XL97: Error Message for Sheets.Select Has Changed

ID: Q157411

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When you run a macro in Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows that attempts to select a worksheet that does not exist in a workbook, you may receive the following error message: 

   Run-time error '9':
   Subscript out of range
This error message is different from the error message that you receive in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel.

RESOLUTION

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   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/
In earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, when a macro attempts to select a sheet that does not exist in a workbook, you receive the following error message: 

   Run-time error '1004':
   Sheets method of Application class failed
The new error message reflects the fact that the Sheets Collection object in Microsoft Excel 97 returns an array of all sheets in a workbook. The error message "Subscript out of range" indicates that the macro references a nonexistent array element or collection member. The subscript may be larger or smaller than the range of possible subscripts, or the array may not yet have assigned dimensions in the application.

Because the error code has changed, when you write an error handling routine that specifically tests for this run-time error, make sure that your routines reflect the new error code, and not the error code from previous versions.

The following sample demonstrates how to use an error handling routine and a routine that tests whether a worksheet exists in Microsoft Excel 97: 

    Sub Sample_Error()

      On Error GoTo errorhandler   ' Starts Error Trapping

      Sheets("nonexistent").Select ' Attempts to select sheet called
                                   ' nonexistent

      Exit Sub                     ' Skips the error handling routine

    errorhandler:
      If Err.Number = 9 Then       ' This line is different from earlier
                                   ' versions.

         MsgBox "encountered an error"

      End If

    End Sub
If you run the preceding macro in a workbook that does not have a sheet called "nonexistent," a message box with the following message appears: 

   encountered an error

REFERENCES

For more information about the Sheets Collection object, click the Index tab in Microsoft Visual Basic Help, type the following text 

   sheets
and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Sheets Collection Object" topic.

Additional query words: XL97 

Keywords          : kberrmsg kbprg kbdta kbdtacode KbVBA 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: May 18, 1999