A Pop-up Calendar for Excel

Suitable for: Excel 2007, 2010

Click here for Excel 97, 2000, 2003

One of the biggest problems in maintaining "good" data is the entry of dates. People seem to get

confused about entering dates. Should they enter dd/mm/yy or mm/dd/yy? Do they enter slashes or

dashes or dots? And what was the date of the third Thursday in September last year anyway? What

you really need is a calendar!

NOTE: When I first wrote this tutorial I made use of the Microsoft Calendar Control, an ActiveX

control that was installed along with Microsoft Office Professional (i.e. the version that included

Microsoft Access). If you didn't have that version of Microsoft Office you could still download and

install a copy of the ActiveX control. If you want to do that you can follow the original tutorial  here.

Since then Microsoft have created an alternative to the Calendar Control called the MonthView

control. This new ActiveX control is similar in function to the Calendar Control and has the advantage

that it is installed with all versions of Microsoft Office. In Microsoft Office 2007 you have the choice of

which ActiveX control to use but in Microsoft Office 2010 you  must  use the MonthView control as

described in this tutorial.

The tutorial shows you how to create a pop-up calendar using the Microsoft MonthView control that is

installed with Excel. You will use the Visual Basic Editor to create a UserForm that displays a

calendar. You will also write some VBA code to power the UserForm and to generate an additional

item on the menu that appears when the user right-clicks a cell on an Excel worksheet. Clicking the

menu item will display the calendar. When the user selects a date it is automatically entered into the

active cell on the worksheet.

What Will the Calendar Do?
The MonthView control has a number of useful features. In its standard format it displays a single

month in calendar format (it can be set to display more than one if required). Either side of the

month name is an arrow button which displays the previous or next month when clicked. Clicking on

the month name opens a list of months so that you can quickly jump to a specific month. Clicking on

the year number reveals a spinner which lets you change the year. The current date is always shown

at the bottom of the calendar. Click it to jump to today's date on the calendar.

Where Does the Code Go?

The pop-up calendar is created entirely with code and is generated when you need it. The code that

creates and operates the calendar has to reside inside an Excel file. The question is which one? If you

want the pop-up calendar to be available whenever you are working in Excel you should create it

in Personal.xlsb, sometimes referred to as your Personal Macro Workbook, because this file exists to

store code that you want to be available to all your Excel files. Personal.xlsb opens and is hidden

each time Excel is started. Any macros and functions it contains are then available for use in any

other workbook. To find out whether or not you already have a copy of Personal.xlsb read the

instructions in New to VBA? further down the page.

However since the Personal Macro Workbook, as its name implies, is specific to your copy of Excel it

will reside either on your computer's hard drive or within your personal profile on the network. It isn't

the best place to put the code if you want other users to have access to the pop-up calendar.

Instead, you could create your pop-up calendar in a specific workbook. It would be available

whenever (and only when) that workbook was open, but also available to any other workbook that

was open at the same time. A pop-up calendar created in an Excel template would be present in each

workbook that was generated from the template. The most flexible option is to create an Excel Add-

In. It's easy to do and will allow you to distribute your calendar to other users. You start by building

the calendar exactly as described in this tutorial but in a new Excel workbook(not Personal.xlsb)

which you then convert to an Excel Add-In. The last section of this tutorial takes you through the

steps of creating an Excel Add-In.

In this tutorial I will be using Personal.xlsb but if you choose to put your pop-up calendar somewhere

else you can still follow the same instructions.

New to VBA?
If you plan to create and edit macros or work with VBA code you will find it useful to enable the

Developer tab. It offers quick access to many of the tools you will be using during your projects. If it

isn't currently visible in your copy of Excel you can enable it by going to Excel Options.

 In Excel 2007 click the Office Button and choose Excel Options. Click the Popular button,

check the Show Developer tab in the Ribbon option then click OKto return to Excel.

 In Excel 2010 go to the File tab and choose Options and select the Customize

Ribbon section. On the right side of the window under Customize the Ribbon make sure
that Main Tabs is selected from the dropdown then check the Developer option and
click OK to return to Excel.

If you have never recorded a macro on your current copy of Excel then you probably won't have a

copy of Personal.xlsb yet. If a copy exists it will be visible in the Project Explorer window of the

Visual Basic Editor. If you don't have one it takes just a moment to create: On the Developer tab

click the Record Macro button. When the Record Macro dialog appears choose to store the macro

in the Personal Macro Workbook then click OK. Now click the Stop Recording button on

the Developer tab. You have just recorded an empty macro but that action was sufficient to prompt

Excel to create a copy of Personal.xlsb to store it in. You can delete the macro later but now you

have somewhere to create your pop-up calendar.

Build the Calendar

The first step is to build the calendar. When you have done that you will go on to write the VBA code

that will make it work. If you plan to create an Excel Add-In you should open a new empty workbook.

If you want your calendar to reside in a specific workbook then make sure that workbook is open. In

Excel open the Visual Basic Editor using the keyboard shortcut [ALT]+[F11] or click the Visual

Basic button on the Developer tab of the Ribbon.

IMPORTANT: Remember to save your work regularly. Since a UserForm and its associated code

resides within an Excel workbook the they are saved when you save the workbook and vice-versa.

You can save from within Excel or from within the Visual Basic Editor window in the usual way by

clicking the Save button. Excel will warn you if there are any unsaved changes when you close the

workbook. If you are working in a regular Excel workbook (and not in Personal.xlsb) you should save

your workbook as an Excel Macro Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm). Failure to do this will result in

Excel discarding your code.

Step 1. Create a new UserForm

You are going to place the pop-up calendar on a UserForm which is a kind of dialog box that you can

build and program with VBA. Go to the Project Explorer window of the Visual Basic Editor. The

Project Explorer is usually located in the upper left corner of the Visual Basic Editor window. If you

can't see it, switch it on from the View menu. Right-click on the name of the workbook in which

you want to create the pop-up calendar then choose Insert and UserForm.

A new empty UserForm will appear in the main window of the Visual Basic Editor together with the

Toolbox containing buttons for the most commonly used objects (called controls) that can be placed

on a form. You can switch the Toolbox on and off from a button on the toolbar. You will also notice

that the Toolbox disappears when the UserForm is not selected. If this happens just click on the

UserForm and the Toolbox will reappear.

Step 2. Rename and caption the UserForm

When the UserForm is selected the Properties Window of the Visual Basic Editor displays a list of

all the UserForm's properties. The Properties Window is normally located in the lower left corner of

the Visual Basic Editor window. If you can't see it switch it on from the View menu. Excel

automatically names and captions (where appropriate) new objects. You will see that the UserForm

has been given the name and caption UserForm1. It is good practice to give objects more meaningful

names so go to the Properties Window and change the Name property to frmCalendar and

the Caption property to Pick a Date...

IMPORTANT: If you choose to use different names from those suggested here remember to modify

any code that refers to these objects by name.

You can test the Userform from the Visual Basic Editor now (and at any stage) by pressing [F5] on

your keyboard or clicking the Run button on the toolbar. Doing this opens the UserForm in Excel so

that you can check the progress of your design. Closing the UserForm (click the [X] in its upper-right

corner) returns you to the Visual Basic Editor.

Step 3: Place a Close button on the UserForm

You might think the calendar doesn't need a Close button since there is already one in the upper-

right corner of the UserForm, and our code will close the form automatically after a date has been

chosen. But doing so will add a useful feature that most users take for granted, that is to close the

calendar if they press the [Esc] key on their keyboard.

Click the CommandButton button on the Toolbox then click on the center of the UserForm. The dots

on the UserForm represent a grid to help you align objects neatly. Point at the dotted border of the

new command button and drag it so that it is located two grid points down from the top and two grid

points in from the left of the UserForm.

Now use the Properties Window to change the command button's Name property to cmdClose,

change its Caption property to Close and set its Cancel property to True. When

the Cancel property of a command button is set to True the button gets clicked automatically when

the user presses the [Esc] key on their keyboard.

Step 4: Code and test the Close button

In this step you will attach some code to the Cancel button so that when it is clicked the UserForm

will close, thus closing the pop-up calendar. In the Visual Basic Editor double-click the Close

command button. This opens the UserForm's code window with an empty Event Procedure for

the Click event of the command button (an Event Procedure is a collection of commands that are

executed when a particular event happens - in this case when the cmdClose button is clicked).

Between the Sub... and End Sub lines enter the statement:

         Unload Me

This instructs Excel to close the UserForm. The completed code should look like this:

Private Sub cmdClose_Click()
   Unload Me
End Sub

Return to the UserForm design window by double-clicking its name in the Project Explorer or by using

the keyboard shortcut [CTRL]+[TAB] to switch windows, then test the UserForm as before by

pressing [F5] or clicking the Run button on the toolbar. You should be able to close the UserForm
from Excel by either clicking the Close button or by pressing the [ESC] key.

HOW THE CODE WORKS

The command Unload causes a UserForm to close and drop out of memory (the

command Hide can be used to be remove it temporarily from view yet have it remain

open in memory so that it can be reopened without losing its data). The word Me is a

quick way of referring to the current UserForm without having to use its full name. I

could have written Unload frmCalendar. Since the form is usually referred to frequently in

the code using Me simplifies code writing and saves a lot of editing if the UserForm's

name is ever changed.

Step 5: Locate the MonthView control

The MonthView control will provide the calendar that you will place on the UserForm. It is not

normally present on the Toolbox so you will have to ask for it. Right-click on the Toolbox and

choose Additional Controls. Scroll down the list in the Additional Controls dialog until you

find Microsoft MonthView Control 6.0 (the version number might be different depending on your

version of Microsoft Office) and check the box next to its name, then click OK to close the dialog. You

will see that a button for the new control has been added to the toolbox.

Step 6: Place a calendar on the UserForm and set its properties

Click the MonthView button on the Toolbox then click on the UserForm to create a calendar on the

form. Drag the calendar into the upper left corner to the UserForm. The calendar will cover the Close

button you created earlier. This is intentional because the Close button will be operated by the user

pressing their [ESC] key and it does not need to be visible.

When the MonthView control is selected the Properties Window displays its properties. By default it

has a sunken border. I don't like this effect so I have changed the Appearance property to 0 -

cc2Flat. There are many other properties you can modify.

The MonthColumns and MonthRows properties allow you to display more than one month at a time.

The ShowToday property lets you choose whether or not to highlight and display the current date.
Step 7: Resize the UserForm

The final step in designing the calendar is to change the size of the UserForm to match the

dimensions of the calendar. Click on the background of the UserForm to select the form then use the

resizing handles (white rectangles located around the dotted border) to drag the edges of the

UserForm to the required size. Finally, run the form to check that it looks OK.

Step 8: Write the code to enter a date

In this step you will create the code that writes a date on to the worksheet when the user clicks one

of the day buttons on the calendar. Double-click the MonthView control to open the code window.

This opens the UserForm's code window with an empty Event Procedure for the DateClick event of

the MonthView control.

You have a couple of choices now depending upon what you want to happen when the user chooses a

date. If you want the calendar to enter the chosen date only in the active cell, which is the selected

cell when only a single cell is selected or only the active cell if a block of cells or multiple cells are

selected, then use this method. Between the Sub...and End Sub lines enter the statements:
         On Error Resume Next

         ActiveCell.Value = DateClicked

         Unload Me

This instructs Excel to enter the chosen date into the currently active cell and the close the UserForm.

The completed code should look like this:

Private Sub MonthView1_DateClick(ByVal DateClicked As Date)

   On Error Resume Next
   ActiveCell.Value = DateClicked
   Unload Me
End Sub

If you want the calendar to enter the chosen date in all the currently selected cells, whether this is a

block of cells, a multiple selection, or just a single cell if only one is selected, then use this method.

This code is more versatile so I would probably do it this way unless I had a particular reason not to

do so. Between the Sub... and End Sublines enter the statements:

         On Error Resume Next

         Dim cell As Object

         For Each cell In Selection.Cells

                cell.Value = DateClicked

         Next cell

         Unload Me

This instructs Excel to write a date into each of the selected cells. Your code should look like this:

Private Sub MonthView1_DateClick(ByVal DateClicked As Date)

   On Error Resume Next
   Dim cell As Object
   For Each cell In Selection.Cells
      cell.Value = DateClicked
   Next cell
   Unload Me
End Sub

Test the code by running the calendar as before, with one or several cells selected. If it fails to work

properly then check your typing!

HOW THE CODE WORKS

Although this is a very simple operation, in both cases I have added the statement On
 Error Resume Next which tells Excel to ignore any error that might occur. This will

prevent the code from crashing if, for example, the selected cell or one of the cells in a

selection is locked. The code makes use of the DateClicked parameter which is given the

date chosen when the user clicks one of the day buttons. In the first example that value

is simply written into the active cell before the UserForm is closed. In the second

example the code first declares a variable that represents a single cell. It then employs

a For...Next code loop to visit each cell in the current selection, entering the value into

each as it goes, before finally closing the UserForm.

Step 9: Synchronize the calendar with the worksheet

I nearly didn't include this step, which is optional anyway, because whilst it works perfectly on the old

version of my pop-up calendar it doesn't work completely as it should in this version. The idea is

that, if the active cell already contains a date, the calendar opens to display that same date. I have

been able to make the calendar display the correct month and year but despite my best efforts can't

get it to highlight the specific day. The MonthView control has a DayBold  property which is

"supposed" to be controllable with code - you tell the calendar which day number to display in bold

and it does so - but in the current context I just can't make it work. I've searched for a solution

without success so if you find one please let me know! Here's how to have the calendar open at the

correct year and month...

Open the UserForm's code window by right-clicking on its name in the Project Explorer and

choosing View Code or pressing the [F7] key. At the top of the code window are two drop-down

lists. From the left-hand list choose UserForm the from the right-hand list choose Initialize. This

creates and empty event procedure for the UserForm_Initialize event (if a UserForm_Click event is

also created you can delete it). Between the Sub... and End Sub statements type:

         If IsDate(ActiveCell.Value) Then

                  Me.MonthView1.Value = ActiveCell.Value

         End If

Your completed code should look like this:

Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
   If IsDate(ActiveCell.Value) Then
      Me.MonthView1.Value = ActiveCell.Value
   End If
End Sub

Test the code in different scenarios: by opening the calendar when the active cell in Excel is empty;

when it contains something that is not a date (a number or some text); and when it contains a date

different from the current date. If the active cell is empty, or contains text or a number, the calendar
should open to show the current date. If the active cell already contains a date the calendar should

open to show the same year and month.

HOW THE CODE WORKS

The Initialize event happens as the UserForm opens. It is used to prepare the form for

use with such tasks as filling lists and setting starting values for textboxes. Here it is

being used set the initial value of the MonthView control. The code uses

the IsDate function to check whether or not the active cell contains a date. This is used

as the condition for an If Statement so that, if the function returns True, the value of the

calendar is set to the same date. If the function returns False then no date was found so

nothing changes and the calendar opens with its default date.

Step 10: Write the code to open the calendar

Until now you have been opening the pop-up calendar from from the Visual Basic Editor but we need

a way to open it from Excel. This will take the form of a simple macro. In the Project Explorer right-

click on the name of the workbook in which you created the UserForm then

choose Insert and Module. This creates a new code module which then opens in the main window of

the Visual Basic Editor. Type:

         Sub OpenCalendar

and press [Enter]. Excel places a pair of brackets after your typing and after an empty line adds the

line End Sub. Place your cursor in the empty line between Sub... and  End Sub and enter the

following statement:

         frmCalendar.Show

If you gave your UserForm a different name make sure you use it here. The completed code should

look like this:

Sub OpenCalendar()
   frmCalendar.Show
End Sub

You can test your macro by going to Excel and clicking the Macros button on the View tab or

the Developer tab. Your macro will be listed in the Macro dialog box. Select it then click Run to

open the calendar.

HOW THE CODE WORKS

The Show command is the reverse of the Hide command mentioned earlier. But this time

you can't use Me to refer to the UserForm because it is not the object in which this bit of

code resides. The UserForm has to be referred to by name. There is also

a Load command which opens a Userform into memory but does not make it visible. It is

unnecessary to use it here because, if a UserForm is not already open in memory when

the Show command is given, Excel assumes that it must Load it first and does so

automatically.

Step 11: Write the code for the shortcut menu

Now that there is a macro to open the calendar we can add some features to make it more

convenient for the user to run it. One way is to add a new command to the Cellcontext menu, the

one that the user sees after right-clicking on a cell. This means writing some code to add a new item

to the menu when the file containing the calendar opens, and some more code to remove the menu

item when the file closes. This code has to run automatically when the file opens or closes so we

make use of special event procedures that are located in the ThisWorkbook code module.

In the Visual Basic Editor go to the Project Explorer and click the plus sign [+] next to the folder

marked Microsoft Excel Objects under the name of the file containing your calendar. When the

folder opens double-click the item marked ThisWorkbook to open the code module in the main

window. Choose Workbook from the left-hand drop-down list at the top of the window. This

automatically creates an empty event procedure for the Workbook_Open event. Between

the Sub... and End Sub statements type:

         On Error Resume Next

         Dim NewControl As CommandBarControl

         Application.CommandBars("Cell").Controls("Insert Date").Delete

         Set NewControl = Application.CommandBars("Cell").Controls.Add

         With NewControl

                  .Caption = "Insert Date"

                  .OnAction = "Module1.OpenCalendar"

                  .BeginGroup = True

         End With

Your completed code should look like this:

Private Sub Workbook_Open()
   On Error Resume Next
   Dim NewControl As CommandBarControl
   Application.CommandBars("Cell").Controls("Insert Date").Delete
   Set NewControl = Application.CommandBars("Cell").Controls.Add
   With NewControl
      .Caption = "Insert Date"
      .OnAction = "Module1.OpenCalendar"
      .BeginGroup = True
   End With
End Sub

IMPORTANT: If you changed any of the names within your project you must make sure you also edit

the code so that the matching names are used. So, if you called your macro anything other than

"OpenCalendar" or the module in which it is located is called anything other than "Module1", you

should amend the code accordingly. Make sure, for example, that the text "Insert Date" is spelled the

same way each time it is used. Simple errors like this are the most common reason for code not

working

HOW THE CODE WORKS

The Workbook_Open event happens automatically when a workbook opens in Excel. As

before, the code starts with an instruction to ignore any errors that might occur (you

should always use this command with caution and only when you are sure that nothing

untoward can happen if an error is ignored). Then a Dim statement is used to declare a

variable which I have called "NewControl" and which represents a menu item. Before

proceeding to create the new menu item the next statement deletes the item from the

menu. This seems illogical but it is a safety measure to make sure that, if Excel did not

close properly last time, we are not left with multiple copies of the menu item. If, as

expected, Excel closed properly and the menu item was deleted then this statement

would cause an error to occur, hence the error handler at the start. The next statement
 adds the item to the menu. A With Statement (a way of grouping together a number of

commands relating to the same thing) is used to set the properties of the new menu

item.

Now go to the right-hand drop-down list at the top of the code window and choose BeforeClose to

create an event procedure for the Workbook_BeforeClose event. Between the Sub... and End

Sub statements type:

         On Error Resume Next

         Application.CommandBars("Cell").Controls("Insert Date").Delete

Your completed code should look like this:

Private Sub Workbook_BeforeClose(Cancel As Boolean)

   On Error Resume Next
   Application.CommandBars("Cell").Controls("Insert Date").Delete
End Sub

HOW THE CODE WORKS

The Workbook_BeforeClose event happens automatically as a workbook closes. This

procedure simply deletes the new item from the menu and is protected with a simple

error handler.

Step 12: Add a keyboard shortcut to activate the calendar

If you like using keyboard shortcuts then you might like to have one automatically assigned to your

pop-up calendar. This requires an additional command statement to be added to

the Workbook_Open  event procedure.  Add the following line to the Workbook_Open event

procedure. Either below the Dim... statement or immediately above the End Sub  statement:

         Application.OnKey "+^{C}", "Module1.OpenCalendar"

You also need to cancel the shortcut assignment when the file containing the calendar closes so add

the following line to the Workbook_BeforeClose  event procedure:

      Application.OnKey "+^{C}"

The completed code should look like this:

Private Sub Workbook_BeforeClose(Cancel As Boolean)

   On Error Resume Next
   Application.OnKey "+^{C}"
   Application.CommandBars("Cell").Controls("Insert Date").Delete
End Sub
Private Sub Workbook_Open()
   On Error Resume Next
   Dim NewControl As CommandBarControl
   Application.OnKey "+^{C}", "Module1.OpenCalendar"
   Application.CommandBars("Cell").Controls("Insert Date").Delete
   Set NewControl = Application.CommandBars("Cell").Controls.Add
   With NewControl
      .Caption = "Insert Date"
      .OnAction = "Module1.OpenCalendar"
      .BeginGroup = True
   End With
End Sub

HOW THE CODE WORKS

The OnKey command is used to instruct Excel to run a specific macro when a particular

combination of keys is pressed. The key combination is defined by a code, in this

case +^{C} which represents the shortcut [SHIFT]+[CTRL]+[C]. The plus sign

represents the [SHIFT] key, the caret (^) represents the [CONTROL] or [CTRL] key, and

the {C} represents the letter C. If you prefer a different shortcut then you can specify

something else. If you would like to see a complete list of the key codes that can be used

go to your code module and place you cursor within the word OnKey in the code, then

press [F1]. This opens Help at the appropriate page. The OnKey command is used in

the Workbook_Open event procedure to assign the keyboard shortcut to the macro that

opens the calendar, and again in the Workbook_BeforeClose event procedure, but this

time without the macro assignment, to cancel the assignment when it is no longer

needed.

Step 13: Test the code

Before testing your code you should CHECK YOUR TYPING, especially anything you have typed in

quotes, such as the caption you used for the menu item! The Visual Basic Editor is good at spotting

coding errors but can't check your text entries. It is far better to find and correct any errors now than

after your code has crashed and maybe caused problems in your worksheet. You can additionally

check any new code by compiling it. Open the Debug menu and choose Compile VBA Project. If

you get no messages then the editor has not found any problems. If the Compile... entry is disabled

it means that there is nothing new to compile.

Compile and Save your code then close Excel. This ensures that Personal.xlsb is closed. If you are

working in a file other than your Personal.xlsb then you need only close and save that file. Re-open

Excel (or re-open the file in which you created the calendar if it was not Personal.xlsb) and right-click

on any cell. You should see the command Insert Date at the bottom of the context menu. Choose it
to make your calendar appear. When you pick a date from the calendar the date will be written into

the cell and the calendar will close. If you added the keyboard shortcut to open the calendar then

test that too by holding down the [CONTROL] and [SHIFT] keys and pressing [C].

If any of this does not work then the most likely problem is a typing error in your code. Go back and

check it thoroughly!

Step 14: Password protect the code

If it is likely that other users will have access to your code projects and particularly if you intend to

distribute your project either as a shared file, template or Add-In, it is advisable to protect your code

with a password. This has a number of advantages. It prevents a third party from viewing and

possibly interfering with the code. It also guarantees that, in the unfortunate event that an

unforeseen error causes the code to crash, the user does not find themselves in the Visual Basic

Editor looking at a stalled code module and not knowing what to do next.

In the Visual Basic Editor go to the Project Explorer then right-click on the name of the file containing

your pop-up calendar project and choose VBAProject Properties. Select the Protection tab of

the Properties dialog and enter then confirm your password. Place a tick in the Lock project for

viewing check box then click OK and Save the file.

The password protection comes into operation after the protected file has been closed and re-opened.

If you try to view the code of a protected code project the Visual Basic Editor requires you first to

supply the password.

IMPORTANT: Don't forget the password! If you lose the password to a VBA code project you will

permanently lock yourself out of the code. There is no easy way to recover the password of a

protected file which, after all, is the point of protecting it.

That's it! You've finished and should have a fully-functioning pop-up calendar. If you want to continue

and turn it into an Add-In then read on...

Building an Excel Add-In

The following steps explain how to convert your project into an Add-In which you can use yourself or

distribute to other users. If you have been working so far in Personal.xlsbyou don't need to build the

calendar again. Just copy or move your UserForm and associated code into a regular Excel workbook.

It isn't difficult to do. Open a new, empty workbook in Excel then in the Visual Basic Editor go to the
Properties Window and drag the UserForm from Personal.xlsb to your new workbook where Excel will

create a copy of it. All the UserForm's code will automatically go with it. Do the same for the module

in which you created the macro that opens the calendar (Module1 in this example). Then copy

the Workbook_Open and Workbook_BeforeClose code from the ThisWorkbook module

in Personal.xlsb to the ThisWorkbook module of your new workbook.

IMPORTANT: If you plan to use the Add-In yourself you should delete the UserForm and all the

associated code from Personal.xlsb to eliminate any risk of conflicts between them.

If you have been working in a regular Excel workbook then you don't need to do anything else, just

follow on from here.

Step 15: Save the file and define its properties

If you have been working in a regular Excel workbook you will already have saved the file. If not, or

if you have just copied everything into a new workbook from Personal.xlsbthen you need to save it

now. Save the file as an Excel Macro Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm) and call it something

like Calendar.xlsm.  It is possible to miss out this step but I recommend it because it gives you a

back-up copy of your work and also allows you to add a meaningful name and a description to your

Add-In. Then Close the workbook.

Use Windows Explorer to find the workbook you just saved then right-click on it and

choose Properties. In the File Properties dialog click the Summary tab and enter some suitable

information about your Add-In. Alternatively you can you can access the file properties from within

Excel when the file is open:

 In Excel 2007 click the Office Button then choose Prepare and Properties. In

the Properties pane click Document Properties then Advanced Properties to open
the Properties  dialog.

 In Excel 2010 go to the File tab, click Info then choose Properties and Advanced

Properties to open the Properties dialog.

The Title property will become the name of the Add-In (as distinct from its filename) and

the Comments property will be used to provide the user with a brief description of its features. After

defining the properties remember to save the file!

Step 16: Create the Add-In file

To create the Add-In open your Calendar.xlsm file in Excel then open the Save As dialog box:

 In Excel 2007 click the Office Button then choose Save As and Other Formats.

 In Excel 2010 go to the File tab and choose Save As.

If you want to give your Add-In a different filename you can do it now. Open the Save as

type dropdown and choose Excel Add-In (*.xlam) from the list then click Save. Excel creates a

copy of the file (the original remains unchanged) as an Add-In and automatically stores it in the Add-

Ins folder. The location of the Add-Ins folder might be different depending on your particular set-up

but it is usually found at: C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Add-Ins.

The location of an Add-In is important but not critical since, as you will see shortly, you can tell Excel

where to find an Add-In if it is not in the usual place. This is useful if, for example, you want to store

your Add-Ins in a network location.

NOTE: You will see that there is also the option to save the file as an Excel 97-2003 Add-In (*.xla).

Don't do this unless you know that it is going to be used in an older version of Excel (Excel 2003 or

earlier). The Add-In needs to be in the right format for the version of Excel in which it will be used.

Step 17: Activate the Add-In

Now that you have built the Add-In it must be activated in Excel before you can use it. If you are

going to distribute your Add-In the users will need to do this on each computer in which the Add-In is

installed.

 In Excel 2007 click the Office Button and choose Excel Options.

 In Excel 2010 go to the File tab and choose Options.

Go to the Add-Ins section of the Excel Options dialog. If you have installed the Add-In file in the

default Add-Ins folder you will see it listed here under the Inactive Application Add-Ins heading

(don't worry if you put it somewhere else - you will be able to browse for it later). You can click on its

name here to view details of its location and the properties you assigned earlier.
Make sure that Excel Add-Ins is selected in the Manage list then click Go to open the Add-

Ins dialog in Excel. If you installed the Add-In in the default Add-Ins folder it will be listed in the

dialog box. Otherwise, click the Browse button to locate and select your Add-In file which will appear

in the dialog when you have done so. You will also see any other Add-Ins that have already been

installed including those that come pre-installed with Excel. Selecting one displays its features at the

bottom of the dialog box. Now that Excel knows about your Add-In you can switch it on and off from

here. Doing so effectively opens and closes the Add-In file in Excel. To switch your Add-In on place a

tick in the box next to its name and click OK.

NOTE: In  Excel 2010 the  Developer tab of the Ribbon has a button (marked Add-Ins) that takes

you direct to the Add-Ins dialog.

The pop-up calendar is now ready for use and will remain so each time you use Excel until you

deactivate it by un-checking the box next to its name in the Add-Ins dialog box. If you return to

the Add-Ins section of the Excel Options dialog you will see that your Add-In now appears under the

heading Active Application Add-Ins.

Download a Sample File

Before downloading any files from this site please read the Disclaimer and Copyright notices on my

Downloads page. If you download a file from this site it is assumed that you have read, understood
and agreed to the terms set out in the notices.

So, maybe you are too busy or just can't be bothered to build one for yourself. Don't worry, you can

download a ready-made copy of the Pop-up Calendar Add-In or an Excel workbook containing a

functioning Pop-up Calendar right here. The files are not password protected so you can view and

modify the code if you wish. You are strongly advised to password protect the code as described

earlier if you plan to distribute these files to other users.

The files are supplied in .zip format. To download a file right-click on the link and choose Save

target as... (in Internet Explorer) or Save Link As... (in Firefox) and save the .zip file to your hard

disk. You should extract the Add-In or workbook from the .zip file before using it. Right-click on

the .zip file and choose Extract All... then follow the instructions.

Download the Excel 2007/2010 Pop-up Calendar Add-In [16KB]

Download the Excel 2007/2010 Pop-up Calendar Workbook [18KB]

to