ID: Q158244
The information in this article applies to:
If you want a particular event handler to run whenever a certain event is triggered, you can write an event handler for the Application object. Event handlers for the Application object are global, which means that as long as Microsoft Excel is open, the event handler will run when the appropriate event occurs, regardless of which workbook is active when the event occurs.
This article describes how to create an Application level event handler and provides an example.
To create an Application-level event handler, you must use the following basic steps:
- Declare a variable for the Application object using the WithEvents
keyword. The WithEvents keyword can be used to create an object variable
that responds to events triggered by an ActiveX object (such as the
Application object).
- Create the procedure for the specific Application event. For example,
you could create a procedure for the WindowResize, WorkbookOpen, or
SheetActivate event of the object you declared using WithEvents.
The following example uses these steps to set up a global event handler that displays a message box whenever you resize any workbook window (the event firing the event handler).
1. Open a new workbook.
2. Start the Visual Basic Editor.
3. Click Class Module on the Insert menu.
This will insert a module titled "<book name> - Class1 (Code)" into
your project.
4. Enter the following line of code in the Class1 (Code) module:
Public WithEvents appevent As Application
The WithEvents keyword makes the appevent variable available in the
Object drop-down in the Class1 (Code) module window.
5. In the Class1 (Code) module window, click the Object drop-down and then
click appevent in the list.
6. In the Class1 (Code) module window, click the Procedure drop-down and
then click WindowResize in the list.
This will add the following to the Class1 (Code) module sheet:
Private Sub appevent_WindowResize(ByVal Wb As Excel.Workbook, _
ByVal Wn As Excel.Window)
End Sub
7. Add code to the Class1 (Code) module sheet so that it appears as
follows:
Public WithEvents appevent As Application
Private Sub appevent_WindowResize(ByVal Wb As Excel.Workbook, _
ByVal Wn As Excel.Window)
MsgBox "you resized a window"
End Sub
Next, you have to create an instance of the class and then set the
appevent object of the instance of the Class1 to Application. This is
because when you declare a variable, WithEvents, at design time, there
is no object associated with it. A WithEvents variable is just like any
other object variable - you have to create an object and assign a
reference to the object to the WithEvents variable.
8. On the Insert menu click Module to insert a general type module sheet
into your project.
9. In this module sheet, enter the following code:
Dim myobject As New Class1
Sub Test()
Set myobject.appevent = Application
End Sub
You have just set the event handler to run each time you resize a
workbook window in Microsoft Excel.
12. Resize a workbook window.
A message box with "you resized a window" will be displayed.
If you close the workbook that contains the above project, the application level event handler will be turned off. To programmatically turn off the event handler, do the following:
1. Start the Visual Basic Editor.
2. In the macro code you entered in Step 9, change the macro to:
Sub test()
Set myobject.appevent = Nothing
End Sub
4. On the File menu, click "Close and Return to Microsoft Excel".
5. Resize a workbook window.
The message box will not display.
For more information about Class Modules, in the Visual Basic Editor click "Contents and Index" on the Help menu, click the Index tab, type the following text
class module
Additional query words: vbe 8.00 XL97 vba
Keywords : kbprg kbdta kbdtacode xlvbainfo KbVBA kbfaq
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowtoLast Reviewed: January 9, 1999