XL98: Problems When Selecting Error Bars with a Macro

ID: Q183017

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, if you use a Visual Basic for Applications macro to format either the x error bars or the y error bars in an xy scatter chart, the formatting is applied to both sets of error bars.

CAUSE

This occurs because it is not possible for a Visual Basic for Applications macro command to individually select either the x error bars or the y error bars. Selecting one set selects the other set as well.

WORKAROUND

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   http://www.microsoft.com/supportnet/refguide/
It is possible to select one or the other set of error bars by using a Microsoft Excel version 4.0 macro language (XLM) command in your Visual Basic subroutine.

To select the x error bars for the first series in the active chart, use the following command: 

   Application.ExecuteExcel4Macro ("SELECT(""Series 1 X Error Bars"")")
To select the y error bars for the first series in the active chart, use this command: 

   Application.ExecuteExcel4Macro ("SELECT(""Series 1 Y Error Bars"")")
After the set of error bars is selected, you can format it by using Visual Basic code similar to the following: 

   With Selection.Border
       .LineStyle = xlContinuous
       .ColorIndex = 3
       .Weight = xlThin
   End With
Or, you can delete the selected set of error bars by using this Visual Basic command: 

   Selection.Delete

STATUS

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

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, if you select either the x error bars or the y error bars in a chart while you record a Visual Basic for Applications macro, the following code is recorded: 

   ActiveChart.SeriesCollection(1).ErrorBars.Select
The recorded code is exactly the same and is not dependent on whether you select the x error bars or the y error bars.

It is not possible to individually select one or the other set of error bars unless you remove the previous command and replace it with one of the two Microsoft Excel 4.0 macro commands in the "Workaround" section in this article.

Additional query words: XL98 x-y scatter chart 

Keywords          : kbprg xlvbahowto xlvbainfo xlmhowto xlchart 
Version           : MACINTOSH:98
Platform          : MACINTOSH
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: May 18, 1999