XL: IPF/Hang Closing Workbook Containing BeforeClose Macro

ID: Q177688

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

When you close a workbook in Microsoft Excel for Windows, the program may stop responding, or you may receive the following error message:

   This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down.
   If the problem persists, contact the program vendor.

If you click Details, you receive an error message similar to the following:

   EXCEL caused an invalid page fault in module EXCEL.EXE at
   0137:3013a71b.

In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, the program may stop responding, or it may shut down unexpectedly without any error message.

CAUSE

This problem may occur when the following conditions are true:

The workbook contains a BeforeClose macro, a macro that runs automatically when you close the workbook.

      Example:

         Private Sub Workbook_BeforeClose(Cancel As Boolean)
            ' <Your code goes here.>
         End Sub

    -and-

The BeforeClose macro contains code that deletes a worksheet in the workbook.

      Example:

         Worksheets("Sheet2").Delete

    -and-

When you close the workbook, the active worksheet (Sheet2, in this example) is deleted by the BeforeClose macro.

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 prevent this problem from occurring, modify your BeforeClose macro so it does not attempt to delete the active worksheet, as demonstrated by the following sample macro:

   Private Sub Workbook_BeforeClose(Cancel As Boolean)

       ' If Sheet2, the sheet you want to delete, is the active
       ' worksheet, then...
       If ActiveSheet.Name = "Sheet2" Then

           ' ...activate a different worksheet.
           Worksheets("Sheet1").Activate

       End If

       ' It is now safe to delete Sheet2.
       Worksheets("Sheet2").Delete

   End Sub

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

REFERENCES

For additional information about getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q163435
   TITLE     : VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for
               Applications

Additional query words: XL97 XL98 hangs locks up freezes crashes

Keywords          : kberrmsg kbprg kbdta kbdtacode xlgpf KbVBA 
Version           : WINDOWS:97; MACINTOSH:98
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: May 18, 1999