PRB: Excel Automation: Method of Object '_Global' Failed

• Microsoft Visual Basic Learning, Professional, and Enterprise Editions for Windows, version 5.0
• Microsoft Visual Basic Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Editions for Windows, version 4.0
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications version 5.0

SYMPTOMS

While running code that uses Automation to control Microsoft Excel, one of the following errors may occur.

With Microsoft Excel 97, you receive the error:

   Run-time error '1004':
   Method '<name of method>' of object '_Global' failed

   -or-

   Application-defined or object-defined error

   Run-time error '-2147023174'
   OLE Automation error

CAUSE

Visual Basic has established a reference to Excel due to a line of code that calls an Excel object, method, or property without qualifying it with an Excel object variable. Visual Basic does not release this reference until you end the program. This errant reference interferes with automation code when the code is run more than once.

RESOLUTION

Modify the code so that each call to an Excel object, method, or property is qualified with the appropriate object variable.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

To automate Microsoft Excel, you establish an object variable that usually refers to the Excel Application or Workbook object. Other object variables can then be set to refer to a Worksheet, a Range, or other objects in the Microsoft Excel object model. When you write code to use an Excel object, method, or property, you should always precede the call with the appropriate object variable. If you do not, Visual Basic establishes its own reference to Excel. This reference may cause problems when trying to run the automation code multiple times. Note that even if the line of code begins with the object variable, there may be a call to an Excel object, method, or property in the middle of the line of code that is not preceded with an object variable.

The following steps illustrate how to reproduce this problem, and how to correct it.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

1. Start a new Standard EXE project in Visual Basic. Form1 is created by default.

2. Click References from the Project menu and check Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library.

3. Place a CommandButton on Form1.

4. Copy the following code to the Code Window of Form1:

         Option Explicit
   

         Private Sub Command1_Click()
            Dim xlApp As Excel.Application
            Dim xlBook As Excel.Workbook
            Dim xlSheet As Excel.Worksheet
            Set xlApp = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
            Set xlBook = xlApp.Workbooks.Add
            Set xlSheet = xlBook.Worksheets("Sheet1")
            xlSheet.Range(Cells(1, 1), Cells(10, 2)).Value = "Hello"
            xlBook.Saved = True
            Set xlSheet = Nothing
            Set xlBook = Nothing
            xlApp.Quit
            Set xlApp = Nothing
         End Sub
   
   

5. On the Run menu, click Start or press the F5 key to start the program.

6. Click the CommandButton. No error occurs. However, a reference to Excel has been created and has not been released.

7. Click the CommandButton again and note that you receive one of the errors previously described.

   NOTE: The error occurs because the code refers to the Cell's method without preceding the call with the xlSheet object variable.

8. Stop the project and change the following line:

         xlSheet.Range(Cells(1,1),Cells(10,2)).Value = "Hello"
   

   to:

         xlSheet.Range(xlSheet.Cells(1,1),xlSheet.Cells(10,2)).Value = "Hello"
   

9. Run the program again. Note that you can run the code multiple times without error.

REFERENCES

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q167223
   TITLE     : Microsoft Office 97 Automation Help File Available on MSL