17:F17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D17:F17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B18:C18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B18:C18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D18:F18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D18:F18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B19:C19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B19:C19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D19:F19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D19:F19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B20:F20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B20:F20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("H20") = "Order Total:"
Range("I20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Rem Change the widths and heights of some columns and rows
Rem In previous lessons, we learned all these things
Range("E:E, G:G").ColumnWidth = 4
Columns("H").ColumnWidth = 14
Columns("J").ColumnWidth = 1.75
Rows("3").RowHeight = 2
Range("8:8, 12:12").RowHeight = 8
Rem Merge the cells H15, I15, H16, and I16
Range("H15:I16").MergeCells = True
Rem Align the merged text to the left
Range("H15:H16").VerticalAlignment = xlBottom
Range("H16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("H16:I16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium
Range("H16:I16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).ThemeColor = 5
Rem Hide the gridlines
ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False
End Sub
2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + W to see the result

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145

3. Close the worksheet

4. When asked whether you want to save, click No

Previous

Copyright 2008-2009 FunctionX, Inc.

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146

Constants, Expressions and Formulas

Introduction to Constants
A constant is a value that does not change. It can be a number, a string, or an expression. To
create a constant, use the Const keyword and assign the desired value to it. Here is an
example:
Private Sub CreateConstant()
Const Number6 = 6
End Sub
After creating the constant, you can use its name wherever its value would have been used. Some
of the constants you will use in your expressions have already been created. We will mention
them when necessary.

Introduction to Expressions
An expression is one or more symbols combined with one or more values to create another value.
For example, +16 is an expression that creates the positive value 16. Most expressions that we
know are made of arithmetic calculations. An example is 422.82 * 15.55.
To add an expression to a selected cell, assign it to the ActiveCell object. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
ActiveCell = 422.82 * 15.5
End Sub

Practical Learning: Introducing Expressions

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. On the Ribbon, click Developer
3. In the Code section, click Record Macro
4. Set the Macro Name to CreateWorkbook
5. In the Shortcut Key text box, type W to get Ctrl + Shift + W and click OK
6. On the Ribbon, click Stop Recording

7. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros

8. In the Macro dialog box, make sure CreateWorkbook is selected and click Edit
9. Change the code as follows:

Sub CreateWorkbook()
'
' CreateWorkbook Macro
' This macro is used to create a workbook for the
' Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services
'
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W
'
Rem Just in case there is anything on the
Rem worksheet, delete everything
Range("A:K").Delete
Range("1:20").Delete
Rem Create the sections and headings of the worksheet
Range("B2") = "Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services"
Range("B2").Font.Name = "Rockwell Condensed"
Range("B2").Font.Size = 24
Range("B2").Font.Bold = True
Range("B2").Font.Color = vbBlue
Range("B3:J3").Interior.ThemeColor = xlThemeColorLight2
Range("B5") = "Order Identification"
Range("B5").Font.Name = "Cambria"

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Range("B5").Font.Size = 14
Range("B5").Font.Bold = True
Range("B5").Font.ThemeColor = 5
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium
Range("B5:J5").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).ThemeColor = 5
Range("B6") = "Receipt #:"
Range("D6:F6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D6:F6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G6") = "Order Status:"
Range("I6:J6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I6:J6").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B7") = "Customer Name:"
Range("D7:F7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D7:F7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G7") = "Customer Phone:"
Range("I7:J7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I7:J7").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B8:J8").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B8:J8").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("B9") = "Date Left:"
Range("D9:F9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D9:F9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G9") = "Time Left:"
Range("I9:J9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I9:J9").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B10") = "Date Expected:"
Range("D10:F10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D10:F10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G10") = "Time Expected:"
Range("I10:J10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I10:J10").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B11") = "Date Picked Up:"
Range("D11:F11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D11:F11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("G11") = "Time Picked Up:"
Range("I11:J11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I11:J11").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Rem To draw a thick line, change the bottom
Rem borders of the cells from B5 to J5
Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium
Range("B12:J12").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).ThemeColor = 5
Range("B13") = "Items to Clean"
Range("B13").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("B13").Font.Size = 14
Range("B13").Font.Bold = True
Range("B13").Font.ThemeColor = 5
Range("B14")
Range("D14")
Range("E14")
Range("F14")

=
=
=
=

"Item"
"Unit Price"
"Qty"
"Sub-Total"

Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeTop).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeTop).Weight = xlThin
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:F14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("C14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("D14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("E14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E14").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B15") = "Shirts"
Range("B15").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B15").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("H15") = "Order Summary"
Range("H15").Font.Name = "Cambria"
Range("H15").Font.Size = 14
Range("H15").Font.Bold = True
Range("H15").Font.ThemeColor = 5

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Range("B16") = "Pants"
Range("B16").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B16").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("B17") = "None"
Range("B17").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B17").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("H17") = "Cleaning Total:"
Range("I17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B18") = "None"
Range("B18").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B18").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("H18") = "Tax Rate:"
Range("I18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("I18") = "5.75"
Range("J18") = "%"
Range("B19") = "None"
Range("B19").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B19").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("H19") = "Tax Amount:"
Range("I19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("B20") = "None"
Range("B20").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B20").Borders(xlEdgeLeft).Weight = xlThin
Range("C15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("C20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("C20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B14:C14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B14:C14").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("B15:C15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B15:C15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D15:F15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D15:F15").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F15").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B16:C16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B16:C16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D16:F16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D16:F16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F16").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B17:C17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B17:C17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D17:F17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D17:F17").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F17").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B18:C18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B18:C18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D18:F18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D18:F18").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Range("D18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F18").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B19:C19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B19:C19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D19:F19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D19:F19").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline

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Range("D19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F19").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("B20:F20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("B20:F20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlThin
Range("D20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("D20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("E20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("E20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlHairline
Range("F20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("F20").Borders(xlEdgeRight).Weight = xlThin
Range("H20") = "Order Total:"
Range("I20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("I20").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlHairline
Rem Change the widths and heights of some columns and rows
Rem In previous lessons, we learned all these things
Range("E:E, G:G").ColumnWidth = 4
Columns("H").ColumnWidth = 14
Columns("J").ColumnWidth = 1.75
Rows("3").RowHeight = 2
Range("8:8, 12:12").RowHeight = 8
Rem Merge the cells H15, I15, H16, and I16
Range("H15:I16").MergeCells = True
Rem Align the merged text to the left
Range("H15:H16").VerticalAlignment = xlBottom
Range("H16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlContinuous
Range("H16:I16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).Weight = xlMedium
Range("H16:I16").Borders(xlEdgeBottom).ThemeColor = 5
Rem Hide the gridlines
ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False
End Sub
10. To return to Microsoft Excel, click the View Microsoft Excel button
11. To fill the worksheet, press Ctrl + Shift + W

Introduction to Formulas
A formula is another name for an expression. It combines one or more values, one or more
variables, to an operator, to produce a new value. This also means that you use the same
approach or building an expression when creating a formula.
To assist you with assigning the result of a formula to a cell or a group of cells, the Range class is
equipped with a property named Formula. This property is of type Variant, which means its value
can be anything, not necessarily a number. After accessing the Formula property, you can assign
whatever value, expression, or formula you want to it. Here are examples:
Sub Exercise()
Rem Using the Formula property to assign a string to the active cell
ActiveCell.Formula = "Weekly Salary:"
Rem Using the Formula property to assign an expression to cell B2
Range("B2").Formula = 24.5 * 42.5
Rem Using the Formula property to assign
Rem the same string to a group of cells
Range("C2:F5, B8:D12").Formula = "Antoinette"
End Sub
If you are creating a worksheet that would be used on computers of different languages, use
FormulaLocal instead. The FormulaLocal property is equipped to adapt to a different
language-based version of Microsoft Excel when necessary.
Besides Formula, the Range class is also equipped with a property named FormulaR1C1. Its
functionality is primarily the same as Formula. Here are examples:
Sub Exercise()
Rem Using the Formula property to assign a string to the active cell
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "Weekly Salary:"
Rem Using the Formula property to assign an expression to cell B2
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = 24.5 * 42.5
Rem Using the Formula property to assign
Rem the same string to a group of cells
Range("C2:F5, B8:D12").FormulaR1C1 = "Antoinette"
End Sub
If you are creating the worksheet for various languages, use FormulaR1C1Local instead.

Practical Learning: Creating Formulas

1. In the Developer tab of the Ribbon and in the Code section, click Record Macro

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2. Set the Macro Name to CalculateOrder

3. In the Shortcut Key text box, type C to get Ctrl + Shift + C
4. Click OK
5. On the Ribbon, click Stop Recording

6. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros

7. In the Macro dialog box, make sure CalculateOrder is selected and click Edit
8. Change the code as follows:

Sub CalculateOrder()
'
' CreateWorkbook Macro
'
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+C
'
Rem Calculate the sub-total of each category of items as:
Rem SubTotal = Unit Price * Quantity
Rem And display the total in the equivalent F cell
Range("F15").Formula = Range("D15") * Range("E15")
Range("F16").Formula = Range("D16") * Range("E16")
Range("F17").Formula = Range("D17") * Range("E17")
Range("F18").Formula = Range("D18") * Range("E18")
Range("F19").Formula = Range("D19") * Range("E19")
Range("F20").Formula = Range("D20") * Range("E20")
Rem Retrieve the values of the cleaning total and the tax rate
Rem Use them to calculate the amount of tax
Range("I19").Formula = Range("I17") * Range("I18") / 100
Rem Calculate the total order by adding
Rem the cleaning total to the tax amount
Range("I20").Formula = Range("I17") + Range("I19")
End Sub

Fundamentals of Built-In Functions

Introduction
Instead of creating your own function, you can use one of those that ship with the VBA language.
This language provides a very extensive library of functions so that, before creating your own,
check whether the function exists already. If so, use it instead.
To use a VBA built-in function, simply use as you would an expression. That is, assign its returned
value to a cell. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("B2:B2") = Len("Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi")
End Sub

Microsoft Excel Built-In Functions

To assist you with developing smart worksheets, Microsoft Excel provides a very large library of
functions.
To use a Microsoft Excel built-in function in your code, you have many functions.
In double-quotes, you can include the assignment operator followed by the function's whole
expression. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("B5:B5") = "=SomeFunction(B2, B3, B4)"
End Sub
As an alternative, the Application class is equipped with a property named WorksheetFunction.
This property represents all functions of the Microsoft Excel library. Therefore, to access a
function, type Application, followed by a period, followed by a period. Then type (or select the
name of the function you want to use:

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151

After specifying the function you want to use, because it is a function, you must include the
parentheses. In the parentheses, type the necessary argument(s). Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdCreate_Click()
txtValue.Text = Application.WorksheetFunction.Sum(Range("D4:D8"))
End Sub

Conversion Functions
You may recall that when studying data types, we saw that each had a corresponding function
used to convert a string value or an expression to that type. As a reminder, the general syntax of
the conversion functions is:
ReturnType = FunctionName(Expression)
The Expression could be of any kind. For example, it could be a string or expression that would
produce a value such as the result of a calculation. The conversion function would take such a
value, string, or expression and attempt to convert it. If the conversion is successful, the function
would return a new value that is of the type specified by the ReturnType in our syntax.
The conversion functions are as follows:
Function
Name

Return Type Description

CBool

Boolean

CByte

Byte

Converts an expression into a Boolean value

CDbl

Double

Converts an expression into a floating-point number with double

precision

CDec

Decimal

Converts an expression into a decimal number

CInt

Integer

Converts an expression into an integer (natural) number

CLng

Long

Converts an expression into Byte number

Converts an expression into a long integer (a large natural)

number

CObj

Object

Converts an expression into an Object type

CSByte

SByte

Converts an expression into a signed byte

CShort

Short

Converts an expression into a short integer

Single

Converts an expression into a floating-point number with single

precision

CSng
CUInt

UInt

CULng

ULong

Converts an expression into an unsigned integer

Converts an expression into an unsigned long integer

CUShort

UShort

Converts an expression into an unsigned short integer

These functions allow you to convert a known value to a another type.

Practical Learning: Using Conversion Functions

Change the code as follows:

Sub CalculateOrder()
'
' CalculateOrder Macro
'
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+C
Rem Calculate the sub-total of each category of items as:
Rem SubTotal = Unit Price * Quantity
Rem And display the total in the equivalent F cell
Range("F15").Formula = CDbl(Range("D15")) * CInt(Range("E15"))
Range("F16").Formula = CDbl(Range("D16")) * CInt(Range("E16"))
Range("F17").Formula = CDbl(Range("D17")) * CInt(Range("E17"))
Range("F18").Formula = CDbl(Range("D18")) * CInt(Range("E18"))
Range("F19").Formula = CDbl(Range("D19")) * CInt(Range("E19"))
Range("F20").Formula = CDbl(Range("D20")) * CInt(Range("E20"))
Rem Retrieve the values of the cleaning total and the tax rate
Rem Use them to calculate the amount of tax
Range("I19").Formula = CDbl(Range("I17")) * CDbl(Range("I18")) / 100
Rem Calculate the total order by adding the
Rem cleaning total to the tax amount
Range("I20").Formula = CDbl(Range("I17")) + CDbl(Range("I19"))

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152

End Sub

Accessory Built-In Functions

Introduction
Both Microsoft Excel and the Visual Basic language provide each an extensive library of functions.
We refer to some functions as accessories because you almost cannot anything about them or at
least they are very useful.

Specifying a Color
To assist you with specifying the color of anything, the VBA is equipped with a function named
RGB. Its syntax is:
Function RGB(RedValue As Byte, GreenValue As Byte, BlueValue As Byte) As long
This function takes three arguments and each must hold a value between 0 and 255. The first
argument represents the ratio of red of the color. The second argument represents the green ratio
of the color. The last argument represents the blue of the color. After the function has been
called, it produces a number whose maximum value can be 255 * 255 * 255 = 16,581,375, which
represents a color.

Practical Learning: Using the RGB Function

1. Locate the CreateWorkbook procedure and change its code as follows:

Sub CreateWorkbook()
'
' CreateWorkbook Macro
'
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+E
'
. . . No Change
Rem Change the background color of cells F15 to F20 to a light blue
Range("F15:F20").Interior.Color = RGB(210, 225, 250)
Rem Change the background color of cells I17 to I20 to a dark blue
Range("I17:I20").Interior.Color = RGB(5, 65, 165)
Rem Change the text color of cells I17 to I20 to a dark blue
Range("I17:I20").Font.Color = RGB(255, 255, 195)
Rem Hide the gridlines
ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False
End Sub
2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + W
3. Press Ctrl + Shift + C to see the result

4. Return to Microsoft Visual Basic

The Sum Function

The Microsoft Excel's SUM function is used to add the numeric values of various cells. The result
can be displayed in another cell or used in an expression. Like all functions of the Microsoft Excel
library, you can use SUM visually or programmatically.

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To use the SUM() function visually, on the Ribbon, in the Home tab, the Editing section is
equipped with a button called the AutoSum

Practical Learning: Using the SUM Function

1. Locate the CalculateOrder procedure and change its code as follows:

Sub CalculateOrder()
'
' CalculateOrder Macro
'
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+C
'
Rem Calculate the sub-total of each category of items as:
Rem SubTotal = Unit Price * Quantity
Rem And display the total in the equivalent F cell
Range("F15").Formula = CDbl(Range("D15")) * CInt(Range("E15"))
Range("F16").Formula = CDbl(Range("D16")) * CInt(Range("E16"))
Range("F17").Formula = CDbl(Range("D17")) * CInt(Range("E17"))
Range("F18").Formula = CDbl(Range("D18")) * CInt(Range("E18"))
Range("F19").Formula = CDbl(Range("D19")) * CInt(Range("E19"))
Range("F20").Formula = CDbl(Range("D20")) * CInt(Range("E20"))
Rem Use the SUM() function to calculate the sum of
Rem cells F15 to F20 and display the result in cell J17
Range("I17").Formula = "=SUM(F15:F20)"
Rem Retrieve the values of the cleaning total and the tax rate
Rem Use them to calculate the amount of tax
Range("I19").Formula = CDbl(Range("I17")) * CDbl(Range("I18")) / 100
Rem Calculate the total order by adding the
Rem cleaning total to the tax amount
Range("I20").Formula = CDbl(Range("I17")) + CDbl(Range("I19"))
End Sub
2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + C to see the result
3. Enter the following values in the worksheet:
Receipt #:

1001

Order Status:

Processing

Customer Name:

Raymond Fuqua

Customer Phone:

(140) 173-9024

Date Left:

12/19/2008

Time Left:

09:42 AM

Date Expected:

12/22/2008

Time Expected:

08:00 AM

Unit Price

Qty

Shirts

1.25

Pants

1.95

Jacket

4.50

4. Click cell A1

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153

154

5. Press Ctrl + Shift + C

6. Return to Microsoft Visual Basic

The Absolute Value

The absolute value of a number x is x if the number is (already) positive. If the number is
negative, then its absolute value is its positive equivalent. For example, the absolute value of 12

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is 12, while the absolute value of 12 is 12.

155

To get the absolute value of a number, you can use either the Microsoft Excel's ABS() or the
VBA's Abs() function. Their syntaxes are:
Function ABS(number) As Number
Function Abs(number) As Number
This function takes one argument. The argument must be a number or an expression convertible
to a number:
If the argument is a positive number, the function returns it
If the argument is zero, the function returns 0
If the argument is a negative number, the function is returns its equivalent positive value

Getting the Integral Part of a Number

If you have a decimal number but are interested only in the integral part, to assist you with
retrieving that part, the Visual Basic language provides the Int() and the Fix() functions. In the
same way, the Microsoft Excel library provides the INT() function to perform a similar operation.
Their syntaxes are:
Function Int(ByVal Number As { Number | Expression } ) As Integer
Function Fix(ByVal Number As { Number | Expression } ) As Integer
Function ABS(ByVal Number As { Number | Expression } ) As Integer
Each function must take one argument. The value of the argument must be number-based. This
means it can be an integer or a floating-point number. If the value of the argument is integerbased, the function returns the (whole) number. Here is an example
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Integer
Number = 28635
ActiveCell = MsgBox(Int(Number), vbOKOnly, "Exercise")
End Sub
This would produce:

If the value of the argument is a decimal number, the function returns only the integral part.
Here is an example
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Double
Number = 7942.225 * 202.46
ActiveCell = MsgBox(Int(Number), vbOKOnly, "Exercise")
End Sub
This would produce:

This function always returns the integral part only, even if you ask it to return a floatingpoint-based value. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Single
Number = 286345.9924
ActiveCell = MsgBox(Int(Number), vbOKOnly, "Exercise")
End Sub
This would produce:

Cells Content Formatting

Introduction
When it receive values for its cells, by default, Microsoft Excel displays text left aligned and
numbers right aligned. In some situations, you will want to treat numbers as text.

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Although Microsoft Excel displays all numbers right aligned, as a smart financial and business
application, it can distinguish between different types of numbers. It can recognize a date, a
currency, or a percentage values, but the computer wants you to specify the way numbers should
be displayed, giving you the ability to decide what a particular number represents, not because
the software cannot recognize a number, but because a value can represent different things to
different people in different scenarios. For example 1.5 might represent a half teaspoon in one
spreadsheet while the same 1.5 would represent somebody's age, another spreadsheet's
percentage, or etc.

Introduction to Numbers Formatting

When it comes to displaying items, Microsoft Excel uses various default configurations. The
computer's Regional Options or Regional Settings govern how dates, numbers, and time, etc get
displayed on your computer.
Microsoft Excel recognizes numbers in various formats: accounting, scientific, fractions, and
currency. As the software product can recognize a number, you still have the ability to display the
number with a format that suits a particular scenario.
To visually control how a cell should display its number, on the Ribbon, click Home and use the
Number section.
To assist you with programmatically specifying how a cell should display its number, the Range
class is equipped with a property named Style.
To further assist with number formatting, the Visual Basic language provides a function named
Format. This function can be used for different types of values The most basic technique consists
of passing it an expression that holds the value to display. The syntax of this function is:
Function Format(ByVal Expression As Variant, _
Optional ByVal Style As String = "" _
) As String
The first argument is the value that must be formatted. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Double
Number = 20502.48
ActiveCell = Format(Number)
End Sub
The second argument is optionally. It specifies the type of format you want to apply. We will see
various examples.

Formatting a Number
To visually specify that you want a cell to display its numeric value with the comma delimiter,
click the cell to give it focus. Then, in the Home tab of the Ribbon, in the Number section, click the
Comma Style button
easier to read.

. The thousand numbers would display with a comma sign which makes it

To visually control the number of decimal values on the right side of the comma, in the Number
section of the Ribbon:
You can click the Decrease Decimal button

to remove one decimal value. You can

continuously click the Decrease Decimal button

You can click the Increase Decimal button

to decrease the number of digits.

to increase the number of digits

To programmatically specify that you want a cell to display the comma style of number, assign the
"Comma" string to the Style property of the Range class. Here is an example:
Sub SpecifyComma()
ActiveCell.Style = "Comma"
End Sub
Alternatively
, to programmatically control how the number should display, you can pass the second argument to

the Format() function. To produce the number in a general format, you can pass the second
argument as "g", "G", "f", or "F" .
To display the number with a decimal separator, pass the second argument as "n", "N", or
"Standard". Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Double
Number = 20502.48
ActiveCell = Format(Number, "STANDARD")
End Sub
An alternative to get this format is to call a function named FormatNumber. Its syntax is:
Function FormatNumber(
ByVal Expression As Variant,
Optional ByVal NumDigitsAfterDecimal As Integer = -1,
Optional ByVal IncludeLeadingDigit As Integer,
Optional ByVal UseParensForNegativeNumbers As Integer,

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156

Optional ByVal GroupDigits As Integer

) As String

157

Only the first argument is required and it represents the value to display. If you pass only this
argument, you get the same format as the Format() function called with the Standard option.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Double
Number = 20502.48
ActiveCell = FormatNumber(Number)
End Sub
This would produce the same result as above.
If you call the Format() function with the Standard option, it would consider only the number of
digits on the right side of the decimal separator. If you want to display more digits than the
number actually has, call the FormatNumber() function and pass a second argument with the
desired number. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Double
Number = 20502.48
ActiveCell = FormatNumber(Number, 4)
End Sub
In the same way, if you want the number to display with less numbers on the right side of the
decimal separator, specify that number.
on the Ribbon to visually control the
We saw that you could click the Decrease Decimal button
number of decimal values on the right side of the comma and you could continuously click that
button to decrease the number of digits. Of course, you can also exercise this control
programmatically.
You can call the Format() function to format the number with many more options. To represent
the integral part of a number, you use the # sign. To specify the number of digits to display on
the right side of the decimal separator, type a period on the right side of # followed by the
number of 0s representing each decimal place. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Double
Number = 20502.48
ActiveCell = Format(Number, "#.00000")
End Sub
The five 0s on the right side of the period indicate that you want to display 5 digits on the right
side of the period. You can enter as many # signs as you want; it would not change anything.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Double
Number = 20502.48
ActiveCell = Format(Number, "##########.00000")
End Sub
This would produce the same result as above. To specify that you want to display the decimal
separator, include its character between the # signs. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Double
Number = 20502.48
ActiveCell = Format(Number, "###,#######.00000")
End Sub
You can include any other character or symbol you want in the string to be part of the result, but
you should include such a character only at the beginning or the end of the string, otherwise the
interpreter might give you an unexpected result.

Practical Learning: Using the SUM Function

1. Locate the CreateWorkbook procedure and change its code as follows:

Sub CreateWorkbook()
'
' CreateWorkbook Macro
'
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W
'
. . . No Change
Rem Format the values in the unit prices
Range("D15").Style = "Comma"
Range("D16").Style = "Comma"
Range("D17").Style = "Comma"
Range("D18").Style = "Comma"
Range("D19").Style = "Comma"
Range("D20").Style = "Comma"

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158

Rem Format the values in the sub totals

Range("F15").Style = "Comma"
Range("F16").Style = "Comma"
Range("F17").Style = "Comma"
Range("F18").Style = "Comma"
Range("F19").Style = "Comma"
Range("F20").Style = "Comma"
Rem Format the values in the Order Summary section
Range("I17").Style = "Comma"
Range("I19").Style = "Comma"
Range("I20").Style = "Comma"
Rem Hide the gridlines
ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False
End Sub
2. Return to Microsoft Excel and press Ctrl + Shift + W
3. Enter the following values in the worksheet:
Receipt #:

1001

Order Status:

Processing

Customer Name:

Raymond Fuqua

Customer Phone:

(140) 173-9024

Date Left:

12/19/2008

Time Left:

09:42 AM

Date Expected:

12/22/2008

Time Expected:

08:00 AM

Unit Price

Qty

Shirts

1.25

Pants

1.95

Jacket

4.50

4. Click cell A1

5. Press Ctrl + Shift + C

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159

6. Return to Microsoft Visual Basic

Formatting a Currency Value

Another regular type of number used in applications and finances is the currency. A currency
value uses a special character specified in the Control Panel. In US English, this character would
be the $ sign:

To visually that a c
ell should display its number as currency, in the Number section of the Ribbon, click the Currency

Style button

To programmatically specify that you want a cell to display its value with the currency style,
assign the "Currency" string to the Style property of the Range class. Here is an example:
Sub SpecifyComma()
ActiveCell.Style = "Currency"

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End Sub

160

Alternatively, to programmatically display the currency symbol in the result of a cell or a text box
of a form, you can simply add it as part of the second argument to the Format() function. Here is
an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Double
Number = 205.5
ActiveCell = Format(Number, "$###,#######.00")
End Sub
Fortunately, there are more professional options. Besides the Format() function, to support
currency formatting of a number, the Visual Basic language provides the FormatCurrency()
function. Its syntax is:
Function FormatCurrency(
ByVal Expression As Variant,
Optional ByVal NumDigitsAfterDecimal As Integer = -1,
Optional ByVal IncludeLeadingDigit As Integer = -2,
Optional ByVal UseParensForNegativeNumbers As Integer = -2,
Optional ByVal GroupDigits As Integer = -2
) As String
Only the first argument is required. It is the value that needs to be formatted. Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim UnitPrice As Double
UnitPrice = 1450.5
ActiveCell = FormatCurrency(UnitPrice)
End Sub
Notice that, by default, the FormatCurrency() function is equipped to display the currency
symbol (which, in US English is, the $ sign), the decimal separator (which in US English is the
comma), and two decimal digits. If you want to control how many decimal digits are given to the
result, pass a second argument as an integer. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim UnitPrice As Double
UnitPrice = 1450.5
ActiveCell = FormatCurrency(UnitPrice, 4)
End Sub
Instead of calling the FormatCurrency() function to format a number to currency, you can use
the Format() function. If you do, pass it a second argument as "Currency", "c", or "C". Here is
an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim CarPrice As Double
CarPrice = 42790
ActiveCell = Format(CarPrice, "Currency")
End Sub

Formatting a Percentage Value

A percentage of a number represents its rate on a scale, usually of 100 (or more). The number is
expressed using digits accompanied by the % sign. To visually specify that a number in a cell
should be treated a percentage value, in the Number section of the Ribbon, click the Percent Style
button

To programmatically use a percentage number in a cell or the control of a form, you can use the
Format() function. Besides the Format() function, to support percent values, the Visual Basic
language provides a function named FormatPercent. Its syntax is:
Function FormatPercent(
ByVal Expression As Variant,
Optional ByVal NumDigitsAfterDecimal As Integer = -1,
Optional ByVal IncludeLeadingDigit As Integer = -2,
Optional ByVal UseParensForNegativeNumbers As Integer = -2,
Optional ByVal GroupDigits As Integer = -2
) As String
Only the first argument is required and it is the number that needs to be formatted. When calling
this function, pay attention to the number you provide as argument. If the number represents a
percentage value as a fraction of 0 to 1, make sure you provide it as such. An example would be
0.25. In this case, the Visual Basic interpreter would multiply the value by 100 to give the result.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim DiscountRate As Double
DiscountRate = 0.25
ActiveCell = FormatPercent(DiscountRate)
End Sub

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If you pass the value in the hundreds, the interpreter would still multiply it by 100. Although it is
not impossible to get a percentage value in the hundreds or thousands, you should make sure
that's the type of value you mean to get.

161

Besides the FormatPercent() function, to format a number to its percentage equivalent, you can
call the Format() function and pass the second argument as "Percent", "p", or "P". Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim DiscountRate As Double
DiscountRate = 0.25
ActiveCell = MsgBox("Discount Rate: " & _
Format(DiscountRate, "Percent"), _
vbOKOnly, "Exercise")
End Sub

Number Format Options

Although you can do most of cells configurations using the Ribbon, Microsoft Excel provides the
Format Cells dialog box. This dialog box presents more options and more precision.
To display the Format Cells dialog box:
On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Number section, click the more options button:

Right-click the cell or group of cells whose format you want to change and click Format Cells...
Press Ctrl + 1 as a shortcut

Previous

Copyright 2008-2010 FunctionX

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Next

162

Introduction to Strings
A String
A string is one or a combination of characters. To declare a variable for it, you can use either
String or the Variant data types. To initialize the variable, put its value in double-quotes and
assign it to the variable. Here are examples:
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
ActiveCell = "AAA"
End Sub
When this code runs, the value AAA would be entered into any cell that is currently selected.
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As Variant
Dim LastName As String
FirstName = "William"
LastName = "Sansen"
End Sub

Producing a Beeping Sound

If you want, you can make the computer produce a beeping a sound in response to something,
anything. To support this, the Visual Basic language provides a function called Beep. Its syntax is:
Public Sub Beep()
Here is an example of calling it:
Sub Exercise()
Beep
End Sub
If this function is called when a program is running, the computer emits a brief sound.

String Concatenation
A string concatenation consists of adding one string to another. to support this operation, you can
use either the + or the & operator. Here are examples:
Sub Exercise()
Dim FirstName As Variant
Dim LastName As String
Dim FullName As String
FirstName = "William"
LastName = "Sansen"
FullName = LastName + ", " & FirstName
ActiveCell = "Full Name: " & FullName
End Sub
This would produce:

Introduction to Characters
Getting the ASCII Character of a Number
The characters used in the US English and the most common characters of Latin-based languages
are created in a list or map of character codes. Each character is represented with a small number
between 0 and 255. This means that each character must fit in a byte.

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To help you find the equivalent ASCII character of such a number, the Visual Basic language
provides a function named Chr. Its syntax is:
Public Function Chr(ByVal CharCode As Integer) As String
When calling this function, pass a small number as argument. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Character As String
Dim Number As Integer
Number = 114
Character = Chr(Number)
ActiveCell = "The ASCII character of " & Number & " is " & Character
End Sub
This would produce:

Besides finding the ASCII equivalent of a number, the Chr() function can be used to apply some
behavior in a program. For example, a combination of Chr(13) and Chr(10) would break a line in
an expression, which is equivalent to the vbCrLf operator.

Getting the Wide ASCII Character of a Number

If you pass a number lower than 0 or higher than 255 to the Chr() function, you would receive an
error. The reason you may pass a number higher than 255 is that you may want to get a
character beyond those of US English, such as . To support such numbers, the Visual Basic
language provides another version of the function. Its syntax is:
Public Function ChrW(ByVal CharCode As Integer) As String
The W here represents Wide Character. This makes it possible to store the character in the
memory equivalent to the Short integer data type, which can hold numbers from -32768 to
32767. Normally, you should consider that the character should fit in a Char data type,, which
should be a positive number between 0 and 65535.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Character As String
Dim Number As Long
Number = 358
Character = ChrW(Number)
ActiveCell = "The ASCII character of " & Number & " is " & Character
End Sub
This would produce:

The Length of a String

The length of a string is the number of characters it contains. To assist you with finding the length
of a string, the Visual Basic language provides a function named Len. Its syntax is:
Public Function Len(ByVal Expression As String) As Integer
This function expects a string as argument. If the function succeeds in counting the number of
characters, which it usually does, it returns the an integer. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Item As String
Dim Length As Integer
Item = "Television"
Length = Len(Item)
ActiveCell = "The number of characters in """ & Item & """ is " & Length
End Sub
This would produce:

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163

164

The Microsoft Excel library provides the LEN() function that produces the same result.

Characters, Strings, and Procedures

Passing a Character or a String to a Procedure
Like a normal value, a character or a string can be passed to a procedure. When creating the
procedure, enter the argument and its name in the parentheses of the procedure. Then, in the
body of the procedure, use the argument as you see fit. When calling the procedure, you can pass
a value for the argument in double-quotes. In the same way, you can apply any of the features
we studied for procedures, including passing as many arguments as you want or passing a mixture
of characters, strings, and other types of arguments. You can also create a procedure that
receives an optional argument.

Returning a Character or a String From a Function

To create a function that returns a character or a string, create the procedure using the Function
keyword and, on the right side of the parentheses, include the String data type preceded by the
As keyword or use the $ character. Here is an example we saw in Lesson 5:
Function GetFullName$()
Dim FirstName$, LastName$
FirstName = "Raymond"
LastName = "Kouma"
GetFullName$ = LastName & ", " & FirstName
End Function
When calling the function, you can use it as a normal function or you can retrieve the value it
returns and use it as you see fit. Here is an example:
Function GetFullName$()
Dim FirstName$, LastName$
FirstName = "Raymond"
LastName = "Kouma"
GetFullName$ = LastName & ", " & FirstName
End Function
Sub Exercise()
Range("B2") = GetFullName$
End Sub

Character and String Conversions

Introduction
To convert an expression to a string, you can call the VBA's CStr() function. Its syntax is:
Public Function CStr(ByVal Expression As Variant) As String
The argument can be almost any expression that can be converted it to a string, which in most
cases it can. If it is successful, the function returns a string. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim DateHired As Date
DateHired = #1/4/2005#
ActiveCell = CStr(DateHired)
End Sub
The CStr() function is used to convert any type of value to a string. If the value to be converted
is a number, you can use the Str() function. Its syntax is:
Public Function Str(ByVal Number As Variant) As String
This function expects a number as argument. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Double
Number = 1450.5 / 2
ActiveCell = Str(Number)
End Sub

Numeric Hexadecimal Conversion

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In Lesson 3, we saw that the Visual Basic language supports hexadecimal number and we saw how
to initialize an integer variable with a hexadecimal number. Now, on the other hand, if you have a
decimal number but need it in hexadecimal format, you can convert it. To support this operation,
you can call the Hex() function. Its syntax is:
Function Hex(ByVal Number As { Byte | Integer | Long | Variant} ) As String
This function is used to convert either an integer-based or a decimal number to its hexadecimal
equivalent. It returns the result as a string. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Integer
Number = 28645
ActiveCell = Hex(Number)
End Sub
The Microsoft Excel library provides more functions to perform this type of operation.

Numeric Octal Conversion

If you have a decimal number you want to convert to its octal format, you can call the Oct()
function. Its syntax is:
Function Oct(ByVal Number As { Byte | Integer | Long | Variant} ) As String
This function takes an integer-based or a decimal number and converts its octal equivalent. It
returns the result as a string. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Double
Number = 28645
ActiveCell = Oct(Number)
End Sub
The Microsoft Excel library provides more functions to perform this type of operation.

Case Conversion
If you are presented with a string or an expression whose cases must be the same, you can
convert all of its characters in either uppercase or lowercase.
To convert a character, a string or an expression to uppercase, you can call the VBA's UCase() or
the Microsoft Excel's UPPER() functions. These functions take one argument as the string or
expression to be considered. The syntaxes are:
Function UCase(ByVal Value As String) As String
Function UPPER(ByVal Value As String) As String
Each function receives a character or string as argument. If a character is already in uppercase, it
would be returned the same. If the character is not a readable character, no conversion would
happen and the function would return it. If the character is in lowercase, it would be converted to
uppercase and the function would then return the uppercase equivalent.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim ProgrammingEnvironment As String
ProgrammingEnvironment = "Visual Basic for Application for Microsoft Excel"
ActiveCell = UCase(ProgrammingEnvironment)
End Sub
To convert a character or a string to lowercase, you can call the VBA's LCase() or the Microsoft
Excel's UPPER() functions. Their syntaxes are:
Function LCase(ByVal Value As String) As String
Function LOWER(ByVal Value As String) As String
The function takes a character or a string as argument. If a character is not a readable symbol, it
would be kept "as is". If the character is in lowercase, it would not be converted. If the character
is in uppercase, it would be converted to lowercase.

The Sub-Strings of a String

Introduction
A sub-string is a character or a group of characters or symbols that are part of an existing string.
The Visual Basic language provides functions to create, manipulate, or manage sub-strings. The
primary rule to keep in mind is that a sub-string is part of, and depends on, a string. In other
words, you cannot have a sub-string if you do not have a string in the first place.

The Left Sub-String of a String

If you have an existing string but want to create a new string using a number of characters from
the left side characters of the string, you can use the Microsoft Excel's LEFT() or the VBA's Left()
functions. Their syntaxes are:

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Function LEFT(ByVal str As String, ByVal Length As Integer) As String

Function Left(ByVal str As String, ByVal Length As Integer) As String
Each function takes two arguments and both are required. The first argument is the existing
string. The second argument is the number of characters counted from the left side of the string.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Process As String
Process = "learning"
ActiveCell = "To " & Left(Process, 5) & " is to gain understanding"
End Sub
This would produce:

The Right Sub-String of a String

To create a new string using one or more characters from the right side of an existing string, call
the Microsoft Excel RIGHT() or the VBA's Right() functions. Its syntax is:
Function RIGHT(ByVal str As String, ByVal Length As Integer) As String
Function Right(ByVal str As String, ByVal Length As Integer) As String
Both arguments are required. The first argument is the original string. The second argument is
the number of characters counted from the right side of the string.

The Mid Sub-String of a String

You may want to create a string using some characters either from the left, from the right, or
from somewhere inside an existing string. To assist you with this, the Visual Basic language
provides a function named Mid and the Microsoft Excel library is equipped with a function named
MID. Here is an example of calling the Mid() function:
Sub Exercise()
Dim ProgrammingEnvironment As String
ProgrammingEnvironment = "VBA for Microsoft Excel"
ActiveCell = "The " & Mid(ProgrammingEnvironment, 10, 13) & " language"
End Sub

Finding a Sub-String
One of the most regular operations you will perform on a string consists of finding out whether it
contains a certain character or a certain contiguous group of characters. To help you with this
operation, the Visual Basic language provides the InStr() function and the Microsoft Excel library
equipped with the FIND() function. Their syntaxes are:
InStr([start, ]string1, string2[, compare])
FIND([Find_Text, Within_Text, Start_Num)
In the first version of the function, the String1 argument is the string on which the operation will
be performed. The String2 argument is the character or the sub-string to look for. If String2 is
found in String1 (as part of String1), the function return the position of the first character. Here is
an example:
The first version of the function asks the interpreter to check String1 from the left looking for
String2. If String1 contains more than one instance of String2, the function returns (only) the
position of the first instance. Any other subsequent instance would be ignored. If you want to skip
the first instance or want the interpreter to start checking from a position other than the left
character, use the second version. In this case, the Start argument allows you to specify the
starting position from where to start looking for String2 in String1.
The InStr() function is used to start checking a string from the left side. If you want to start
checking from the right side, call the InStrRev() function. Its syntax is:
InstrRev(stringcheck, stringmatch[, start[, compare]])

Replacing a Character or a Sub-String in a String

After finding a character or a sub-string inside of a string, you can take action on it. One of the
operations you can perform consists of replacing that character or that sub-string with another
character or a sub-string. To do this, the Visual Basic language provides the Replace() function
and Microsoft Excel provides the REPLACE() function. Its syntax is:
Replace(expression, find, replace[, start[, count[, compare]]])
REPLACE(Old_Text, Find_Text, Start_Num, Num_Characters, New_Text)
The first argument is the string on which the operation will be performed. The second argument is
the character or string to look for in the Expression. If that character or string is found, the third
argument is the character or string to replace it with.

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167

Other Operations on Strings

Reversing a String
Once a string has been initialized, one of the operations you can perform on it consists of
reversing it. To do this, you can call the StrReverse() function. Its syntax is:
Function StrReverse(ByVal Expression As String) As String
This function takes as argument the string that needs to be reversed. After performing its
operation, the function returns a new string made of characters in reverse order. Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim StrValue As String
Dim StrRev As String
StrValue = "Rpublique d'Afrique du Sud"
StrRev = StrReverse(StrValue)
ActiveCell = StrValue & vbCrLf & StrRev
End Sub
Because the StrReverse() function returns a string, you can write it as StrReverse$.

Strings and Empty Spaces

The simplest string is probably one that you declared and initialized. In some other cases, you
may work with a string that you must first examine. For example, for some reason, a string
may contain an empty space to its left or to its right. If you simply start performing a certain
operation on it, the operation may fail. One of the first actions you can take on a string would
consist of deleting the empty space(s), if any on its sides.
To remove all empty spaces from the left side of a string, you can call the LTrim() function.
Its syntax is:
Function LTrim(ByVal str As String) As String
To remove all empty spaces from the right side of a string, you can call the RTrim() function.
Its syntax is:
Function RTrim(ByVal str As String) As String
To remove the empty spaces from both sides of a string, you can call the Trim() function. Its
syntax is:
Function Trim(ByVal str As String) As String

Creating an Empty Spaced String

If you want to create a string made of one or more empty spaces, you can call the Space()
function. Its syntax is:
Function Space(ByVal Number As Integer) As String
This function is the programmatic equivalent to pressing the Space bar when typing a string to
insert an empty space between two characters.

The Message Box

Introduction
A message box is a special dialog box used to display a piece of information to the user. The
user cannot type anything in the message box. There are usually two kinds of message boxes
you will create: one that simply displays information and one that expects the user to make a
decision.
A message box is created using the MsgBox function. Its syntax is:
Function MsgBox(Prompt[, Buttons] [, Title] [, Helpfile, Context]) As String
The MsgBox() function takes five arguments and only the first one is required.

The Message of a Message Box

The Prompt argument is the string that the user will see displaying on the message box. As a
string, you can display it in double quotes, like this "Your credentials have been checked.".
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
MsgBox ("Your credentials have been checked.")
End Sub
This would produce:

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168

You can also create the message from other pieces of strings. The Prompt argument can be
made of up to 1024 characters. To display the Prompt on multiple lines, you can use either the
constant vbCrLf or the combination Chr(10) & Chr(13) between any two strings. Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise()
MsgBox ("Your logon credentials have been checked." & _
vbCrLf & "To complete your application, please " & _
"fill out the following survey")
End Sub
This would produce:

If you call the MsgBox() function with only the first argument, it is referred to as a method (a
method is a member function of a class; the class in this case is the Application on which you
are working). If you want to use the other arguments, you must treat MsgBox as a function.
That is, you must assign it to a variable or to an object.

The Buttons of a Message Box

The Buttons argument specifies what button(s) should display on the message box. There are
different kinds of buttons available and the VBA language. Each button uses a constant integer
as follows:
Constant

Numeric Value

vbOKOnly

vbOKCancel

vbAbortRetryIgnore

vbYesNoCancel

vbYesNo

vbRetryCancel

Display

When calling the MsgBox() function and specifying the button, you can use one of the above
constant numeric values. Here is an example that displays the Yes and the No buttons on the
message box:
Sub Exercise()
ActiveCell = MsgBox("Your logon credentials have been checked " & _
"and your application has been approved: " & _
"Congratulations!" & vbCrLf & _
"Before leaving, would you like " & _
"to take our survey survey now?", vbYesNo)
End Sub
This would produce:

The Icon on a Message Box

Besides the buttons, to enhance your message box, you can display an icon in the left section
of the message box. To display an icon, you can use or add a member of the MsgBoxStyle
enumeration. The members that are meant to display an icon are:
Icon Constant

Numeric Value

vbCritical

16

vbQuestion

32

vbExclamation

48

Description

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vbInformation

169

64

To use one of these icons, you must combine the value of the button to the desired value of
the icon. To perform this combination, you use the OR operator. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim iAnswer As Integer
iAnswer = MsgBox("Your logon credentials have been checked " & _
"and your application has been approved: Congratulations!" & _
vbCrLf & "Before leaving, would you like " & _
"to take our survey survey now?", vbYesNo Or vbQuestion)
End Sub
This would produce:

When calling the MsgBox() function, if you want to show one or more buttons and to show an
icon, you can use either two members of the MsgBoxStyle enumeration using the OR
operator, or you can add one of the constant values of the buttons to another contant values
for an icon. For example, 3 + 48 = 51 would result in displaying the buttons Yes, Ne, and
Cancel, and the exclamation icon.

The Default Button of a Message Box

If you create a message box with more than one button, the most left button usually has a
thick border, indicating that it is the default. If the user presses Enter after viewing the
button, the effect would be the same as if he had clicked the default button. If you want, you
can designate another button as the default. To do this, you can use or add another member
of the MsgBoxStyle enumeration. The members used to specify the default button are:
Default Button
Constant

Numeric
Value

If the message box contains more than one

button, the default would be

vbDefaultButton1

vbDefaultButton2

256

The second button

vbDefaultButton3

512

The third button

The first button

Once again, to specify a default value, use the OR operator to combine a Default Button
Constant with any other combination. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
ActiveCell = MsgBox("Your logon credentials have been checked " & _
"and your application has been approved: Congratulations!" & _
vbCrLf & "Before leaving, would you like " & _
"to take our survey survey now?", _
vbYesNo Or _
vbQuestion Or vbDefaultButton2)
End Sub
This would produce:

These additional buttons can be used to further control what the user can do:
Constant
vbApplicationModal
vbSystemModal

Value Effect
The user must dismiss the message box before proceeding with the
current database
The user must dismiss this message before using any other open
4096
application of the computer
0

The Title of a Message Box

The Title argument is the caption that would display on the title bar of the message box. It is a
string whose word or words you can enclose between parentheses or that you can get from a
created string. The Title argument is optional. As you have seen so far, if you omit, the
message box would display the name of the application on the title bar. Otherwise, if you want
a custom title, you can provide it as the third argument to the MsgBox() function. The
caption can be a simple string. Here is an example:

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Sub Exercise()
ActiveCell = MsgBox("Your logon credentials have been checked " & _
"and your application has been approved: Congratulations!" & _
vbCrLf & "Before leaving, would you like " & _
"to take our survey survey now?", _
vbYesNo Or vbQuestion, _
"Crofton Circle of Friends - Membership Application")
End Sub
This would produce:

Notice that the caption is now customized instead of the name of the application. The caption
can also be a string created from an expression or emanating from a variable or value.

The Returned Value of a Message Box

The MsgBox() function can be used to return a value. This value corresponds to the button
the user clicked on the message box. Depending on the buttons the message box is displaying,
after the user has clicked, the MsgBox() function can return a value. The value can be a
member of the MsgBoxResult enumeration or a constant numeric value recognized by the
Visual Basic language. The value returned can be one of the following values:
If the user click

The function returns

Numeric Value

vbOK

vbCancel

vbAbort

vbRetry

vbIgnore

vbYes

vbNo

The Input Box

Introduction
The Visual Basic language provides a function that allows you to request information from the
user who can type it in a text field of a dialog box. The function used to accomplish this is
called InputBox and its basic syntax is:
InputBox(prompt[, title] [, default] [, xpos] [, ypos] [, helpfile, context])

Presenting the Message

The most basic piece of information you can provide to the InputBox() function is referred to
as the prompt. It should be a string that the user will read and know what you are expecting.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
InputBox("Enter your date of birth as mm/dd/yyyy")
End Sub
This would produce

Upon reading the message on the input box, the user is asked to enter a piece of information.
The type of information the user is supposed to provide depends on you, the programmer.
Therefore, there are two important things you should always do. First you should let the user
know what type of information is requested. Is it a number (what type of number)? Is it a
string (such as the name of a country or a customer's name)? Is it the location of a file (such
as C:\Program Files\Homework)? Are you expecting a Yes/No True/False type of answer (if so,
how should the user provide it)? Is it a date (if it is a date, what format is the user supposed
to enter)? These questions mean that you should state a clear request to the user and specify
what kind of value you are expecting. A solution, also explicit enough, consists of providing an

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170

example to the user.

171

The Title of an Input Box

The second argument to the InputBox() function allows you to optionally specify the title of
the input box. This is the string that would appear on the title bar. Since this is an optional
argument, if you don't pass it, the input box would display the name of the application.
Otherwise, to display your own title bar, pass the Title argument.
The title is passed as a string. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
ActiveCell = InputBox("Please enter your date of birth as mm/dd/yyyy", _
"Student Registration")
End Sub
This would produce:

Notice that the caption is now customized instead of the name of the application. The caption
can also be a string created from an expression or emanating from a variable or value.

The Default Value of an Input Box

Sometimes, even if you provide an explicit request, the user might not provide a new value
but click OK. The problem is that you would still need to get the value of the text box and you
might want to involve it in an expression. You can solve this problem and that of providing an
example to the user by filling the text box with a default value. To support this, the InputBox()
function provides the third argument.
To present an example or default value to the user, pass a third argument to the InputBox()
function. If you want to use this argument to provide an example the user can follow, provide
it with the right format. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
ActiveCell = InputBox("Enter Student Name:", _
"Student Registration", "John Doe")
End Sub
Here is an example of running the program:

Notice that, when the input box displays with a default value, the value is in the text box and
the value is selected. Therefore, if the value is fine, the user can accept it and click OK.
Another way you can use the default value is to provide a value the user can accept; that is,
the most common or most likely value the user would enter. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
ActiveCell = InputBox("Enter Birth State:", _
"Student Registration", "VA")
End Sub
Here is an example of running the program:

Once again, notice that the user can just accept the value and click OK or press Enter.

The Location of the Input Box

By default, when the input box comes up, it displays in the middle of the screen. If you want,
you can specify where the input box should be positioned when it comes up. To assist you with
this, the InputBox() function is equipped with a fourth and a fifth arguments. The fourth

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argument specifies the x coordinate of the input box; that is, the distance from its left border
to the left border of the monitor. The fifth argument specifies the distance from the top border
of the input box to the top border of the monitor.

172

The Return Value of an Input Box

When the input box displays, after typing a value, the user would click one of the buttons: OK
or Cancel. If the user clicks OK, you should retrieve the value the user would have typed. It is
also your responsibility to find out whether the user typed a valid value. Because the
InputBox() function can return any type of value, it has no mechanism of validating the
user's entry. To retrieve the value of the input box dialog when the user clicks OK, you can get
the returned value of the InputBox() function.
After being used, the InputBox() function returns a string. Here is an example of getting it:
Sub Exercise()
Dim StudentName As String
StudentName = InputBox("Enter Student Name:", _
"Student Registration")
MsgBox ("Student Name: " & StudentName)
End Sub
You can also get any type of value from an input box. That is, when the InputBox() function
exits, thanks to the flexibility of the Visual Basic language, the compiler can directly cast the
returned value for you. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim DateOfBirth As Date
DateOfBirth = InputBox("Please enter your date of birth as mm/dd/yyyy", _
"Student Registration")
MsgBox("Date of Birth: " & DateOfBirth)
End Sub

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173

Introduction to Boolean Values

Introduction
A value is referred to as Boolean if it can be either true or false. As you may imagine, the
essence of a Boolean value is to check that a condition is true or false, valid or invalid.

The Boolean Data Type

Like a number or a string, a Boolean value can be stored in a variable. To declare such a variable,
use the Boolean keyword. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim EmployeeIsMarried As Boolean
End Sub
To actually use a Boolean variable, you can assign a value to it. By default, if you declare a
Boolean variable but do not initialized it, it receives a value of False:
Sub Exercise()
Dim EmployeeIsMarried As Boolean
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Employee Is Married? " & EmployeeIsMarried
End Sub
This would produce:

To initialize a Boolean variable, assign it a True or a False value. In the Visual Basic language, a
Boolean variable can also deal with numeric values. The False value is equivalent to 0. For
example, instead of False, you can initialize a Boolean variable with 0. Any other numeric value,
whether positive or negative, corresponds to True:
Sub Exercise()
Dim EmployeeIsMarried As Boolean
EmployeeIsMarried = -792730
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Employee Is Married? " & EmployeeIsMarried
End Sub
This would produce:

The number can be decimal or hexadecimal:

Sub Exercise()
Dim EmployeeIsMarried As Boolean
EmployeeIsMarried = &HFA26B5
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Employee Is Married? " & EmployeeIsMarried
End Sub

Boolean Values and Procedures

Introduction
As done with the other data types that we have used so far, Boolean values can be involved with
procedures. This means that a Boolean variable can be passed to a procedure and/or a function
can be made to return a Boolean value. Some of the issues involved with procedures require
conditional statements that we will study in the next lesson. Still, the basic functionality is
possible with what we have learned so far.

Passing a Boolean Variable as Argument

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To pass an argument as a Boolean value, in the parentheses of the procedure, type the name of
the argument followed by the As Boolean expression. Here is an example:
Private Sub CheckingEmployee(ByVal IsFullTime As Boolean)
End Sub
In the same way, you can pass as many Boolean arguments as you need, and you can combine
Boolean and non-Boolean arguments as you judge necessary. Then, in the body of the procedure,
use (or do not use) the Boolean argument as you wish.

Returning a Boolean Value

Just as done for the other data types, you can create a function that returns a Boolean value.
When declaring the function, specify its name and the As Boolean expression on the right side of
the parentheses. Here is an example:
Public Function IsDifferent() As Boolean
Of course, the function can take arguments of any kind you judge necessary:
Public Function IsDifferent(ByVal Value1 As Integer, _
ByVal Value2 As Integer) As Boolean
In the body of the function, do whatever you judge necessary. Before exiting the function, you
must return a value that evaluates to True or False. We will see an example below.

Boolean Built-In Functions

Converting a Value to Boolean
To assist you with validating some values or variables to true or false, the Visual Basic language
provides many functions. First, to convert a value to Boolean, you can use the CBool() function.
Its syntax is:
Function CBool(ByVal Expression As Variant) As Boolean
Like all conversion functions, CBool takes one argument, the expression to be evaluated. It
should produce a valid Boolean value. If it does, the function returns True or False.

Checking Whether a Variable Has Been Initialized

After declaring a variable, memory is reserved for but you should assign value to it before using
it. At any time, to check whether a variable has been initialized, you can call the IsEmpty()
function. Its syntax is:
Public Function IsEmpty(ByVal Expression As Variant) As Boolean
When calling this function, pass the name of a variable to it. If the variable was already
initialized, the function would return True. Otherwise, it would return False.

Checking Whether a Value is Numeric

One of the most valuable operations you will perform on a value consists of finding out whether it
is numeric or not. To assist you with this, the Visual Basic language provides a function named
IsNumeric. Its syntax is:
Public Function IsNumeric(ByVal Expression As Variant) As Boolean
This function takes as argument the value or expression to be evaluated. If the argument holds or
can produce a valid integer or a decimal value, the function returns True. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Value As Variant
Value = 258.08 * 9920.3479
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Is Numeric? " & IsNumeric(Value)
End Sub
This would produce:

If the argument is holding any other value that cannot be identified as a number, the function
produces False. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Value As Variant
Value = #12/4/1770#
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Is Numeric? " & IsNumeric(Value)
End Sub
This would produce:

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174

175

Checking for Valid Date/Time

To find out whether an expression holds a valid date, a valid, or not, you can call the IsDate()
function. Its syntax is:
Public Function IsDate(ByVal Expression As Variant) As Boolean
This function takes an argument as the expression to be evaluated. If the argument holds a valid
date and/or time, the function returns True. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim DateHired As Variant
DateHired = "9/16/2001"
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Is 9/16/2001 a valid date? " & IsDate(DateHired)
End Sub
This would produce:

If the value of the argument cannot be evaluated to a valid date or time, the function returns
False. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim DateHired As Variant
DateHired = "Who Knows?"
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Is it a valid date? " & IsDate(DateHired)
End Sub
This would produce:

Checking for Nullity

After declaring a variable, you should initialize it with a valid value. Sometimes you will not. In
some other cases, you may be using a variable without knowing with certainty whether it is
holding a valid value. To assist you with checking whether a variable is currently holding a valid
value, you can call the IsNull() function. Its syntax is:
Public Function IsNull(ByVal Expression As Variant) As Boolean
When calling this function, pass the name of a variable to it. If the variable is currently holding a
valid value, this function would returns True. Otherwise, it would return False.

Logical Operators
Introduction
A comparison is an operation used to get the boolean result of two values one checked against the
other. Such a comparison is performed between two values of the same type.

Equality
To compare two variables for equality, use the = operator. Its syntax is:
Value1 = Value2
The equality operation is used to find out whether two variables (or one variable and a constant)
hold the same value. From our syntax, the value of Value1 would be compared with the value of
Value2. If Value1 and Value2 hold the same value, the comparison produces a True result. If they
are different, the comparison renders false or 0.

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176

Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim IsFullTime As Boolean
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "Is Employee Full Time? " & IsFullTime)
IsFullTime = True
Range("B4").FormulaR1C1 = "Is Employee Full Time? " & IsFullTime)
End Sub
This would produce:

Inequality <>
As opposed to checking for equality, you may instead want to know whether two values are
different. The operator used to perform this comparison is <> and its formula is:
Variable1 <> Variable2

If the operands on both sides of the operator are the same, the comparison renders false. If both
operands hold different values, then the comparison produces a true result. This also shows that
the equality = and the inequality <> operators are opposite.
Here is an example:
Public Function IsDifferent(ByVal Value1 As Integer, _
ByVal Value2 As Integer) As Boolean
IsDifferent = Value1 <> Value2
End Function
Sub Exercise()
Dim a%, b%
Dim Result As Boolean
a% = 12: b% = 48
Result = IsDifferent(a%, b%)
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "The resulting comparison of 12 <> 48 is " & Result
End Sub
This would produce:

A Lower Value <

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To find out whether one value is lower than another, use the < operator. Its syntax is:
Value1 < Value2
The value held by Value1 is compared to that of Value2. As it would be done with other
operations, the comparison can be made between two variables, as in Variable1 < Variable2. If
the value held by Variable1 is lower than that of Variable2, the comparison produces a True.

Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim PartTimeSalary, ContractorSalary As Double
Dim IsLower As Boolean
PartTimeSalary = 20.15
ContractorSalary = 22.48
IsLower = PartTimeSalary < ContractorSalary
MsgBox ("Part Time Salary: " & PartTimeSalary & vbCrLf & _
"Contractor Salary: " & ContractorSalary & vbCrLf & _
"Is PartTimeSalary < ContractorSalary? " & IsLower)
PartTimeSalary = 25.55
ContractorSalary = 12.68
IsLower = PartTimeSalary < ContractorSalary
MsgBox ("Part Time Salary: " & PartTimeSalary & vbCrLf & _
"Contractor Salary: " & ContractorSalary & vbCrLf & _
"Is PartTimeSalary < ContractorSalary? " & IsLower)
End Sub
This would produce:

Equality and Lower Value <=

The previous two operations can be combined to compare two values. This allows you to know if
two values are the same or if the first is less than the second. The operator used is <= and its
syntax is:
Value1 <= Value2
The <= operation performs a comparison as any of the last two. If both Value1 and VBalue2 hold
the same value, result is true or positive. If the left operand, in this case Value1, holds a value
lower than the second operand, in this case Value2, the result is still true:

Greater Value >

When two values of the same type are distinct, one of them is usually higher than the other.

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177

VBasic provides a logical operator that allows you to find out if one of two values is greater than
the other. The operator used for this operation uses the > symbol. Its syntax is:
Value1 > Value2
Both operands, in this case Value1 and Value2, can be variables or the left operand can be a
variable while the right operand is a constant. If the value on the left of the > operator is greater
than the value on the right side or a constant, the comparison produces a True value. Otherwise,
the comparison renders False or null:

Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim PartTimeSalary, ContractorSalary As Double
Dim IsLower As Boolean
PartTimeSalary = 20.15
ContractorSalary = 22.48
IsLower = PartTimeSalary > ContractorSalary
MsgBox ("Part Time Salary: " & PartTimeSalary & vbCrLf & _
"Contractor Salary: " & ContractorSalary & vbCrLf & _
"Is PartTimeSalary > ContractorSalary? " & IsLower)
PartTimeSalary = 25.55
ContractorSalary = 12.68
IsLower = PartTimeSalary > ContractorSalary
MsgBox ("Part Time Salary: " & PartTimeSalary & vbCrLf & _
"Contractor Salary: " & ContractorSalary & vbCrLf & _
"Is PartTimeSalary > ContractorSalary? " & IsLower)
End Sub
This would produce:

Greater or Equal Value >=

The greater than or the equality operators can be combined to produce an operator as follows:
>=. This is the "greater than or equal to" operator. Its syntax is:
Value1 >= Value2
A comparison is performed on both operands: Value1 and Value2. If the value of Value1 and that
of Value2 are the same, the comparison produces a True value. If the value of the left operand is
greater than that of the right operand, the comparison still produces True. If the value of the left
operand is strictly less than the value of the right operand, the comparison produces a False
result:

Here is a summary table of the logical operators we have studied:

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178

Operator

Previous

Meaning

Example

Opposite
<>

Equality to

a=b

<>

Not equal to

12 <> 7

<

Less than

25 < 84

>=

<=

Less than or equal to

Cab <= Tab

>

>

Greater than

248 > 55

<=

>=

Greater than or equal

to

Val1 >= Val2

<

Copyright 2008-2010 FunctionX, Inc.

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179

Next

180

Checking Whether a Condition is True/False

Introduction
In some programming assignments, you must find out whether a given situation bears a valid
value. This is done by checking a condition. To support this, the Visual Basic language provides a
series of keywords and operators that can be combined to perform this checking. Checking a
condition usually produces a True or a False result.
Once the condition has been checked, you can use the result (as True or False) to take action.
Because there are different ways to check a condition, there are also different types of keywords
to check different things. To use them, you must be aware of what each does or cannot do so you
would select the right one.

Practical Learning: Introducing Conditional Statements

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. On the Ribbon, click Developer and, in the Code section, click Visual Basic
3. On the main menu, click Insert -> UserForm
4. Design the form as follows:

Control

Name

Caption
First
Name:

Label
TextBox

txtFirstName
Last
Name:

Label
TextBox

txtLastName
Full
Name:

Label
TextBox

txtFullName

5. Return to Microsoft Excel

6. Save the file with the name Conditions1 as a Macro-Enabled Workbook
7. Return to Microsoft Visual Basic
8. Right-click the form and click View Code

If a Condition is True/False, Then What?

The If...Then statement examines the truthfulness of an expression. Structurally, its formula is:
If ConditionToCheck Then Statement
Therefore, the program examines a condition, in this case ConditionToCheck. This
ConditionToCheck can be a simple expression or a combination of expressions. If the
ConditionToCheck is true, then the program will execute the Statement.
There are two ways you can use the If...Then statement. If the conditional formula is short
enough, you can write it on one line, like this:
If ConditionToCheck Then Statement
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim IsMarried As Boolean
Dim TaxRate As Double

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TaxRate = 33.0
MsgBox("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%")
IsMarried = True
If IsMarried = True Then TaxRate = 30.65
MsgBox("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%")
End Sub
This would produce:

If there are many statements to execute as a truthful result of the condition, you should write the
statements on alternate lines. Of course, you can use this technique even if the condition you are
examining is short. If you write the conditional statement in more than one line, you must end it
with End If on its own line. The formula used is:
If ConditionToCheck Then
Statement
End If
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim IsMarried As Boolean
Dim TaxRate As Double
TaxRate = 33#
MsgBox ("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%")
IsMarried = True
If IsMarried = True Then
TaxRate = 30.65
MsgBox ("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%")
End If
End Sub

Practical Learning: Using If...Then

1. In the Variant combo box, select txtFirstName and change its Change event as follows:
Private
Dim
Dim
Dim

Sub txtFirstName_Change()
FirstName As String
LastName As String
FullName As String

FirstName = txtFirstName.Text
LastName = txtLastName.Text
FullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName
txtFullName.Text = FullName
If LastName = "" Then txtFullName.Text = FirstName
End Sub
2. In the Variant combo box, select txtLastName and change its Change event as follows:
Private
Dim
Dim
Dim

Sub txtLastName_Change()
FirstName As String
LastName As String
FullName As String

FirstName = txtFirstName.Text
LastName = txtLastName.Text
FullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName
txtFullName.Text = FullName
If LastName = "" Then txtFullName.Text = FirstName
End Sub
3. To test the form, on the main menu of Visual Basic, click Run -> Run Sub/UserForm
4. Click the top text box and type Julienne. Notice that only the first name displays in the Full
Name text box

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182

5. Press Tab
6. In the other text box, start typing Pal and notice that the Full Name text box is changing
7. Complete it with Palace
8. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic

Using the Default Value of a Boolean Expression

In the previous lesson, we saw that when you declare a Boolean variable, by default, it is
initialized with the False value. Here is an example:
Module Exercise
Sub Exercise
Dim IsMarried As Boolean
MsgBox("Employee Is Married? " & IsMarried)
Return 0
End Function
End Module
This would produce:

Based on this, if you want to check whether a newly declared and uninitialized Boolean variable is
false, you can omit the = False expression applied to it. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim IsMarried As Boolean
Dim TaxRate As Double
TaxRate = 33#
If IsMarried Then TaxRate = 30.65
MsgBox ("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%")
End Sub
This would produce:

Notice that there is no = after the If IsMarried expression. In this case, the value of the variable is
False. On the other hand, if you want to check whether the variable is True, make sure you
include the = True expression. Overall, whenever in doubt, it is safer to always initialize your
variable and it is safer to include the = True or = False expression when evaluating the variable:
Sub Exercise()
Dim IsMarried As Boolean
Dim TaxRate As Double
TaxRate = 36.45 ' %
IsMarried = True
If IsMarried = False Then TaxRate = 33.15
MsgBox ("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%")
End Sub
In the previous lesson, we introduced some Boolean-based functions such as IsNumeric and
IsDate. The default value of these functions is True. This means that when you call them, you
can omit the = True expression.

What Else When a Condition is True/False?

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The If...Then...Else Condition

183

The If...Then statement offers only one alternative: to act if the condition is true. Whenever you
would like to apply an alternate expression in case the condition is false, you can use the
If...Then...Else statement. The formula of this statement is:
If ConditionToCheck Then
Statement1
Else
Statement2
End If
When this section of code is executed, if the ConditionToCheck is true, then the first statement,
Statement1, is executed. If the ConditionToCheck is false, the second statement, in this case
Statement2, is executed.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim MemberAge As Integer
Dim MemberCategory As String
MemberAge = 16
If MemberAge <= 18 Then
MemberCategory = "Teen"
Else
MemberCategory = "Adult"
End If
MsgBox ("Membership: " & MemberCategory)
End Sub
This would produce:

Practical Learning: Using If...Then...Else

1. Change the codes of both events as follows:
Private
Dim
Dim
Dim

Sub txtFirstName_Change()
FirstName As String
LastName As String
FullName As String

FirstName = txtFirstName.Text
LastName = txtLastName.Text
If LastName = "" Then
FullName = FirstName
Else
FullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName
End If
txtFullName.Text = FullName
End Sub
Private
Dim
Dim
Dim

Sub txtLastName_Change()
FirstName As String
LastName As String
FullName As String

FirstName = txtFirstName.Text
LastName = txtLastName.Text
If FirstName = "" Then
FullName = LastName
Else
FullName = LastName & ", " & FirstName
End If
txtFullName.Text = FullName
End Sub
2. Press F5 to test the form
3. After using the form, close it and return to Visual Basic

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Immediate If

184

To assist you with checking a condition and its alternative, the Visual Basic language
provides a function named IIf. Its syntax is:
Public Function IIf( _
ByVal Expression As Boolean, _
ByVal TruePart As Variant, _
ByVal FalsePart As Variant _
) As Variant
This function operates like an If...Then...Else condition. It takes three required arguments
and returns a result of type Variant. This returned value will hold the result of the function.
The condition to check is passed as the first argument:
If that condition is true, the function returns the value of the TruePart argument and
the last argument is ignored
If the condition is false, the first argument is ignored and the function returns the value
of the second argument
As mentioned already, you can retrieved the value of the right argument and assign it to
the result of the function. The expression we saw early can be written as follows:
Sub Exercise()
Dim MemberAge As Integer
Dim MemberCategory As String
MemberAge = 16
MemberCategory = IIf(MemberAge <= 18, "Teen", "Adult")
MsgBox ("Membership: " & MemberCategory)
End Sub
This would produce the same result we saw earlier.

Practical Learning: Introducing Select Cases

1. From the resources that accompany these lessons, open the gdcs1 (or gdcs2) workbook
2. To open Microsoft Visual Basic, on the Ribbon, click Developer and, in the Code section,
click Visual Basic:

3. Right-click the form and click View Code

4. Click under any code and type the following:
Private
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim

Sub CalucateOrder()
UnitPriceShirts As Double, UnitPricePants As Double
UnitPriceItem1 As Double, UnitPriceItem2 As Double
UnitPriceItem3 As Double, UnitPriceItem4 As Double
QuantityShirts As Integer, QuantityPants As Integer
QuantityItem1 As Integer, QuantityItem2 As Integer

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Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim

QuantityItem3 As Integer, QuantityItem4 As Integer

SubTotalShirts As Double, SubTotalPants As Double
SubTotalItem1 As Double, SubTotalItem2 As Double
SubTotalItem3 As Double, SubTotalItem4 As Double
CleaningTotal As Double, TaxRate As Double
TaxAmount As Double, OrderTotal As Double

UnitPriceShirts = 0#: UnitPricePants = 0#

UnitPriceItem1 = 0#: UnitPriceItem2 = 0#
UnitPriceItem3 = 0#: UnitPriceItem4 = 0#
QuantityShirts = 0: QuantityPants = 0
QuantityItem1 = 0: QuantityItem2 = 0
QuantityItem3 = 0:
QuantityItem4 = 0
TaxRate = 0
UnitPriceShirts = IIf(IsNumeric(txtUnitPriceShirts), _
CDbl(txtUnitPriceShirts), 0)
UnitPricePants = IIf(IsNumeric(txtUnitPricePants), _
CDbl(txtUnitPricePants), 0)
UnitPriceItem1 = IIf(IsNumeric(txtUnitPriceItem1), _
CDbl(txtUnitPriceItem1), 0)
UnitPriceItem2 = IIf(IsNumeric(txtUnitPriceShirts), _
CDbl(txtUnitPriceItem2), 0)
UnitPriceItem3 = IIf(IsNumeric(txtUnitPriceShirts), _
CDbl(txtUnitPriceItem3), 0)
UnitPriceItem4 = IIf(IsNumeric(txtUnitPriceShirts), _
CDbl(txtUnitPriceItem4), 0)

QuantityShirts = IIf(IsNumeric(txtUnitPriceShirts), _
CInt(txtQuantityShirts), 0)
QuantityPants = IIf(IsNumeric(txtQuantityPants), _
CInt(txtQuantityPants), 0)
QuantityItem1 = IIf(IsNumeric(txtQuantityItem1), _
Int(txtQuantityItem1), 0)
QuantityItem2 = IIf(IsNumeric(txtQuantityItem2), _
CInt(txtQuantityItem2), 0)
QuantityItem3 = IIf(IsNumeric(txtQuantityItem3), _
CInt(txtQuantityItem3), 0)
QuantityItem4 = IIf(IsNumeric(txtQuantityItem4), _
CInt(txtQuantityItem4), 0)
TaxRate = IIf(IsNumeric(txtTaxRate), _
CDbl(txtTaxRate), 0)
SubTotalShirts = UnitPriceShirts
SubTotalPants = UnitPricePants *
SubTotalItem1 = UnitPriceItem1 *
SubTotalItem2 = UnitPriceItem2 *
SubTotalItem3 = UnitPriceItem3 *
SubTotalItem4 = UnitPriceItem4 *

* QuantityShirts
QuantityPants
QuantityItem1
QuantityItem2
QuantityItem3
QuantityItem4

txtSubTotalShirts = FormatNumber(SubTotalShirts)
txtSubTotalPants = FormatNumber(SubTotalPants)
txtSubTotalItem1 = FormatNumber(SubTotalItem1)
txtSubTotalItem2 = FormatNumber(SubTotalItem2)
txtSubTotalItem3 = FormatNumber(SubTotalItem3)
txtSubTotalItem4 = FormatNumber(SubTotalItem4)
CleaningTotal = SubTotalShirts + SubTotalPants + _
SubTotalItem1 + SubTotalItem2 + _
SubTotalItem3 + SubTotalItem4
TaxAmount = CleaningTotal * TaxRate / 100
OrderTotal = CleaningTotal + TaxAmount
txtCleaningTotal = FormatNumber(CleaningTotal)
txtTaxAmount = FormatNumber(TaxAmount)
txtOrderTotal = FormatNumber(OrderTotal)
End Sub
Private Sub txtUnitPriceShirts_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CalucateOrder
End Sub
Private Sub txtQuantityShirts_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CalucateOrder
End Sub
Private Sub txtUnitPricePants_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CalucateOrder

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186

End Sub
Private Sub txtQuantityPants_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CalucateOrder
End Sub
Private Sub txtUnitPriceItem1_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CalucateOrder
End Sub
Private Sub txtQuantityItem1_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CalucateOrder
End Sub
Private Sub txtUnitPriceItem2_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CalucateOrder
End Sub
Private Sub txtQuantityItem2_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CalucateOrder
End Sub
Private Sub txtUnitPriceItem3_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CalucateOrder
End Sub
Private Sub txtQuantityItem3_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CalucateOrder
End Sub
Private Sub txtUnitPriceItem4_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CalucateOrder
End Sub
Private Sub txtQuantityItem4_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CalucateOrder
End Sub
Private Sub txtTaxRate_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CalucateOrder
End Sub
5. Close Microsoft Visual Basic
6. Save the workbook

Choosing a Value
We have learned how to check whether a condition is True or False and take an action. Here
is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Status As Integer, EmploymentStatus As String
Status = 1
EmploymentStatus = "Unknown"
If Status = 1 Then
EmploymentStatus = "Full Time"
End If
MsgBox ("Employment Status: " & EmploymentStatus)
End Sub
To provide an alternative to this operation, the Visual Basic language provides a function
named Choose. Its syntax is:
Public Function Choose( _
ByVal Index As Double, _
ByVal ParamArray Choice() As Variant _
) As Variant
This function takes two required arguments. The fist argument is equivalent to the
ConditionToCheck of our If...Then formula. For the Choose() function, this first argument
must be a number. This is the value against which the second argument will be compared.
Before calling the function, you must know the value of the first argument. To take care of
this, you can first declare a variable and initialize it with the desired value. Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Status As Byte, EmploymentStatus As String
Status = 1
EmploymentStatus = Choose(Status, ...)
MsgBox ("Employment Status: " & EmploymentStatus)
End Sub
The second argument can be the Statement of our formula. Here is an example:

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Choose(Status, "Full Time")

187

We will see in the next sections that the second argument is actually a list of values and
each value has a specific position referred to as its index. To use the function in an
If...Then scenario, you pass only one value as the second argument. This value/argument
has an index of 1. When the Choose() function is called in an If...Then implementation, if
the first argument holds a value of 1, the second argument is validated.
When the Choose() function has been called, it returns a value of type Variant. You can
retrieve that value, store it in a variable and use it as you see fit. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Status As Byte, EmploymentStatus As String
Status = 1
EmploymentStatus = Choose(Status, "Full Time")
MsgBox ("Employment Status: " & EmploymentStatus)
End Sub
This would produce:

In some cases, the Choose() function can produce a null result. Consider the same program
we used earlier but with a different value:
Module Exercise
Sub Exercise
Dim Status As Integer, EmploymentStatus As String
Status = 2
EmploymentStatus = Choose(Status, "Full Time")
MsgBox(EmploymentStatus)
Return 0
End Function
End Module
This would produce an error because there is no value in index 2 after the Status variable
has been initialized with 2. To use this function as an alternative to the If...Then...Else
operation, you can pass two values for the second argument. The second argument is
actually passed as a list of values. Each value has a specific position as its index. To use the
function in an If...Then...Else implementation, pass two values for the second argument.
Here is an example:
Choose(Status, "Full Time", "Part Time")
The second argument to the function, which is the first value of the Choose argument, has
an index of 1. The third argument to the function, which is the second value of the Choose
argument, has an index of 2.
When the Choose() function is called, if the first argument has a value of 1, then the
second argument is validated. If the first argument has a value of 2, then the third
argument is validated. As mentioned already, you can retrieve the returned value of the
function and use it however you want. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Status As Integer, EmploymentStatus As String
Status = 2
EmploymentStatus = Choose(Status, "Full Time", "Part Time")
MsgBox ("Employment Status: " & EmploymentStatus)
End Sub
This would produce:

Switching to a Value
As another alternative to an If...Then condition, the Visual Basic language provides a
function named Switch. Its syntax is:

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Public Function Switch( _

ByVal ParamArray VarExpr() As Variant _
) As Variant
This function takes one required argument. To use it in an If...Then scenario, pass the
argument as follows:
Switch(ConditionToCheck, Statement)
In the ConditionToCheck placeholder, pass a Boolean expression that can be evaluated to
True or False. If that condition is true, the second argument would be executed.
When the Switch() function has been called, it produces a value of type Variant (such as a
string) that you can use as you see fit. For example, you can store it in a variable. Here is
an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Status As Integer, EmploymentStatus As String
Status = 1
EmploymentStatus = "Unknown"
EmploymentStatus = Switch(Status = 1, "Full Time")
MsgBox ("Employment Status: " & EmploymentStatus)
End Sub
In this example, we used a number as argument. You can also use another type of value,
such as an enumeration. Here is an example:
Private Enum EmploymentStatus
FullTime
PartTime
Contractor
Seasonal
Unknown
End Enum
Sub Exercise()
Dim Status As EmploymentStatus
Dim Result As String
Status = EmploymentStatus.FullTime
Result = "Unknown"
Result = Switch(Status = EmploymentStatus.FullTime, "Full Time")
MsgBox ("Employment Status: " & Result)
End Sub
When using the Switch function, if you call it with a value that is not checked by the first
argument, the function produces an error. To apply this function to an If...Then...Else
scenario, you can call it using the following formula:
Switch(Condition1ToCheck, Statement1, Condition2ToCheck, Statement2)
In the Condition1ToCheck placeholder, pass a Boolean expression that can be evaluated to
True or False. If that condition is true, the second argument would be executed. To provide
an alternative to the first condition, pass another condition as Condition2ToCheck. If the
Condition2ToCheck is true, then Statement2 would be executed. Once gain, remember that
you can get the value returned by the Switch function and use it. Here is an example:
Private Enum EmploymentStatus
FullTime
PartTime
Contractor
Seasonal
Unknown
End Enum
Sub Exercise()
Dim Status As EmploymentStatus
Dim Result As String
Status = EmploymentStatus.PartTime
Result = "Unknown"
Result = Switch(Status = EmploymentStatus.FullTime, "Full Time", _
Status = EmploymentStatus.PartTime, "Part Time")
MsgBox ("Employment Status: " & Result)
End Sub
This would produce:

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189
Previous

Copyright 2008-2010 FunctionX, Inc.

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Next

190

Alternatives to a Condition Being True/False?

The If...Then...ElseIf Condition
The If...Then...ElseIf statement acts like the If...Then...Else expression, except that it offers
as many choices as necessary. The formula is:
If Condition1 Then
Statement1
ElseIf Condition2 Then
Statement2
ElseIf Conditionk Then
Statementk
End If
The program will first examine Condition1. If Condition1 is true, the program will execute
Statment1 and stop examining conditions. If Condition1 is false, the program will examine
Condition2 and act accordingly. Whenever a condition is false, the program will continue
examining the conditions until it finds one that is true. Once a true condition has been found and
its statement executed, the program will terminate the conditional examination at End If. Here is
an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim MemberAge As Byte
MemberAge = 32
If MemberAge <= 18 Then
MsgBox ("Membership: " & "Teen")
ElseIf MemberAge < 55 Then
MsgBox ("Membership: " & "Adult")
End If
End Sub
This would produce:

Practical Learning: Introducing Data Entry

1. Start Microsoft Excel and, on the Ribbon, click Developer
2. In the Code section, click Visual Basic
3. To add a new form, on the Standard toolbar, click the Insert UserForm button
4. Design the form as follows:

Control

Name

Label

Caption/Text

TextAlign: 3 frmTextAlignRight

TextBox

txtQuantity

CommandButton

cmdEvaluate

Evaluate

Frame

Based on the Specified Quantity

Label

Each CD will cost:

TextBox
Label

Other Properties

Number of CDs:

txtUnitPrice

0.00

TextAlign: 3 frmTextAlignRight

And the total price is:

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TextBox

txtTotalPrice

0.00

TextAlign: 3 frmTextAlignRight

What If No Alternative is Valid?

There is still a possibility that none of the stated conditions be true. In this case, you should
provide a "catch all" condition. This is done with a last Else section. The Else section must be the
last in the list of conditions and would act if none of the primary conditions is true. The formula to
use would be:
If Condition1 Then
Statement1
ElseIf Condition2 Then
Statement2
ElseIf Conditionk Then
Statementk
Else
CatchAllStatement
End If
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim MemberAge As Byte
MemberAge = 65
If MemberAge <= 18 Then
MsgBox ("Membership: " & "Teen")
ElseIf MemberAge < 55 Then
MsgBox ("Membership: " & "Adult")
Else
MsgBox ("Membership: " & "Senior")
End If
End Sub
This would produce:

Practical Learning: Using If...Then...ElseIf

1. Double-click the Evaluate button and implement its Click event as follows:
Private
Dim
Dim
Dim

Sub cmdEvaluate_Click()
Quantity As Integer
UnitPrice As Currency
TotalPrice As Currency

Quantity = CInt(txtQuantity.Text)
' The price of one CD will depend on the number ordered
' The more the customer orders, the lower value each
If Quantity < 20 Then
UnitPrice = 20
ElseIf Quantity < 50 Then
UnitPrice = 15
ElseIf Quantity < 100 Then
UnitPrice = 12
ElseIf Quantity < 500 Then
UnitPrice = 8
Else
UnitPrice = 5
End If
TotalPrice = Quantity * UnitPrice
txtUnitPrice.Text = CStr(UnitPrice)
txtTotalPrice.Text = CStr(TotalPrice)
End Sub
2. Press F5 to test the form
3. Perform the calculations with different quantities. For example, in the top text box, type 1250
and click Evaluate

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191

192

4. After testing various quantities, close the form

Conditional Statements and Functions

Introduction
As introduced in previous lessons, we know that a function is used to perform a specific
assignment and produce a result. Here is an example:
Private Function SetMembershipLevel$()
Dim MemberAge%
MemberAge% = InputBox("Enter the Member's Age")
SetMembershipLevel$ = ""
End Function
When performing its assignment, a function can encounter different situations, some of which
would need to be checked for truthfulness or negation. This means that conditional statements
can assist a procedure with its assignment.

Practical Learning: Introducing Condition Functions

1. Start another workbook
2. In cell B2, type Bethesda Car Rental
3. In cell B3, type Order Processing
4. In cell B4, type Processed by:
5. In cell B5, type Processed for:
6. In cell B6, type Car Selected
7. In cell B7, type Tag #:
8. Enlarge column B so that Processed by: can fit in the allocated width
9. Right-align cell B7

Conditional Returns
A function is meant to return a value. Sometimes, it will perform some tasks whose results would
lead to different results. A function can return only one value (we saw that, by passing arguments
by reference, you can make a procedure return more than one value) but you can make it render
a result depending on a particular behavior. If a function is requesting an answer from the user,
since the user can provide different answers, you can treat each result differently. Consider the
following function:
Private Function SetMembershipLevel$()
Dim MemberAge%
MemberAge% = InputBox("Enter the Member's Age")
If MemberAge% < 18 Then
SetMembershipLevel$ = "Teen"
ElseIf MemberAge% < 55 Then
SetMembershipLevel$ = "Adult"
End If
End Function
Sub Exercise()
Dim Membership$
MsgBox ("Membership: " & Membership$)

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End Sub

193

At first glance, this function looks fine. The user is asked to provide a number. If the user enters a
number less than 18 (excluded), the function returns Teen. Here is an example of running the
program:

If the user provides a number between 18 (included) and 55, the function returns the Adult. Here
is another example of running the program:

What if there is an answer that does not fit those we are expecting? The values that we have
returned in the function conform only to the conditional statements and not to the function.
Remember that in If Condidion Statement, the Statement executes only if the Condition is true.
Here is what will happen. If the user enters a number higher than 55 (excluded), the function will
not execute any of the returned statements. This means that the execution will reach the End
Function line without encountering a return value. This also indicates to the compiler that you
wrote a function that is supposed to return a value, but by the end of the method, it didn't return
a value. Here is another example of running the program:

To solve this problem, you have various alternatives. If the function uses an If...Then condition,
you can create an Else section that embraces any value other than those validated previously.
Here is an example:
Private Function SetMembershipLevel$()
Dim MemberAge%
MemberAge% = InputBox("Enter the Member's Age")
If MemberAge% < 18 Then
SetMembershipLevel$ = "Teen"
ElseIf MemberAge% < 55 Then
SetMembershipLevel$ = "Adult"
Else
SetMembershipLevel$ = "Senior"
End If
End Function
Sub Exercise()
Dim Membership$
Membership$ = SetMembershipLevel$()
MsgBox ("Membership: " & Membership$)
End Sub

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This time, the Else condition would execute if no value applies to the If or ElseIf conditions and
the compiler would not produce a warning. Here is another example of running the program:

An alternative is to provide a last return value just before the End Function line. In this case, if
the execution reaches the end of the function, it would still return something but you would know
what it returns. This would be done as follows:
Private Function SetMembershipLevel$()
Dim MemberAge%
MemberAge% = InputBox("Enter the Member's Age")
If MemberAge% < 18 Then
SetMembershipLevel$ = "Teen"
ElseIf MemberAge% < 55 Then
SetMembershipLevel$ = "Adult"
End If
SetMembershipLevel$ = "Senior"
End Function
If the function uses an If condition, both implementations would produce the same result.

Practical Learning: Using a Conditional Statement

1. On the Ribbon, click Developer
2. In the Code section, click Record Macro
3. Set the Macro Name to LocateEmployee
4. In the Shortcut Key text box, type E to get Ctrl + Shift + E

5. Click OK
6. On the Ribbon, click Stop Recording

7. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros

8. In the Macro dialog box, make sure LocateEmployee is selected and click Edit
9. Change the code as follows:
Private Function GetEmployeeName(ByVal EmplNbr As Long) As String
Dim Name As String
If EmplNbr = 22804 Then
Name = "Helene Mukoko"
ElseIf EmplNbr = 92746 Then
Name = "Raymond Kouma"
ElseIf EmplNbr = 54080 Then
Name = "Henry Larson"
ElseIf EmplNbr = 86285 Then
Name = "Gertrude Monay"
Else
Name = ""

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194

195

End If
GetEmployeeName = Name
End Function
Public Sub LocateEmployee()
'
' Macro Name: LocateEmployee
' This macro is used to find the name of an employee
' based on the employee number
'
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+E
'
Dim EmployeeNumber As Long, EmployeeName As String
If IsEmpty(Range("C4")) Then
MsgBox "You must enter the employee number in cell C4"
Range("D4").FormulaR1C1 = ""
EmployeeNumber = 0
Else
EmployeeNumber = CLng(Range("C4"))
End If
EmployeeName = GetEmployeeName(EmployeeNumber)
Range("D4").FormulaR1C1 = EmployeeName
End Sub
10. Return to Microsoft Excel
11. In cell C4, type 54080 and press Enter
12. Press Ctrl + Shift + E to see the result

If-Condition Built-In Functions

Using the Immediate If Function
The IIf() function can also be used in place of an If...Then...ElseIf scenario. When the function is
called, the Expression is checked. As we saw already, if the expression is true, the function returns
the value of the TruePart argument and ignores the last argument. To use this function as an
alternative to If...Then...ElseIf statement, if the expression is false, instead of immediately
returning the value of the FalsePart argument, you can translate that part into a new IIf function.
The pseudo-syntax would become:
Public Function IIf( _
ByVal Expression As Boolean, _
ByVal TruePart As Object, _
Public Function IIf( _
ByVal Expression As Boolean, _
ByVal TruePart As Object, _
ByVal FalsePart As Object _
) As Object
) As Object
In this case, if the expression is false, the function returns the TruePart and stops. If the
expression is false, the compiler accesses the internal IIf function and applies the same scenario.
Here is example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim MemberAge As Byte
Dim MembershipCategory As String
MemberAge = 74
MembershipCategory = _
IIf(MemberAge <= 18, "Teen", IIf(MemberAge < 55, "Adult", "Senior"))
MsgBox ("Membership: " & MembershipCategory)
End Sub
We saw that in an If...Then...ElseIf statement you can add as many ElseIf conditions as you
want. In the same, you can call as many IIf functions in the subsequent FalsePart sections as you
judge necessary:
Public Function IIf( _
ByVal Expression As Boolean, _
ByVal TruePart As Object, _
Public Function IIf( _
ByVal Expression As Boolean, _

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ByVal TruePart As Object, _

Public Function IIf( _
ByVal Expression As Boolean, _
ByVal TruePart As Object, _
Public Function IIf( _
ByVal Expression As Boolean, _
ByVal TruePart As Object, _
ByVal FalsePart As Object _
) As Object
) As Object
) As Object
) As Object

Choose an Alternate Value

As we have seen so far, the Choose function takes a list of arguments. To use it as an alternative
to the If...Then...ElseIf...ElseIf condition, you can pass as many values as you judge necessary
for the second argument. The index of the first member of the second argument would be 1. The
index of the second member of the second argument would be 2, and so on. When the function is
called, it would first get the value of the first argument, then it would check the indexes of the
available members of the second argument. The member whose index matches the first argument
would be executed. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Status As Byte, EmploymentStatus As String
Status = 3
EmploymentStatus = Choose(Status, _
"Full Time", _
"Part Time", _
"Contractor", _
"Seasonal")
MsgBox ("Employment Status: " & EmploymentStatus)
End Sub
This would produce:

So far, we have used only strings for the values of the second argument of the Choose() function.
In reality, the values of the second argument can be almost anything. One value can be a
constant. Another value can be a string. Yet another value can come from calling a function. Here
is an example:
Private Function ShowContractors$()
ShowContractors$ = "=-= List of Contractors =-=" & vbCrLf & _
"Martin Samson" & vbCrLf & _
"Genevive Lam" & vbCrLf & _
"Frank Viel" & vbCrLf & _
"Henry Rickson" & vbCrLf & _
"Samuel Lott"
End Function
Sub Exercise()
Dim Status As Byte, Result$
Status = 3
Result = Choose(Status, _
"Employment Status: Full Time", _
"Employment Status: Part Time", _
ShowContractors, _
"Seasonal Employment")
MsgBox (Result)
End Sub
This would produce:

The values of the second argument can even be of different types.

Switching to an Alternate Value

The Switch() function is a prime alternative to the If...Then...ElseIf...ElseIf condition. The
argument to this function is passed as a list of values. As seen previously, each value is passed as
a combination of two values:

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196

197

ConditionXToCheck, StatementX
As the function is accessed, the compiler checks each condition. If a condition X is true, its
statement is executed. If a condition Y is false, the compiler skips it. You can provide as many of
these combinations as you want. Here is an example:
Private Enum EmploymentStatus
FullTime
PartTime
Contractor
Seasonal
End Enum
Sub Exercise()
Dim Status As EmploymentStatus
Dim Result As String
Status = EmploymentStatus.Contractor
Result = "Unknown"
Result = Switch(Status
Status
Status
Status

=
=
=
=

EmploymentStatus.FullTime, "Full Time", _

EmploymentStatus.PartTime, "Part Time", _
EmploymentStatus.Contractor, "Contractor", _
EmploymentStatus.Seasonal, "Seasonal")

MsgBox ("Employment Status: " & Result)

End Sub
This would produce:

In a true If...Then...ElseIf...ElseIf condition, we saw that there is a possibility that none of the
conditions would fit, in which case you can add a last Else statement. The Switch() function also
supports this situation if you are using a number, a character, or a string. To provide this last
alternative, instead of a ConditionXToCheck expressionk, enter True, and include the necessary
statement. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Status As Byte
Dim Result As String
Status = 12
Result = Switch(Status = 1, "Full Time", _
Status = 2, "Part Time", _
Status = 3, "Contractor", _
Status = 4, "Seasonal", _
True, "Unknown")
MsgBox ("Employment Status: " & Result)
End Sub
This would produce:

Remember that you can also use True with a character. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Gender As String
Dim Result As String
Gender = "H"
Result = Switch(Gender = "f", "Female", _
Gender = "F", "Female", _
Gender = "m", "Male", _
Gender = "M", "Male", _
True, "Unknown")
MsgBox ("Gender: " & Result)
End Sub
This would produce:

Practical Learning: Using the Switch() Function

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198

1. In the Code section, click Record Macro

2. Set the Macro Name to SelectCar
3. In the Shortcut Key text box, type S to get Ctrl + Shift + S, and click OK
4. On the Ribbon, click Stop Recording

5. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Macros

6. In the Macro dialog box, make sure FindEmployee is selected and click Edit
7. To use the Switch() function, change the document as follows:
Public Sub SelectCar()
'
' Macro Name: SelectCar
' This macro is used to locate a car given its tag number
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+S
'
Dim TagNumber As String, CarSelected As String
If IsEmpty(Range("C7")) Then
MsgBox "You must enter the tag number of the car the customer will rent"
TagNumber = 0
Else
TagNumber = Range("C7")
CarSelected = Switch(TagNumber = "297419", "BMW 335i", _
TagNumber = "485M270", "Chevrolet Avalanche", _
TagNumber = "247597", "Honda Accord LX", _
TagNumber = "924095", "Mazda Miata", _
TagNumber = "772475", "Chevrolet Aveo", _
TagNumber = "M931429", "Ford E150XL", _
TagNumber = "240759", "Buick Lacrosse", _
True, "Unidentified Car")
Range("D7").FormulaR1C1 = CarSelected
End If
8. Return to Microsoft Excel
9. In cell C7, type 924095 and press Enter
10. Press Ctrl + Shift + S to see the result

Previous

Copyright 2008-2010 FunctionX, Inc.

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Next

199

The Select...Case Statement

Introduction
If you have a large number of conditions to examine, the If...Then...Else statement will go
through each one of them. The Visual Basic language offers the alternative of jumping to the
statement that applies to the state of a condition. This is referred to as a select case condition
and it uses the keywords Select and Case.
The formula of the Select Case statement is:
Select Case Expression
Case Expression1
Statement1
Case Expression2
Statement2
Case Expression_X
Statement_X
End Select
The statement starts with Select Case and ends with End Select. On the right side of Select
Case, enter a value, the Expression factor, that will be used as a tag. The value of Expression can
be a Boolean value (a Boolean type), a character or a string (a String type), a natural number (a
Byte, an Integer, or a Long type), a decimal number (a Single or a Double type), a date or
time value (a Date type), an enumeration (an Enum type), or else (a Variant type).
Inside the Select Case and the End Select lines, you provide one or more sections that each
contains a Case keyword followed by a value. The value on the right side of a Case, Expresion1,
Expresion2, or Expresion_X, must be the same type as the value of Expression or it can be implied
from it. After the case and its expression, you can write a statement.
When this section of code is accessed, the value of Expression is considered. Then the value of
Expression is compared to each Expression_X of each case:
a. If the value of Expression1 is equal to that of Expression, then Statement1 is executed.
If the value of Expression1 is not equal to that of Expression, then the interpreter moves to
Expression2
b. If the value of Expression2 is equal to that of Expression, then Statement2 is executed
c. This will continue down to the last Expression_X
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Answer As Byte
Answer = CByte(InputBox( _
"One of the following is not a Visual Basic keyword" & vbCrLf & _
"1) Function" & vbCrLf & _
"2) Except" & vbCrLf & _
"3) ByRef" & vbCrLf & _
"4) Each" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _
"Your Answer? "))
Select Case Answer
Case 1
MsgBox("Wrong: Function is a Visual Basic keyword." & vbCrLf & _
"It is used to create a procedure of a function type")
Case 2
MsgBox("Correct: Except is not a keyword in " & vbCrLf & _
"Visual Basic but __except is a C++ " & vbCrLf & _
"keyword used in Exception Handling")
Case 3
MsgBox("Wrong: ByRef is a Visual Basic keyword used " & vbCrLf & _
"to pass an argument by reference to a procedure")
Case 4
MsgBox("Wrong: The ""Each"" keyword is used in " & vbCrLf & _
"Visual Basic in a type of looping " & vbCrLf & _
"used to ""scan"" a list of item.")
End Select
End Sub
Here is an example of running the program:

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200

Practical Learning: Introducing Select Cases

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. From the resources that accompany these lessons, open the gdcs1 (or gdcs2) workbook you
3. Change the names of the first and the second worksheets to Employees and Customers
respectively
4. Add a few records in the Employees worksheet

5. Add a few records in the Customers worksheet

6. Save the workbook

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7. To open Microsoft Visual Basic, on the Ribbon, click Developer and, in the Code section, click
Visual Basic:

8. Right-click the Time Left text box (the text box on the right side of Time Left) and click View
Code
9. In the Objects combo box, make sure txtTimeLeft is selected.
In the Procedure combo box, select Exit and implement the event as follows:

Private Sub txtTimeLeft_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)

Dim DateLeft As Date, TimeLeft As Date
Dim DateExpected As Date, TimeExpected As Date
If IsDate(txtTimeLeft) Then
TimeLeft = CDate(txtTimeLeft)
Else
MsgBox "The value you entered is not a valid time"
txtTimeLeft = Time
End If
End Sub

What Case Else?

The above code supposes that one of the cases will match the value of the Expression factor. This
is not always so. If you anticipate that there could be no match between the Expression and one
of the Expressions, you can use a Case Else statement at the end of the list. The statement would
then look like this:
Select Case Expression
Case Expression1
Statement1
Case Expression2
Statement2
Case Expressionk
Statementk
Case Else
Statementk
End Select
In this case, the statement after the Case Else will execute if none of the previous expressions
matches the Expression factor. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Answer As Byte
Answer = CByte(InputBox( _
"One of the following is not a Visual Basic keyword" & vbCrLf & _
"1) Function" & vbCrLf & _
"2) Except" & vbCrLf & _
"3) ByRef" & vbCrLf & _
"4) Each" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _
"Your Answer? "))

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201

Select Case Answer

Case 1
MsgBox("Wrong: Function is a Visual Basic keyword." & vbCrLf & _
"It is used to create a procedure of a function type")
Case 2
MsgBox("Correct: Except is not a keyword in " & vbCrLf & _
"Visual Basic but __except is a C++ " & vbCrLf & _
"keyword used in Exception Handling")
Case 3
MsgBox("Wrong: ByRef is a Visual Basic keyword used " & vbCrLf & _
"to pass an argument by reference to a procedure")
Case 4
MsgBox("Wrong: The ""Each"" keyword is used in " & vbCrLf & _
"Visual Basic in a type of looping " & vbCrLf & _
"used to ""scan"" a list of item.")
Case Else
MsgBox("Invalid Selection")
End Select
End Sub
Here is an example of running the program:

Practical Learning: Using Select Case

1. In the Objects combo box, select txtEmployeeNumber
2. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit
3. Implement the event as follows:

Private Sub txtEmployeeNumber_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)

Dim EmployeeNumber As Long
Dim EmployeeName As String
EmployeeNumber = CLng(txtEmployeeNumber)
Select Case EmployeeNumber
Case 22804
EmployeeName = "Helene Mukoko"
Case 92746
EmployeeName = "Raymond Kouma"
Case 54080
EmployeeName = "Henry Larson"
Case 86285
EmployeeName = "Gertrude Monay"
Case 20860
EmployeeName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi"
Case Else
EmployeeName = "Unidentified Employee"
End Select
txtEmployeeName = EmployeeName
End Sub

4. On the Standard toolbar, click the Run Sub/UserForm button

5. In the Employee # of the form, enter one of the numbers such as 54080 and press Tab
6. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic

Combining Cases
As mentioned in our introduction, the Select Case can use a value other than an integer. For
example you can use a character:
Sub Exercise
Dim Gender As String
Gender = "M"
Select Case Gender
Case "F"

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202

MsgBox("Female")
Case "M"
MsgBox("Male")
Case Else
MsgBox("Unknown")
End Select

203

Return 0
End Function
End Sub
This would produce:

Notice that in this case we are using only upper case characters. If want to validate lower case
characters also, we may have to create additional case sections for each. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Gender As String
Gender = "f"
Select Case Gender
Case "f"
MsgBox("Female")
Case "F"
MsgBox("Female")
Case "m"
MsgBox("Male")
Case "M"
MsgBox("Male")
Case Else
MsgBox("Unknown")
End Select
End Sub
This would produce:

Instead of using one value for a case, you can apply more than one. To do this, on the right side
of the Case keyword, you can separate the expressions with commas. Here are examples:
Sub Exercise
Dim Gender As String
Gender = "F"
Select Case Gender
Case "f", "F"
MsgBox("Female")
Case "m", "M"
MsgBox("Male")
Case Else
MsgBox("Unknown")
End Select
End Sub

Validating a Range of Cases

You can use a range of values for a case. To do this, on the right side of Case, enter the lower
value, followed by To, followed by the higher value. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Age As Integer
Age = 24
Select Case Age
Case 0 To 17
MsgBox("Teen")
Case 18 To 55
MsgBox("Adult")
Case Else
MsgBox("Senior")
End Select
End Sub
This would produce:

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204

Checking Whether a Value IS

Consider the following procedure:
Sub Exercise
Dim Number As Short
Number = 448
Select Case Number
Case -602
MsgBox("-602")
Case 24
MsgBox("24")
Case 0
MsgBox("0")
End Select
End Sub
Obviously this Select Case statement will work in rare cases only when the expression of a case
exactly match the value sought for. In reality, for this type of scenario, you could validate a range
of values. The Visual Basic language provides an alternative. You can check whether the value of
the Expression responds to a criterion instead of an exact value. To create it, you use the Is
operator with the following formula:
Is Operator Value
You start with the Is keyword. It is followed by one of the Boolean operators we saw in the
previous lessons: =, <>, <, <=, >, or >=. On the right side of the Boolean operator, type the
desired value. Here are examples:
Sub Exercise
Dim Number As Integer
Number = -448
Select Case Number
Case Is < 0
MsgBox("The number is negative")
Case Is > 0
MsgBox("The number is positive")
Case Else
MsgBox("0")
End Select
End Sub
Although we used a natural number here, you can use any appropriate logical comparison that
can produce a True or a False result. You can also combine it with the other alternatives we saw
previously, such as separating the expressions of a case with commas.

Select...Case and the Conditional Built-In Functions

With the Select...Case statement, we saw how to check different values against a central one and
take action when one of those matches the tag. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Number As Integer, MembershipType As String
Number = 2
Select Case Number
Case 1
MembershipType = "Teen"
Case 2
MembershipType = "Adult"
Case Else
MembershipType = "Senior"
End Select
MsgBox("Membership Type: " & MembershipType)
End Sub
This would produce:

We also saw that the Visual Basic language provides the Choose() function that can check a
condition and take an action. The Choose() function is another alternative to a Select...Case

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statement. Once again, consider the syntax of the Choose function:

Function Choose( _
ByVal Index As Double, _
ByVal ParamArray Choice() As Variant _
) As Object
This function takes two required arguments. The first argument is equivalent to the Expression of
our Select Case formula. As mentioned already, the first argument must be a number. This is the
central value against which the other values will be compared. Instead of using Case sections,
provide the equivalent ExpressionX values as a list of values in place of the second argument. The
values are separated by commas. Here is an example:
Choose(Number, "Teen", "Adult", "Senior")
As mentioned already, the values of the second argument are provided as a list. Each member of
the list uses an index. The first member of the list, which is the second argument of this function,
has an index of 1. The second value of the argument, which is the third argument of the function,
has an index of 2. You can continue adding the values of the second argument as you see fit.
When the Choose() function has been called, it returns a value of type Variant. You can retrieve
that value, store it in a variable and use it as you see fit. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Number As Integer, MembershipType As String
Number = 1
MembershipType = Choose(Number, "Teen", "Adult", "Senior")
MsgBox("Membership Type: " & MembershipType)
End Sub
This would produce:

Managing Conditional Statements

Conditional Nesting
So far, we have learned to create normal conditional statements and loops. Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Number%
Rem Request a number from the user
Number% = InputBox("Enter a number that is lower than 5")
Rem Find if the number is positive or 0
If Number% >= 0 Then
Rem If the number is positive, display it
MsgBox (Number%)
End If
End Sub
When this procedure executes, the user is asked to provide a number. If that number is
positive, a message box displays it. If the user enters a negative number, nothing happens.
In a typical program, after validating a condition, you may want to take action. To do that,
you can create a section of program inside the validating conditional statement. In fact, you
can create a conditional statement inside of another conditional statement. This is referred
to as nesting a condition. Any condition can be nested inside of another and multiple
conditions can be included inside of another.
Here is an example where an If...Then condition is nested inside of another If...Then
statement:
Sub Exercise
Dim Number%
Rem Request a number from the user
Number% = InputBox("Enter a number that is lower than 5")
Rem Find if the number is positive or 0
If Number% >= 0 Then
Rem If the number is positive, accept it
If Number% < 12 Then
MsgBox (Number%)
End If
End If
End Sub

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205

Practical Learning: Nesting Conditions

1. Change the code of the Exit event of the txtEmployeeNumber as follows:

Private Sub txtEmployeeNumber_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)

Dim EmployeeNumber As Long
Dim EmployeeName As String
EmployeeNumber = 0
If IsNumeric(txtEmployeeNumber) Then
EmployeeNumber = CLng(txtEmployeeNumber)
Select Case EmployeeNumber
Case 22804
EmployeeName = "Helene Mukoko"
Case 92746
EmployeeName = "Raymond Kouma"
Case 54080
EmployeeName = "Henry Larson"
Case 86285
EmployeeName = "Gertrude Monay"
Case 20860
EmployeeName = "Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi"
Case Else
EmployeeName = ""
End Select
txtEmployeeName = EmployeeName
Else
txtEmployeeNumber = ""
txtEmployeeName = ""
MsgBox "You must enter the employee number of " & _
"the staff member who is processing this cleaning order", _
vbOKOnly Or vbInformation, _
"Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services"
End If
End Sub
2. Press F5 to test the form
3. Enter the employee number as 92746, and press Tab
4. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic

The Goto Statement

The Goto statement allows a program execution to jump to another section of a procedure
in which it is being used. In order to use the Goto statement, insert a name on a particular
section of your procedure so you can refer to that name. The name, also called a label, is
made of one word and follows the rules we have applied to names (the name can be
anything), then followed by a colon ":". Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
' Do some thing(s) here
SomeLabelHere:
' Do some other thing(s) here
End Sub
After creating the label, you can process it. In the code before the label, you can do
something. In that section, if a condition happens that calls for jumping to the label, then
use a GoTo statement to send the flow to the corresponding label by typing the name of the
label on the right side of GoTo. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Number%
Rem Request a number from the user
Number% = InputBox("Enter a number that is lower than 5")
Rem Find if the number is positive or 0
If Number% < 0 Then
GoTo NegativeNumber
Else
Rem If the number is positive, display it
MsgBox (Number%)
End If
NegativeNumber:
MsgBox "You entered a negative number"
End Sub
In the same way, you can create as many labels as you judge them necessary in your code
and refer to them when you want. The name must be unique in its scope. This means that
each label must have a unique name in the same procedure. Here is an example with
various labels:

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206

Sub Exercise
Dim Answer As Byte

207

Answer = InputBox(" -=- Multiple Choice Question -=-" & vbCrLf & _
"To create a constant in your code, " & _
"you can use the Constant keyword" & vbCrLf & _
"Your choice (1=True/2=False)? ")

If Answer = 1 Then GoTo Wrong

If Answer = 2 Then GoTo Right
Wrong:
MsgBox("Wrong: The keyword used to create a constant is Const")
GoTo Leaving
Right:

MsgBox("Right: Constant is not a keyword")

Leaving:
End Sub
Here is an example of executing the program with Answer = 1:

Here is another example of executing the same program with Answer = 2:

Negating a Conditional Statement

So far, we have learned to write a conditional statement that is true or false. You can
reverse the true (or false) value of a condition by making it false (or true). To support this
operation, the Visual Basic language provides an operator called Not. Its formula is:
Not Expression
When writing the statement, type Not followed by a logical expression. The expression can
be a simple Boolean expression. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim IsMarried As Boolean
MsgBox("Is Married: " & IsMarried)
MsgBox("Is Married: " & Not IsMarried)
End Sub
This would produce:

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208

In this case, the Not operator is used to change the logical value of the variable. When a
Boolean variable has been "notted", its logical value has changed. If the logical value was
True, it would be changed to False and vice versa. Therefore, you can inverse the logical
value of a Boolean variable by "notting" or not "notting" it.
Now consider the following program we saw in Lesson 11:
Sub Exercise
Dim IsMarried As Boolean
Dim TaxRate As Double
TaxRate = 33.0
MsgBox("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%")
IsMarried = True
If IsMarried = True Then
TaxRate = 30.65
MsgBox("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%")
End If
End Sub
This would produce:

Probably the most classic way of using the Not operator consists of reversing a logical
expression. To do this, you precede the logical expression with the Not operator. Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise
Dim IsMarried As Boolean
Dim TaxRate As Double
TaxRate = 33.0
MsgBox("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%")
IsMarried = True
If Not IsMarried Then
TaxRate = 30.65
MsgBox("Tax Rate: " & TaxRate & "%")
End If
End Sub
This would produce:

In the same way, you can negate any logical expression.

Practical Learning: Negating a Condition

1. In the Object combo box, select txtDateLeft
2. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit
3. Implement the event as follows:

Private Sub txtDateLeft_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)

If Not IsDate(txtDateLeft) Then
MsgBox "The value you entered is not a valid date"
txtDateLeft = Date
End If
End Sub
4. Press F5 to test the form
5. Enter the employee number as 92746, and press Tab

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6. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic

Loop Repeaters
Introduction
A loop is a technique used to repeat an action. The Visual Basic language presents many
variations of loops. They combine the Do and the Loop keywords.

The Do...Loop While Loop

A typical loop can be used to perform an action while a condition is maintained true. To
support this type of loop, the Visual Basic language provides the Do...Loop While
statement.
The formula of the Do... Loop While loop is:
Do
Statement(s)
Loop While Condition

This interpreter first executes the Statement or Statements. After executing the
Statement(s) section, the interpreter checks the Condition. If the Condition is true, then the
interpreter returns to the Statement(s) and execute(s) it(them). The interpreter keeps
doing this check-execution gymnastic. As long as the Condition is true, the Statement(s)
section will be executed and the Condition will be tested again. If the Condition is false or
once the condition becomes false, the statement will not be executed and the program will
move on. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Answer As String
Do
Answer = InputBox("Are we there yet (1=Yes/0=No)? ")
Loop While Answer <> "1"
MsgBox("Wonderful, we have arrived")
End Sub
Here is an example of running the program:

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209

210

As you may guess already, the Condition must provide a way for it to be true or to be false.
Otherwise, the looping would be executed continually.

Practical Learning: Using a Do...Loop While

1. In the Objects combo box, select txtCustomerPhone
2. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit
3. Implement the event as follows:

Private Sub txtCustomerPhone_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)

' This variable will be used to check the cells based on a row
Dim RowIndex As Integer
' This variable holds the customer phone number from the form
Dim CustomerPhoneFromForm As String
' This variable holds the customer phone number from the worksheet
Dim CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet As String
Dim CustomerName As String
' Get the customer phone from the form
CustomerPhoneFromForm = txtCustomerPhone
' Trim the left
CustomerPhoneFromForm = LTrim(txtCustomerPhone)
' Trim the right side
CustomerPhoneFromForm = RTrim(CustomerPhoneFromForm)
' Replace all spaces (in the middle of the number
CustomerPhoneFromForm = Replace(CustomerPhoneFromForm,
' Replace the left parentheses, if any
CustomerPhoneFromForm = Replace(CustomerPhoneFromForm,
' Replace the right parentheses, if any
CustomerPhoneFromForm = Replace(CustomerPhoneFromForm,
' Replace the dash -, if any
CustomerPhoneFromForm = Replace(CustomerPhoneFromForm,

" ", "")

"(", "")
")", "")
"-", "")

' The phone number records start on row 6

RowIndex = 6
Do
' Get the customer phone from the second column
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = _
Worksheets("Customers").Cells(RowIndex, 2).Value
CustomerName = (Worksheets("Customers").Cells(RowIndex, 3).Value)
' Trim the left
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = LTrim(CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet)
' Trim the right side
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = RTrim(CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet)
' Replace all spaces (in the middle of the number
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = _
Replace(CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet, " ", "")
' Replace the left parentheses, if any
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = _
Replace(CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet, "(", "")
' Replace the right parentheses, if any
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = _
Replace(CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet, ")", "")
' Replace the dash -, if any
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = _

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Replace(CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet, "-", "")

If CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = CustomerPhoneFromForm Then
txtCustomerName = CustomerName
End If
' Move to (continue with) the next row
RowIndex = RowIndex + 1
Loop While RowIndex <= 100
End Sub

4. On the Standard toolbar, click the Run Sub/UserForm button

5. In the Employee # of the form, enter one of the numbers such as 54080 and press Tab
6. In the Customer Phone text box, enter one of the phone numbers and press Tab
7. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic

The Do...Loop Until Statement

While still supporting the ability to perform an action while a condition is true, the Visual
Basic language provides an alternative to the Do... Loop While we saw earlier. The other
solution uses the following formula:
Do
Statement(s)
Loop Until Condition
Once again, the Statement(s) section executes first. After executing the Statement(s), the
interpreter checks the Condition. If the Condition is true, the interpreter returns to the
Statement(s) section to execute it. This will continue until the Condition becomes false.
Once the Condition becomes false, the interpreter gets out of this loop and continues with
the section under the Loop Until line.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Answer As String
Do
Answer = InputBox("Are we there yet (1=Yes/0=No)? ")
Loop Until Answer = "1"
MsgBox("Wonderful, we have arrived")
End Sub

The Do While... Loop Statement

As mentioned above, the Do While... Loop expression executes a statement first before
checking a condition that would allow it to repeat. If you want to check a condition first
before executing a statement, you can use another version as Do While... Loop. Its
formula is:
Do While Condition
Statement(s)
Loop
In this case, the interpreter checks the Condition first. If the Condition is true, the
interpreter then executes the Statement(s) and checks the Condition again. If the Condition
is false, or when the Condition becomes false, the interpreter skips the Statement(s) section
and continues with the code below the Loop keyword.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Number As Integer
Do While Number < 46
Number = CInt(InputBox("Enter a number"))
Number = Number + 1
Loop
MsgBox ("Counting Stopped at: " & Number)
End Sub

The Do Until... Loop Statement

Instead of performing an action while a condition is true, you may want to do something
until a condition becomes false. To support this, the Visual Basic language provides a loop
that involves the Until keywork. The formula to use is:
Do Until Condition
Statement(s)
Loop
This loop works like the Do While... Loop expression. The interpreter examines the
Condition first. If the condition is true, then it executes the Statement(s) section.

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211

Here is an example:

212

Sub Exercise
Dim Answer As String
Answer = "0"
Do Until Answer = "1"
Answer = InputBox("Are we there yet (1=Yes/0=No)? ")
Loop
MsgBox("Wonderful, we have arrived")
End Sub

Loop Counters
Introduction
The looping statements we reviewed above are used when you do not know or cannot
anticipate the number of times a condition needs to be checked in order to execute a
statement. If you know with certainty how many times you want to execute a statement,
you can use another form of loops that use the For...Next expression.

The For...To...Next Loop

One of the loop counters you can use is For...To...Next. Its formula is:
For Counter = Start To End
Statement(s)
Next
Used for counting, the expression begins counting at the Start point. Then it examines
whether the current value (after starting to count) is lower than End. If that's the case, it
then executes the Statement(s). Next, it increments the value of Counter by 1 and
examines the condition again. This process goes on until the value of Counter becomes
equal to the End value. Once this condition is reached, the looping stops.
Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Number As Integer
For Number = 5 To 16
MsgBox(Number)
Next
MsgBox("Counting Stopped at: " & Number)
End Sub

Practical Learning: Using a For Loop

1. Locate the Exit event of the txtEmployeeNumber control and change it as follows:

Private
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim

Sub txtEmployeeNumber_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)

RowCounter As Integer
EmployeeNumberFromForm As Long
EmployeeNumberFromWorksheet As Long
EmployeeName As String

' If the user had entered an employee number on the form,

' retrieve it
If IsNumeric(txtEmployeeNumber) Then
EmployeeNumberFromForm = CLng(txtEmployeeNumber)
Else
EmployeeNumberFromForm = 0
End If
' We assume the employee numbers are stored in the second column,
' from row 6 to row 106. That is, about 100 employees
For RowCounter = 6 To 106
' Get the employee number on the current cell
EmployeeNumberFromWorksheet = _
Worksheets("Employees").Cells(RowCounter, 2).Value
EmployeeName = Worksheets("Employees").Cells(RowCounter, 3).Value
' If you find an employee number that is the same as
' the user entered into the form, get its corresponding name
If EmployeeNumberFromWorksheet = EmployeeNumberFromForm Then
' and display it on the form
txtEmployeeName = EmployeeName
End If
Next
End Sub

2. On the Standard toolbar, click the Run Sub/UserForm button

3. In the Employee # of the form, enter one of the numbers such as 54080 and press Tab

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4. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic

Stepping the Counting Loop

The formula above will increment the counting by 1 at the end of each statement. If you
want to control how the incrementing processes, you can set your own, using the Step
option. Here is the formula:
For Counter = Start To End Step Increment
Statement(s)
Next
You can set the incrementing value to your choice. If the value of Increment is positive, the
Counter will be added its value. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Number As Integer
For Number = 5 To 42 Step 4
MsgBox(Number)
Next
MsgBox("Counting Stopped at: " & Number)
End Sub
You can also set a negative value to the Increment factor, in which case the Counter will be
subtracted the set value.

For Each Item In the Loop

Since the For...Next loop is used to execute a group of statements based on the current
result of the loop counting from Start to End, an alternative is to state various steps in the
loop and execute a group of statements for each one of the elements in the group. This is
mostly used when dealing with a collection of items.
The formula is:
For Each Element In Group
Statement(s)
Next Element
The loop will execute the Statement(s) for each Element in the Group.

Exiting a Procedure or a Loop

Exiting a Procedure
In the conditional statements and loops we have created so far, we assumed that the whole
condition would be processed. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim Number As Integer
For Number = 1 To 6
MsgBox(Number)
Next
End Sub
This would produce:

In some cases, you may want to exit a conditional statement or a loop before its end. To
assist with with this, the Visual Basic language provides the Exit keyword. This keyword
works like an operator. It can be applied to a procedure or a For loop. Consider the
following procedure:
Sub Exercise()
MsgBox("Patricia Katts")
MsgBox("Gertrude Monay")
MsgBox("Hermine Nkolo")
MsgBox("Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi")
End Sub

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213

When the procedure is called, it displays four message boxes that each shows a name.
Imagine that at some point you want to ask the interpreter to stop in the middle of a
procedure. To do this, in the section where you want to stop the flow of a procedure, type
Exit Sub. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
MsgBox("Patricia Katts")
MsgBox("Gertrude Monay")
Exit Sub
MsgBox("Hermine Nkolo")
MsgBox("Paul Bertrand Yamaguchi")
End Sub
This time, when the program runs, the procedure would be accessed and would start
displaying the message boxes. After displaying two, the Exit Sub would ask the interpreter
to stop and get out of the procedure.
Because a function is just a type of procedure that is meant to return a value, you can use
the Exit keyword to get out of a function before the End Function line. To do this, in the
section where you want to stop the flow of the function, type Exit Function.
Change the code of the FindEmployee macro as follows:

Sub FindEmployeee()
'
' FindEmployeee Macro
'
' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+E
'
Dim EmployeeNumber As Long, EmployeeName As String
If IsEmpty(Range("C4")) Then
MsgBox "You must enter the employee number in cell C4"
Range("D4").FormulaR1C1 = ""
Exit Sub
Else
EmployeeNumber = CLng(Range("C4"))
End If
If EmployeeNumber = 22804 Then
Range("D4").FormulaR1C1 = "Helene Mukoko"
ElseIf EmployeeNumber = 92746 Then
Range("D4").FormulaR1C1 = "Raymond Kouma"
ElseIf EmployeeNumber = 54080 Then
Range("D4").FormulaR1C1 = "Henry Larson"
ElseIf EmployeeNumber = 86285 Then
Range("D4").FormulaR1C1 = "Gertrude Monay"
Else
Range("D4").FormulaR1C1 = "Unknown"
End

Exiting a For Loop Counter

You can also exit a For loop. To do this, in the section where you want to stop, type Exit
For. Here is an example to stop a continuing For loop:
Sub Exercise()
Dim Number As Integer
For Number = 1 To 12
MsgBox(Number)
If Number = 4 Then
Exit For
End If
Next
End Sub
When this program executes, it is supposed to display numbers from 1 to 12, but an
If...Then condition states that if it gets to the point where the number is 4, it should stop. If
you use an Exit For statement, the interpreter would stop the flow of For and continue with
code after the Next keyword.

Exiting a Do Loop
You can also use the Exit operator to get out of a Do loop. To do this, inside of a Do loop
where you want to stop, type Exit Do.

Practical Learning: Exiting Code

1. Locate the Exit event of the txtCustomerPhone control and change it as follows:

Private Sub txtCustomerPhone_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)

' This variable will be used to check the cells based on a row
Dim RowIndex As Integer
' This variable holds the customer phone number from the form

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214

Dim CustomerPhoneFromForm As String

' This variable holds the customer phone number from the worksheet
Dim CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet As String

215

Dim CustomerName As String

' Get the customer phone from the form
CustomerPhoneFromForm = txtCustomerPhone
' Trim the left side
CustomerPhoneFromForm = LTrim(txtCustomerPhone)
' Trim the right side
CustomerPhoneFromForm = RTrim(CustomerPhoneFromForm)
' Replace all spaces (in the middle of the phone number)
CustomerPhoneFromForm = Replace(CustomerPhoneFromForm, " ",
' Replace the left parenthesis, if any
CustomerPhoneFromForm = Replace(CustomerPhoneFromForm, "(",
' Replace the right parenthesis, if any
CustomerPhoneFromForm = Replace(CustomerPhoneFromForm, ")",
' Replace the dash -, if any
CustomerPhoneFromForm = Replace(CustomerPhoneFromForm, "-",

"")
"")
"")
"")

' The phone number records start on row 6

RowIndex = 6
Do
If IsEmpty(Worksheets("Customers").Cells(CellIndex, 2).Value) Then
Exit Sub
End If
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = _
Worksheets("Customers").Cells(RowIndex, 2).Value
CustomerName = (Worksheets("Customers").Cells(RowIndex, 3).Value)
' Trim the left
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = LTrim(CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet)
' Trim the right side
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = RTrim(CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet)
' Replace all spaces (in the middle of the number
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = _
Replace(CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet, " ", "")
' Replace the left parentheses, if any
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = _
Replace(CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet, "(", "")
' Replace the right parentheses, if any
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = _
Replace(CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet, ")", "")
' Replace the dash -, if any
CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = _
Replace(CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet, "-", "")
If CustomerPhoneFromWorksheet = CustomerPhoneFromForm Then
txtCustomerName = CustomerName
Exit Do
End If
RowIndex = RowIndex + 1
Loop While RowIndex <= 100
End Sub

2. On the Standard toolbar, click the Run Sub/UserForm button

3. Process an order
4. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic

Previous

Copyright 2008-2010 FunctionX, Inc.

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Next

216

Logical Conjunction
Introduction
As mentioned already, you can nest one conditional statement inside of another. To illustrate,
imagine you create a workbook that would be used by a real estate company that sells houses.
You may face a customer who wants to purchase a single family house but the house should not
cost more than $550,001. To implement this scenario, you can first write a procedure that asks
the user to specify a type of house and then a conditional statement would check it. Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise
Dim TypeOfHouse As String
Dim Choice As Integer
Dim Value As Double
TypeOfHouse = "Unknown"
Choice = CInt(InputBox("Enter the type of
& vbCrLf & _
"1. Single Family" & vbCrLf
"2. Townhouse" & vbCrLf & _
"3. Condominium" & vbCrLf &
"You Choice? "))
Value = CDbl(InputBox("Up to how much can

house you want to purchase" _

& _
vbCrLf & _
you afford?"))

TypeOfHouse = Choose(Choice, "Single Family", _

"Townhouse", _
"Condominium")
End Sub
If the user selects a single family, you can then write code inside the conditional statement of the
single family. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim TypeOfHouse As String
Dim Choice As Integer
Dim Value As Double
TypeOfHouse = "Unknown"
Choice = CInt(InputBox("Enter the type of
& vbCrLf & _
"1. Single Family" & vbCrLf
"2. Townhouse" & vbCrLf & _
"3. Condominium" & vbCrLf &
"You Choice? "))
Value = CDbl(InputBox("Up to how much can

house you want to purchase" _

& _
vbCrLf & _
you afford?"))

TypeOfHouse = Choose(Choice, "Single Family", _

"Townhouse", _
"Condominium")
If Choice = 1 Then
MsgBox("Desired House Type:
"Maximum value afforded:
End If
End Sub

" & vbTab & TypeOfHouse & vbCrLf & _

" & vbTab & FormatCurrency(Value))

Here is an example of running the program:

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217

In that section, you can then write code that would request and check the value the user entered.
If that value is valid, you can take necessary action. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim TypeOfHouse As String
Dim Choice As Integer
Dim Value As Double
TypeOfHouse = "Unknown"
Choice = CInt(InputBox("Enter the type of
& vbCrLf & _
"1. Single Family" & vbCrLf
"2. Townhouse" & vbCrLf & _
"3. Condominium" & vbCrLf &
"You Choice? "))
Value = CDbl(InputBox("Up to how much can

house you want to purchase" _

& _
vbCrLf & _
you afford?"))

TypeOfHouse = Choose(Choice, "Single Family", _

"Townhouse", _
"Condominium")
If Choice = 1 Then
MsgBox ("Desired House Type:
"Maximum value afforded:

" & vbTab & TypeOfHouse & vbCrLf & _

" & vbTab & FormatCurrency(Value))

If Value <= 550000 Then

MsgBox ("Desired House Matched")
Else
MsgBox ("The House Doesn't Match the Desired Criteria")
End If
End If
End Sub

A Conditional Conjunction
Using conditional nesting, we have seen how you can write one conditional statement that
depends on another. But you must write one first condition, check it, then nest the other
condition. This works fine and there is nothing against it.
To provide you with an alternative, you can use what is referred to as a logical conjunction. It
consists of writing one If...Then expression that checks two conditions at the same time. To
illustrate, once again consider a customer who wants to purchase a single family home that is less
than $550,000. You can consider two statements as follows:
a. The house is single family
b. The house costs less than $550,000
To implement it, you would need to write an If...Then condition as:
If The house is single family AND The house costs less than $550,000 Then
Validate
End If
In the Visual Basic language, the operator used to perform a logical conjunction is And. Here is an
example of using it:
Sub Exercise
Dim TypeOfHouse As String
Dim Choice As Integer
Dim Value As Double
TypeOfHouse = "Unknown"
Choice = _
CInt(InputBox("Enter the type of house you want to purchase" & vbCrLf & _
"1. Single Family" & vbCrLf & _
"2. Townhouse" & vbCrLf & _
"3. Condominium" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _
"You Choice? "))
Value = CDbl(InputBox("Up to how much can you afford?"))
TypeOfHouse = Choose(Choice, "Single Family", _

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"Townhouse", _
"Condominium")

218

If TypeOfHouse = "Single Family" And Value <= 550000 Then

MsgBox("Desired House Type:
" & vbTab & TypeOfHouse & vbCrLf & _
"Maximum value afforded: " & vbTab & FormatCurrency(Value))
MsgBox("Desired House Matched")
Else
MsgBox("The House Doesn't Match the Desired Criteria")
End If
End Sub
Here is an example of running the program:

By definition, a logical conjunction combines two conditions. To make the program easier to read,
each side of the conditions can be included in parentheses. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise
. . . No Change
If (TypeOfHouse = "Single Family") And (Value <= 550000) Then
MsgBox("Desired House Type:
" & vbTab & TypeOfHouse & vbCrLf & _
"Maximum value afforded: " & vbTab & FormatCurrency(Value))
MsgBox("Desired House Matched")
Else
MsgBox("The House Doesn't Match the Desired Criteria")
End If
End Sub
To understand how logical conjunction works, from a list of real estate properties, after selecting
the house type, if you find a house that is a single family home, you put it in the list of considered
properties:
Type of House

House

The house is single family

True

If you find a house that is less than or equal to $550,000, you retain it:
Price Range

Value

$550,000

True

For the current customer, you want a house to meet BOTH criteria. If the house is a town house,
based on the request of our customer, its conditional value is false. If the house is less than
$550,000, such as $485,000, the value of the Boolean Value is true:

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219

If the house is a town house, based on the request of our customer, its conditional value is false.
If the house is more than $550,000, the value of the Boolean Value is true. In logical conjunction,
if one of the conditions is false, the result if false also. This can be illustrated as follows:
Type of House

House Value

Result

Town House

$625,000

Town House AND $625,000

False

False

False

Suppose we find a single family home. The first condition is true for our customer. With the AND
Boolean operator, if the first condition is true, then we consider the second criterion. Suppose that
the house we are considering costs $750,500: the price is out of the customer's range. Therefore,
the second condition is false. In the AND Boolean algebra, if the second condition is false, even if
the first is true, the whole condition is false. This would produce the following table:
Type of House

House Value

Result

Single Family

$750,500

Single Family AND $750,500

True

False

False

Suppose we find a townhouse that costs $420,000. Although the second condition is true, the first
is false. In Boolean algebra, an AND operation is false if either condition is false:
Type of House

House Value

Result

Town House

$420,000

Town House AND $420,000

False

True

False

If we find a single family home that costs $345,000, both conditions are true. In Boolean algebra,
an AND operation is true if BOTH conditions are true. This can be illustrated as follows:
Type of House

House Value

Result

Single Family

$345,000

Single Family AND $345,000

True

True

True

These four tables can be resumed as follows:

If Condition1 is

If Condition2 is

Condition1
AND
Condition2

False

False

False

False

True

False

True

False

False

True

True

True

As you can see, a logical conjunction is true only of BOTH conditions are true.

Combining Conjunctions
As seen above, the logical conjunction operator is used to combine two conditions. In some cases,
you will need to combine more than two conditions. Imagine a customer wants to purchase a
single family house that costs up to $450,000 with an indoor garage. This means that the house
must fulfill these three requirements:
A. The house is a single family home
B. The house costs less than $450,001
C. The house has an indoor garage
Here is the program that could be used to check these conditions:
Sub Exercise
Dim TypeOfHouse As String
Dim Choice As Integer
Dim Value As Double
Dim IndoorGarageAnswer As Integer
Dim Answer As String
TypeOfHouse = "Unknown"
Choice = _
CInt(InputBox("Enter the type of house you want to purchase" _
& vbCrLf & _
"1. Single Family" & vbCrLf & _

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"2. Townhouse" & vbCrLf & _

"3. Condominium" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _
"You Choice? "))
Value = CDbl(InputBox("Up to how much can you afford?"))

220

TypeOfHouse = Choose(Choice, "Single Family", _

"Townhouse", _
"Condominium")
IndoorGarageAnswer = _
MsgBox("Does the house have an indoor garage (1=Yes/0=No)?", _
vbQuestion Or vbYesNo, _
"Real Estate")
Answer = IIf(IndoorGarageAnswer = vbYes, "Yes", "No")
If (TypeOfHouse = "Single Family") And _
(Value <= 550000) And _
(IndoorGarageAnswer = vbYes) Then
MsgBox "Desired House Type:
" & vbTab &
"Maximum value afforded: " & vbTab &
FormatCurrency(Value) & vbCrLf & _
"House has indoor garage: " & vbTab &
MsgBox "Desired House Matched"
Else
MsgBox ("The House Doesn't Match the Desired
End If
End Sub

TypeOfHouse & vbCrLf & _

_
Answer

Criteria")

We saw that when two conditions are combined, the interpreter first checks the first condition,
followed by the second. In the same way, if three conditions need to be considered, the
interpreter evaluates the truthfulness of the first condition:
Type of House
A
Town House
False

If the first condition (or any condition) is false, the whole condition is false, regardless of the
outcome of the other(s). If the first condition is true, then the second condition is evaluated for its
truthfulness:
Type of House

Property Value

Single Family

$655,000

True

False

If the second condition is false, the whole combination is considered false:

A

A AND B

True

False

False

When evaluating three conditions, if either the first or the second is false, since the whole
condition would become false, there is no reason to evaluate the third. If both the first and the
second conditions are false, there is also no reason to evaluate the third condition. Only if the first
two conditions are true will the third condition be evaluated whether it is true:
Type of House

Property Value

Indoor Garage
C

Single Family

$425,650

None

True

True

False

The combination of these conditions in a logical conjunction can be written as A AND B AND C. If
the third condition is false, the whole combination is considered false:
A

A AND B

A AND B AND
C

True

True

True

False

False

From our discussion so far, the truth table of the combinations can be illustrated as follows:
C

A AND B AND
C

False

Don't Care

Don't Care

False

True

False

Don't Care

False

True

True

False

False

The whole combination is true only if all three conditions are true. This can be illustrated as
follows:
A

A AND B AND
C

False

False

False

False

False

False

True

False

True

False

False

False

True

False

True

False

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False

True

False

False

False

True

True

False

True

True

False

False

True

True

True

True

Logical Disjunction: OR
Introduction
Our real estate company has single family homes, townhouses, and condominiums. All of the
condos have only one level, also referred to as a story. Some of the single family homes have
one story, some have two and some others have three levels. All townhouses have three levels.
Another customer wants to buy a home. The customer says that he primarily wants a condo,
but if our real estate company doesn't have a condominium, that is, if the company has only
houses, whatever it is, whether a house or a condo, it must have only one level (story) (due to
an illness, the customer would not climb the stairs). When considering the properties of our
company, we would proceed with these statements:
a. The property is a condominium
b. The property has one story
If we find a condo, since all of our condos have only one level, the criterion set by the customer
is true. Even if we were considering another (type of) property, it wouldn't matter. This can be
resumed in the following table:
Type of House

House

Condominium

True

The other properties would not be considered, especially if they have more than one story:
Number of Stories

Value

False

We can show this operation as follows:

Condominium

One Story

Condominium or 1 Story

True

False

True

Creating a Logical Disjunction

To support "either or" conditions in the Visual Basic language, you use the Or operator. Here is
an example:
Sub Exercise
Dim TypeOfHouse As String
Dim Choice As Integer
Dim Stories As Integer
TypeOfHouse = "Unknown"
Choice = _
CInt(InputBox("Enter the type of house you want to purchase" & vbCrLf & _
"1. Single Family" & vbCrLf & _
"2. Townhouse" & vbCrLf & _
"3. Condominium" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _
"You Choice? ", "Real Estate", 1))
TypeOfHouse = Choose(Choice, "Single Family", _
"Townhouse", _
"Condominium")
Stories = CInt(InputBox("How many stories?", "Real Estate", 1))
If Choice = 1 Or Stories = 1 Then
MsgBox("Desired House Type:" & vbTab & TypeOfHouse & vbCrLf & _
"Number of Stories:" & vbTab & vbTab & Stories)
MsgBox("Desired House Matched")
Else
MsgBox("The House Doesn't Match the Desired Criteria")
End If
End Sub
Here is an example of running the program:

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222

As done for the And operator, to make a logical disjunction easy to read, you can include each
statement in parentheses:
Sub Exercise
. . . No Change
If (Choice = 1) Or (Stories = 1) Then
MsgBox ("Desired House Type:" & vbTab & TypeOfHouse & vbCrLf & _
"Number of Stories:" & vbTab & vbTab & Stories)
MsgBox ("Desired House Matched")
Else
MsgBox ("The House Doesn't Match the Desired Criteria")
End If
End Sub
Suppose that, among the properties our real estate company has available, there is no
condominium. In this case, we would then consider the other properties:
Type of House

House

Single Family

False

If we have a few single family homes, we would look for one that has only one story. Once we
find one, our second criterion becomes true:
Type of House

One Story

Condominium OR 1 Story

False

True

True

This can be illustrated in the following run of the above program:

If we find a condo and it is one story, both criteria are true. This can be illustrated in the

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following table:

223
Type of House

One Story

False

True

Condominium OR 1 Story
True

True

True

True

The following run of the program demonstrates this:

A Boolean OR operation produces a false result only if BOTH conditions ARE FALSE:
If Condition1 is

If Condition2 is

False

True

Condition1 OR Condition2
True

True

False

True

True

True

True

False

False

False

Here is another example of running the program:

Combinations of Disjunctions
As opposed to evaluating only two conditions, you may face a situation that presents three of
them and must consider a combination of more than two conditions. You would apply the same
logical approach we reviewed for the logical conjunction, except that, in a group of logical
disjunctions, if one of them is true, the whole statement becomes true.

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224

Handling Errors
Introduction to Errors
A computer application is supposed to run as smooth as possible. Unfortunately, this is not
always the case. A form may close unexpectedly. A control on a form may hide itself at the
wrong time. The application may crash. A calculation may produce unexpected results, etc.
You can predict some of these effects and take appropriate actions. Some other problems are not
under your control. Fortunately, both Microsoft Excel and the VBA language provide various tools
or means of dealing with errors.

Practical Learning: Introducing Error Handling

1. Open the Georgetown Dry Cleaning Services1 spreadsheet and click the Employees tab

2. Click the Payroll tab

3. Click the TimeSheet tab
4. To save the workbook and prepare it for code, press F12
5. Specify the folder as (My) Documents
6. In the Save As Type combo box, select Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook
7. Click Save

Introduction to Handling Errors

To deal with errors in your code, the Visual Basic language provides various techniques. One way
you can do this is to prepare your code for errors. When an error occurs, you would present a
message to the user to make him/her aware of the issue (the error).
To prepare a message, you create a section of code in the procedure where the error would occur.
To start that section, you create a label. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
ThereWasBadCalculation:
End Sub
After (under) the label, you can specify your message. Most of the time, you formulate the
message using a message box. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
ThereWasBadCalculation:
MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation"
End Sub
If you simply create a label and its message like this, its section would always execute:

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Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()

Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double
Dim WeeklySalary As Double
' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as
' if the user types an invalid number
HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary)
WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime)
' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime
txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
ThereWasBadCalculation:
MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation"
End Sub
To avoid this, you should find a way to interrupt the flow of the program before the label section.
One way you can do this is to add a line marked Exit Sub before the label. This would be done as
follows:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double
Dim WeeklySalary As Double
' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as
' if the user types an invalid number
HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary)
WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime)
' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime
txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
Exit Sub
ThereWasBadCalculation:
MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation"
End Sub

In Case of Error
Jump to a Label
We saw that you can create a label that would present a message to the user when an error
occurs. Before an error occurs, you would indicate to the compiler where to go if an error occurs.
To provide this information, under the line that starts the procedure, type an On Error GoTo
expression followed by the name of the label where you created the message. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
On Error GoTo ThereWasBadCalculation
Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double
Dim WeeklySalary As Double
' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as
' if the user types an invalid number
HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary)
WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime)
' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime
txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
Exit Sub
ThereWasBadCalculation:
MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation"
End Sub
The On Error GoTo indicates to the compiler where to transfer code if an error occurs.

Go to a Numbered Label
Instead of defining a lettered label where to jump in case of error, you can create a numeric label:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double
Dim WeeklySalary As Double
HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary)
WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime)
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime
txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
Exit Sub
28:
MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation"
End Sub
After creating the numeric label, you can ask the compiler to jump to it if a problem occurs. To do

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225

this, type On Error GoTo followed by the numeric label. The compiler would still jump to it when
appropriate. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
On Error GoTo 28
Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double
Dim WeeklySalary As Double
HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary)
WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime)
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime
txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
Exit Sub
28:
MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation"
End Sub
Notice that the numeric label works like the lettered label. In other words, before writing the On
Error GoTo expression, you must have created the label. In reality, this is not a rule. You can ask
the compiler to let you deal with the error one way or another. To do this, use the On Error
GoTo 0 (or On Error GoTo -1) expression. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
On Error GoTo 0
Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double
Dim WeeklySalary As Double
HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary)
WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime)
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime
txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
End Sub
In this case, if/when the error occurs, you must have a way to deal with it.

Resume the Code Flow

In every code we have explored so far, we anticipated that there could be a problem and we dealt
with it. In most cases, after dealing with the error, you must find a way to continue with a normal
flow of your program. In some other cases, you may even want to ignore the error and proceed as
if everything were normal, or you don't want to bother the user with some details of the error.
After you have programmatically deal with an error, to resume with the normal flow of the
program, you use the Resume operator. It presents many options.
After an error has occurred, to ask the compiler to proceed with the regular flow of the program,
type the Resume keyword. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
On Error GoTo ThereWasBadCalculation
Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double
Dim WeeklySalary As Double
' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as
' if the user types an invalid number
HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary)
WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime)
' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime
Resume
txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
Exit Sub
ThereWasBadCalculation:
MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation"
End Sub
Notice that you can write the Resume operator almost anywhere. In reality, you should identify
where the program would need to resume. Where else than after presenting the error message to
the user? If you want the program to continue with an alternate value than the one that caused
the problem, in the label section, type Resume Next. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
On Error GoTo ThereWasBadCalculation
Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double
Dim WeeklySalary As Double
' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as
' if the user types an invalid number
HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary)
WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime)
' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime

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226

txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
Exit Sub
ThereWasBadCalculation:
MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation"
Resume Next
End Sub
We know that in our code, there was probably a problem, which is the reason we presented a
message to the user. Then, when code resumes, where should the compiler go? After all, the
problem was not solved. One way you can deal with the problem is to provide an alternative to
what caused the problem, since you are supposed to know what type of problem occurred (in the
next sections, we will analyze the types of problems that can occur). In the case of an arithmetic
calculation, imagine we know that the problem was caused by the user typing an invalid number
(such as typing a name where a number was expected). Instead of letting the program crash, we
can provide a number as an alternative. The easiest number is 0.
Before asking the compiler to resume, to provide an alternative solution (a number in this case),
you can re-initialize the variable that caused the error. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
On Error GoTo ThereWasBadCalculation
Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double
Dim WeeklySalary As Double
' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as
' if the user types an invalid number
HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary)
WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime)
' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime
txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
Exit Sub
ThereWasBadCalculation:
MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation"
HourlySalary = 0
Resume Next
End Sub
If there are many variables involved, as is the case for us, you can initialize each. Here an
example:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
On Error GoTo ThereWasBadCalculation
Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double
Dim WeeklySalary As Double
' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as
' if the user types an invalid number
HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary)
WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime)
' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime
txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
Exit Sub
ThereWasBadCalculation:
MsgBox "There was a problem when performing the calculation"
HourlySalary = 0
WeeklyTime = 0
Resume Next
End Sub

Types of Error
Introduction
In our introductions to errors, we mostly anticipated only problems related to arithmetic
calculations. In reality, a program can face various categories of bad occurrences. The more
problems you prepare for, the least phone calls and headaches you will have. Problems are
divided in two broad categories.

Syntax Errors
A syntax error occurs if your code tries to perform an operation that the VBA language does not
allow. These errors are probably the easiest to locate because the Code Editor is configured to
point them out at the time you are writing your code.
If you try typing or try inserting an operator or keyword in the wrong place on your code, the
Code Editor would point it out. Here is an example:

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227

228

In this case, if you were trying to use the Do keyword instead of a data type (probably Double in
this case), the Code Editor would show it right away. This type of error is pointed out for every
keyword and operator you try to use.
Notice that, in the above example, we used a valid keyword but at the wrong time. If you mistype
a keyword or an operator, you would receive an error. Fortunately, the Code Editor is equipped to
know all keywords of the Visual Basic language. Consider the following example:

The programmer mistyped the Mod operator and wrote MAD instead.
If you forget to include a necessary factor in your code, you would get a syntax error. For
example, if you are creating a binary arithmetic expression that expects a second operand after
the operator, you would receive an error. Here is an example:

In this case, the programmer pressed Enter after the Mod operator, as if the expression was
complete. This resulted in an error.
These are just a few types of syntax errors you may encounter. As mentioned already, if you work
in Microsoft Visual Basic to write your code, most of these errors are easy to detect and fix.

Run-Time Errors
A run-time error occurs when your application tries to do something that the operating system
does not allow. In some cases, only your application would crash (Microsoft Excel may stop
working). In some other cases, the user may receive a more serious error. As its name indicates,
a run-time error occurs when the program runs; that is, after you have created your application.
Fortunately, during the testing phase, you may encounter some of the errors so you can fix them

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before distributing your application. Some other errors may not occur even if you test your
application. They may occur to the users after you have distributed your application. For example,
you can create a car rental application that is able to display pictures 100% of the time on your
computer while locating them from the E: drive. Without paying attention, after distributing your
application, the user's computer may not have an E: drive and, when trying to display the
pictures, the application may crash.
Examples of run-time errors are:
a. Trying to use computer memory that is not available
b. Performing a calculation that the computer hardware (for example the processor) does not
allow. An example is division by 0
c. Trying to use or load a library that is not available or is not accessible, for any reason
d. Performing an arithmetic operation on two incompatible types (such as trying to assign to an
Integer variable the result of adding a string to a Double value)
e. Using a loop that was not properly initialized
f. Trying to access a picture not accessible. Maybe the path specified for the picture is wrong.
Maybe your code gives the wrong extension to the file, even though the file exists
g. Accessing a value beyond the allowable range. For example, using a Byte variable to assign a
performed operation that produces a value the variable cannot hold
As you may imagine, because run-time errors occur after the application has been described as
ready, some of these errors can be difficult to identify. Some other errors depend on the platform
that is running the application (the operating system, the processor, the version of the
application, the (available) memory, etc).

The Err Object

Introduction
To assist you with handling errors, the Visual Basic language provides a class named Err. You don't
have to declare a variable for this class. An Err object is readily available as soon as you you start
working on VBA code and you can directly access its members.

The Error Number

As mentioned already, there are various types of errors that can occur to your program. To assist
you with identifying them, the Err object is equipped with a property named Number. This
property holds a specific number to most errors that can occur to your program. When your
program runs and encounters a problem, it may stop and display the number of the error. Here is
an example:

As you can see, this is error number 13. Because there are many types of errors, there are also
many numbers, so much that we cannot review all of them. We can only mention some of them
when we encounter them.
When a program runs, to find out what type of error occurred, you can question the Number
property of the Err object to find out whether the error that has just occurred holds this or that
number. To do this, you can use an If...Then conditional statement to check the number. You can
then display the necessary message to the user. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
On Error GoTo WrongValue
Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double
Dim WeeklySalary As Double

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229

' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as

' if the user types an invalid number
HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary)
WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime)
' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime
txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
Exit Sub
WrongValue:
If Err.Number = 13 Then
MsgBox "You typed an invalid value"
HourlySalary = 0
WeeklyTime = 0
Resume Next
End If
End Sub

The Error Message

As mentioned already, there are many errors and therefore many numbers held by the Number
property of the Err object. As a result, just knowing an error number can be vague. To further
assist you with decrypting an error, the Err object provides a property named Description. This
property holds a (usually short) message about the error number. This property works along with
the Number property holding the message corresponding to the Number property.
To get the error description, after inquiring about the error number, you can get the equivalent
Description value. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
On Error GoTo WrongValue
Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double
Dim WeeklySalary As Double
' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as
' if the user types an invalid number
HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary)
WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime)
' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime
txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
Exit Sub
WrongValue:
If Err.Number = 13 Then
MsgBox Err.Description
HourlySalary = 0
WeeklyTime = 0
Resume Next
End If
End Sub
In some cases, the error message will not be explicit enough, especially if a user simply reads it to
you over the phone. The alternative is to create your own message in the language you easily
understand, as we did earlier. If you want, you can also display a message that combines both the
error description and your own message. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdCalculate_Click()
On Error GoTo WrongValue
Dim HourlySalary As Double, WeeklyTime As Double
Dim WeeklySalary As Double
' One of these two lines could produce an error, such as
' if the user types an invalid number
HourlySalary = CDbl(txtHourlySalary)
WeeklyTime = CDbl(txtWeeklyTime)
' If there was an error, the flow would jump to the label
WeeklySalary = HourlySalary * WeeklyTime
txtWeeklySalary = FormatNumber(WeeklySalary)
Exit Sub
WrongValue:
If Err.Number = 13 Then
MsgBox Err.Description & ": The value you typed cannot be accepted."
HourlySalary = 0
WeeklyTime = 0
Resume Next
End If
End Sub

Practical Learning: Handling an Error

1. Make sure the TimeSheet worksheet is displaying.
On the Ribbon, click Developer

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230

2. In the Controls section, click Insert and, in the Form Controls section, click Button (Form
Control)
3. Click an empty on the TimeSheet worksheet
4. On the Assign Macro dialog box, set the Macro Name to btnSubmitTimeSheet_Click
5. Click New
6. Implement the event as follows:
Sub btnSubmitTimeSheet_Click()
On Error GoTo btnSubmitTimeSheet_Error
' This variable will help us check the rows
Dim CurrentRow As Integer
' This variable will get the employee # from the payroll
Dim PayrollEmployeeNumber As String
' This variable will get the employee # from the time sheet
Dim TimeSheetEmployeeNumber As String
' These 2 variables will get the date values from the time sheet
Dim StartDate As Date, EndDate As Date
' These variables represent the time worked from the time sheet
Dim Week1Monday As Double, Week1Tuesday As Double
Dim Week1Wednesday As Double, Week1Thursday As Double
Dim Week1Friday As Double, Week1Saturday As Double
Dim Week1Sunday As Double, Week2Monday As Double
Dim Week2Tuesday As Double, Week2Wednesday As Double
Dim Week2Thursday As Double, Week2Friday As Double
Dim Week2Saturday As Double, Week2Sunday As Double
' We will check the records starting at Row 8
CurrentRow = 8
' Get the employee number from the time sheet
TimeSheetEmployeeNumber = Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("C6")
' Get the starting date from the time sheet
StartDate = CDate(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("C8"))
' Add 2 weeks to the starting date
EndDate = DateAdd("d", 13, StartDate)
' Get the time worked for each day
Week1Monday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("C11"))
Week1Tuesday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("D11"))
Week1Wednesday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("E11"))
Week1Thursday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("F11").Value)
Week1Friday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("G11").Value)
Week1Saturday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("H11").Value)
Week1Sunday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("I11").Value)
Week2Monday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("C12").Value)
Week2Tuesday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("D12").Value)
Week2Wednesday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("E12").Value)
Week2Thursday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("F12").Value)
Week2Friday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("G12").Value)
Week2Saturday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("H12").Value)
Week2Sunday = CDbl(Worksheets("TimeSheet").Range("I12").Value)
' Get ready to check each employee number from the payroll
Do
' To process a payroll, an employee from the Accounting department
' enters an employee's employee number
' Get that employee number from the payroll
PayrollEmployeeNumber = Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 8).Value
' Check all records from the Payroll
' If you find an empty cell in the columns for the eemployee number,
' this means that there is no record in that row.
' If there is no record, ...
If PayrollEmployeeNumber = "" Then
' ... fill out that record with values from the time sheet
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 2) = TimeSheetEmployeeNumber
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 3) = StartDate
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 4) = EndDate
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 5) = Week1Monday
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 6) = Week1Tuesday
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 7) = Week1Wednesday
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 8) = Week1Thursday
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 9) = Week1Friday
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 10) = Week1Saturday
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 11) = Week1Sunday
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 12) = Week2Monday
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 13) = Week2Tuesday
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 14) = Week2Wednesday
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 15) = Week2Thursday
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 16) = Week2Friday
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 17) = Week2Saturday
Worksheets("Payroll").Cells(CurrentRow, 18) = Week2Sunday
Exit Do
End If
' If you found a record, increase the row count by 1 ...
CurrentRow = CurrentRow + 1
' ... and check the next record
' Continue until the next 93 records
Loop While CurrentRow <= 93

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231

' If there was a problem, get out of this procedure

Exit Sub
btnSubmitTimeSheet_Error:
' If there was an error, check what type of error this was.
' If the error is 13, it means the user entered a bad value.
' Let the user know
If Err.Number = 13 Then
MsgBox "You entered an invalid value." & vbCrLf & _
"Check all the values on your time sheet."
End If
Resume Next
End Sub
7. Close Microsoft Visual Basic
8. Adjust the button to your liking

9. Process a timesheet and click the button

10. Click the Payroll tab to see the result

The Source of the Error

Most of the time, you will know what caused an error, since you will have created the application.
The project that causes an error is known as the source of error. In some cases, you may not be
able to easily identify the source of error. To assist you with this, the Err object is equipped with a
property named Source.
To identify the application that caused an error, you can inquire about the value of this property.

Debugging and the Immediate Window

The Immediate Window
Debugging consists of examining and testing portions of your code or parts of your application to
identify problems that may occur when somebody is using your database. Microsoft Visual Basic
provides as many tools as possible to assist you with this task.
The Immediate window is an object you can use to test functions and expressions. To display the
Immediate window, on the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, you can click View -> Immediate
Window. It's a habit to keep the Immediate window in the bottom section of the Code Editor but
you can move it from there by dragging its title bar:

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232

233

Probably the simplest action you can perform in the Immediate window consists of testing an
expression. For example, you can write an arithmetic operation and examine its result. To do this,
in the Immediate window, type the question mark "?" followed by the expression and press Enter.
Here is an example that tests the result of 275.85 + 88.26:

One of the most basic actions you can perform in the Immediate window consists of testing a
built-in function. To do this, type ? followed by the name of the function and its arguments, if any.
For example, to test the UCase$ function, in the Immediate window, you could type:
? UCase("Rpublique d'Afrique du Sud")
After typing the function and pressing Enter, the result would display in the next line:

The Debug Object

The Immediate window is recognized in code as the Debug object. To programmatically display
something, such as a string, in the Immediate window, the Debug object provides the Print
method. The simplest way to use it consist of passing it a string. For example, imagine you create a
button on a form, you name it cmdTestFullName and initialize it with a string. Here is an example
of how you can display that string in the Immediate window:
Private Sub cmdTestFullName_Click()
Dim strFullName$
strFullName$ = "Daniel Ambassa"
Debug.Print strFullName$
End Sub
When you click the button, the Immediate window would display the passed string:

In the same way, you can create a more elaborate expression and test its value in the Immediate
window. You can also pass a value, such as a date, that can easily be converted to a string.

Previous

Copyright 2009-2010 FunctionX, Inc.

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Next

234

Creating a File
Introduction
In Microsoft Excel, instead of a worksheet, you could create a form-based application that your
users would use. If (since) you have already used Windows-based applications, you are surely
familiar with data entry on a form, in which case you use Windows controls.
File processing is the ability to store the values of a document in the computer so you can
retrieve such values another time.
File processing is the ability to save values from an application and be able to get those values
back when needed. The VBA language supports file processing.

Practical Learning: Introducing File Processing

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. Double-click Sheet1, type Switchboard
3. Double-click Sheet2 and type Employees
4. Double-click Sheet3 and type Customers
5. Click the next sheet tab (the Insert Worksheet)
6. Double-click the new sheet tab and type Cars
7. Click the next sheet tab (the Insert Worksheet)
8. Double-click the new sheet tab and type Rental Rates
9. Click the Switchboard tab
10. Press and hold Shift
11. Click the Rental Rates tab
12. Release Shift

13. Click Cell B2 and type Bethesda Car Rental

14. Click the Enter button
15. Format it as you see fit:

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235

16. Click the Employees sheet tab

17. To save the workbook, press Ctrl + S
18. In the top combo box, select the C drive (or any drive you want)
19. Click the Create New Folder (Windows XP) or New Folder (Windows Vista) button
20. Type Bethesda Car Rental as the name of the new folder and press Enter
21. Make sure the new folder is selected.
Change the file name to Business Records
22. In the Save As Type combo box, select Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook

23. Click Save

24. In the Employees sheet tab, click Cell B6 and type Employee #
25. Create a list of employees
26. Click Cell E7, type =D7 & ", " & C7 and click the Enter button
27. Drag its AutoFill down to Cell E13

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236

28. Click the Customers sheet tab

29. Click Cell B6 and type Driver's Lic. #
30. Create a list of customers

31. Click the Cars sheet tab

32. Click Cell B6 and type Tag Number
33. Create a list of cars
34. Click the Rental Rates sheet tab
35. Click Cell B6 and type Category
36. Complete the table with the following values:
Category

Daily

Weekly

Monthly

Weekend

Economy

35.95

32.75

28.95

24.95

Compact

39.95

35.75

32.95

28.95

Standard

45.95

39.75

35.95

32.95

Full Size

49.95

42.75

38.95

35.95

Mini Van

55.95

50.75

45.95

42.95

SUV

55.95

50.75

45.95

42.95

Truck

42.75

38.75

35.95

32.95

Van

69.95

62.75

55.95

52.95

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37. To save the workbook, press Ctrl + S

237

38. On the Ribbon, click Developer

39. In the Code section of the Ribbon, click Visual Basic

40. On the main menu of Microsoft Visual Basic, click Insert -> UserForm
41. If the Properties window is not available, right-click the form and click Properties.
In the Properties window, click (Name) and type frmNewRentalOrder
42. Click Caption and type Bethesda Car Rental - Order Processing - New Rental Order
43. Design the form as follows:

Control

(Name)

Caption/Text

Other Properties

Label

Processed By

BackColor: &H00808080&
BorderColor: &H00000000&
ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF&

Label

Car Selected

BackColor: &H00808080&
BorderColor: &H00000000&
ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF&

Label

Employee #:

Text Box

txtEmployeeNumber

Text Box

txtEmployeeName

Label
Text Box

Tag Number:
txtTagNumber

Label
Combo Box

Condition:
cbxCarConditions

Label

Processed For

Label

Make:

Text Box

txtMake

Label
Text Box

Driver's Lic. #:
txtDrvLicenseNbr

Label
Text Box

Model:
txtModel

Label
Text Box

Name:
txtCustomerName

Label
Text Box

BackColor: &H00808080&
BorderColor: &H00000000&
ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF&

Year:
txtCarYear

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight

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Label
Combo Box
Label
Text Box

Address:
txtAddress

Label
Text Box

Mileage Start:
txtMileageStart

Label
Text Box

txtMileageEnd
txtCity
Order Evaluation

Label

State:
ZIP Code:
txtZIPCode

Label
Text Box

Rate Applied:
txtRateApplied

Label
Text Box

24.95

txtTaxRate

5.75

Days:
txtDays

Label
txtTaxAmount

End Date:
Sub-Total:
txtSubTotal

0.00

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight

Order Total:
txtOrderTotal

Label
Text Box

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight

txtEndDate

Label
Text Box

0.00

txtStartDate

Label
Text Box

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight

Start Date:

Label
Text Box

0
Tax Amount:

Label
Text Box

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight
BackColor: &H00808080&
BorderColor: &H00000000&
ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF&

Label

Text Box

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight

Tax Rate:

Label

Text Box

BackColor: &H00808080&
BorderColor: &H00000000&
ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF&

txtState

Label
Text Box

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight
City:

Label

Text Box

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight
Mileage End:

Label
Text Box

238

Tank Level:
cbxTankLevels

0.00

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight

Receipt #:
txtReceiptNumber

Command Button cmdSave

Save

Command Button cmdReset

Reset / New Rental Order

44. Right-click the Employee Number text box and click View Code
45. In the Procedure combo box, select Enter
46. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub txtEmployeeNumber_Enter()
REM When the Employee # has focus, activate the Employees worksheet
Worksheets(2).Activate
End Sub
47. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit
48. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub txtEmployeeNumber_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
On Error GoTo txtEmployeeNumber_Error
' Check if the user left the Employee Number empty
If txtEmployeeNumber.Text = "" Then
' If so, put leave the Employee Name empty
txtEmployeeName.Text = ""
Else
' If the user entered a valid employee #, use the Microsoft Excel's
' VLOOKUP() function to get the corresponding employee name
' We are using the range of cells from B7 to E13 but you can use a
' range of your choice as long as it contains the employees records
txtEmployeeName.Text = _
Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtEmployeeNumber.Text, _
Worksheets(2).Range("B7:E13"), 4, False)
End If
Exit Sub

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txtEmployeeNumber_Error:
' If the user entered an invalid employee #, put Unknown in the name
If Err.Number = 1004 Then
txtEmployeeNumber.Text = ""
txtEmployeeName.Text = "Unknown clerk"
End If
End Sub
49. In the Object combo box, select txtTagNumber
50. In the Procedure combo box, select Enter
51. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub txtTagNumber_Enter()
Worksheets(4).Activate
End Sub
52. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit
53. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub txtTagNumber_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
On Error GoTo txtTagNumber_Error
' Check if the user left the Tag Number text box empty
If txtTagNumber.Text = "" Then
' If so, leave the car information empty
txtTagNumber.Text = ""
txtMake.Text = ""
txtModel.Text = ""
txtCarYear.Text = ""
Else
' If the user entered a valid Tag Number, use the Microsoft Excel's
' VLOOKUP() function to get the corresponding car information
txtMake.Text = _
Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtTagNumber.Text, _
Worksheets(4).Range("B6:I26"), 2, False)
txtModel.Text = _
Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtTagNumber.Text, _
Worksheets(4).Range("B6:I26"), 3, False)
txtCarYear.Text = _
Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtTagNumber.Text, _
Worksheets(4).Range("B6:I26"), 4, False)
End If
Exit Sub
txtTagNumber_Error:
' If the user entered an invalid tag #, leave the Tag Number empty
If Err.Number = 1004 Then
txtTagNumber.Text = ""
txtMake.Text = ""
txtModel.Text = ""
txtCarYear.Text = ""
End If
End Sub
54. In the Object combo box, select txtDrvLicenseNbr
55. In the Procedure combo box, select Enter
56. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub txtDrvLicenseNbr_Enter()
Worksheets(3).Activate
End Sub
57. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit
58. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub txtDrvLicenseNbr_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
On Error GoTo txtDrvLicenseNbr_Error
If txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text = "" Then
txtCustomerName.Text = ""
txtAddress.Text = ""
txtCity.Text = ""
txtState.Text = ""
txtZIPCode.Text = ""
Else
txtCustomerName.Text = _
Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text, _

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239

Worksheets(3).Range("B6:I26"), 2, False)
txtAddress.Text = _
Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text,
Worksheets(3).Range("B6:I26"), 3, False)
txtCity.Text = _
Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text,
Worksheets(3).Range("B6:I26"), 4, False)
txtState.Text = _
Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text,
Worksheets(3).Range("B6:I26"), 5, False)
txtZIPCode.Text = _
Application.WorksheetFunction.VLookup(txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text,
Worksheets(3).Range("B6:I26"), 6, False)
End If
Exit Sub
txtDrvLicenseNbr_Error:
If Err.Number = 1004 Then
txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text = ""
txtCustomerName.Text = ""
txtAddress.Text = ""
txtCity.Text = ""
txtState.Text = ""
txtZIPCode.Text = ""
End If
End Sub
59. In the Object combo box, select txtRateApplied
60. In the Procedure combo box, select Enter
61. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub txtRateApplied_Enter()
Worksheets(5).Activate
End Sub
62. In the Object combo box, select UserForm
63. In the Procedure combo box, select Activate
64. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub ResetRentalOrder()
Dim strRandomNumber As String
' Fill the Conditions combo box
cbxCarConditions.AddItem "Needs Repair"
cbxCarConditions.AddItem "Drivable"
cbxCarConditions.AddItem "Excellent"
' Fill the Tank Level
cbxTankLevels.AddItem
cbxTankLevels.AddItem
cbxTankLevels.AddItem
cbxTankLevels.AddItem
cbxTankLevels.AddItem

combo box
"Empty"
"1/4 Empty"
"1/2 Full"
"3/4 Full"
"Full"

' For a receipt number, we will create a random number

strRandomNumber = CStr(CInt(Rnd * 9))
strRandomNumber = strRandomNumber & CStr(CInt(Rnd * 9))
strRandomNumber = strRandomNumber & CStr(CInt(Rnd * 9))
strRandomNumber = strRandomNumber & CStr(CInt(Rnd * 9))
strRandomNumber = strRandomNumber & CStr(CInt(Rnd * 9))
strRandomNumber = strRandomNumber & CStr(CInt(Rnd * 9))
txtReceiptNumber = strRandomNumber
' In the real world, you would check the list of files
' in the Bethesda Car Rental folder. You would then get the
' name of the last file, or the highest receipt number. You
' would then increase this number by 1, and use that as the
' new receipt number
txtEmployeeNumber.Text = ""
txtEmployeeName.Text = ""
txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text = ""
txtCustomerName.Text = ""
txtAddress.Text = ""
txtCity.Text = ""
txtState.Text = ""
txtZIPCode.Text = ""
txtStartDate.Text = ""
txtEndDate.Text = ""
txtTagNumber.Text = ""
cbxCarConditions.Text = "Excellent"
txtMake.Text = ""

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240
_

txtModel.Text = ""
txtCarYear.Text = ""
cbxTankLevels.Text = ""
txtMileageStart.Text = "0"
txtMileageEnd.Text = "0"
txtRateApplied.Text = "24.95"
txtTaxRate.Text = "5.75"
txtDays.Text = "0"
txtTaxAmount.Text = "0.00"
txtSubTotal.Text = "0.00"
txtOrderTotal.Text = "0.00"
txtNotes.Text = ""
' Display today's date in the date text boxes
txtStartDate = Date
txtEndDate = Date
End Sub
Private Sub UserForm_Activate()
Call ResetRentalOrder
End Sub
65. In the Object combo box, select cmdReset
66. Implement the Click event as follows:
Private Sub cmdReset_Click()
Call ResetRentalOrder
End Sub
67. On the Standard toolbar, click the Save button
68. Return to Microsoft Excel and click the Switchboard tab sheet
69. In the Developer tab of the Ribbon, in the Controls section, click Insert
70. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button
71. Click the worksheet
72. Right-click the new button and click Properties
73. In the properties window, change the following characteristics
(Name): cmdCreateRentalOrder
Caption: Create New Rental Order
74. Right-click the button and click View Code
75. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub cmdCreateRentalOrder_Click()
frmNewRentalOrder.Show
End Sub
76. Press Ctrl + S to save

File Creation
Before performing file processing, the first action you must perform consists of creating a file. To
support file creation, the VBA provides a procedure named Open. Its syntax is:
Open pathname For Output [Access access] [lock] As [#]filenumber [Len=reclength]
The Open statement takes many factors, some are required and others are not. The Open (the
name of the procedure) word, the For Output expression, and the As # expression are required.
The first argument, pathname, is required. This is a string that can be the name of the file. The
file can have an extension or not. Here is an example:
Open "example.dat"
If you specify only the name of the file, it would be considered in the same folder where the
current workbook is (the workbook that was opened when you called this statement). If you want,
you can provide a complete path for the file. This would include the drive, the (optional) folder(s),
up to the name of the file, with or without extension.
Besides the name of the file or its path, the mode factor is required. This factor specifies the
actual action you want to perform, such as creating a new file or only opening an existing one.
This factor can be one of the following keywords:
Output: The file will be created and ready to receive (normal) values
Binary: The file will be created and ready to receive values in binary format (as combinations
of 1s and 0s)
Append: If the file exists already, it will be opened and new values can be added to the end

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241

Here is an example of creating a file:

242

Private Sub cmdSave_Click()

Open "example.dat" For Output As #1
End Sub
The access factor is optional. It specifies what types of actions will be performed in the file, such
as writing values to it or only reading existing values. This factor can have one of the following
values:
Write: After a new file has been created, new values will be written to it
Read Write: When a new file has been created or an existing file has been opened, values
can be read from it or written to it
If you decide to specify the access factor, precede its value with the Access keyword.
The lock factor is optional. It indicates how the processor should behave while the file is being
used. Its possible values are:
Shared: Other applications (actually called processes) can access this file while the current
application is accessing it
Lock Write: Do not allow other applications (processes) to access this file while the current
application (process) is writing to it
Lock Read Write: Do not allow other applications (processes) to access this file while the
current application (process) is using it
On the right side of #, type a number, for the filenumber factor, between 1 and 511. If you are
working on one file, use the number 1. If you are working on many files, you should use an
incremental number. If you have not been keeping track of the number or you get confused at
one time, to know the next number you can use, call the FreeFile() function, which returns the
next available number in the sequence.
The reclength factor is optional. If the file was opened, this factor specifies the length of the
record that was read.

Closing a File
When you create a file and start using it, or after opening a file and while you are using it, it uses
memory and consumes (or can be consuming) memory (which could be significant). When you
have finished using the file, you should free the memory it was using and release the resources it
was consuming. To assist you with this, the VBA provides a procedure named Close. Its syntax is:
Close [filenumberlist]
The filenumberlist factor is the filenumber you would have previously used to create or open the
file.
Here is an example of closing a file:
Private Sub cmdSave_Click()
Open "example.dat" For Output As #1
Close #1
End Sub

Printing to a File
After creating a file, you may want to write values to it. To support this, the VBA provides two
procedures. One of them is called Print and its syntax is:
Print #filenumber, [outputlist]
The Print statement takes two factors but only the first is required.
The filenumber factor is the filenumber you would have used to create the file. The filenumber is
followed by a comma.
The outputlist factor can be made of 0, 1 or more parts. Because it is optional, if you do not want
to write a value to the file, leave this part empty. If you want to write a value, type a comma after
the filenumber factor and follow these rules:
If you want to start the value with empty spaces, use the Spc() function and pass an integer
(in the parentheses) that represents the number of empty spaces. For example Spc(4) would
include 4 empty spaces.
This factor is optional, which means you can omit it
Instead of a specific number of empty spaces, you can let the operating system specify a
built-in number of empty spaces. To do this, call the Tab() function as part of your outputlist
factor. The Tab() function specifies the number of columns to include before the value. The
Tab() function can be more useful if you are concerned with the alignment of the value(s)

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you will write in the file.

This factor is optional, which means you can omit it
To write a string, include it in double-quotes
To write a number, whether an integer, a float, or a double, simply include the number
normally
To write a Boolean value, type it as True or False
To write a date or time value, type it between # and # and follow the rules of dates or times
of your language such as US English
To write a null value, type Null
Here is an example of writing some values:
Private Sub cmdSave_Click()
Open "Employee.txt" For Output As #1
Print
Print
Print
Print

#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,

"James"
"Larenz"
True
#12/08/2008#

Close #1
End Sub
Instead of writing one value per line, you can write more than one value with one statement. To
do this, separate them with either a semi-colon or an empty space. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdSave_Click()
Open "Employee.txt" For Output As #1
REM The values are separated by a semi-colon
Print #1, "James"; "Larenz"
REM The values are separated by an empty space
Print #1, True #12/08/2008#
Close #1
End Sub

Writing to a File
Besides the Print procedure, the VBA also provides a procedure named Write that can be used to
write one or more values to a file. The syntax of the Write statement is the same as that of
Print:
Write #filenumber, [outputlist]
The filenumber factor is required. It must be the filenumber specified when creating the file.
The outputlist factor is optional. If you want to skip it, type a comma after the filenumber and end
the Write statement. In this case, an empty line would be written to the file. To write the values
to the file, follow these rules:
To start the value with empty spaces, call the Spc() function and pass a number that
represents the number of empty spaces.
This factor is optional, which means you can omit it
To start the value with a specific number of columns, call the Tab() function and pass the
number of columns as argument.
This factor is optional, which means you can omit it
To write a string, include it in double-quotes
To write a number, include it normally
To write a Boolean value, type it as #TRUE# or #FALSE#
To write a null value, type #NULL#
To write a date or time value, type it between # and #
Here is an example of writing some values:
Private Sub cmdSave_Click()
Open "Employee.txt" For Output As #1
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write

#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,

"James"
"M"
"Larenz"
#12/08/2008#
24.50
True

Close #1
End Sub

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You can also write values on the same line. To do this, separate them with an empty space, a
comma, or a semi-colon. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdSave_Click()
Open "Employee.txt" For Output As #1
REM The values are separated by a semi-colon
Write #1, "James"; "M"; "Larenz"
REM The values are separated by a comma
Write #1, #12/08/2008#, 24.50
Write #1, True
Close #1
End Sub

Practical Learning: Saving a File

1. Display the form
2. Double-click the Save button
3. Implement its Click event as follows:
Private Sub cmdSave_Click()
On Error GoTo cmdSave_Error
Rem Make sure the user enters a valid employee number
If txtEmployeeNumber.Text = "" Then
MsgBox "You must enter a valid employee number."
Exit Sub
End If
Rem Make sure the user enters a valid car tag number
If txtTagNumber.Text = "" Then
MsgBox "You must enter a valid tag number."
Exit Sub
End If
Rem Make sure the user enters a valid customer
If txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text = "" Then
MsgBox "You must specify a valid car."
Exit Sub
End If
Open "C:\Bethesda Car Rental\" & txtReceiptNumber.Text & _
".bcr" For Output As #1
Write #1, txtEmployeeNumber.Text
Rem Some people would not include the Employee Name in
Rem the file because it is already stored in the workbook.
Rem But we will include it in our file
Write #1, txtEmployeeName.Text
Write #1, txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text
Rem Some people would not include the customer name, address,
Rem city, state, and ZIP code in the file because they are
Rem already part of a workbook.
Rem But we will include them in our file
Write #1, txtCustomerName.Text
Write #1, txtAddress.Text
Write #1, txtCity.Text
Write #1, txtState.Text
Write #1, txtZIPCode.Text
Write #1, txtStartDate.Text
Write #1, txtEndDate.Text
Write #1, txtTagNumber.Text
Write #1, cbxCarConditions.Text
Rem Some people would not include the car make, model,
Rem and year in the file because they are
Rem already stored in a workbook.
Rem But we will include them here
Write #1, txtMake.Text
Write #1, txtModel.Text
Write #1, txtCarYear.Text
Write #1, cbxTankLevels.Text
Write #1, txtMileageStart.Text
Write #1, txtMileageEnd.Text
Write #1, txtRateApplied.Text
Write #1, txtTaxRate.Text
Write #1, txtDays.Text
Write #1, txtTaxAmount.Text
Write #1, txtSubTotal.Text
Write #1, txtOrderTotal.Text
Write #1, "Car Rented"
Write #1, txtNotes.Text
Close #1

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245

Exit Sub
cmdSave_Error:
MsgBox "There is a problem with the form. It cannot be saved."
Resume Next
End Sub
4. On the Standard toolbar, click the Save button
5. Return to Microsoft Excel and click the Switchboard tab sheet if necessary
6. In the Developer tab of the Ribbon, in the Controls section, click Insert
7. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button
8. Click the worksheet
9. Right-click the new button and click Properties
10. In the properties window, change the following characteristics
(Name): cmdCreateRentalOrder
Caption: Create New Rental Order
11. Right-click the button and click View Code
12. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub cmdCreateRentalOrder_Click()
frmNewRentalOder.Show
End Sub
13. Press Ctrl + S to save
14. Return to Microsoft Excel
15. In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click the Design Mode button to uncheck it
16. Click the button to display the form
17. Enter some values for a rental order

18. Write down the receipt number on a piece of paper

19. Click the Save button
20. Click the Reset button
21. Enter some values for another rental order

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246

22. Click the Save button

23. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic

Opening a File
Opening a File
Instead of creating a new file, you may want to open an existing file. To support this
operation, the VBA provides a procedure named Open. Its syntax is:
Open pathname For Input [Access access] [lock] As [#]filenumber [Len=reclength]
The Open procedure takes many arguments, some are required and others are not. The
Open word, For Input expression, and the As # expression are required.

The first argument, pathname, is required. This is a string that can be the name of the file. The
file can have an extension or not. Here is an example:
Open "example.dat"
If you specify only the name of the file, the interpreter would look for the file in the same folder
where the current workbook is. If you want, you can provide a complete path for the file. This
would include the drive, the (optional) folder(s), up to the name of the file, with or without
extension.
Besides the name of the file or its path, the mode factor is required. To open a file, the mode
factor can be:
Binary: The file will be opened and its value(s) would be read as (a) binary value(s)
Append: The file will be opened and new values can be added to the end of the existing
values
Input: The file will be opened normally
Random: The will be opened for random access
Here is an example of opening a file:
Private Sub cmdSave_Click()
Open "example.dat" For Input As #1

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End Sub

247

The access factor is optional. This factor can have one of the following values:
Read: After the file has been opened, values will be read from it
Read Write: Whether the file was created or opened, values can be read from it and/or
written to it
If you decide to specify the access factor, precede its value with the Access keyword.
The lock factor is optional and its possible values can be:
Shared: Other applications can access this file while the current application is accessing it
Lock Read: Other applications are not allowed to access this file while the current application
is reading from it
Lock Read Write: Other applications are not allowed to access this file while the current
application is using it
On the right side of #, type a number, for the filenumber factor, between 1 and 511. Use the
same rules/description we saw for creating a file.
The reclength factor is optional. If the file was opened, this factor specifies the length of the
record that was read.

Practical Learning: Introducing File Opening

1. Click the body of the form.
From the properties window, write down the values of the Height and the Width properties
2. Click the body of the form
3. Press Ctrl + A to select all controls on the form
4. To add a new form, on the main menu, click Insert -> UserForm
5. In the Properties window, change the following characteristics:
(Name): frmRentalOrderReview
Caption: Car Rental - Order Processing - Rental Order Review
6. Enlarge the form using the height and width of the first form
7. Complete the design of the form as follows:

Control

(Name)

Label
Text Box

Caption/Text

txtReceiptNumber

Command Button cmdOpen

Open

Label

Order Status:

Text Box

Other Properties

Receipt #:

cbxOrderStatus

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Label

Processed By

BackColor: &H00808080&
BorderColor: &H00000000&
ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF&

Label

Car Selected

BackColor: &H00808080&
BorderColor: &H00000000&
ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF&

Label

Employee #:

Text Box

txtEmployeeNumber

Text Box

txtEmployeeName

Label
Text Box

Tag Number:
txtTagNumber

Label
Combo Box

Condition:
cbxCarConditions

Label

Processed For

Label
Text Box

Make:
txtMake

Label
Text Box

Driver's Lic. #:
txtDrvLicenseNbr

Label
Text Box

Model:
txtModel

Label
Text Box

Name:
txtCustomerName

Label
Text Box

Year:
txtCarYear

Label
Combo Box

cbxTankLevels
Address:
txtAddress

Label
Text Box

Mileage Start:
txtMileageStart

Label
Text Box

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight
Mileage End:

txtMileageEnd

Label
Text Box

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight
Tank Level:

Label
Text Box

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight
City:

txtCity

Label

Order Evaluation

Label

State:

Text Box

ZIP Code:
txtZIPCode

Label
Text Box

Rate Applied:
txtRateApplied

Label
Text Box

24.95

txtTaxRate

5.75

Days:
txtDays

Label
txtTaxAmount

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight

End Date:
txtEndDate
Sub-Total:
txtSubTotal

Label
Text Box

0.00

txtStartDate

Label
Text Box

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight

Start Date:

Label
Text Box

0
Tax Amount:

Label
Text Box

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight
BackColor: &H00808080&
BorderColor: &H00000000&
ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF&

Label

Text Box

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight

Tax Rate:

Label

Text Box

BackColor: &H00808080&
BorderColor: &H00000000&
ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF&

txtState

Label
Text Box

BackColor: &H00808080&
BorderColor: &H00000000&
ForeColor: &H00FFFFFF&

0.00

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight

Order Total:
txtOrderTotal

Command Button cmdUpdateFile

0.00

TextAlign: 3 - fmTextAlignRight

Update and Save the File

8. Right-click the form and click View Code

9. In the Procedure combo box, select Activate
10. Implement the event as follows:

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248

Private Sub UserForm_Activate()

Dim strRandomNumber As String
cbxOrderStatus.AddItem "Car Rented"
cbxOrderStatus.AddItem "Order Finalized"
cbxOrderStatus.AddItem "Order Reserved"
cbxCarConditions.AddItem "Needs Repair"
cbxCarConditions.AddItem "Drivable"
cbxCarConditions.AddItem "Excellent"
cbxTankLevels.AddItem
cbxTankLevels.AddItem
cbxTankLevels.AddItem
cbxTankLevels.AddItem
cbxTankLevels.AddItem
End Sub

"Empty"
"1/4 Empty"
"1/2 Full"
"3/4 Full"
"Full"

11. In the Object combo box, select txtRateApplied

12. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit
13. Implement the event as follows:
Private
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim

Sub CalculateRentalOrder()
RateApplied As Double
Days As Integer
SubTotal As Double
TaxRate As Double
TaxAmount As Double
OrderTotal As Double

' Check the value in the Rate Applied text box

' If there is no valid value, set the Rate Applied to 0
If txtRateApplied.Text = "" Then
RateApplied = 0
ElseIf Not IsNumeric(txtRateApplied.Text) Then
RateApplied = 0
Else
' Otherwise, get the rate applied
RateApplied = CDbl(txtRateApplied.Text)
End If
' We will let the employee enter the number of days the car was rented
' Check whether the employee entered a valid number
' If the number is not good, set the number of days to 0
If txtDays.Text = "" Then
Days = 0
ElseIf Not IsNumeric(txtDays.Text) Then
Days = 0
Else
' Otherwise, get the number of days
Days = CInt(txtDays.Text)
End If
If txtTaxRate.Text = "" Then
TaxRate = 0
ElseIf Not IsNumeric(txtTaxRate.Text) Then
TaxRate = 0
Else
TaxRate = CDbl(txtTaxRate.Text)
End If
' Calculate the things
SubTotal = RateApplied * Days
TaxAmount = SubTotal * TaxRate / 100
OrderTotal = SubTotal + TaxAmount
txtSubTotal.Text = FormatNumber(SubTotal)
txtTaxAmount.Text = FormatNumber(TaxAmount)
txtOrderTotal.Text = FormatNumber(OrderTotal)
End Sub
Private Sub txtRateApplied_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
On Error GoTo txtRateApplied_Error
Call CalculateRentalOrder
Exit Sub
txtRateApplied_Error:
MsgBox "There is something wrong with the " & _
"value you entered for the rate applied"
End Sub
14. In the Object combo box, select txtDays

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249

15. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit

16. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub txtDays_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
On Error GoTo txtDays_Error
Call CalculateRentalOrder
Exit Sub
txtDays_Error:
MsgBox "There is something wrong with the number " & _
"of days you entered."
End Sub
17. In the Object combo box, select txtTaxRate
18. In the Procedure combo box, select Exit
19. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub txtTaxRate_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
On Error GoTo txtTaxRate_Error
Call CalculateRentalOrder
Exit Sub
txtTaxRate_Error:
MsgBox "There is something wrong with the tax rate you specified."
End Sub
20. On the Standard toolbar, click the Save button

Reading From a File

After opening a file, you can read values from it. Before reading the value(s), you should declare
one or more variables that would receive the values to be read. Remember that the idea of using
a variable is to reserve a memory space where you can store a value. In the same way, when
reading a value from a file, you would get the value from the file and then store that value in the
computer memory. A variable would make it easy for you to refer to that value when necessary.
To support the ability to open a file, the VBA provides two procedures. If you wrote the values
using the Print statement, to read the values, use the Input or the Line Input statement (using
Input or Line Input is only a suggestion, not a rule). The syntax of the Input procedure is:
Input #filenumber, varlist
The Input statement takes two required factors but the second can be made of various parts.
The filenumber factor is the filenumber you would have used to open the file. The filenumber is
followed by a comma.
The varlist factor can be made of 1 or more parts. To read only one value, after the comma of the
filenumber factor, type the name of the variable that will receive the value. Here is an example:
Private Sub cmdOpen_Click()
Dim FirstName As String
Open "Employee.txt" For Input As #1
Input #1, FirstName
Close #1
End Sub
In the same way, you can read each value on its own line. One of the better uses of the Input
statement is the ability to read many values using a single statement. To do this, type the
variables on the same Input line but separate them with commas. Here is an example:
Private
Dim
Dim
Dim

Sub cmdOpen_Click()
FirstName As String
LastName As String
IsFullTimeEmployee As Boolean

Open "Employee.txt" For Input As #1

Input #1, FirstName, LastName, IsFullTimeEmployee
Close #1
End Sub
If you have a file that contains many lines, to read one line at a time, you can use the Line Input
statement. Its syntax is:
Line Input #filenumber, varname

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250

This statement takes two factors and both are required. The filenumber is the number you would
have used to open the file. When the Line Input statement is called, it reads a line of text until it
gets to the end of the file. One of the limitations of the Line Input statement is that it has a hard
time reading anything other than text because it may not be able to determine where the line
ends.
When reviewing the ability to write values to a file, we saw that the Print statement writes a
Boolean value as True or False. If you use the Input statement to read such a value, the
interpreter may not be able to read the value. We saw that an alternative to the Print statement
was Write. We saw that, among the differences between Print and Write, the latter writes
Boolean values using the # symbol. This makes it possible for the interpreter to easily read such a
value. For these reasons, in most cases, it may be a better idea to prefer using the Write
statement when writing values other than strings to a file.

Practical Learning: Reading From a File

1. On the form, double-click the Open button
2. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub cmdOpen_Click()
On Error GoTo cmdOpen_Error
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim
Dim

EmployeeNumber As String
EmployeeName As String, DrvLicenseNbr As String
CustomerName As String, Address As String
City As String, State As String
ZIPCode As String, StartDate As String
EndDate As String, TagNumber As String
CarConditions As String, Make As String
Model As String, CarYear As String
TankLevels As String, MileageStart As String
MileageEnd As String, RateApplied As String
TaxRate As String, Days As String
TaxAmount As String, SubTotal As String
OrderTotal As String, OrderStatus As String
Notes As String

Rem We are not doing any validation here because there are
'
issues we haven't explored yet. For example, we haven't yet
'
learned how to check the list of files in a directory.
'
We also haven't yet learned how to check whether a file
'
exists in a directory.
Open "C:\Bethesda Car Rental\" & _
txtReceiptNumber.Text & ".bcr" For Input As #1
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input
Input

#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,

EmployeeNumber
EmployeeName
DrvLicenseNbr
CustomerName
Address
City
State
ZIPCode
StartDate
EndDate
TagNumber
CarConditions
Make
Model
CarYear
TankLevels
MileageStart
MileageEnd
RateApplied
TaxRate
Days
TaxAmount
SubTotal
OrderTotal
OrderStatus
Notes

txtEmployeeNumber.Text = EmployeeNumber
txtEmployeeName.Text = EmployeeName
txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text = DrvLicenseNbr
txtCustomerName.Text = CustomerName
txtAddress.Text = Address
txtCity.Text = City
txtState.Text = State
txtZIPCode.Text = ZIPCode
txtStartDate.Text = StartDate
txtEndDate.Text = EndDate
txtTagNumber.Text = TagNumber
cbxCarConditions.Text = CarConditions

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251

txtMake.Text = Make
txtModel.Text = Model
txtCarYear.Text = CarYear
cbxTankLevels.Text = TankLevels
txtMileageStart.Text = MileageStart
txtMileageEnd.Text = MileageEnd
txtRateApplied.Text = RateApplied
txtTaxRate.Text = TaxRate
txtDays.Text = Days
txtTaxAmount.Text = TaxAmount
txtSubTotal.Text = SubTotal
txtOrderTotal.Text = OrderTotal
cbxOrderStatus.Text = OrderStatus
txtNotes.Text = Notes
Close #1
Exit Sub
cmdOpen_Error:
MsgBox "There was a problem when trying to open the file."
Resume Next
End Sub
3. In the Object combo box, select cmdUpdateRentalOrder
4. Implement the Click event as follows:
Private Sub cmdUpdateRentalOrder_Click()
On Error GoTo cmdSave_Error
Open "C:\Bethesda Car Rental\" & txtReceiptNumber.Text & _
".bcr" For Output As #1
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write
Write

#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,
#1,

txtEmployeeNumber.Text
txtEmployeeName.Text
txtDrvLicenseNbr.Text
txtCustomerName.Text
txtAddress.Text
txtCity.Text
txtState.Text
txtZIPCode.Text
txtStartDate.Text
txtEndDate.Text
txtTagNumber.Text
cbxCarConditions.Text
txtMake.Text
txtModel.Text
txtCarYear.Text
cbxTankLevels.Text
txtMileageStart.Text
txtMileageEnd.Text
txtRateApplied.Text
txtTaxRate.Text
txtDays.Text
txtTaxAmount.Text
txtSubTotal.Text
txtOrderTotal.Text
cbxCarConditions.Text
txtNotes.Text

Close #1
Exit Sub
cmdSave_Error:
MsgBox "There is a problem with the form. " & _
"The rental order cannot be updated."
Resume Next
End Sub
5. On the Standard toolbar, click the Save button
6. Return to Microsoft Excel
7. Click the Switchboard tab sheet
8. In the Developer tab of the Ribbon, in the Controls section, click Insert
9. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button
10. Click the worksheet
11. Right-click the new button and click Properties
12. In the properties window, change the following characteristics
(Name): cmdOpenRentalOrder
Caption: Open Existing Rental Order

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253

13. Right-click the open Existing Rental Order button and click View Code
14. Implement the event as follows:
Private Sub cmdOpenRentalOrder_Click()
frmRentalOrderReview.Show
End Sub
15. Press Ctrl + S to save
16. Close Microsoft Visual Basic
17. In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click the Design Mode button to uncheck it
18. Click the button to display the form
19. Click the Receipt # text box
20. Type a receipt number of one of the rental orders you created earlier
21. Click the Open button
22. Select a different option in the order status combo box
23. Change the value of mileage end, the end date and the days

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24. Click the Update and Save rental Order button

254

25. Select the number in the Receipt # text box

26. Type another receipt number you saved previously
27. Click the Open button
28. Select different values on the rental order:

29. Click the Update and Save rental Order button

30. Close the form and return to Microsoft Visual Basic

Other Techniques of Opening a File

Besides calling the Show() method of the FileDialog class, the Application class provides its own
means of opening a file. To support it, the Application class provides the FindFile() method. Its
syntax is:
Public Function Application.FindFile() As Boolean
If you call this method, the Open File dialog with its default settings would come up. The user can
then select a file and click open. If the file is a workbook, it would be opened and its content
displayed in Microsoft Excel. If the file is text-based, or XML, etc, Microsoft Excel would proceed to
open or convert it.
Project

Previous

Copyright 2009-2010 FunctionX, Inc.

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255

Fundamentals of Dates
Introduction
The Visual Basic language has a strong support for date values. It is equipped with a data type
named Date. To create and manipulate dates, you have various options. To declare a date
variable, you use the Date data type. To support date and time-based operations, the Visual
Basic language provides various functions. Besides the Visual Basic language, the Microsoft Excel
library provides its own support for dates and times.
If you already know the components of the date value you want to use, you can include them
between two # signs but following the rules of a date format from the Regional Settings of Control
Panel. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DateHired As Date
DateHired = # 02/08/2003 #
MsgBox("Date Hired: " & DateHired)
End Sub
This would produce:

The Current Date

To get the current date of the computer, you can call the Visual Basic's Date function. Here is an
example:
Sub Exercise()
MsgBox Date
End Sub
In Microsoft Excel, to get the current date, you can call the TODAY() function. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "=TODAY()"
End Sub

The Parts of a Date Value

When you compose a date value, you must follow some rules. The rules depend on the language
you are using. We will review those of the US English.
In a year, a month is recognized by an index in a range from 1 to 12. A month also has a name.
The name of a month is given in two formats: complete or short. These are:
Month
Index

Full Name

Short
Name

January

Jan

February

Feb

March

Mar

April

Apr

May

May

June

Jun

July

Jul

August

Aug

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September

Sep

10

October

Oct

11

November

Nov

12

December

Dec

A week is a combination of 7 consecutive days of a month. Each day can be recognized by an

index from 1 to 7 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). The day of each index is recognized by a name. In US
English, the first day has an index of 1 is named Sunday while the last day with an index of 7 is
named Monday. Like the months of a year, the days of a week have long and short names. These
are:
US English Day
Index

Full Name

Short
Name

Sunday

Sun

Monday

Mon

Tuesday

Tue

Wednesday

Wed

Thursday

Thu

Friday

Fri

Saturday

Sat

These are the default in US English. In most calculations, the Visual Basic language allows you to
specify what day should be the first in a week.
The year is expressed as a numeric value.

Dates Formats
In US English, to express a date value, you can use one of the following formats:
mm-dd-yy
mm-dd-yyyy
You must start the date with a number that represents the month (a number from 1 to 12). After
the month value, enter -. Then type the day value as a number between 1 and 28, 29, 30, or 31
depending on the month and the (leap) year. Follow it with -. End the value with a year in 2 or 4
digits. Here are examples 06-12-08 or 10-08-2006.
You can also use one of the following formats:
dd-mmm-yy
dd mmm yy
dd-mmmm-yy
dd mmmm yy
dd-mmm-yyyy
dd mmm yyyy
dd-mmmm-yyyy
dd mmmm yyyy
This time, enter the day value followed either by an empty space or -. Follow with the short name
of the month in the mmm placeholder or the complete name of the month for the mmmm
placeholder, followed by either an empty space or -. End the value with the year, using 2 or 4
digits.
As you may know already, in US English, you can start a date with the month. In this case, you
can use one of the following formats:
mmm dd, yy
mmm dd, yyyy
mmmm dd, yy
mmmm dd, yyyy
As seen with the previous formats, mmm represents the short name of a month and mmmm
represents the full name of a month. As mentioned already, the dd day can be expressed with 1 or
2 digits and the single digit can have a leading 0. After the day value, (you must) enter a comma
followed by the year either with 2 or 4 digits.

A Date Value
We have seen that, when creating a date, you can include its value between # signs. An
alternative is to provide a date as a string. To support this, the Visual Basic language provides a
function named DateValue. Its syntax is:

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256

Function DateValue(ByVal StringDate As String) As Variant

When calling this function, provide a valid date as argument. The validity depends on the
language of the operating system. If working in US English, you can use one of the formats we
saw above. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DateHired As Date
DateHired = DateValue("22-Aug-2006")
MsgBox("Date Hired: " & DateHired)
End Sub
This would produce:

A Date as Serial
An alternative to initializing a date variable is to use a function named DateSerial. Its syntax is:
Function DateSerial(ByVal [Year] As Integer, _
ByVal [Month] As Integer, _
ByVal [Day] As Integer) As Variant
As you can see, this function allows you to specify the year, the month, and the day of a date
value, of course without the # signs. When it has been called, this function returns a Variant
value, which can be converted into a Date. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DateHired As Date
DateHired = DateSerial(2003, 02, 08)
MsgBox("Date Hired: " & DateHired)
End Sub
This would produce:

When passing the values to this function, you must restrict each component to the allowable
range of values. You can pass the year with two digits from 0 to 99. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DateHired As Date
DateHired = DateSerial(03, 2, 8)
MsgBox("Date Hired: " & DateHired)
End Sub
If you pass the year as a value between 0 and 99, the interpreter would refer to the clock on the
computer to get the century. At the time of this writing (in 2009), the century would be 20 and
the specified year would be added, which would produce 2003. To be more precise and reduce any
confusion, you should always pass the year with 4 digits.
The month should (must) be a value between 1 and 12. If you pass a value higher than 12, the
interpreter would calculate the remainder of that number by 12 (that number MOD 12 = ?). The
result of the integer division would be used as the number of years and added to the first
argument. The remainder would be used as the month of the date value. For example, if you pass
the month as 18, the integer division would produce 1, so 1 year would be added to the first
argument. The remainder is 6 (18 MOD 12 = 6); so the month would be used as 6 (June). Here is
an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DateHired As Date
DateHired = DateSerial(2003, 18, 8)
MsgBox("Date Hired: " & DateHired)
End Sub
This would produce:

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258

As another example, if you pass the month as 226, the integer division (226 \ 12) produces 18
and that number would be added to the first argument (2003 + 18 = 2021). The remainder of
226 to 12 (226 MOD 12 = 10) is 10 and that would be used as the month. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DateHired As Date
DateHired = DateSerial(2003, 226, 8)
MsgBox("Date Hired: " & DateHired)
End Sub
This would produce:

If the month is passed as 0, it is considered 12 (December) of the previous year. If the month is
passed as -1, it is considered 11 (November) of the previous year and so on. If the month is
passed as a number lower than -11, the interpreter would calculate its integer division to 12, add
1 to that result, use that number as the year, calculate the remainder to 12, and use that result
as the month.
Depending on the month, the value of the day argument can be passed as a number between 1
and 28, between 1 and 29, between 1 and 30, or between 1 and 31. If the day argument is
passed as a number lower than 1 or higher than 31, the interpreter uses the first day of the
month passed as the second argument. This is 1.
If the day is passed as -1, the day is considered the last day of the previous month of the Month
argument. For example, if the Month argument is passed as 4 (April) and the Day argument is
passed as -1, the interpreter would use 31 as the day because the last day of March is 31.
If the Month argument is passed as 3 (March) and the Day argument is passed as -1, the
interpreter would refer to the Year argument to determine whether the year is leap or not. This
would allow the interpreter to use either 28 or 29 for the day value. The interpreter uses this
algorithm for any day value passed as the third argument when the number is lower than 1.
If the Day argument is passed with a value higher than 28, 29, 30, or 31, the interpreter uses
this same algorithm in reverse order to determine the month and the day.
Besides the Visual Basic's DateSerial() function, the Microsoft Excel library provides a function
named DATE

When using this function, pass the values of the year, the month, and the day. You can use
exactly the rules we reviewed for the DateSerial() function. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "=DATE(2003, 226, 8)"
End Sub
This would produce:

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Converting a Value to Date

If you have a value such as one provided as a string and you want to convert it to a date, you can
call the CDate() function. Its syntax is:
Function CDate(Value As Object) As Date
This function can take any type of value but the value must be convertible to a valid date. If the
function succeeds in the conversion, it produces a Date value. If the conversion fails, it produces
an error.

The Components of a Date

Introduction
As seen so far, a date is a value made of at least three parts: the year, the month, and the day.
The order of these components and how they are put together to constitute a recognizable date
depend on the language and they are defined in the Language and Regional Settings in Control
Panel.

The Year of a Date

The Visual Basic language supports the year of a date ranging from 1 to 9999. This means that
this is the range you can consider when dealing with dates in your worksheets. In most
operations, when creating a date, if you specify a value between 1 and 99, the interpreter would
use the current century for the left two digits. This means that, at the time of this writing (2009),
a year such as 4 or 04 would result in the year 2004. In most cases, to be more precise, you
should usually or always specify the year with 4 digits.
If you have a date value whose year you want to find out, you can call the Visual Basic's Year()
function. Its syntax is:
Public Function Year(ByVal DateValue As Variant) As Integer
As you can see, this function takes a date value as argument. The argument should hold a valid
date. If it does, the function returns the numerical year of a date. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DateHired As Date
DateHired = #2/8/2004#
MsgBox ("In the job since " & Year(DateHired))
End Sub
This would produce:

Besides the Visual Language's Year() function, the Microsoft Excel library provides a function
named YEAR that can be used to get the year value of a date. The date must be provided in the
format the DATE() function.

The Month of a Year

The month part of a date is a numeric value that goes from 1 to 12. When creating a date, you
can specify it with 1 or 2 digits. If the month is between 1 and 9 included, you can precede it with
a leading 0.
If you have a date value and want to get its month, you can call the Month() function. Its syntax
is:
Function Month(ByVal DateValue As Variant) As Integer
This function takes a Date object as argument. If the date is valid, the function returns a number
between 1 and 12 for the month. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DateHired As Date

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DateHired = #2/8/2004#
MsgBox ("Month hired " & Month(DateHired))
End Sub
This would produce:

Besides the Visual Basic's Month() function, you can use the MONTH() function of the Microsoft
Excel library. This function takes one argument as the type of date produced by a call to the
DATE() function.
As mentioned already, the Month() function produces a numeric value that represents the month
of a date. Instead of getting the numeric index of the month of a date, if you want to get the
name of the month, you can call the Visual Basic function named MonthName. Its syntax is:
Function MonthName(ByVal Month As Integer, _
Optional ByVal Abbreviate As Boolean = False) As String
This function takes one required and one optional arguments. The required argument must
represent the value of a month. If it is valid, this function returns the corresponding name. Here
is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DateHired As Date
DateHired = #2/8/2004#
MsgBox("Day hired " & MonthName(Month(DateHired)))
End Sub
This would produce:

The second argument allows you to specify whether you want to get the complete or the short
name. The default is the complete name, in which case the default value of the argument is
False. If you want to get the short name, pass the second argument as True. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DateHired As Date
DateHired = #2/8/2004#
MsgBox("Month hired " & MonthName(Month(DateHired), True))
End Sub
This would produce:

The Day of a Month

The day is a numeric value in a month. Depending on the month (and the year), its value can
range from 1 to 29 (February in a leap year), from 1 to 28 (February in a non-leap year), from 1
to 31 (January, March, May, July, August, October, and December), or from 1 to 30 (April, June,
September, and November).
If you have a date value and you want to know its day in a year, you can call the Day() function.
Its syntax is:
Function Day(ByVal DateValue As Variant) As Integer
This function takes a date as argument. If the date is valid, the function returns the numeric day
in the month of the date argument. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DateHired As Date

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260

DateHired = #2/8/2004#
MsgBox("Day hired " & Day(DateHired))
End Sub
This would produce:

The Day of a Week

To get the name of the day of a week, you can a function named WeekdayName. Its syntax is:
Function WeekdayName( _
ByVal Weekday As Integer, _
Optional ByVal Abbreviate As Boolean = False, _
Optional ByVal FirstDayOfWeekValue As Integer = 0 _
) As String
This function takes one required and two optional arguments. The required argument must be, or
represent, a value between 0 and 7. If you pass it as 0, the interpreter will refer to the operating
system's language to determine the first day of the week, which in US English is Sunday.
Otherwise, if you pass one of the indexes we saw above, the function would return the
corresponding name of the day. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
MsgBox("Day hired: " & WeekdayName(4))
End Sub
This would produce:

If you pass a negative value or a value higher than 7, you would receive an error.
The second argument allows you to specify whether you want to get the complete or the short
name. The default value of this argument is False, which produces a complete name. If you want
a short name, pass the second argument as True. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
MsgBox("Day hired: " & WeekdayName(4, True))
End Sub
As mentioned already, the Visual Basic language allows you to specify what days should be the
first day of the week. This is the role of the third argument.

Formatting a Date Value

Introduction
Formatting a date consists of specifying how the value would be displayed to the user. The Visual
Basic language provides various options. The US English language supports two primary date
formats known as long date and short date. You can check them in the Date property page of the
Customize Regional Options accessible from the Regional Settings in Control Panel:

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262

To support these primary formats, the Visual Basic language provides a function named
FormatDateTime. Its syntax is:
Function FormatDateTime(
ByVal Expression As Variant,
Optional ByVal NamedFormat As Integer = 0
) As String
The first argument of this function must be a valid Date value. The second argument is an
integer. For a date, this argument can be 1 or 2. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DateHired$
DateHired$ = FormatDateTime("22-Aug-2006", 1)
MsgBox("Date Hired: " & DateHired)
End Sub
This would produce:

Using the Format Function

To support more options, the Visual Basic language provides the Format() function that we saw
in the previous lesson. We saw that its syntax was:
Function Format( _
ByVal Expression As Object, _
Optional ByVal Style As String = "" _
) As String
Remember that the first argument is the date that needs to be formatted. The second argument is
a string that contains the formatting to apply. To create it, you use a combination of the month,
day, and/or year characters we saw as date formats. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DateHired As Date
DateHired = #12/28/2006#
MsgBox("Date Hired: " & Format(DateHired, "MMMM dd, yyyy"))
End Sub
This would produce:

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Built-In Time Functions

Introduction
The Visual Basic language supports time values. To create a time value, you can declare a
variable of type Date. To initialize the variable, create a valid value using the rules specified in
the Regional and language Settings of Control Panel, and include that value between two # signs.
Here is an example;
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DepositTime As Date
DepositTime = #7:14#
MsgBox("Deposit Time: " & DepositTime)
End Sub
This would produce:

The Current Time

To get the current time of the computer, you can call the Time function of the Visual Basic
language. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = Time
End Sub
To get a combination of the date and the time of the computer, you can call a function named
Now. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = Now
End Sub
In Microsoft Excel, to get a combination of the date and time of the computer, you can call a
function named NOW. Here is an example:
Sub Exercise()
Range("B2").FormulaR1C1 = "=NOW()"
End Sub

Creating a Time Value

Instead of including the time in # signs, you can also provide it as a string. To support this, the
Visual Basic language provides a function named TimeValue. Its syntax is:
Function TimeValue(ByVal StringTime As String) As Variant
This function expects a valid time as argument. If that argument is valid, the function returns a
time value. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim DepositTime As Date
DepositTime = TimeValue("7:14")
MsgBox("Deposit Time: " & DepositTime)
End Sub
As an alternative to initializing a time variable, you can call a function named TimeSerial. Its
syntax is:
Function TimeSerial(ByVal Hour As Integer, _
ByVal Minute As Integer, _
ByVal Second As Integer) As Variant
This function allows you to specify the hour, the minute, and the second values of a time. If you
pass valid values, the function returns a time. Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise

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Dim DepositTime As Date

264

DepositTime = TimeSerial(7, 14, 0)

MsgBox("Deposit Time: " & DepositTime)
End Sub
To support the ability to create a time value, the Microsoft Excel library provides a function named
TIME:

This function takes three arguments as the hour, the minute, and the second.

The Components of a Time Value

The Hours of a Day
In US English, a time is made of various parts. The first of them is the hour. The
time is a 24th spatial division of a day. It is represented by a numeric value
between 0 and 23. When creating a time value, you specify the hour on the left
side. To get the hour of a valid time, you can call a function named Hour. Its syntax
is:
Function Hour(ByVal TimeValue As Variant) As Integer
This function takes a time value as argument. If a valid time is passed, the function
returns the hour part.
To support the hour part of a time value, the Microsoft Excel library provides a
function named HOUR.

The Minutes of an Hour

An hour is divided in 60 parts. Each part is called a minute and is represented by a
numeric value between 0 and 59. If you have a time value and want to get its
minute part, you can call a function named Minute. Its syntax is:
Function Minute(ByVal TimeValue As Variant) As Integer
When calling this function, pass it a time value. If the argument holds a valid value,
the function returns a number between 0 and 59 and that represents the minutes.
To support the minute part of a time value, the Microsoft Excel library provides a
function named MINUTE.

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The Seconds of a Minute

265

A minute is divided in 60 parts and each part is called a second. It is represented by

a numeric value between 0 and 59. If you have a time value and want to extract a
second part from it, you can call the Second() function named . Its syntax is:
Public Function Second(ByVal TimeValue As Variant) As Integer
If you call this function, pass a valid time. If so, the function would return a number
represents the seconds part.
To support the second part of a time value, the Microsoft Excel library provides a
function named SECOND.

Operations on Date and Time Values

Introduction
Because dates and times are primarily considered as normal values, there are
various operations you can perform on them. You can add or subtract a number of
years or add or subtract a number of months, etc. The Visual Basic language
provides its own mechanisms for performing such operations thanks to its vast
library of functions.

Adding a Value to a Date or a Time

To support the addition of a value to a date or a time, the Visual Basic language
provides a function named DateAdd. Its syntax is:
Function DateAdd( _
ByVal Interval As String, _
ByVal Number As Double, _
ByVal DateValue As Object _
) As Variant
This function takes three arguments that all are required.
The DateValue argument is the date or time value on which you want to perform
this operation. It must be a valid Date value.
The Interval argument is passed as a string. It specifies the kind of value you want
to add. This argument will be enclosed between double quotes and can have one of
the following values:
Interval

Used To Add

Second

Minute

Hour

Numeric Weekday

ww

Week of the Year

Day

Numeric Day of the Year

Month

Quarter

yyyy

Year

The Number argument specifies the number of Interval units you want to add to the
DateValue value. If you set it as positive, its value will be added. Here are
examples:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim LoanStartDate As Date
Dim DepositTime As Date
LoanStartDate = #6/10/1998#
DepositTime = TimeValue("7:14:00")
MsgBox ("Loan Length: " & DateAdd("yyyy", 5, LoanStartDate))
MsgBox ("Time Ready: " & DateAdd("h", 8, DepositTime))
End Sub
This would produce:

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266

Subtracting a Value From a Date or a Time

Instead of adding a value to a date or a time value, you may want to subtract. To
perform this operation, pass the Number argument as a negative value. Here are
examples:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim LoanPayDate As Date
Dim TimeReady As Date
LoanPayDate = #8/12/2008#
TimeReady = TimeValue("17:05")
MsgBox ("Loan Length: " & DateAdd("m", -48, LoanPayDate))
MsgBox ("Time Deposited: " & DateAdd("n", -360, TimeReady))
End Sub
This would produce:

The Difference Between Two Date or Time Values

Another valuable operation performed consists of finding the difference between
two date or time values. To help you perform this operation, the Visual Basic
language provides a function named DateDiff. This function allows you to find the
number of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years from two valid
date or time values. The DateDiff function takes 5 arguments, 3 are required and 2
are optional.
The syntax of the function is
Function DateDiff(
ByVal Interval
ByVal Date1 As
ByVal Date2 As
Optional ByVal
Optional ByVal
) As Long

_
As [ DateInterval | String ], _
Variant, _
Variant, _
DayOfWeek As Interger = 1, _
WeekOfYear As Integer = 1 _

This function takes five arguments, three of which are required and two are
optional.
The Date1 argument can be the start date or start time. The Date2 argument can
be the end date or end time. These two arguments can also be reversed, in which
case the Date2 argument can be the start date or start time and the Date1
argument would be the end date or end time. These two values must be valid date
or time values
The Interval argument specifies the type of value you want as a result. This
argument will be enclosed between double quotes and can have one of the following
values:
Interval

Used To Get

Second

Minute

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Hour

Numeric Weekday

ww

Week of the Year

Day

Numeric Day of the Year

Month

Quarter

yyyy

267

Year

Here is an example:
Public Sub Exercise
Dim LoanStartDate As Date
Dim LoanEndDate As Date
Dim Months As Long
LoanStartDate = #8/12/2003#
LoanEndDate = #10/5/2008#
Months = DateDiff("m", LoanStartDate, LoanEndDate)
MsgBox("Loan Start Date: " & vbTab & LoanStartDate & vbCrLf & _
"Loan End Date: " & vbTab & LoanEndDate & vbCrLf & _
"Loan Length: " & vbTab & Months & " months")
End Sub
This would produce:

By default, the days of a week are counted starting on Sunday. If you want to start
counting those days on another day, supply the Option1 argument using one of the
following
values:
vbSunday,
vbMonday,
vbTuesday,
vbWednesday,
vbThursday, vbFriday, vbSaturday. There are other variances to that argument.
If your calculation involves weeks or finding the number of weeks, by default, the
weeks are counted starting January 1st. If you want to count your weeks starting at
a different date, use the Option2 argument to specify where the function should
start.
We saw that we could use the DateDiff() function to get the difference between
two date or time values. The first argument can be specified as a string. A better
idea is to use a member of the DateInterval enumeration. The members are:
Value

Constant
Value

Description

vbUseSystemDayOfWeek

The interpreter will refer to the

operating system to find out
what day should be the first. In
US English, this should be
Sunday

vbSunday

Sunday (the default in US

English)

vbMonday

Monday

vbTuesday

Tuesday

vbWednesday

Wednesday

vbThursday

Thursday

vbFriday

Friday

vbSaturday

Saturday

By default, the first week of a year is the one that includes January 1st of that year.
This is how it is considered in the regular date-based calculations. If you want to
change this default setting, you can use the last argument of the DateDiff()
function. The value of this argument can be:
Value

vbUseSystem

Constant
Value

Description
The interpreter will refer to the
operating system to find out
what day should be the first.
This should be the week that
includes January 1st

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vbFirstJan1

This will be the week that

includes January 1st

vbFirstFourDays

This will be the first week that

includes at least the first 4
days of the year

vbFirstFullWeek

This will be the first week that

includes the first 7 4 days of
the year

To calculate the number of days between two dates considering that a year has 360
days, you can use the DAYS360() function of the Microsoft Excel library.

Home

Copyright 2008-2010 FunctionX, Inc.

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Description
This is an example of an application used by a fictitious car repair shop. The starting spreadsheet
allows an employee to register a repair order. This includes a customer's name and the car.
To process an order, the employee must provide a list of auto parts that would have been used to
repair the car. Then the clerk must enter the list of jobs that were performed for the order.

Practical Learning: Introducing Workbooks

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. Open the CPAR1 workbook
3. To save it, press F12
4. In the Save As Type combo box, select Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm)
5. Change the name of the file to College Park Auto Repair1
6. Click Save
7. On the Ribbon, click Developer
8. In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click Insert
9. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button
10. On the worksheet, click on the right side of Invoice #
11. Right-click the newly added button and click Properties
12. Using the Properties window, change the characteristics of the button as follows:
(Name): cmdOpenAutoRepair
Caption: open Auto Repair
13. In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click Insert
14. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button
15. Change its properties as follows:
(Name): cmdNewAutoRepair
Caption: New Auto Repair
16. In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click Insert
17. In the ActiveX Controls section, click Command Button (ActiveX Control)
18. On the worksheet, click under the previously added button
19. Using the Properties window, change the characteristics of the button as follows:
(Name): cmdSaveAutoRepair
Caption: Save and Close Auto Repair
20. Move and enlarge the button appropriately:

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32. On the worksheet, right-click the New Auto Repair button and click View Code
33. Write the code as follows:
Option Explicit
Private AutoRepairExists As Boolean
Private Sub cmdNewAutoRepair_Click()
AutoRepairExists = False
Range("D4") = "": Range("D5") = Date: Range("D8") = ""
Range("D9") = "": Range("D10") = "": Range("G10") = ""
Range("J10") = "": Range("D12") = "": Range("G12") = ""
Range("J12") = "": Range("D13") = "": Range("G13") = ""
Range("B16") = "": Range("C16") = "": Range("H16") = ""
Range("I16") = "": Range("J16") = "": Range("B17") = ""
Range("C17") = "": Range("H17") = "": Range("I17") = ""
Range("B18") = "": Range("C18") = "": Range("H18") = ""
Range("I18") = "": Range("B19") = "": Range("C19") = ""
Range("H19") = "": Range("I19") = "": Range("B20") = ""
Range("C20") = "": Range("H20") = "": Range("I20") = ""
Range("B21") = "": Range("C21") = "": Range("H21") = ""
Range("I21") = "": Range("B24") = "": Range("J24") = ""
Range("B25") = "": Range("J25") = "": Range("B26") = ""
Range("J26") = "": Range("B27") = "": Range("J27") = ""
Range("B28") = "": Range("J28") = "": Range("B29") = ""
Range("J29") = "": Range("J33") = "5.75%"
Range("D4").Select
End Sub
34. In the Object combo box, select cmdOpenAutoRepair
35. Implement its Click event as follows:

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Private Sub cmdOpenAutoRepair_Click()

Dim InvoiceNumber As String
Dim Filename As String
InvoiceNumber = Range("D4")
AutoRepairExists = True
If InvoiceNumber = "" Then
MsgBox "You must enter an invoice number in Cell D4"
Range("D4").Select
Else
Workbooks.Open InvoiceNumber & ".xlsx"
End If
End Sub
36. In the Object combo box, select cmdSaveAutoRepair
37. Implement its Click event as follows:
Private Sub cmdSaveAutoRepair_Click()
Dim InvoiceNumber As String
Dim CurrentAutoRepair As Workbook
InvoiceNumber = Range("D4")
If InvoiceNumber = "" Then
MsgBox "You must enter an invoice number in Cell D4"
Range("D4").Select
Else
If AutoRepairExists = True Then
Set CurrentAutoRepair = Workbooks(1)
CurrentAutoRepair.Save
Else
Set CurrentAutoRepair = Workbooks(1)
CurrentAutoRepair.SaveAs InvoiceNumber & ".xlsx"
End If
ActiveWorkbook.Close
End If
End Sub
38. Return to Microsoft Excel
39. Create a repair order with an invoice number of 1001
40. Click Save Auto Repair
41. Click New Auto Repair
42. Return to Microsoft Excel

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