XL97: Visual Basic does not Signal an Error has Occurred

ID: Q157207

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 97, when you run a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro that uses Automation objects, Visual Basic may not indicate that the macro has halted when a macro error occurs. In some cases

this may cause the Microsoft Excel program to appear as though it has stopped responding.

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/
You can trap for most errors using the On Error statement. This allows your code to continue to run even if an error is found. For a list of trappable errors, click the Index tab in Visual Basic Help, and type "trappable errors".

The following macro starts Microsoft Excel, inserts a new workbook, and inserts an ActiveX control on the worksheet. The code produces an error when it attempts to select a drawing shape that does not exist. The On Error statement at the beginning of the macro traps this run-time error and allows the macro to continue. 

   Sub AddCheckBox()

      Dim x As Object

      ' Begin error trapping.
      On Error GoTo errHandler

      ' Create the Microsoft Excel Automation object.
      Set x = CreateObject("Excel.Application.8")

      ' Make the Excel object visible.
      x.Visible = True

      ' Add new workbook.
      x.Workbooks.Add

      ' Create ActiveX check box control.
      x.ActiveSheet.OLEObjects.Add "Forms.CheckBox.1"

      ' Select cell E10.
      x.ActiveSheet.Range("E10").Select

      ' Code will error here.
      x.ActiveSheet.Shapes(1).Select

      ' Display message box.
      MsgBox "Macro Completed"
      Exit Sub

   errHandler:

      ' Activate this instance of Microsoft Excel, so message is visible.
      AppActivate Application.Caption

      ' Display a message that an error has occurred.
      MsgBox "An Error has occurred" & Chr(10) & _
        "RunTime Error " & Err & " " & Error(Err)

      ' Resume processing of the macro.
      Resume Next

   End Sub

STATUS

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

MORE INFORMATION

In earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, when you initiate an OLE Automation statement such as CreateObject or GetObject, if a macro error occurs, the host or server program flashes to indicate an error has taken place. The same behavior is seen in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel if a program is made visible and maximized. The only way to determine if the macro has stopped unexpectedly is to switch back to the server program.

REFERENCES

For more information about Automation, click the Index tab in Visual Basic Help, type the following text 

   OLE Automation
and then double-click the selected text to go to the "OLE Automation, creating Automation objects" topic.

Additional query words: XL97 8.00 alert warn flash indicate freeze lock hang 

Keywords          : kbprg kbdta kbdtacode KbVBA 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbpending

Last Reviewed: May 18, 1999