Excel VBA Programming Part 1

1. EXCEL VBA PROGRAMMING
PART 1
MORTEZA NOSHAD
MSPRO.NOSHAD@GMAIL.COM
0912 - 84 98 775

2. WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH VBA?
Inserting a bunch of text
Automating a task you perform frequently
Automating repetitive operations
Creating a custom command
Creating a custom button
Developing new worksheet functions
Creating custom add-ins for Excel
Creating complete, macro-driven applications

3. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF VBA
Excel always executes the task in exactly the same way. (In most cases,
consistency is a good thing.)
Excel performs the task much faster than you can do it manually (unless, of
course, you’re Clark Kent).
you’re a good macro programmer, Excel always performs the task without
errors (which probably can’t be said about you or me)
If you set things up properly, someone who doesn’t know anything about Excel
can perform the task
You can do things in Excel that are otherwise impossible — which can make you
a very popular person around the office
For long, time-consuming tasks, you don’t have to sit in front of your computer
and get bored. Excel does the work, while you hang out at the water cooler
VBA ADVANTAGES

4. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF VBA
You have to know how to write programs in VBA (but that’s why you bought this
book, right?). Fortunately, it’s not as difficult as you might expect
Other people who need to use your VBA programs must have their own copies
of Excel. It would be nice if you could press a button that transforms your
Excel/VBA application into a stand-alone program, but that isn’t possible (and
probably never will be)
Sometimes, things go wrong. In other words, you can’t blindly assume that your
VBA program will always work correctly under all circumstances. Welcome to
the world of debugging and, if others are using your macros, technical support
VBA is a moving target. As you know, Microsoft is continually upgrading Excel.
Even though Microsoft puts great effort into compatibility between versions, you
may discover that the VBA code you’ve written doesn’t work properly with older
versions or with a future version of Excel
VBA DISADVANTAGES

5. VBA IN A NUTSHELL
You perform actions in VBA by writing (or recording) code in a VBA module
A VBA module consists of Sub procedures
A VBA module can also have Function procedures
VBA manipulates objects
Objects are arranged in a hierarchy
Objects of the same type form a collection
You refer to an object by specifying its position in the object hierarchy, using a
dot (a.k.a., a period) as a separator
If you omit specific references, Excel uses the active objects
Objects have properties

6. VBA IN A NUTSHELL
You refer to a property of an object by combining the object name with the
property name, separated by a dot
You can assign values to variables
Objects have methods
You specify a method by combining the object with the method, separated by a
dot
VBA includes all the constructs of modern programming languages, including
variables, arrays, and looping

7. MACRO
Create your first macro
Use relative references
Macro shortcut key-Place macro
Examining macro
How Excel Executes Statements
Saving workbooks that contain macros
Understanding macro security

8. VISUAL BASIC EDITOR
Working with the Project Explorer
Working with a Code Window
Getting VBA code into a module
Enter the code directly.
Use the Excel macro recorder to record your actions and convert them to VBA
code
Copy the code from one module and paste it into another.
Customizing the VBA Environment

9. SUBS VERSUS FUNCTIONS
A Sub procedure is a group of VBA statements that
performs an action (or actions) with Excel.
A Function procedure is a group of VBA statements
that performs a calculation and returns a single
value.

10. NAMING SUBS AND FUNCTIONS
You can use letters, numbers, and some punctuation characters, but the first character must be a
letter.
You can’t use any spaces or periods in the name.
VBA does not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters.
You can’t embed any of the following characters in a name: #, $, %, &, @,^, *, or !.
If you write a Function procedure for use in a formula, make sure the name does not look like a
cell address (for example, AC12).
Names can be no longer than 255 characters. (Of course, you would never make a procedure
name this long.)
Ideally, a procedure’s name should describe the routine’s purpose. A good practice is to create a
name by combining a verb and a noun — for example, ProcessData, PrintReport, Sort_Array, or
CheckFilename

11. EXCECUTING SUB PROCEDURES
With the Run➪Run sub/UserForm command (in the VBE) & F5 key.
From Excel’s Macro dialog box. You open this box by choosing Developer➪Code➪Macros). Or
you can press the Alt+F8 shortcut key. require an argument.
Using the Ctrl+key shortcut assigned to the Sub procedure
Clicking a button or a shape on a worksheet
From another Sub procedure that you write
From a button on the Quick Access Toolbar
From a custom item on the ribbon you develop
Automatically, when you open or close a workbook
When an event occurs
From the Immediate window in the VBE

12. EXECUTING FUNCTION PROCEDURES
By calling the function from another Sub procedure or Function
procedure
By using the function in a worksheet formula


13. COMMENTS
A comment is the simplest type of VBA statement. Because VBA
ignores these statements, they can consist of anything you want. You
can insert a comment to remind yourself why you did something or
to clarify some particularly elegant code you wrote. Use comments
liberally and extensively to describe what the code does (which isn’t
always obvious by reading the code itself). Often, code that makes
perfect sense today mystifies you tomorrow

14. COMMENTS
When testing a procedure, you may want to remove some
statements temporarily. Rather than delete the statements, you can
convert them to comments. Then when testing is completed, convert
the comments back to statements. In the VBE, choose
view➪Toolbars➪Edit to display the Edit toolbar. To convert a block
of statements to comments, select the statements and click the
Comment Block button. To remove the apostrophes, select the
statements and click the Uncomment Block button.

15. COMMENTS
• The following tips can help you make effective use of comments:
• Briefly describe the purpose of each Sub or Function procedure
• you write.
• Use comments to keep track of changes you make to a procedure.
• Use a comment to indicate that you’re using a function or a construct
• in an unusual or nonstandard manner.
• Use comments to describe the variables you use, especially if you
don’t use meaningful variable names.
• Use a comment to describe any workarounds you develop to
overcome bugs in Excel.
• Write comments as you develop code, instead of saving the task for
a final step.

16. UNDERSTANDING VARIABLES
A variable is simply a named storage location in your computer’s
memory. You have lots of flexibility in naming your variables, so make
the variable names as descriptive as possible. You assign a value to a
variable by using the equal sign operator.
You can use letters, numbers, and some punctuation characters,
but the first character must be a letter.
You cannot use any spaces or periods in a variable name.
VBA does not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase
letters.
You cannot use the following characters in a variable name: #, $,
%, &, or !.
Variable names can be no longer than 255 characters.

17. UNDERSTANDING VARIABLES
wear yourself out typing the entire name of a variable. Just
type the first two or three characters and then hit Control+Space. The
VBE will either complete the entry for you or — if the choice is
ambiguous — show you a pick list to select from. In fact, this slick trick
works with reserved words too.
has many reserved words that you can’t use for variable names
or procedure names. These include words such as Sub, Dim, With, End,
and For. If you attempt to use one of these words as a variable, you
may get a compile error (your code won’t run). So, if an assignment
statement produces an error message, double-check and make sure
that the variable name isn’t a reserved word.

18. WHAT ARE VBA’S DATA TYPES?

19. DECLARING AND SCOPING VARIABLES

20. WORKING WITH CONSTANTS

21. WORKING WITH OPERATORS

22. WORKING WITH ARRAYS

24. INTRODUCING THE EXCEL OBJECT MODEL

25. INTRODUCING THE EXCEL OBJECT MODEL
1
2
3

26. COLLECTIONS OF OBJECTS

27. REFERRING TO OBJECTS
In this case, the number is not in quotation marks. Bottom line? If you refer to an
object by using its name, use quotation marks. If you refer to an object by using its
index number, use a plain number without quotation marks.

28. NAVIGATING THROUGH THE HIERARCHY

29. WORKING WITH RANGE OBJECTS

30. WORKING WITH RANGE OBJECTS

31. WORKING WITH RANGE OBJECTS

32. WORKING WITH RANGE OBJECTS

33. USING VBA AND WORKSHEET FUNCTIONS

34. VBA FUNCTIONS THAT DO MORE THAN RETURN A VALUE