Excel VBA Programming Part 1

1. EXCEL VBA
PROGRAMMING
PART 1
MORTEZA NOSHAD
MSPRO.NOSHAD@GMAIL.COM
0912 - 84 98 775

2. WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH VBA?
Inserting a bunch of text
Automating a task you perform frequently
Automating repetitive operations
Creating a custom command
Creating a custom button
Developing new worksheet functions
Creating custom add-ins for Excel
Creating complete, macro-driven applications

3. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF
VBA
Excel always executes the task in exactly the same way. (In most
cases, consistency is a good thing.)
Excel performs the task much faster than you can do it manually
(unless, of course, you’re Clark Kent).you’re a good macro programmer, Excel always performs the
task without errors (which probably can’t be said about you or
me)If you set things up properly, someone who doesn’t know
anything about Excel can perform the task
You can do things in Excel that are otherwise impossible —
which can make you a very popular person around the officeFor long, time-consuming tasks, you don’t have to sit in front of
your computer and get bored. Excel does the work, while you
hang out at the water cooler
VBA ADVANTAGES

4. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF
VBA
You have to know how to write programs in VBA (but that’s why
you bought this book, right?). Fortunately, it’s not as difficult as
you might expectOther people who need to use your VBA programs must have
their own copies of Excel. It would be nice if you could press a
button that transforms your Excel/VBA application into a stand-
alone program, but that isn’t possible (and probably never will
be)
Sometimes, things go wrong. In other words, you can’t blindly
assume that your VBA program will always work correctly under
all circumstances. Welcome to the world of debugging and, if
others are using your macros, technical support
VBA is a moving target. As you know, Microsoft is continually
upgrading Excel. Even though Microsoft puts great effort into
compatibility between versions, you may discover that the VBA
code you’ve written doesn’t work properly with older versions or
VBA DISADVANTAGES

5. VBA IN A NUTSHELL
You perform actions in VBA by writing (or recording) code in a
VBA module
A VBA module consists of Sub procedures
A VBA module can also have Function procedures
VBA manipulates objects
Objects are arranged in a hierarchy
Objects of the same type form a collection
You refer to an object by specifying its position in the object
hierarchy, using a dot (a.k.a., a period) as a separator
If you omit specific references, Excel uses the active objects
Objects have properties

6. VBA IN A NUTSHELL
You refer to a property of an object by combining the object
name with the property name, separated by a dot
You can assign values to variables
Objects have methods
You specify a method by combining the object with the method,
separated by a dot
VBA includes all the constructs of modern programming
languages, including variables, arrays, and looping

7. MACRO
Create your first macro
Use relative references
Macro shortcut key-Place macro
Examining macro
How Excel Executes Statements
Saving workbooks that contain macros
Understanding macro security

8. VISUAL BASIC EDITOR
Working with the Project Explorer
Working with a Code Window
Getting VBA code into a module
Enter the code directly.
Use the Excel macro recorder to record your actions and convert
them to VBA code
Copy the code from one module and paste it into another.
Customizing the VBA Environment

9. SUBS VERSUS FUNCTIONS
A Sub procedure is a group of VBA
statements that performs an action (or
actions) with Excel.
A Function procedure is a group of VBA
statements that performs a calculation and
returns a single value.

10. NAMING SUBS AND FUNCTIONS
You can use letters, numbers, and some punctuation characters, but the first
character must be a letter.
You can’t use any spaces or periods in the name.
VBA does not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters.
You can’t embed any of the following characters in a name: #, $, %, &, @,^, *,
or !.
If you write a Function procedure for use in a formula, make sure the name
does not look like a cell address (for example, AC12).
Names can be no longer than 255 characters. (Of course, you would never
make a procedure name this long.)
Ideally, a procedure’s name should describe the routine’s purpose. A good
practice is to create a name by combining a verb and a noun — for example,
ProcessData, PrintReport, Sort_Array, or CheckFilename

11. EXCECUTING SUB PROCEDURES
With the Run➪Run sub/UserForm command (in the VBE) & F5 key.
From Excel’s Macro dialog box. You open this box by choosing
Developer➪Code➪Macros). Or you can press the Alt+F8 shortcut key. require
an argument.
Using the Ctrl+key shortcut assigned to the Sub procedure
Clicking a button or a shape on a worksheet
From another Sub procedure that you write
From a button on the Quick Access Toolbar
From a custom item on the ribbon you develop
Automatically, when you open or close a workbook
When an event occurs
From the Immediate window in the VBE

12. EXECUTING FUNCTION PROCEDURES
By calling the function from another Sub procedure or
Function procedure
By using the function in a worksheet formula


13. COMMENTS
A comment is the simplest type of VBA statement.
Because VBA ignores these statements, they can consist
of anything you want. You can insert a comment to
remind yourself why you did something or to clarify
some particularly elegant code you wrote. Use
comments liberally and extensively to describe what
the code does (which isn’t always obvious by reading
the code itself). Often, code that makes perfect sense
today mystifies you tomorrow

14. COMMENTS
When testing a procedure, you may want to remove
some statements temporarily. Rather than delete the
statements, you can convert them to comments. Then
when testing is completed, convert the comments back
to statements. In the VBE, choose view➪Toolbars➪Edit
to display the Edit toolbar. To convert a block of
statements to comments, select the statements and
click the Comment Block button. To remove the
apostrophes, select the statements and click the

15. COMMENTS
• The following tips can help you make effective use of
comments:
• Briefly describe the purpose of each Sub or Function
procedure
• you write.
• Use comments to keep track of changes you make to a
procedure.
• Use a comment to indicate that you’re using a function
or a construct
• in an unusual or nonstandard manner.
• Use comments to describe the variables you use,
especially if you don’t use meaningful variable names.
• Use a comment to describe any workarounds you
develop to overcome bugs in Excel.

16. UNDERSTANDING VARIABLES
A variable is simply a named storage location in your
computer’s memory. You have lots of flexibility in
naming your variables, so make the variable names as
descriptive as possible. You assign a value to a variable
by using the equal sign operator.You can use letters, numbers, and some punctuation characters,
but the first character must be a letter.
You cannot use any spaces or periods in a variable name.
VBA does not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase
letters.
You cannot use the following characters in a variable name: #, $,
%, &, or !.
Variable names can be no longer than 255 characters.

17. UNDERSTANDING VARIABLES
wear yourself out typing the entire name of a
variable. Just type the first two or three characters and
then hit Control+Space. The VBE will either complete the
entry for you or — if the choice is ambiguous — show
you a pick list to select from. In fact, this slick trick
works with reserved words too.
has many reserved words that you can’t use for
variable names or procedure names. These include
words such as Sub, Dim, With, End, and For. If you
attempt to use one of these words as a variable, you may
get a compile error (your code won’t run). So, if an
assignment statement produces an error message,
double-check and make sure that the variable name

18. WHAT ARE VBA’S DATA TYPES?

19. DECLARING AND SCOPING VARIABLES

20. WORKING WITH CONSTANTS

21. WORKING WITH OPERATORS

22. WORKING WITH ARRAYS

24. INTRODUCING THE EXCEL OBJECT MODEL

25. INTRODUCING THE EXCEL OBJECT MODEL
1
2
3

26. COLLECTIONS OF OBJECTS

27. REFERRING TO OBJECTS
In this case, the number is not in quotation marks. Bottom line? If
you refer to an object by using its name, use quotation marks. If
you refer to an object by using its index number, use a plain
number without quotation marks.

28. NAVIGATING THROUGH THE HIERARCHY

29. WORKING WITH RANGE OBJECTS

30. WORKING WITH RANGE OBJECTS

31. WORKING WITH RANGE OBJECTS

32. WORKING WITH RANGE OBJECTS

33. USING VBA AND WORKSHEET FUNCTIONS

34. VBA FUNCTIONS THAT DO MORE THAN RETURN A
VALUE