XL: Public Variables May Be Lost When You Copy a Worksheet

ID: Q177834

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

In the versions of Microsoft Excel listed at the beginning of this article, public variables may unexpectedly lose their values. As a result, when you run a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications procedure or macro that uses the public variables, the procedure or macro may not run correctly or may return incorrect results. (See the "More Information" section of this article for a demonstration of this problem.)

CAUSE

This problem may occur when the following conditions are true:

In the Visual Basic Editor, the option to require variable declarations has been enabled by performing the following steps:
1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Editor tab.
3. Select the Require Variable Declaration check box.
4. Click OK.
```
    -and-
```
You copied a worksheet, either by clicking Move Or Copy Sheet on the Edit menu or by running a Visual Basic procedure or macro that contains a line of code similar to the following:
```
      Worksheets("Sheet1").Copy After:=Worksheets(Worksheets.Count)
```
Or, you moved or copied a worksheet from another workbook into the workbook that contains the public variables.

RESOLUTION

To prevent this problem from occurring, follow these steps:

1. In the Visual Basic Editor, click Options on the Tools menu.

2. Click the Editor tab.

3. Click to clear the Require Variable Declaration check box.

4. Click OK.

After completing these steps, your public variables should retain their values even when you copy a worksheet.

STATUS

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

MORE INFORMATION

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/

In Visual Basic for Applications, you can create a public variable by adding the word "Public" to a variable declaration at the top of a module.

Example:

   Public X As Integer
   Public Y As String

   Sub Test()
       ' <Your code goes here.>
   End Sub

Normally, public variables retain their values until you close the workbook in which they are contained. However, if the conditions listed in the "Cause" section of this article are true, the public variables may unexpectedly lose their values. The following steps demonstrate this problem.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

1. In Microsoft Excel, create a new workbook.

2. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Visual Basic Editor.

   On the Insert menu, click Module.

3. Type the following code into the new module:

      Public X As Integer
      Public Y As String

      Sub CopySheet()
          Worksheets("Sheet1").Copy After:=Worksheets(Worksheets.Count)
      End Sub

      Sub SetVars()
          X = 5
          Y = "Hello!"
      End Sub

      Sub ShowVars()
          MsgBox X
          MsgBox Y
      End Sub

4. On the Tools menu, click Options. Click the Editor tab. Select the

   Require Variable Declaration check box, and then click OK.

5. On the File menu, click "Close and Return to Microsoft Excel."

6. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros. Select

   SetVars, and then click Run.

   The variables now contain the values 5 and "Hello!"

7. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros. Select

   ShowVars, and then click Run.

   Two message boxes appear containing the values 5 and "Hello!"

8. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros. Select

   CopySheet, and then click Run.

   Or, click Move Or Copy Sheet on the Edit menu. Select the Create A Copy
   check box. In the list, click "(move to end)", and then click OK.

   The worksheet Sheet1 is copied; the new worksheet, "Sheet1 (2)," appears
   at the end of the workbook.

9. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros. Select

   ShowVars, and then click Run.

   As before, two message boxes appear. However, the first message box
   contains the value zero (0), and the second message box is empty. This
   occurs because the act of copying the worksheet reinitialized the public
   variables.

   If you repeat these steps, but leave the Require Variable Declaration
   check box cleared in step 4, the public variables will correctly retain
   their values.

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 vba vbe

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

Last Reviewed: May 17, 1999