XL97: Options Not Available in Macro Options Dialog Box

ID: Q157108

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 97, if you click the Tools menu, point to Macro, click Macros, and then click Options, the Macro Options dialog box does not contain as many controls as in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel.


CAUSE

Some controls were removed from the Macro Options dialog box in Microsoft Excel 97.


WORKAROUND

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Most functionality originally provided by the controls in the Macro Options dialog box is available when you run a macro that uses the MacroOptions method.

The MacroOptions method in Microsoft Excel uses the following syntax:
Application.MacroOptions Macro:=<macroname>, <optional arguments>
where <macroname> is the name of the macro whose options you want to change. The optional arguments are separated by commas.

Each control in the Macro Options dialog box has a corresponding optional argument that you can add to the MacroOptions method. The following table lists the controls previously available in the Macro Options dialog box and the optional argument that allows you to change the setting in question. 

   Control              MacroOptions Optional Argument
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   Description box      Description:=<variant, a description of the
                        macro>

   Menu Item On Tools   HasMenu:=<variant, True or False>*
   Menu check box

   Menu Text box        MenuText:=<variant, the text that should appear
                        on the Tools menu>*

   Shortcut Key         HasShortcutKey:=<variant, True or False>
   check box

   Ctrl+ box            ShortcutKey:=<variant, a text string containing a
                        single letter, either upper- or lower-case>

   Function Category    Category:=<variant, a number that specifies the
   list box             macro function category>

   Status Bar Text      StatusBar:=<variant, text to appear in the status
   box                  bar when the user points to a menu item
                        assigned to the macro>

   Help Context ID      HelpContextId:=<variant, a number that specifies
   box                  the context ID for the help topic assigned to
                        the macro>

   Help File Name       HelpFile:=<variant, the name of the Help file
   box                  assigned to the macro>
For example, assume you have a macro called "Test" and you want to set the following options for the macro. 

   Option            Value
   -----------------------------------------------
   Description       This is my test macro.
   Shortcut Key      yes, CTRL+j
   Status Bar Text   Test Macro written by J. Tech
   Help Context ID   15
   Help File Name    C:\Sample\Testhelp.hlp
You could set these options by executing the following command in a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro: 

   Application.MacroOptions Macro:="Test", _

      Description:="This is my test macro.", HasShortcutKey:=True, _
      ShortcutKey:="j", StatusBar:="Test Macro written by J. Tech", _
      HelpContextId:=15, HelpFile:="C:\Sample\Testhelp.hlp"
Since the Macro Options dialog box in Microsoft Excel 97 does not contain all of the same controls as in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, this is the only method you can use to set most of the macro options.

Note: The arguments marked above with an asterisk (*), HasMenu and MenuText, are ignored in Microsoft Excel 97. This functionality is no longer available.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q157203 XL97: Cannot Add Macros to the Tools Menu


STATUS

This behavior is by design of Microsoft Excel 97.


MORE INFORMATION

The Macro Options dialog box in Microsoft Excel version 5.0 and 7.0 contains the following controls. 


   Control              Function
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   Description box      Allows you to set a description of your macro.

   Menu Item On Tools   If selected, the macro appears on your Tools
   Menu check box       menu when the workbook containing the macro
                        is open.

   Menu Text box        Allows you to change the name of the macro as
                        it appears on the Tools menu.

   Shortcut Key         If selected, allows you to assign a shortcut
   check box            key to your macro.

   Ctrl+ box            Allows you to change the shortcut key assigned
                        to your macro. Allowed values are a-z and A-Z.

   Function Category    Allows you to select the function category to
   list box             which the macro belongs. This is usually used
                        by function macros, as it determines how your
                        macro is displayed in the Function Wizard.

   Status Bar Text      Allows you to set text that is displayed on the
   box                  status bar when a menu item assigned to the
                        macro is selected.

   Help Context ID      Allows you to determine what help topic within
   box                  a help file is displayed for your macro.

   Help File Name       Allows you to assign a help file to the macro.
   box
In Microsoft Excel 97, the Macro Options dialog box contains fewer Controls. 

   Control              Function
   -------------------------------------------------------------------
   Description box      Allows you to set a description of your
                        macro.

   Ctrl+ box            Allows you to change the shortcut key assigned
                        to your macro. Allowed values are a-z and A-Z.
You can only change settings for other controls by using a macro using the MacroOptions method.

Additional query words: XL97 VBE VBA 


Keywords          : kbcode kbprg xlui xlvbahowto xlvbmigrate 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: July 6, 1999