XL98: Range.PasteSpecial Changes Selection

ID: Q184366

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 98, if you use a line of code in a Visual Basic for Applications macro that is similar to the following:

   Range(<cell address>).PasteSpecial

where <cell address> is a range of cells, the active selection changes to the range that is specified by <cell address>.

This behavior is different from behavior in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel. Earlier versions of Microsoft Excel do not change the selection when this line is executed. The macro may not produce the desired results if the selection must remain unchanged after the macro executes the PasteSpecial method.

CAUSE

In Microsoft Excel 5.0, whether the PasteSpecial method leaves the selection on the pasted cells depends on the object to which the PasteSpecial method is applied. If PasteSpecial is applied to the Activecell or Selection objects, the selection changes. However, if the PasteSpecial method is applied to a Range object, the selection does not change.

For consistency, this behavior changed in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition. When the macro executes the PasteSpecial method, the selection changes to the pasted cells in all cases.

WORKAROUND

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/

To restore the selection after the macro executes a PasteSpecial method, store the selection in a variable before the macro executes the PasteSpecial method, and then select that range after the PasteSpecial method is completed. The following sample macro illustrates how to do this:

   Sub CopyAndPaste()

       Range("A1:B5").Copy                 ' Copy cells A1:A5
       Set rng = Selection                 ' Store the selection
       Range("D1").PasteSpecial xlValues   ' Perform the PasteSpecial
       rng.Select                          ' Reselect the range

   End Sub

STATUS

This behavior is by design of Microsoft Excel 98.

Additional query words: XL98 Paste Special

Keywords          : kbprg kbdta xlvbainfo xlvbmigrate 
Platform          : MACINTOSH
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: June 30, 1999