XL97: Structure and Windows Arguments of Protect Method

ID: Q159938

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 97, when you run a Visual Basic for Applications subroutine that protects a workbook, you may receive the following error message:

   Run-time error '5':
   Invalid procedure call or argument

CAUSE

This behavior occurs if you attempt to set either the Structure argument or the Windows argument (or both) of the Protect method to a value other than True or False. Although you can do this in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, you cannot use a value other than True or False in Microsoft Excel 97.

For example, this line of code does not work:

   ActiveWorkbook.Protect Structure:=0, Windows:=1

This behavior is by design of Microsoft Excel.

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/

If you use the Structure and Windows arguments of the Protect method, you must set them to either True or False. For example, use the following line of code:

   ActiveWorkbook.Protect Structure:=False, Windows:=True

This code works in Microsoft Excel 97 and in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel.

MORE INFORMATION

The Structure and Windows arguments of the Protect method allow you to decide whether the structure of the workbook (the relative location of sheet tabs, and whether sheets are hidden) and the workbook's window (size and position on the screen) are protected.

In many programming languages, including Visual Basic for Applications, the Boolean value "False" is often equal to 0, and you can sometimes substitute the value 0 whenever False is required for the value of an argument. Similarly, the Boolean value "True" is often equal to any nonzero value (for example, 5), and you can sometimes substitute a nonzero value whenever True is required for the value of an argument.

However, this convention does not apply to the Structure and Windows arguments of the Protect method in Microsoft Excel 97. The only acceptable values for these arguments are True and False.

Additional query words: XL97

Keywords          : kberrmsg kbdta kbdtacode KbVBA xlvbmigrate 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: June 30, 1999