In my previous post I created a macro from scratch that saved and closed the current file. The macro required that the file had been saved before and wasn’t read only. This post handles those two situations so you run the macro on any file and it will only work when required.
Tag Archives: macro
Save and Close in Excel
Let's create a macro
I started using Excel in the late 80’s on a Mac. It had a Save and Close button. When I discovered VBA in Excel on the PC, the very first macro I ever made was save and close.
I thought this would be a good example to take you through creating a macro from scratch and sharing a technique to make it easy to use.
VBA tip – please don’t leave your Next blank
Include the variable
In a For Next loop you don’t have to include the variable in the Next statement. But ….
Extract Email from Copied Outlook Address
Macro to the rescue
I frequently copy an email address from Outlook to Excel and most times it looks like John Smith<jsmith@email.com>. To be used as an email I need to extract from between < and >. To do that in a single cell is tedious, so I wrote a macro to do it for me.
Increase Font Size in VBA Window
Easy change
Yes, you can make the text in the VBA window easier to read.
It is also great for training.
(This tip may not work on 4K monitors.)
To open the VBA Window press Alt + F11.
Click the Tools menu and then Options – see image below.
Click the Editor Format tab and change the Size drop down to 14, or whatever you want – see image below.
Click OK and the font size will now be increased in the code window.
See below for a comparison between 10 and 14 point.
Much easier to read!
Free Webinar Recording – Recorded Macros Tips Tricks and Traps
Getting started with recorded macros
It is easy to create a recorded macro. It is not so easy to create a flexible and re-usable recorded macro. Click the materials Button below to download the pdf manual and example file.
Learn the techniques that can allow you to record effective macros that can handle different ranges and changes to sheet names.
Macros can speed up your work and reduce the time taken for tedious tasks, as well as adding functionality to Excel.
This is the first in a series of webinars dedicated to macros. Future paid sessions this month (August 2019) will expand on the techniques taught in this session. Click here to register.
CPD note – if you are claiming CPD for watching this recording you need to keep your own records. People who attend the live sessions receive an annual listing of attendances.
First and Last Cell Address in a Range
Following on from my last two VBA posts here is how you can identify the cell addresses of the first and last cells in a range.
VBA to Find the Row and Column Number Limits of a Range
First and last row and column numbers
In my last blog post I found the last used row and column numbers on the active sheet. This post lets us find the row and column extremities of a specific range.
Excel VBA to Find the Last Used Row or Column
UsedRange used wisely
When writing VBA code it is common to need to know the last used row and/or the last used column. These values provide the edges of the sheet contents.
Excel VBA to Remove Filters
Its a one liner
When creating macros that work with filters it is a good idea to remove filters at the beginning of the macro code. Here is how you do that.
Range Names and Macros
Range names rule
When you record a macro that refers to a particular cell or range on a particular sheet in Excel the range reference is hard coded into VBA (macro) code. Unfortunately this means if rows or columns are inserted or deleted in the reference range the code is not updated. There is an easy way to get around this.
Creating a Book Index in Excel
A macro to simplify and speed up the process
My book was published just over four years ago and part of the writing process was creating an Index. To make the task easier I wrote a macro to assist me. Adding an Index to a large document can improve its usefulness. I am sharing the file I used in this blog post.
Fixing too many different cell formats
A VBA solution or two
In a recent webinar I was asked about the “Too many different cell formats” error. This tends to be an error in Excel 2010 and earlier versions. In many cases this error is caused by having too many custom Styles.
Stopping the Clipboard from being cleared in Excel VBA
How to check if the clipboard is empty
It is common knowledge (or it should be) that running a macro clears the undo list. In general you can’t undo a macro. However some macros also clear the clipboard which can stop you copying and pasting. I have found a workaround for the clipboard problem.
Entering Headings via a Macro in Excel
Handle a range in one go
Let’s say you are creating a new table in a new sheet using a macro and you need to create the headings in row 1. There is a reasonably easy way to do it.
Free Excel Webinar – recording Macros Tips Tricks and Traps
Getting started with macros
It is easy to create a recorded macro. It is not so easy to create a flexible and re-usable recorded macro. Click the materials Button below to download the pdf manual and example file.
Learn the techniques that can allow you to record effective macros that can handle different ranges and changes to sheet names.
Macros can speed up your work and reduce the time taken for tedious tasks, as well as adding functionality to Excel.
This is the first in a series of webinars dedicated to macros. Future paid sessions this month will expand on the techniques taught in this session.
CPD note – if you are claiming CPD for watching this recording you need to keep your own records. People who attend the live sessions receive an annual listing of attendances.
Expand to Fit to One Page in Excel
Macro solution
Excel will automatically decrease the print zoom % to fit to one page, but it won’t increase the zoom % to fit to one page. E.g. if you want to print on A3 instead of A4. I had a request to do this, so I wrote a macro to do it.
Excel VBA to Clear Manual Page Breaks
Be careful how you do it
When clearing page breaks in Excel VBA you need to be careful. There is one command that will clear page breaks but it will also affect other print settings.
Power Query Privacy Setting Problem
Excel 2016 solution
Privacy settings allow you to control who sees the Power Query data. There seems to be a bug that remembers your response to a dialog and this ignores any changes to the Privacy settings. Find out the VBA line of code that can fix it.
Declaring Variables in Excel VBA
Using the Dim statement
In a Linkedin Excel Group recently there was a discussion about whether or not you should use the Dim statement to declare your variables. The argument was that you don’t have to and someone had managed to successfully create some code without declaring variables.
Excel Cell Comments and Documentation
Macro to Create a Comment Report for a File
I was watching a video a while back and some Excel experts were lamenting the lack of a documentation standard in Excel. They mentioned that the cell comments system could be used for documentation, but there was no way to centralise all the comments. Well, I have written a macro to do just that.
Excel VBA and Variables
Using Option Explicit
Variables can speed up your code and make maintenance a lot easier. You should always declare or Dim (technical term) your variables, here’s why.
VBA to Open CSV and Avoid Date Error
You can create a macro to open a CSV file. One problem you may face is that dates are treated as US dates. A simple change can fix this.
Japanese Yen Format in Excel
Applying it quickly
To apply the Japanese Yen format can take quite a few mouse clicks.
The macro that does it, on the other hand, is quite simple. Select the range, then run the macro.
Sub JapaneseYen() Selection.NumberFormat = "[$¥-411]#,##0.00" End Sub
If you are unsure how to use macros, see the link below.
Getting Excel to Recognise an Email Address
Converting it into a hyperlink
Sometimes when Excel imports email addresses they are not recognised as emails and are not hyperlinks. They are two ways to fix this.
Running an Excel Macro from a Graphic
Its easy to set up
These days running a macro off a control button seems to be old school and many people have started running macros off graphics.
Excel VBA Command to Clear the Clipboard
Stop users pasting after the macro is run
When using copy and paste in a macro it is a good idea to clear the clipboard at the end of the macro. If you don’t, the user could use paste to paste the last thing you had copied in the macro.
Excel Hiding and Unhiding Error Fix
Sometimes when you hide or unhide, rows or columns, you can get an error message saying that Excel can’t move objects off the sheet. The solution is in the macro below.
Activating a sheet in VBA
Here’s the problem. You have a number of sheets that are named after Department codes. Those sheets contain the details for each department. You have reports throughout the model that refer to these department codes. You want to be able to select a cell that contains a department code and click a button that will take you to that department’s sheet.
Running a Macro From the Quick Access Toolbar
The Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) can really speed up your work in Excel. You can even attach macros to the QAT.