XL97: Error Using DDEPoke When Chart Is the Active Sheet

ID: Q176783

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

You get the following error message when you run a macro that sends data to Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows:

   Excel caused an invalid page fault in module
   Mso97.dll at 014f:30705766.

When you click Close, you get the following error message:

   This task is taking longer than expected. Do you want
   to continue waiting.

CAUSE

This problem occurs when you do the following:

You use DDEPOKE to send data to Excel.
```
    -and-
```
The active sheet of the workbook is a Chart sheet.

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/

Use either of the following methods to prevent this problem from reoccurring.

Method 1: Change the Active Sheet

This problem does not occur if the active sheet is a worksheet. To change the active sheet to a worksheet, use the DDEExecute statement to send the Workbook.Activate command to change the active sheet. For example, the following macro sends the string "this is a test" to cell A1 of Sheet1 in the workbook Book1.

   Sub Example1()
      chan = DDEInitiate ("Excel", "[Book1]Sheet1")
      DDEExecute chan, "[Workbook.Activate(""Sheet1"")]"
      DDEPoke chan,  "R1C1", "this is a test"
      DDETerminate chan
   End Sub

NOTE: You must know the exact name of the worksheet you are switching to.

Method 2: Use DDEExecute

Use the DDEExecute statement with the Formula function instead of using the DDEPoke statement. For example, the following macro sends the string "this is a test" to cell A1 of Sheet1 in the workbook Book1.

   Sub Example2()
      chan = DDEInitiate ("Excel", "[Book1]Sheet1")
      DDEExecute chan, "[Formula(""this is a test"",""'Sheet2'!R1C1""]"
      DDETerminate chan
   End Sub

STATUS

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

MORE INFORMATION

Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) is a method you can use to exchange data with another DDE-compliant program.

For additional information about using DDE commands in Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   Article-ID: Q141772
   TITLE     : XL: Visual Basic Examples Using DDE

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

Keywords          : kbprg kbdta IntpDde KbVBA 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: May 17, 1999