TO ASK A QUESTION: If you have a question or need help with Office, please feel free to use the 'Click to Contact' link at the bottom of this page. You'll get a form that you can use to email a question to me. (I had been getting a ton of spam when accepting direct emails, so only emails that use this form will get through to me.)
Please be sure to mention the version of Office you are using when you send your question.
I answer all e-mails that I receive via this form, as long as they are polite :)
Since disabling comments on this site, I'm actually hearing from more of you with questions ... so, as it seems people prefer to email rather than comment, I'm going to leave comments disabled. As always, you can ask me any Office-related questions you have. If the question is outside of my expertise, I'll try to direct you to where you can get an answer.
Follow-up on today's VBA basics webcast
[updated 4-4 with on-demand link and new info on the VBA scroll wheel issue in Off 2003]
Hi, everyone! Thanks to those who made the time to attend today's VBA basics webcast. If you wanted to but didn't have time, you can view the recorded version at your convenience here:
Advanced Tips & Tricks: Using Basic VBA Every Day Is Easier Than You Think
Meanwhile, some follow-up on additional resources as promised.
First things first ... I didn't give a complete answer to the question of the scroll wheel in the VBE. I meant to lead with yes, you can do it without issue in 2007 (yay). But, I was trying to say that - while I got accustomed to not being able to in 2003 (like most people) -- I believe there is a way to do it and recall a developer I know having once told me, but don't recall the answer. So, I've pinged one of the brilliant VBA developers I know and will hopefully be able to give you the answer (and credit said brilliant developer if they permit me to) as soon as I hear back...
[4-4 update: A few brilliant developers replied to me (thanks to all!) with some 3rd party solutions to the VBA scroll wheel issue. But, as it turns out - there is a Microsoft fix for it available on Office Online ... which I can share thanks to fellow Office MVP Beth Melton (who is also the new co-author of the upcoming Word 2007 Inside Out and the wonderful technical reviewer for my new book - Advanced Documents Inside Out (discussed below)). Here's that Office Online link from Beth: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA101175901033.aspx.
The Office Online solution is my preference, mainly because I'm quicker to feel comfortable with a software company's own fix for an issue rather than a 3rd party app - especially after they did fix it seamlessly in the latest version. But, a couple of developers I respect tremendously - Excel MVP Jon Peltier and Word developer par-excellence Rob Paulsen - both pointed me to the same 3rd party solution - so I want to post that alternative here as well. Jon points out that it enables the scroll wheel in some other applications as well. This one is free (donations accepted) from a fellow named Shahin Gasanov - and you can find it here: http://www.gasanov.net/VBScroll.asp]
... One more note on the above - Jon gets the last word on this topic here (only fair, since I disabled comments on the site :) ... he points out that it's not an issue for all scroll mice. Some (particularly older) mice worked just fine. Jon ponits to a post from Excel MVP Dick Kuslieka's blog - it's a 2005 post: http://www.dailydoseofexcel.com/archives/2004/05/10/scroll-wheel-in-the-vbe
Thanks, Jon :)
Alrighty then ... so on to additional resources...
1 - the sample document with tables and the related recorded and written macro versions are available here for download. To install the module containing the three macros (two recorded and one written) open the Word 2007 VB editor. Right-click the template or document in project explorer where you want to import the module and then click Import. Browse to the location where you saved the file Macros4307.bas and select it. It should be added to the selected project and you can then browse, review, or edit those macros as you like.
Mock report document sample with tables to be formatted (file name is Sample Table.docx)
(When you try to download this file - it's going to interpret the file as a zip file - change the extension to .docx when saving it and it will open without issue.)
Macros (file name is Macros4307.bas)
(right-click for the option to save the file - if you just click the link, you may see the macro text open in a browser window, depending on your browser)
2 - for quick reference - a few additional resource links (the same links I provided at the end of the webcast)
- msdn.microsoft.com/office (Office Developer Center)
- www.mvps.org (Website where you can find links to websites managed by a wide range of MVPs - many of whom have expertise in VBA and other development disciplines)
- office.microsoft.com/training (check out Office Online and Office Online Training to get up to speed on the 2007 release -- and look for my upcoming series of courses there on Open XML basics.)
- www.microsoft.com/greattips (for all Office tips & tricks webcasts, on a wide range of topics)
... for my past webcasts, point to get help with Office at left and then click the webcasts link.
3 - upcoming events related to today's session
- geekSpeak webcast - April 11th at 2:30p Eastern (11:30a Pacific) ... session will be an hour and a half. This is an informal webcast discussion - where I'll be talking about what's new for end-user development topics (VBA and especially Open XML) in the 2007 release.
MSDN geekSpeak: What Is New for VBA Developers in the 2007 Office Release with Stephanie Krieger (Level 200)
- Office Tips & Tricks webcast on the basics of customizing the Ribbon (including adding your own macros to the Ribbon) - May 8th - 9am Pacific, 12pm Eastern.
Advanced Tips & Tricks: Customizing the Ribbon Using Office Open XML (Level 300)
(If you missed my webcast last month introducing the basics of Open XML ... and you're not familiar with the basics of working in Open XML Format ZIP packages - check out that webcast on demand before tuning in to the May 8th Session. Here's that link: Advanced Tips & Tricks: Breaking Into Your Office Open XML Format Documents (Level 300)
4 - if you have my new book for the 2007 release - check out Chapter 21 - the VBA primer - for detailed instruction on everything I introduced today and quite a bit more. Check out Chapter 22 - Office Open XML Essentials - for a primer on working with the XML behind your documents (including customizing the Ribbon) -- and Chapter 23 to learn how to begin putting VBA and Open XML together to create simple addins.
If you have the book already and have installed the practice files available from the Welcome tab of the book's CD, open the Chapter 21 folder to find the file PrimerMacros.bas and the simple sample document First Recording.docx (which are the other files I used in today's demo). You'll also find a template in that folder (Sample Macros.dotm) which is referenced in Chapter 21 and contains several additional sample macros to explore.
You can find more info about the book, as well as downloadable book excerpts (including the detailed table of contents and a sample chapter) through the my books link at left.
Thanks everyone - and happy Tuesday!
... and if you have a question from today's webcast that you didn't get to ask ... feel free to use the Click To Contact link at the bottom of the page and shoot me an email ...
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