XL97: How To Display a Progress Bar with a UserForm

ID: Q170782

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

Article idea submitted by: John Walkenbach

SUMMARY

If you have a Visual Basic for Applications macro that requires a long period of time to complete, you may want to give your user an indication that the macro is progressing normally. This article contains an example that illustrates how to create a progress bar with a UserForm.

MORE INFORMATION

In the following example, a Visual Basic subroutine populates a large range of cells with a random number. This task will take several seconds to complete; the indicator gives you an indication that the macro is running normally.

Microsoft provides examples of Visual Basic for Applications procedures 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. The Visual Basic procedures in this article are provided 'as is' and Microsoft does not guarantee that they can be used in all situations. While Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular macro, they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality, nor will they help you construct macros to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to consult one of the Microsoft Solution Providers. Solution Providers offer a wide range of fee-based services, including creating custom macros. For more information about Microsoft Solution Providers, call Microsoft Customer Information Service at (800) 426-9400.

Create the UserForm

 1. Close and save any open workbooks. Then, open a new workbook.

 2. Start the Visual Basic Editor, (press ALT+F11).

 3. If the Properties window is not visible, click Properties on the
    View menu (or press F4).

 4. On the Insert menu, click UserForm.

 5. Draw a Label control on the UserForm.

 6. Change the following properties of the Label control to the
    following values:

       Property        Value
       --------------------------------------------
       Caption         Now updating. Please wait...

 7. Draw a Frame control on the UserForm

 8. Change the following properties of the Frame control to the
    following values:

       Property        Value
       -----------------------------
       Name            FrameProgress

 9. Draw a Label control on the Frame control.

    following values:

       Property        Value
       -------------------------------------
       Name            LabelProgress
       BackColor       &H000000FF&
       SpecialEffect   fmSpecialEffectRaised

Enter the Macro Code

1. Double-click on the UserForm to open the Code window for the UserForm.

2. In the module, type the following code for the UserForm Activate event:

      Private Sub UserForm_Activate()
          ' Set the width of the progress bar to 0.
          UserForm1.LabelProgress.Width = 0

          ' Call the main subroutine.
          Call Main
      End Sub

4. In the Code window for the module, type the following code:

      Sub ShowUserForm()
          UserForm1.Show
      End Sub

      Sub Main()
          Dim Counter As Integer
          Dim RowMax As Integer, ColMax As Integer
          Dim r As Integer, c As Integer
          Dim PctDone As Single

          Application.ScreenUpdating = False
          ' Initialize variables.
          Counter = 1
          RowMax = 100
          ColMax = 25

          ' Loop through cells.
          For r = 1 To RowMax
              For c = 1 To ColMax
                  'Put a random number in a cell
                  Cells(r, c) = Int(Rnd * 1000)
                  Counter = Counter + 1
              Next c

              ' Update the percentage completed.
              PctDone = Counter / (RowMax * ColMax)

              ' Call subroutine that updates the progress bar.
              UpdateProgressBar PctDone
          Next r
          ' The task is finished, so unload the UserForm.
          Unload UserForm1
      End Sub

      Sub UpdateProgressBar(PctDone As Single)
          With UserForm1

              ' Update the Caption property of the Frame control.
              .FrameProgress.Caption = Format(PctDone, "0%")

              ' Widen the Label control.
              .LabelProgress.Width = PctDone * _
                  (.FrameProgress.Width - 10)
          End With

          ' The DoEvents allows the UserForm to update.
          DoEvents
      End Sub

6. Run the ShowUserForm subroutine.

A dialog box is displayed with a red progress bar that increases in size as the Main subroutine populates the cells on the worksheet.

The ShowUserForm subroutine shows the UserForm. The procedure attached to the Activate event of the UserForm calls the Main subroutine. The Main subroutine, in addition to its main task (populating cells with random numbers), calls the UpdateProgressBar subroutine, which updates the Label control on the UserForm.

NOTE: Using this technique, your macro will take just a bit longer to complete its intended task(s).

REFERENCES

For more information about the Activate event, click the Office Assistant in the Visual Basic Editor, type "activate event," click Search, and then click to view "Activate, Deactivate Events."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If Microsoft Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q120802
   TITLE     : Office: How to Add/Remove a Single Office
               Program or Component

Keywords          : kbcode kbmacro 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: May 17, 1999