Avoiding "Replace Existing..." Alert from an Excel Macro

ID: Q64804

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 2.x, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0
Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 3.0, 4.0
Microsoft Excel for OS/2, versions 2.2, 3.0

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel, when you use the SAVE.AS macro command, the "Replace Existing..." alert is displayed if a file of the same name exists. If you want the file to be saved regardless of whether the file exists or not, and you don't want the "Replace Existing..." message to be displayed, use the ERROR() macro function to temporarily disable error checking.

NOTE: This information is also valid for Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh version 3.0. The alert does not appear under Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh version 2.2a; therefore, the ERROR(FALSE) and ERROR(TRUE) are not necessary but will not prevent the macro from running correctly if used.

The following is an example:


   =ERROR(FALSE)
   =SAVE.AS("TEST.XLS")
   =ERROR(TRUE)

This will save the active file as TEST.XLS and overwrite any existing TEST.XLS without displaying an alert message.

If you are using Microsoft Excel version 5.0, the macro code above still works. If you prefer to use Visual Basic for Applications, you would use the DisplayAlerts Property to change error checking status.


   Application.DisplayAlerts = False  ; turns off error checking

   Application.DisplayAlerts = True   ; turns on error checking

Additional query words: 2.0 2.00 2.01 2.1 2.10 2.2 2.20 2.21 3.0 5.0


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Last Reviewed: July 23, 1999