XL97: "Can't Enter Break Mode" Stepping Through a Macro

ID: Q155051

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you step through a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro, the following message may appear:

Can't enter break mode at this time

If you click Continue, you can continue stepping through the macro.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs when both of the following conditions are true:

You programmatically add an ActiveX control to a worksheet.

-and-

You step through the macro.

NOTE: If you click Continue, Microsoft Excel inserts an ActiveX control, and you can continue stepping through the macro.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem when troubleshooting a macro that adds an ActiveX control, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Use another troubleshooting technique

For example, use a Debug.Print statement or a watch expression.

Method 2: Programmatically add a non-ActiveX control to the worksheet

Programmatically add a non-ActiveX control to the worksheet instead of an ActiveX control. You can find Non-ActiveX controls on the Forms toolbar.

Microsoft Excel 97 provides non-ActiveX controls for compatibility with earlier versions of Microsoft Excel.

STATUS

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

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel 97, you can add an ActiveX control to a worksheet to make a custom application. The ActiveX controls that you can add to a worksheet appear on the Control Toolbox toolbar. To display the Control Toolbox toolbar, point to Toolbars on the View menu, and then click Control Toolbox.

Although many of the ActiveX controls are similar in form and function to the controls on the Forms toolbar, the ActiveX controls are also available in UserForms in the Visual Basic Editor.

REFERENCES

For more information about ActiveX Controls, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel Visual Basic Help, type the following text

Toolbox

and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Toolbox" topic.

Additional query words: vbe active x debugging xl97 97


Keywords          : kbprg kbdta KbVBA xlwin 
Version           : WINDOWS:
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        :

Last Reviewed: July 12, 1999