XL98: Error When Pasting ActiveX Controls or Running a Macro

ID: q176701

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

When you open a workbook in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition and you copy and paste an ActiveX Control or run a Visual Basic for Applications macro, you may receive one or more of the following error messages:

The application "unknown" has unexpectedly quit, because an error of type 3 occurred.

Run-time error '57121':
Can't exit design mode because Control 'CheckBox1' can not be created.

Run-time error '32809':
Application-defined or object-defined error

Run-time error '1004':
Cannot start the source application for this object. There may not be enough memory available.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because you cannot use ActiveX Controls (also called OCX files) in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition. For specific information about each of these error messages, please see the "More Information" section in this article.

MORE INFORMATION

ActiveX Controls are not supported in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition. If you open a workbook that contains any ActiveX Control, you may receive error messages when you perform certain actions, or the workbook may not function correctly. The following sections describe some of the problems that you may experience in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition when you use a workbook that contains an ActiveX Control.

You Cannot Insert ActiveX Controls in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

In Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows, there are two primary methods you can use to insert an ActiveX Control into a worksheet or into a custom UserForm. These methods are as follows:

To insert an ActiveX Control into a worksheet in Microsoft Excel 97, point to Toolbars on the View menu, and click Control Toolbox. Click the button for the control in the Control Toolbox, and then draw a control on the worksheet. Note that you can add buttons for unlisted controls by clicking More Controls.

To insert an ActiveX Control into a custom UserForm, click any of the tools in the Toolbox, and draw a control in the UserForm. You can add buttons for unlisted controls to the Toolbox by right-clicking the Toolbox and clicking Additional Controls on the shortcut menu.

In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, there is no Control Toolbox toolbar; therefore, you cannot insert ActiveX Controls into a worksheet. Note, however, that you CAN use the Forms toolbar to insert a limited selection of controls into a worksheet.

Also, you cannot add unlisted controls to the Toolbox when you are working with a UserForm in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition. You can use only the default controls that are included in the Toolbox. These controls are not ActiveX Controls; therefore you can use them in UserForms.

Issues Working with Controls Created in Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

Behavior of Controls in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition:

If you are working with a workbook that was created or modified in Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows, and the workbook contains one or more ActiveX Controls in a worksheet, the controls do not work when you open the workbook in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition.

Or, if you are working with a workbook that contains a UserForm that contains controls, the controls work only if they are one of the default controls that you can insert from the Toolbox. Nondefault (unlisted) controls do not work in UserForms in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition.

The two known issues that may occur when you open such a workbook in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition are as follows:

The workbook opens, but the controls may appear as rectangles with red "X" symbols.

-or-

You receive a number of "Graphics Filter Converting" messages. When the workbook opens, the controls appear, but they do not work. You cannot select them with the mouse and delete them.

Behavior of Controls When you Copy and Paste Them:

If you attempt to copy and paste a control by copying the cells behind the control, you may receive the following error message:

The application "unknown" has unexpectedly quit, because an error of type 3 occurred.

Or, the control may be pasted correctly but does not work when you click it.

If you copy and paste a control, save the workbook, and then reopen the workbook in Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows, the new control does not work correctly. However, all other controls in the workbook still work when you reopen the workbook in Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows. If you do not copy and paste the controls in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, the controls work when you reopen the file in Microsoft Excel 97.

Visual Basic for Applications Code May Fail When a Worksheet Contains an ActiveX Control

In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, if you open a workbook and then run a Visual Basic procedure that performs any actions that involve a worksheet that contains an ActiveX Control, you may receive error messages similar to either of the following:

Run-time error '57121': Can't exit design mode because Control 'CheckBox1' can not be created.

Run-time error '32809': Application-defined or object-defined error

For example, the error may occur when you run a macro that contains one of the following lines of code:


   ActiveSheet.Controls.Delete


   xName = Sheets(1).Name   'where Sheets(1) contains a control

If these problems occur, open the workbook in Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows and remove the ActiveX Controls from the worksheet. After you remove the controls and save the workbook, the problems do not occur in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition.

Additional query words: XL98


Keywords          : kberrmsg kbprg xlloadsave xlvbainfo xldraw 
Version           : MACINTOSH:98
Platform          : MACINTOSH 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: August 3, 1999