XL: GP Fault/Error Using For Each Statement with OLE Object Type

ID: Q119570

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

If you use the For Each...Next statement in a Visual Basic module in Microsoft Excel, and you declare the variable used to iterate through the elements of the collection as an OLE object type, such as MenuItem, you may receive one of the following error messages when you run the macro. 

 Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows and
 Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, version 5.0
 ----------------------------------------------

   Run-time error '13':
   Type mismatch

 In Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0 and 7.0
 ----------------------------------------------------

   General Protection (GP) fault in module VBA.DLL
When you receive this error message, the program stops responding (hangs).

CAUSE

This behavior occurs only if an error is encountered while the objects are being retrieved from the collection This problem may occur with object types that include MenuItem, Sheet, and DrawingObject.

For example, if you run the following procedure 

   Sub Show_Menu_Items()
       Dim m as MenuItem
       For Each m In Activemenubar.Menus("Tools").MenuItems
           MsgBox m.Caption
       Next
   End Sub
and a command on the Tools menu contains a submenu, you will receive the error message described in the "Symptoms" section of this article.

When you click End, Debug or Goto in the error message dialog box, you receive a GP fault in module VBA.DLL at 0023:2723.

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/
To avoid receiving a GP fault when you use the For Each...Next statement in a Visual Basic module, declare the variable used to iterate through the elements of the collection as Variant type, or Object type instead of as an OLE object type as in the following example: 

   Sub Show_Menu_Items()
       Dim m as Object
       For Each m In ActiveMenuBar.Menus("Tools").MenuItems
           MsgBox m.Caption
       Next
   End Sub
Note that in Microsoft Excel 97, and Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, version 5.0, you still receive the "type mismatch" error message, but you do not receive the GP fault. To avoid receiving this error message, use the workaround in this article.

STATUS

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

MORE INFORMATION

An OLE object type is a type of object exposed by a program through Automation. Some of the types of objects that Microsoft Excel exposes through Automation include Application, File, and Sheet. In the following example, the variable MySheet is declared as Sheet type: 

   Dim MySheet as Sheet

REFERENCES

For more information about the For Each...Next Statement, click the Search button in the Visual Basic Reference and type: 

    For
Additional query words: ole automation XL97 XL7 XL5 
Keywords          : kberrmsg kbmacro kbdta kbdtacode KbVBA 
Version           : WINDOWS:5.0,5.0c,7.0,97; MACINTOSH:5.0,5.0a
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbpending

Last Reviewed: May 18, 1999