XL97: Worksheet Change Event Error Using Names Property

ID: Q175293

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When the Change event of a worksheet is triggered, you receive the following error message: 

   Run-time error '1004':
   Application-defined or object-defined error

CAUSE

This problem occurs when you reference the Names property in the Change event procedure as in the following example: 

   Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target as Excel.Range)
      Names.Item("Test").RefersTo = "=$a$1"
   End Sub

RESOLUTION

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   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/
The Names property returns the Names collection, which is a collection of all the Name objects in the application or workbook. When you use the Names property within a worksheet-level event procedure and do not precede it with the workbook that it refers to, a run-time error occurs. To eliminate this error, include the workbook object or the ActiveWorkbook object before the Names property.

The following sample code demonstrates accessing the Names collection of the active workbook: 

   Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target as Excel.Range)
      ActiveWorkbook.Names.Item("Test").RefersTo = "=$a$1"
   End Sub

REFERENCES

For more information about the Names collection, click the Office Assistant while in the Microsoft Visual Basic Editor, type "Names Collection," click Search, and then click to view "Names Collection Object."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If the Assistant is not able to answer your query, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q176476
   TITLE     : OFF: Office Assistant Not Answering Visual Basic Questions
For additional information about getting help with Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q163435
   TITLE     : VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for
               Applications
Additional query words: XL97 fire XL97 vbe 
Keywords          : kbprg kbdta kbdtacode KbVBA 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: May 18, 1999