Dialogue boxes in excel

In Excel VBA, you can use the MsgBox function to display a message box (as shown below):

A MsgBox is nothing but a dialog box that you can use to inform your users by showing a custom message or get some basic inputs (such as Yes/No or OK/Cancel).

While the MsgBox dialog box is displayed, your VBA code is halted. You need to click any of the buttons in the MsgBox to run the remaining VBA code.

Note: In this tutorial, I will be using the words message box and MsgBox interchangeably. When working with Excel VBA, you always need to use MsgBox.

Anatomy of a VBA MsgBox in Excel

A message box has the following parts:

1. Title: This is typically used to display what the message box is about. If you don’t specify anything, it displays the application name – which is Microsoft Excel in this case.
2. Prompt: This is the message that you want to display. You can use this space to write a couple of lines or even display tables/data here.
3. Button(s): While OK is the default button, you can customize it to show buttons such as Yes/No, Yes/No/Cancel, Retry/Ignore, etc.
4. Close Icon: You can close the message box by clicking on the close icon.

Syntax of the VBA MsgBox Function

As I mentioned, MsgBox is a function and has a syntax similar to other VBA functions.

MsgBox( prompt [, buttons ] [, title ] [, helpfile, context ] )

• prompt – This is a required argument. It displays the message that you see in the MsgBox. In our example, the text “This is a sample MsgBox” is the ‘prompt’. You can use up to 1024 characters in the prompt, and can also use it to display the values of variables. In case you want to show a prompt that has multiple lines, you can do that as well (more on this later in this tutorial).
• [buttons] – It determines what buttons and icons are displayed in the MsgBox. For example, if I use vbOkOnly, it will show only the OK button, and if I use vbOKCancel, it will show both the OK and Cancel buttons. I will cover different kinds of buttons later in this tutorial.
• [title] – Here you can specify what caption you want in the message dialog box. This is displayed in the title bar of the MsgBox. If you don’t specify anything, it will show the name of the application.
• [helpfile] – You can specify a help file that can be accessed when a user clicks on the Help button. The help button would appear only when you use the button code for it. If you’re using a help file, you also need to also specify the context argument.
• [context] – It is a numeric expression that is the Help context number assigned to the appropriate Help topic.

If you’re new to the concept of Msgbox, feel free to ignore the [helpfile] and [context] arguments. I have rarely seen these being used.

Note: All the arguments in square brackets are optional. Only the ‘prompt’ argument is mandatory.

Excel VBA MsgBox Button Constants (Examples)

In this section, I will cover the different types of buttons that you can use with a VBA MsgBox.

Before I show you the VBA code for it and how the MsgBox looks, here is a table that lists all the different button constants you can use.

Note: While going through the examples of creating different buttons, you may wonder what’s the point of having these buttons if it doesn’t have any impact on the code.

It does! Based on the selection, you can code what you want the code to do. For example, if you select OK, the code should continue, and if you click Cancel, the code should stop. This can be done by using variables and assigning the value of the Message Box to a variable. We will cover this in the later sections of this tutorial.

Now let’s have a look at some examples of how the different buttons can be displayed in a MsgBox and how it looks.

MsgBox Buttons – vbOKOnly (Default)

If you only use the prompt and don’t specify any of the arguments, you will get the default message box as shown below:

Below is the code that will give this message box:

Sub DefaultMsgBox()
MsgBox "This is a sample box"
End Sub

Note that the text string needs to be in double quotes.

You can also use the button constant vbOKOnly, but even if you don’t specify anything, it’s taken as default.

MsgBox Buttons – OK & Cancel

If you only want to show the OK and the Cancel button, you need to use the vbOKCancel constant.

Sub MsgBoxOKCancel()
MsgBox "Want to Continue?", vbOKCancel
End Sub

MsgBox Buttons – Abort, Retry, and Ignore

You can use the ‘vbAbortRetryIgnore’ constant to show the Abort, Retry, and the Ignore buttons.

Sub MsgBoxAbortRetryIgnore()
MsgBox "What do you want to do?", vbAbortRetryIgnore
End Sub

MsgBox Buttons – Yes and No

You can use the ‘vbYesNo’ constant to show the Yes and No buttons.

Sub MsgBoxYesNo()
MsgBox "Should we stop?", vbYesNo
End Sub

MsgBox Buttons – Yes, No and Cancel

You can use the ‘vbYesNoCancel’ constant to show the Yes, No, and Cancel buttons.

Sub MsgBoxYesNoCancel()
MsgBox "Should we stop?", vbYesNoCancel
End Sub

MsgBox Buttons – Retry and Cancel

You can use the ‘vbRetryCancel’ constant to show the Retry and Cancel buttons.

Sub MsgBoxRetryCancel()
MsgBox "What do you want to do next?", vbRetryCancel
End Sub

MsgBox Buttons – Help Button

You can use the ‘vbMsgBoxHelpButton’ constant to show the help button. You can use it with other button constants.

Sub MsgBoxRetryHelp()
MsgBox "What do you want to do next?", vbRetryCancel + vbMsgBoxHelpButton
End Sub

Note that in this code, we have combined two different button constants (vbRetryCancel + vbMsgBoxHelpButton). The first part shows the Retry and Cancel buttons and the second part shows the Help button.

MsgBox Buttons – Setting a Default Button

You can use the ‘vbDefaultButton1’ constant to set the first button as default. This means that the button is already selected and if you press enter, it executes that button.

Below is the code that will set the second button (the ‘No’ button) as the default.

Sub MsgBoxOKCancel()
MsgBox "What do you want to do next?", vbYesNoCancel + vbDefaultButton2
End Sub

In most cases, the left-most button is the default button. You can choose other buttons using vbDefaultButton2, vbDefaultButton3, and vbDefaultButton4.

Excel VBA MsgBox Icon Constants (Examples)

Apart from the buttons, you can also customize the icons that are displayed in the MsgBox dialog box. For example, you can have a red critical icon or a blue information icon.

Below is a table that lists the code that will show the corresponding icon.

MsgBox Icons – Critical

If you want to show a critical icon in your MsgBox, use the vbCritical constant. You can use this along with other button constants (by putting a + sign in between the codes).

For example, below is a code that will show the default OK button with a critical icon.

Sub MsgBoxCriticalIcon()
MsgBox "This is a sample box", vbCritical
End Sub

If you want to show the critical icon with Yes and No buttons, use the following code:

Sub MsgBoxCriticalIcon()
MsgBox "This is a sample box", vbYesNo + vbCritical
End Sub

MsgBox Icons – Question

If you want to show a critical icon in your MsgBox, use the vbQuestion constant.

Sub MsgBoxQuestionIcon()
MsgBox "This is a sample box", vbYesNo + vbQuestion
End Sub

MsgBox Icons – Exclamation

If you want to show an exclamation icon in your MsgBox, use the vbExclamation constant.

Sub MsgBoxExclamationIcon()
MsgBox "This is a sample box", vbYesNo + vbExclamation
End Sub

MsgBox Icons – Information

If you want to show an information icon in your MsgBox, use the vbInformation constant.

Sub MsgBoxInformationIcon()
MsgBox "This is a sample box", vbYesNo + vbInformation
End Sub

Customizing Title and Prompt in the MsgBox

When using MsgBox, you can customize the title and the prompt messages.

So far, the example we have seen have used Microsoft Excel as the title. In case you don’t specify the title argument, MsgBox automatically uses the title of the application (which has been Microsoft Excel in this case).

You can customize the title by specifying it in the code as shown below:

Sub MsgBoxInformationIcon()
MsgBox "Do you want to continue?", vbYesNo + vbQuestion, "Step 1 of 3"
End Sub

Similarly, you can also customize the prompt message.

You can also add line breaks in the prompt message.

In the below code, I have added a line break using ‘vbNewLine’.

Sub MsgBoxInformationIcon()
MsgBox "Do you want to continue?" & vbNewLine & "Click Yes to Continue", vbYesNo + vbQuestion, "Step 1 of 3"
End Sub

You can also use the carriage return character – Chr(13) – or line feed – Chr(10) to insert a new line in the prompt message.

Note that you can add a new line to the prompt message only and not the title.

Assigning MsgBox Value to a Variable

So far, we have seen the examples where we have created message boxes and customized the buttons, icons, title, and prompt.

However, clicking a button has done nothing.

With MsgBox function in Excel, you can decide what you want to do when a user clicks a specific button. And this is possible as every button has a value associated to it.

So if I click on the Yes button, the MsgBox function returns a value (6 or the constant vbYes) which I can use in my code. Similarly, is the user selects the No button, it returns a different value ((7 or the constant vbNo)) that I can use in the code.

Below is a table that shows the exact values and the constant returned by the MsgBox function. You don’t need to memorize these, just be aware of it and you can use the constants which are easier to use.

Now let’s see how we can control the VBA macro code based on what button a user clicks.

In the below code, if the user clicks Yes, it displays the message “You Clicked Yes”, and if the user clicks No, it displays, “You clicked No”.

Sub MsgBoxInformationIcon()
Result = MsgBox("Do you want to continue?", vbYesNo + vbQuestion)
If Result = vbYes Then
MsgBox "You clicked Yes"
Else: MsgBox "You clicked No"
End If
End Sub

In the above code, I have assigned the value of the MsgBox function to the Result variable. When you click Yes button, the Result variable gets the vbYes constant (or the number 6) and when you click No, the Result variable gets the vbNo constant (or the number 7).

Then I used an If Then Else construct to check if the Result variable holds the value vbYes. If it does, it shows the prompt “You Clicked Yes”, else it shows “You clicked No”.

You can use the same concept to run a code if a user clicks Yes and exit the sub when he/she clicks No.

Note: When you assign the MsgBox output to a variable, you need to put the arguments of MsgBox function in parenthesis. For example, in the line Result = MsgBox(“Do you want to continue?”, vbYesNo + vbQuestion), you can see that the arguments are within parenthesis.

If you want to further dig into the Message Box function, here is the official document on it.

You May Also Like the Following Excel VBA Tutorials:

• Excel VBA Split Function.
• Excel VBA InStr Function.
• Working with Cells and Ranges in Excel VBA.
• Working with Worksheets in VBA.
• Working with Workbooks in VBA.
• Using Loops in Excel VBA.
• Understanding Excel VBA Data Types (Variables and Constants)
• How to Create and Use Personal Macro Workbook in Excel.
• Useful Excel Macro Code Examples.
• Using For Next Loop in Excel VBA.
• Excel VBA Events – An Easy (and Complete) Guide.
• How to Run a Macro in Excel – A Complete Step-by-Step Guide.
• How to Create and Use an Excel Add-in.
• Using Active Cell in VBA in Excel (Examples)

Code 1:

Dim Tmp As Boolean

Application.Dialogs(xlDialogPrint).Show
	
Tmp = Application.Dialogs(xlDialogPrint).Show

Code 2:

Application.Dialogs(xlDialogSaveAs).Show

Application.Dialogs(XlBuiltInDialog.xlDialogSaveAs).Show

Application.Dialogs(5).Show

Code 3: Sub procedure xlDialogList. Scroll down to view the 538 lines of code.

Sub xlDialogList()
Dim i As Integer
Dim xlDialog(1 To 258, 1 To 2) As String
'' Excel 2013 xlBuiltInDialog list

    xlDialog(1, 1) = 103
    xlDialog(2, 1) = 476
    xlDialog(3, 1) = 390
    xlDialog(4, 1) = 321
    xlDialog(5, 1) = 43
    xlDialog(6, 1) = 133
    xlDialog(7, 1) = 212
    xlDialog(8, 1) = 170
    xlDialog(9, 1) = 171
    xlDialog(10, 1) = 12
    xlDialog(11, 1) = 213
    xlDialog(12, 1) = 293
    xlDialog(13, 1) = 80
    xlDialog(14, 1) = 323
    xlDialog(15, 1) = 485
    xlDialog(16, 1) = 78
    xlDialog(17, 1) = 45
    xlDialog(18, 1) = 32
    xlDialog(19, 1) = 46
    xlDialog(20, 1) = 166
    xlDialog(21, 1) = 392
    xlDialog(22, 1) = 527
    xlDialog(23, 1) = 724
    xlDialog(24, 1) = 505
    xlDialog(25, 1) = 506
    xlDialog(26, 1) = 540
    xlDialog(27, 1) = 350
    xlDialog(28, 1) = 526
    xlDialog(29, 1) = 288
    xlDialog(30, 1) = 435
    xlDialog(31, 1) = 52
    xlDialog(32, 1) = 161
    xlDialog(33, 1) = 47
    xlDialog(34, 1) = 73
    xlDialog(35, 1) = 583
    xlDialog(36, 1) = 191
    xlDialog(37, 1) = 147
    xlDialog(38, 1) = 108
    xlDialog(39, 1) = 796
    xlDialog(40, 1) = 62
    xlDialog(41, 1) = 217
    xlDialog(42, 1) = 1272
    xlDialog(43, 1) = 276
    xlDialog(44, 1) = 493
    xlDialog(45, 1) = 36
    xlDialog(46, 1) = 379
    xlDialog(47, 1) = 723
    xlDialog(48, 1) = 40
    xlDialog(49, 1) = 525
    xlDialog(50, 1) = 61
    xlDialog(51, 1) = 229
    xlDialog(52, 1) = 111
    xlDialog(53, 1) = 110
    xlDialog(54, 1) = 203
    xlDialog(55, 1) = 27
    xlDialog(56, 1) = 862
    xlDialog(57, 1) = 438
    xlDialog(58, 1) = 223
    xlDialog(59, 1) = 54
    xlDialog(60, 1) = 251
    xlDialog(61, 1) = 228
    xlDialog(62, 1) = 463
    xlDialog(63, 1) = 464
    xlDialog(64, 1) = 732
    xlDialog(65, 1) = 709
    xlDialog(66, 1) = 530
    xlDialog(67, 1) = 35
    xlDialog(68, 1) = 6
    xlDialog(69, 1) = 481
    xlDialog(70, 1) = 200
    xlDialog(71, 1) = 301
    xlDialog(72, 1) = 447
    xlDialog(73, 1) = 370
    xlDialog(74, 1) = 475
    xlDialog(75, 1) = 26
    xlDialog(76, 1) = 381
    xlDialog(77, 1) = 269
    xlDialog(78, 1) = 465
    xlDialog(79, 1) = 423
    xlDialog(80, 1) = 150
    xlDialog(81, 1) = 88
    xlDialog(82, 1) = 225
    xlDialog(83, 1) = 128
    xlDialog(84, 1) = 42
    xlDialog(85, 1) = 226
    xlDialog(86, 1) = 129
    xlDialog(87, 1) = 89
    xlDialog(88, 1) = 64
    xlDialog(89, 1) = 63
    xlDialog(90, 1) = 130
    xlDialog(91, 1) = 450
    xlDialog(92, 1) = 193
    xlDialog(93, 1) = 272
    xlDialog(94, 1) = 194
    xlDialog(95, 1) = 195
    xlDialog(96, 1) = 196
    xlDialog(97, 1) = 273
    xlDialog(98, 1) = 67
    xlDialog(99, 1) = 68
    xlDialog(100, 1) = 69
    xlDialog(101, 1) = 388
    xlDialog(102, 1) = 344
    xlDialog(103, 1) = 70
    xlDialog(104, 1) = 71
    xlDialog(105, 1) = 249
    xlDialog(106, 1) = 72
    xlDialog(107, 1) = 198
    xlDialog(108, 1) = 76
    xlDialog(109, 1) = 666
    xlDialog(110, 1) = 55
    xlDialog(111, 1) = 596
    xlDialog(112, 1) = 259
    xlDialog(113, 1) = 342
    xlDialog(114, 1) = 380
    xlDialog(115, 1) = 436
    xlDialog(116, 1) = 437
    xlDialog(117, 1) = 382
    xlDialog(118, 1) = 470
    xlDialog(119, 1) = 339
    xlDialog(120, 1) = 378
    xlDialog(121, 1) = 85
    xlDialog(122, 1) = 185
    xlDialog(123, 1) = 1271
    xlDialog(124, 1) = 322
    xlDialog(125, 1) = 262
    xlDialog(126, 1) = 834
    xlDialog(127, 1) = 977
    xlDialog(128, 1) = 119
    xlDialog(129, 1) = 978
    xlDialog(130, 1) = 667
    xlDialog(131, 1) = 154
    xlDialog(132, 1) = 207
    xlDialog(133, 1) = 214
    xlDialog(134, 1) = 1
    xlDialog(135, 1) = 2
    xlDialog(136, 1) = 188
    xlDialog(137, 1) = 441
    xlDialog(138, 1) = 318
    xlDialog(139, 1) = 325
    xlDialog(140, 1) = 319
    xlDialog(141, 1) = 356
    xlDialog(142, 1) = 458
    xlDialog(143, 1) = 647
    xlDialog(144, 1) = 355
    xlDialog(145, 1) = 320
    xlDialog(146, 1) = 142
    xlDialog(147, 1) = 86
    xlDialog(148, 1) = 186
    xlDialog(149, 1) = 7
    xlDialog(150, 1) = 91
    xlDialog(151, 1) = 58
    xlDialog(152, 1) = 53
    xlDialog(153, 1) = 84
    xlDialog(154, 1) = 832
    xlDialog(155, 1) = 656
    xlDialog(156, 1) = 570
    xlDialog(157, 1) = 572
    xlDialog(158, 1) = 689
    xlDialog(159, 1) = 433
    xlDialog(160, 1) = 313
    xlDialog(161, 1) = 434
    xlDialog(162, 1) = 421
    xlDialog(163, 1) = 568
    xlDialog(164, 1) = 567
    xlDialog(165, 1) = 1183
    xlDialog(166, 1) = 1153
    xlDialog(167, 1) = 312
    xlDialog(168, 1) = 300
    xlDialog(169, 1) = 8
    xlDialog(170, 1) = 9
    xlDialog(171, 1) = 222
    xlDialog(172, 1) = 202
    xlDialog(173, 1) = 474
    xlDialog(174, 1) = 754
    xlDialog(175, 1) = 28
    xlDialog(176, 1) = 620
    xlDialog(177, 1) = 653
    xlDialog(178, 1) = 445
    xlDialog(179, 1) = 1258
    xlDialog(180, 1) = 134
    xlDialog(181, 1) = 127
    xlDialog(182, 1) = 17
    xlDialog(183, 1) = 5
    xlDialog(184, 1) = 456
    xlDialog(185, 1) = 208
    xlDialog(186, 1) = 145
    xlDialog(187, 1) = 285
    xlDialog(188, 1) = 87
    xlDialog(189, 1) = 307
    xlDialog(190, 1) = 305
    xlDialog(191, 1) = 308
    xlDialog(192, 1) = 473
    xlDialog(193, 1) = 311
    xlDialog(194, 1) = 420
    xlDialog(195, 1) = 731
    xlDialog(196, 1) = 132
    xlDialog(197, 1) = 189
    xlDialog(198, 1) = 460
    xlDialog(199, 1) = 557
    xlDialog(200, 1) = 466
    xlDialog(201, 1) = 504
    xlDialog(202, 1) = 461
    xlDialog(203, 1) = 462
    xlDialog(204, 1) = 509
    xlDialog(205, 1) = 1109
    xlDialog(206, 1) = 1208
    xlDialog(207, 1) = 23
    xlDialog(208, 1) = 1108
    xlDialog(209, 1) = 1107
    xlDialog(210, 1) = 159
    xlDialog(211, 1) = 204
    xlDialog(212, 1) = 220
    xlDialog(213, 1) = 261
    xlDialog(214, 1) = 1182
    xlDialog(215, 1) = 1184
    xlDialog(216, 1) = 1179
    xlDialog(217, 1) = 39
    xlDialog(218, 1) = 192
    xlDialog(219, 1) = 1134
    xlDialog(220, 1) = 1133
    xlDialog(221, 1) = 1135
    xlDialog(222, 1) = 137
    xlDialog(223, 1) = 190
    xlDialog(224, 1) = 472
    xlDialog(225, 1) = 44
    xlDialog(226, 1) = 218
    xlDialog(227, 1) = 398
    xlDialog(228, 1) = 474
    xlDialog(229, 1) = 41
    xlDialog(230, 1) = 394
    xlDialog(231, 1) = 422
    xlDialog(232, 1) = 94
    xlDialog(233, 1) = 201
    xlDialog(234, 1) = 328
    xlDialog(235, 1) = 478
    xlDialog(236, 1) = 330
    xlDialog(237, 1) = 197
    xlDialog(238, 1) = 773
    xlDialog(239, 1) = 686
    xlDialog(240, 1) = 684
    xlDialog(241, 1) = 687
    xlDialog(242, 1) = 683
    xlDialog(243, 1) = 685
    xlDialog(244, 1) = 14
    xlDialog(245, 1) = 13
    xlDialog(246, 1) = 281
    xlDialog(247, 1) = 283
    xlDialog(248, 1) = 354
    xlDialog(249, 1) = 282
    xlDialog(250, 1) = 386
    xlDialog(251, 1) = 302
    xlDialog(252, 1) = 284
    xlDialog(253, 1) = 417
    xlDialog(254, 1) = 415
    xlDialog(255, 1) = 384
    xlDialog(256, 1) = 199
    xlDialog(257, 1) = 95
    xlDialog(258, 1) = 256

    xlDialog(1, 2) = "xlDialogActivate"
    xlDialog(2, 2) = "xlDialogActiveCellFont"
    xlDialog(3, 2) = "xlDialogAddChartAutoformat"
    xlDialog(4, 2) = "xlDialogAddinManager"
    xlDialog(5, 2) = "xlDialogAlignment"
    xlDialog(6, 2) = "xlDialogApplyNames"
    xlDialog(7, 2) = "xlDialogApplyStyle"
    xlDialog(8, 2) = "xlDialogAppMove"
    xlDialog(9, 2) = "xlDialogAppSize"
    xlDialog(10, 2) = "xlDialogArrangeAll"
    xlDialog(11, 2) = "xlDialogAssignToObject"
    xlDialog(12, 2) = "xlDialogAssignToTool"
    xlDialog(13, 2) = "xlDialogAttachText"
    xlDialog(14, 2) = "xlDialogAttachToolbars"
    xlDialog(15, 2) = "xlDialogAutoCorrect"
    xlDialog(16, 2) = "xlDialogAxes"
    xlDialog(17, 2) = "xlDialogBorder"
    xlDialog(18, 2) = "xlDialogCalculation"
    xlDialog(19, 2) = "xlDialogCellProtection"
    xlDialog(20, 2) = "xlDialogChangeLink"
    xlDialog(21, 2) = "xlDialogChartAddData"
    xlDialog(22, 2) = "xlDialogChartLocation"
    xlDialog(23, 2) = "xlDialogChartOptionsDataLabelMultiple"
    xlDialog(24, 2) = "xlDialogChartOptionsDataLabels"
    xlDialog(25, 2) = "xlDialogChartOptionsDataTable"
    xlDialog(26, 2) = "xlDialogChartSourceData"
    xlDialog(27, 2) = "xlDialogChartTrend"
    xlDialog(28, 2) = "xlDialogChartType"
    xlDialog(29, 2) = "xlDialogChartWizard"
    xlDialog(30, 2) = "xlDialogCheckboxProperties"
    xlDialog(31, 2) = "xlDialogClear"
    xlDialog(32, 2) = "xlDialogColorPalette"
    xlDialog(33, 2) = "xlDialogColumnWidth"
    xlDialog(34, 2) = "xlDialogCombination"
    xlDialog(35, 2) = "xlDialogConditionalFormatting"
    xlDialog(36, 2) = "xlDialogConsolidate"
    xlDialog(37, 2) = "xlDialogCopyChart"
    xlDialog(38, 2) = "xlDialogCopyPicture"
    xlDialog(39, 2) = "xlDialogCreateList"
    xlDialog(40, 2) = "xlDialogCreateNames"
    xlDialog(41, 2) = "xlDialogCreatePublisher"
    xlDialog(42, 2) = "xlDialogCreateRelationship"
    xlDialog(43, 2) = "xlDialogCustomizeToolbar"
    xlDialog(44, 2) = "xlDialogCustomViews"
    xlDialog(45, 2) = "xlDialogDataDelete"
    xlDialog(46, 2) = "xlDialogDataLabel"
    xlDialog(47, 2) = "xlDialogDataLabelMultiple"
    xlDialog(48, 2) = "xlDialogDataSeries"
    xlDialog(49, 2) = "xlDialogDataValidation"
    xlDialog(50, 2) = "xlDialogDefineName"
    xlDialog(51, 2) = "xlDialogDefineStyle"
    xlDialog(52, 2) = "xlDialogDeleteFormat"
    xlDialog(53, 2) = "xlDialogDeleteName"
    xlDialog(54, 2) = "xlDialogDemote"
    xlDialog(55, 2) = "xlDialogDisplay"
    xlDialog(56, 2) = "xlDialogDocumentInspector"
    xlDialog(57, 2) = "xlDialogEditboxProperties"
    xlDialog(58, 2) = "xlDialogEditColor"
    xlDialog(59, 2) = "xlDialogEditDelete"
    xlDialog(60, 2) = "xlDialogEditionOptions"
    xlDialog(61, 2) = "xlDialogEditSeries"
    xlDialog(62, 2) = "xlDialogErrorbarX"
    xlDialog(63, 2) = "xlDialogErrorbarY"
    xlDialog(64, 2) = "xlDialogErrorChecking"
    xlDialog(65, 2) = "xlDialogEvaluateFormula"
    xlDialog(66, 2) = "xlDialogExternalDataProperties"
    xlDialog(67, 2) = "xlDialogExtract"
    xlDialog(68, 2) = "xlDialogFileDelete"
    xlDialog(69, 2) = "xlDialogFileSharing"
    xlDialog(70, 2) = "xlDialogFillGroup"
    xlDialog(71, 2) = "xlDialogFillWorkgroup"
    xlDialog(72, 2) = "xlDialogFilter"
    xlDialog(73, 2) = "xlDialogFilterAdvanced"
    xlDialog(74, 2) = "xlDialogFindFile"
    xlDialog(75, 2) = "xlDialogFont"
    xlDialog(76, 2) = "xlDialogFontProperties"
    xlDialog(77, 2) = "xlDialogFormatAuto"
    xlDialog(78, 2) = "xlDialogFormatChart"
    xlDialog(79, 2) = "xlDialogFormatCharttype"
    xlDialog(80, 2) = "xlDialogFormatFont"
    xlDialog(81, 2) = "xlDialogFormatLegend"
    xlDialog(82, 2) = "xlDialogFormatMain"
    xlDialog(83, 2) = "xlDialogFormatMove"
    xlDialog(84, 2) = "xlDialogFormatNumber"
    xlDialog(85, 2) = "xlDialogFormatOverlay"
    xlDialog(86, 2) = "xlDialogFormatSize"
    xlDialog(87, 2) = "xlDialogFormatText"
    xlDialog(88, 2) = "xlDialogFormulaFind"
    xlDialog(89, 2) = "xlDialogFormulaGoto"
    xlDialog(90, 2) = "xlDialogFormulaReplace"
    xlDialog(91, 2) = "xlDialogFunctionWizard"
    xlDialog(92, 2) = "xlDialogGallery3dArea"
    xlDialog(93, 2) = "xlDialogGallery3dBar"
    xlDialog(94, 2) = "xlDialogGallery3dColumn"
    xlDialog(95, 2) = "xlDialogGallery3dLine"
    xlDialog(96, 2) = "xlDialogGallery3dPie"
    xlDialog(97, 2) = "xlDialogGallery3dSurface"
    xlDialog(98, 2) = "xlDialogGalleryArea"
    xlDialog(99, 2) = "xlDialogGalleryBar"
    xlDialog(100, 2) = "xlDialogGalleryColumn"
    xlDialog(101, 2) = "xlDialogGalleryCustom"
    xlDialog(102, 2) = "xlDialogGalleryDoughnut"
    xlDialog(103, 2) = "xlDialogGalleryLine"
    xlDialog(104, 2) = "xlDialogGalleryPie"
    xlDialog(105, 2) = "xlDialogGalleryRadar"
    xlDialog(106, 2) = "xlDialogGalleryScatter"
    xlDialog(107, 2) = "xlDialogGoalSeek"
    xlDialog(108, 2) = "xlDialogGridlines"
    xlDialog(109, 2) = "xlDialogImportTextFile"
    xlDialog(110, 2) = "xlDialogInsert"
    xlDialog(111, 2) = "xlDialogInsertHyperlink"
    xlDialog(112, 2) = "xlDialogInsertObject"
    xlDialog(113, 2) = "xlDialogInsertPicture"
    xlDialog(114, 2) = "xlDialogInsertTitle"
    xlDialog(115, 2) = "xlDialogLabelProperties"
    xlDialog(116, 2) = "xlDialogListboxProperties"
    xlDialog(117, 2) = "xlDialogMacroOptions"
    xlDialog(118, 2) = "xlDialogMailEditMailer"
    xlDialog(119, 2) = "xlDialogMailLogon"
    xlDialog(120, 2) = "xlDialogMailNextLetter"
    xlDialog(121, 2) = "xlDialogMainChart"
    xlDialog(122, 2) = "xlDialogMainChartType"
    xlDialog(123, 2) = "xlDialogManageRelationships"
    xlDialog(124, 2) = "xlDialogMenuEditor"
    xlDialog(125, 2) = "xlDialogMove"
    xlDialog(126, 2) = "xlDialogMyPermission"
    xlDialog(127, 2) = "xlDialogNameManager"
    xlDialog(128, 2) = "xlDialogNew"
    xlDialog(129, 2) = "xlDialogNewName"
    xlDialog(130, 2) = "xlDialogNewWebQuery"
    xlDialog(131, 2) = "xlDialogNote"
    xlDialog(132, 2) = "xlDialogObjectProperties"
    xlDialog(133, 2) = "xlDialogObjectProtection"
    xlDialog(134, 2) = "xlDialogOpen"
    xlDialog(135, 2) = "xlDialogOpenLinks"
    xlDialog(136, 2) = "xlDialogOpenMail"
    xlDialog(137, 2) = "xlDialogOpenText"
    xlDialog(138, 2) = "xlDialogOptionsCalculation"
    xlDialog(139, 2) = "xlDialogOptionsChart"
    xlDialog(140, 2) = "xlDialogOptionsEdit"
    xlDialog(141, 2) = "xlDialogOptionsGeneral"
    xlDialog(142, 2) = "xlDialogOptionsListsAdd"
    xlDialog(143, 2) = "xlDialogOptionsME"
    xlDialog(144, 2) = "xlDialogOptionsTransition"
    xlDialog(145, 2) = "xlDialogOptionsView"
    xlDialog(146, 2) = "xlDialogOutline"
    xlDialog(147, 2) = "xlDialogOverlay"
    xlDialog(148, 2) = "xlDialogOverlayChartType"
    xlDialog(149, 2) = "xlDialogPageSetup"
    xlDialog(150, 2) = "xlDialogParse"
    xlDialog(151, 2) = "xlDialogPasteNames"
    xlDialog(152, 2) = "xlDialogPasteSpecial"
    xlDialog(153, 2) = "xlDialogPatterns"
    xlDialog(154, 2) = "xlDialogPermission"
    xlDialog(155, 2) = "xlDialogPhonetic"
    xlDialog(156, 2) = "xlDialogPivotCalculatedField"
    xlDialog(157, 2) = "xlDialogPivotCalculatedItem"
    xlDialog(158, 2) = "xlDialogPivotClientServerSet"
    xlDialog(159, 2) = "xlDialogPivotFieldGroup"
    xlDialog(160, 2) = "xlDialogPivotFieldProperties"
    xlDialog(161, 2) = "xlDialogPivotFieldUngroup"
    xlDialog(162, 2) = "xlDialogPivotShowPages"
    xlDialog(163, 2) = "xlDialogPivotSolveOrder"
    xlDialog(164, 2) = "xlDialogPivotTableOptions"
    xlDialog(165, 2) = "xlDialogPivotTableSlicerConnections"
    xlDialog(166, 2) = "xlDialogPivotTableWhatIfAnalysisSettings"
    xlDialog(167, 2) = "xlDialogPivotTableWizard"
    xlDialog(168, 2) = "xlDialogPlacement"
    xlDialog(169, 2) = "xlDialogPrint"
    xlDialog(170, 2) = "xlDialogPrinterSetup"
    xlDialog(171, 2) = "xlDialogPrintPreview"
    xlDialog(172, 2) = "xlDialogPromote"
    xlDialog(173, 2) = "xlDialogProperties"
    xlDialog(174, 2) = "xlDialogPropertyFields"
    xlDialog(175, 2) = "xlDialogProtectDocument"
    xlDialog(176, 2) = "xlDialogProtectSharing"
    xlDialog(177, 2) = "xlDialogPublishAsWebPage"
    xlDialog(178, 2) = "xlDialogPushbuttonProperties"
    xlDialog(179, 2) = "xlDialogRecommendedPivotTables"
    xlDialog(180, 2) = "xlDialogReplaceFont"
    xlDialog(181, 2) = "xlDialogRowHeight"
    xlDialog(182, 2) = "xlDialogRun"
    xlDialog(183, 2) = "xlDialogSaveAs"
    xlDialog(184, 2) = "xlDialogSaveCopyAs"
    xlDialog(185, 2) = "xlDialogSaveNewObject"
    xlDialog(186, 2) = "xlDialogSaveWorkbook"
    xlDialog(187, 2) = "xlDialogSaveWorkspace"
    xlDialog(188, 2) = "xlDialogScale"
    xlDialog(189, 2) = "xlDialogScenarioAdd"
    xlDialog(190, 2) = "xlDialogScenarioCells"
    xlDialog(191, 2) = "xlDialogScenarioEdit"
    xlDialog(192, 2) = "xlDialogScenarioMerge"
    xlDialog(193, 2) = "xlDialogScenarioSummary"
    xlDialog(194, 2) = "xlDialogScrollbarProperties"
    xlDialog(195, 2) = "xlDialogSearch"
    xlDialog(196, 2) = "xlDialogSelectSpecial"
    xlDialog(197, 2) = "xlDialogSendMail"
    xlDialog(198, 2) = "xlDialogSeriesAxes"
    xlDialog(199, 2) = "xlDialogSeriesOptions"
    xlDialog(200, 2) = "xlDialogSeriesOrder"
    xlDialog(201, 2) = "xlDialogSeriesShape"
    xlDialog(202, 2) = "xlDialogSeriesX"
    xlDialog(203, 2) = "xlDialogSeriesY"
    xlDialog(204, 2) = "xlDialogSetBackgroundPicture"
    xlDialog(205, 2) = "xlDialogSetManager"
    xlDialog(206, 2) = "xlDialogSetMDXEditor"
    xlDialog(207, 2) = "xlDialogSetPrintTitles"
    xlDialog(208, 2) = "xlDialogSetTupleEditorOnColumns"
    xlDialog(209, 2) = "xlDialogSetTupleEditorOnRows"
    xlDialog(210, 2) = "xlDialogSetUpdateStatus"
    xlDialog(211, 2) = "xlDialogShowDetail"
    xlDialog(212, 2) = "xlDialogShowToolbar"
    xlDialog(213, 2) = "xlDialogSize"
    xlDialog(214, 2) = "xlDialogSlicerCreation"
    xlDialog(215, 2) = "xlDialogSlicerPivotTableConnections"
    xlDialog(216, 2) = "xlDialogSlicerSettings"
    xlDialog(217, 2) = "xlDialogSort"
    xlDialog(218, 2) = "xlDialogSortSpecial"
    xlDialog(219, 2) = "xlDialogSparklineInsertColumn"
    xlDialog(220, 2) = "xlDialogSparklineInsertLine"
    xlDialog(221, 2) = "xlDialogSparklineInsertWinLoss"
    xlDialog(222, 2) = "xlDialogSplit"
    xlDialog(223, 2) = "xlDialogStandardFont"
    xlDialog(224, 2) = "xlDialogStandardWidth"
    xlDialog(225, 2) = "xlDialogStyle"
    xlDialog(226, 2) = "xlDialogSubscribeTo"
    xlDialog(227, 2) = "xlDialogSubtotalCreate"
    xlDialog(228, 2) = "xlDialogSummaryInfo"
    xlDialog(229, 2) = "xlDialogTable"
    xlDialog(230, 2) = "xlDialogTabOrder"
    xlDialog(231, 2) = "xlDialogTextToColumns"
    xlDialog(232, 2) = "xlDialogUnhide"
    xlDialog(233, 2) = "xlDialogUpdateLink"
    xlDialog(234, 2) = "xlDialogVbaInsertFile"
    xlDialog(235, 2) = "xlDialogVbaMakeAddin"
    xlDialog(236, 2) = "xlDialogVbaProcedureDefinition"
    xlDialog(237, 2) = "xlDialogView3d"
    xlDialog(238, 2) = "xlDialogWebOptionsBrowsers"
    xlDialog(239, 2) = "xlDialogWebOptionsEncoding"
    xlDialog(240, 2) = "xlDialogWebOptionsFiles"
    xlDialog(241, 2) = "xlDialogWebOptionsFonts"
    xlDialog(242, 2) = "xlDialogWebOptionsGeneral"
    xlDialog(243, 2) = "xlDialogWebOptionsPictures"
    xlDialog(244, 2) = "xlDialogWindowMove"
    xlDialog(245, 2) = "xlDialogWindowSize"
    xlDialog(246, 2) = "xlDialogWorkbookAdd"
    xlDialog(247, 2) = "xlDialogWorkbookCopy"
    xlDialog(248, 2) = "xlDialogWorkbookInsert"
    xlDialog(249, 2) = "xlDialogWorkbookMove"
    xlDialog(250, 2) = "xlDialogWorkbookName"
    xlDialog(251, 2) = "xlDialogWorkbookNew"
    xlDialog(252, 2) = "xlDialogWorkbookOptions"
    xlDialog(253, 2) = "xlDialogWorkbookProtect"
    xlDialog(254, 2) = "xlDialogWorkbookTabSplit"
    xlDialog(255, 2) = "xlDialogWorkbookUnhide"
    xlDialog(256, 2) = "xlDialogWorkgroup"
    xlDialog(257, 2) = "xlDialogWorkspace"
    xlDialog(258, 2) = "xlDialogZoom"

With ActiveCell
    .Offset(0, 0) = "Value"
    .Offset(0, 0).HorizontalAlignment = xlRight
    .Offset(0, 1) = "Name"
    .Offset(i, 1).IndentLevel = 1
    
    For i = LBound(xlDialog) To UBound(xlDialog)
        .Offset(i, 0).Value = xlDialog(i, 1)
        .Offset(i, 1).Value = xlDialog(i, 2)
        .Offset(i, 1).IndentLevel = 1
    Next i
    
End With

End Sub

Code 2: Sub xlDialogWspace shows the xlDialogWorkspace box — with arguments, by Name and Position

Sub xlDialogWspace()
'' Arg1: fixed; Arg2: decimals; Arg3: r1c1; Arg4: scroll; Arg5: status; Arg6: formula;
'' Arg7: menu_key; Arg8: remote; Arg9 :entermove; Arg10:underlines; Arg11: tools;
'' Arg12: notes; Arg13: nav_keys; Arg14: menu_key_action; Arg15: drag_drop; Arg16: show_info

'' Set Wspace - parameters by Name
    Application.Dialogs(xlDialogWorkspace).Show Arg3:=True, Arg4:=False, Arg5:=False, Arg6:=False

'' Reset Wspace - parameters by Position
    Application.Dialogs(xlDialogWorkspace).Show , , False, True, True, True
End Sub																			

In this tutorial you’ll quickly learn the correct syntax to create a VBA message box (also referred to as a pop-up dialogue box) in Excel.  I first show you how to create a message box that displays a simple message, and then we expand on this to include “YES” & “NO” buttons and perform an action based on the selected button.

The message box function (its official name is MsgBox) is a very easy to use, built-in feature in VBA that allows you to communicate with the user.  The message box does not have to be designed, merely called.

In addition to displaying informative messages to the user, the MsgBox function can also solicit input from the user by way of the buttons displayed in the message box.  Selections such as “Yes”, “No”, “OK”, and “Cancel” can be captured and used in decision making structures in VBA.

Common uses of a message box are to inform the user that a macro has finished running, or to request confirmation of an action prior to execution of that action.

Task 1: Create a Welcome Message for the User

This macro will display a message box welcoming the user to the workbook.

Open the Visual Basic editor by selecting Developer (tab) -> Code (group) -> Visual Basic or by pressing the key combination ALT-F11 on your keyboard.

We will need to insert a module sheet into your workbook.  This is performed by right-clicking on any reference on the workbook in the Project Explorer (upper left of the VBA Editor) and selecting Insert -> Module.

In the code window of the newly created module sheet type the following code.

Sub Simple_MsgBox()
End Sub

The syntax for the MsgBox function is as follows:

MsgBox(Prompt, [Buttons], [Title], [HelpFile], [Context]

The official Microsoft descriptions of these parameters are:

• Prompt – Required. String expression displayed as the message in the dialog box. The maximum length of prompt is approximately 1024 characters, depending on the width of the characters used. If prompt consists of more than one line, you can separate the lines by using a carriage return character (Chr(13)), a linefeed character (Chr(10)), or carriage return – linefeed character combination (Chr(13) & Chr(10)) between each line.
• Buttons – Optional. Numeric expression that is the sum of values specifying the number and type of buttons to display, the icon style to use, the identity of the default button, and the modality of the message box. If omitted, the default value for buttons is 0.
• Title – Optional. String expression displayed in the title bar of the dialog box. If you omit title, the application name is placed in the title bar.
• HelpFile – Optional. String expression that identifies the Help file to use to provide context-sensitive Help for the dialog box. If helpfile is provided, context must also be provided.
• Context – Optional. Numeric expression that is the Help context number assigned to the appropriate Help topic by the Help author. If context is provided, helpfile must also be provided.

The MsgBox function can be directly typed into the code window or accessed via Intellisense by typing “VBA.” and selecting “MsgBox” directly from the global library.

The MsgBox function is also accessible through the Interaction class.  This is accessed by typing “VBA.Interaction.MsgBox”.

Regardless of how you type this, you get the same result.

Creating our Message Box

In the newly created procedure named “Simple_MsgBox”, enter the following code.

MsgBox “Hello”

This is an example of a message box in its simplest form.

When we run the procedure (with your cursor in the code, press F5), we see the following result.

Adding and Customizing Other Features

The first customization deals with the button style.  The default button style is to display the “OK” button.  There are several pre-configured button styles, each presenting their own buttons.  Some examples are:

vbAbortRetryIgnore, vbYesNo, vbYesNoCancel, vbOk, vbOkCancel, and vbRetryCancel

We can also define which button is pre-selected by using the “vbDefaultButtonX” option.  In a vbYesNoCancel configuration, vbDefaultButton1 would pre-select the “Yes” button, where vbDefaultButton2 would pre-select the “No” button.

Since are only displaying a message, the default “OK” button will suffice so we will skip this argument.

Because this MsgBox function mimics the same structure of a regular Excel function, if you skip an argument you need to supply the comma as a placeholder.

The second customization will be for the wording in the Title Bar of the dialog box.  If no title is provided, the application’s title is displayed, such as “Microsoft Excel”.  Because there is limited space in the Title Bar, try to keep this text brief.

Our updated macro appears as follows.

MsgBox “Hello”, ,”Welcome!”

Another way to write the statement is to use embedded titles for the arguments.

MsgBox prompt:=”Hello”, Title:=”Welcome!”

This allows us to list the arguments in any order we see fit and serves as a rudimentary form of inline documentation.

Lastly, let’s personalize the prompt by reading the user’s name form the applications User Name property.  This is stored in the application’s Options section (File -> Options -> User name).

The updated code appears as follows

MsgBox “Hello ” & Excel.Application.UserName, , “Welcome!”

Press F5 to run the macro and observe the results.

Storing the Selected Button

When the user clicks a button in a message box, a code is stored in a permanent variable called vbMsgBoxResult.

This will come in handy in our next example when we must perform an action based on the selected button.  For now, we ignore the user’s selection.  Clicking the OK button will discard the message box without any further actions.

Creating a Launch Button

We need a way for the user to run the macro and using F5 is not an easy way for users to remember.  We want to give them a button to press.  To create a launch button, select Developer (tab) -> Controls (group) -> Insert -> Form Controls -> Button.

Draw a small rectangle on the screen and select the “Simple_MsgBox” macro form the list of macros in the Assign Macro dialog box.

Replace the default text on the button with “Welcome” and consider adding symbols to the buttons.

The symbol library (available by clicking Insert (tab) -> Illustrations (group) -> Icons) has a large collection of simple objects that are ideally suited for this use.

If you elect to use symbols with your buttons, make sure that the following actions are performed:

• Make sure the symbol is in front of the launch button. (right-click on the symbol and select “Bring to Front”)
• Assign the same macro to the symbol. (right-click on the symbol and select “Assign Macro…” and select the same macro assigned to the launch button)
• Position and group the button and symbol so they will move and resize as a single object. (right-click -> group)

When we click the button, we see the updated message box.

Using Additional Features

We will enhance out message box with a second line of text.  Because we cannot create a new line of text by hitting the Enter key in your text, we need to use a VBA command to initiate a new line.  This is performed using the VBA constant called vbNewLine.  Observe the updated code below.

MsgBox “Hello ” & Excel.Application.UserName &“.”& VBA.Constants.vbNewLine & _
	“Thanks for stopping by.”, , “Welcome!”

If you prefer the labeled version, the code would appear as follows.

MsgBox Prompt:=“Hello ” & Excel.Application.UserName &“.”& VBA.Constants.vbNewLine & _
	“Thanks for stopping by.”, Title:=“Welcome!”

Select the code and press F5 to view the results.

Task 2: Clear Values based on User’s Response

This macro will prompt the user to clear the contents of a range of cells.  If the user selects “Yes”, we will clear the cell range.  If the user selects “No”, we will exit the macro.  The finished dialog box will appear as follows.

Because we must process a decision, we will examine the button pressed by the user do decide how to proceed.  This will use information stored in the automatically created variable named vbMsgBoxResult.

We begin by creating a new procedure named “Yes_No_MsgBox”.

To use our user’s response in a decision structure, we will transfer the captured response from the vbMsgBoxResult variable and store it in a variable of our own named “Answer”.  This variable will be defined as a vbMsgBoxResult data type.

Dim Answer As VbMsgBoxResult

Next, we will transfer the contents of the automatically captured response to our “Answer” variable created in the previous step.  Notice that we must place all the MsgBox arguments inside parentheses.  Because we are using the MsgBox more like an Excel function as opposed to an action, we must follow the conventions of formula structures.

Answer = MsgBox(“Are you sure about this?”, vbYesNo + vbQuestion + vbDefaultButton2, “Clear cells”)

Using the plus sign, we can combine dialog box features such as buttons, icons, and default selections.

Note: In the above example, we are not only customizing the buttons, but we are also customizing a displayed icon in the message box.  The “vbQuestion” constant will display a blue circle with a white question mark.

Other options include “vbCritical”, “vbExclamation”, and “vbInformation”.

The next step is to examine the captured response in the variable “Answer” and decide what action to take.  If the user presses the “Yes” button, we will clear the range of cells A7 through B9.  If the user presses any other button (in this case, “No”), we will exit the procedure.

If Answer = vbYes Then
	Range(“A7:B9”).Clear
Else
	Exit Sub
End If

The completed code appears as follows.

Sub Yes_No_MsgBox()
Dim Answer As VbMsgBoxResult
	Answer = MsgBox("Are you sure about this?", vbYesNo + vbQuestion + vbDefaultButton2, "Clear cells")
	If Answer = vbYes Then
    		Range("A7:B9").Clear
	Else
    		Exit Sub
	End If
End Sub

Creating a Launch Button

We will need a way for the user to run the macro so we will create a new button in the same way we created the previous macro’s button.  The only difference will be what is written on the button and the assignment of the “Yes_No_MsgBox” macro.

Running the Macro

Pressing the “Clear” button, we are presented with the following dialog box.

Observe that the default selected button is the “No” button.

If the user presses the “No” button, no action takes place.  If we rerun the macro but select the “Yes” button, cells A7:B9 are cleared of their contents.

Practice Workbook

Feel free to Download the Workbook HERE.

Author: Oscar Cronquist Article last updated on February 08, 2023

A dialog box is an excellent alternative to a userform, they are built-in to VBA and can save you time because you don’t need to code and build a userform. Some of these dialog boxes also have built-in validation. This article shows you what you can and can’t do with dialog boxes.

1. How to create a Message box (VBA)

The most basic dialog box you probably have seen many times is the message box. In its most simple form, it gives the user a message you specify and an OK button.

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Hi, there!"

End Sub

It is a great tool for quickly troubleshooting a subroutine or a custom function. The message box has more options than displaying text or variables, these are the arguments:

Back to top

1.1 Message box arguments

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbOKOnly, "This is a title"

End Sub

Prompt — Text shown in message box
Buttons — You can select of a variety of different buttons and icons. If you can’t find the buttons you need, a user form is required.

vbOKOnly — 0
vbOKCancel — 1
vbAbortRetryIgnore — 2
vbYesNoCancel — 3
vbYesNo — 4
vbRetryCancel — 5
vbCritical — 16
vbQuestion — 32
vbExclamation — 48
vbInformation — 64
vbDefaultButton1 — 0
vbDefaultButton2 — 256
vbDefaultButton3 — 512
vbDefaultButton4 — 768

Title — Text at the very top of the message box. (Optional)

Helpfile — Path to your helpfile. (Optional)

Context — A numerical expression. (Optional, required if you specify a helpfile)

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1.2 How to configure buttons on a message box

There are six different button setups. The most basic message box shows a text string or a variable and an OK button.

1.2.1 vbOKOnly

The dialog box demonstrated in the image above shows a single «OK» button, the VBA code below shows how to create the dialog box.

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbOKOnly

End Sub

You don’t even need to specify the vbOKOnly argument to show the above dialog box.

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1.2.2  vbOKCancel

The dialog box demonstrated in the image above shows an «OK» and «Cancel» button, the VBA code below shows how to create the dialog box.

vbOKCancel argument displays OK and Cancel buttons.

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbOKCancel

End Sub

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1.2.3 vbAbortRetryIgnore

The dialog box demonstrated in the image above shows an «Abort», «Retry», and «Ignore» button, the VBA code below shows how to create the dialog box.

vbAbortRetryIgnore argument shows three buttons, abort, retry and ignore on the dialog box.

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbAbortRetryIgnore

End Sub

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1.2.4 vbYesNoCancel

The dialog box demonstrated in the image above shows a «Yes», «No», and «Cancel» button, the VBA code below shows how to create the dialog box.

vbYesNoCancel argument also shows three buttons, however, they are named, Yes, No, and Cancel.

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbYesNoCancel

End Sub

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1.2.5 vbYesNo

The dialog box demonstrated in the image above shows a «Yes» and «No» button, the VBA code below shows how to create the dialog box.

vbYesNo argument diplays Yes and No buttons.

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbYesNo

End Sub

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1.2.6 vbRetryCancel

vbRetryCancel argument shows Retry and Cancel buttons.

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbRetryCancel

End Sub

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1.3 Icons

1.3.1 vbCritical

vbCritical shows this icon on the message box, see the image above.

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbCritical

End Sub

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1.3.2 vbQuestion

vbQuestion shows this query icon, see the image above.

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbQuestion
End Sub

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1.3.3 vbExclamation

vbExclamation shows a warning icon, see the image above.

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbExclamation
End Sub

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1.3.4 vbinformation

vbinformation shows an information icon, see the image above.

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbInformation
End Sub

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1.3 Combine buttons and icons

If you look at the message box arguments at the beginning of this post, you will see a number next to each constant. Combining for example an OK and Cancel button with a query icon you simply add the numbers for those constants. OK and Cancel has value 1 and the query icon has value 32.

1 + 32 = 33

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", 33
End Sub

You can combine constants intead of values, if you prefer that. See macro below, it produces the same result as the macro above.

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbOKCancel + vbQuestion
End Sub

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1.4 Default buttons

You can change the default button for a message box, see the arguments in the beginning of this post. The following message box has the OK button as the default button, it has a dotted line around the text «OK».

You can change it to the second button by adding 256 to the second argument. 33 + 256 = 289

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", 289
End Sub

If you prefer you can add the constants to the second argument, as well. This macro shows the same message box as above.

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbOKCancel + vbQuestion + vbDefaultButton2
End Sub

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1.5 Messagebox return value

The message box returns one of these values depending on which button was press with left mouse button oned on by the user.

vbOK — 1
vbCancel — 2
vbAbort — 3
vbRetry — 4
vbIgnore — 5
vbYes — 6
vbNo — 7

This message box allows you to press with left mouse button on the OK button or the Close button. Both buttons result in the value 1 or vbOK.

Sub Macro1()
Dim btt

btt = MsgBox("You can press with left mouse button on the OK button or the Close button", vbOKOnly)

MsgBox btt

End Sub

The following macro allows you to continue or stop a loop using a message box. If you press with left mouse button on No the macro ends.

Sub Macro1()
Dim a As Integer
For a = 1 To 10
If MsgBox("a=" & a & " Continue?", vbYesNo) = vbNo Then Exit For
Next a
End Sub

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1.6 Help file

Here is an example of how to use a msgbox with a helpfile.

<href=»https://www.get-digital-help.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/dialog-boxes-help-file-1.png»>

Sub Macro1()

MsgBox "Prompt", vbMsgBoxHelpButton, "This is a title", "c:temphelpfile.chm", 7

End Sub

How to build a chm file

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1.7 Working with text in a message box

The following macro shows you how to concatenate text and a variable.

Sub Macro1()
Dim nm As String
nm = "Jennifer"
MsgBox "My name is " & nm
End Sub

This macro shows you how to put text on two rows.

Sub Macro1()
MsgBox "First row" & vbNewLine & "Second row"
End Sub

You can also show data with a delimiting tab.

Sub Macro1()
Dim a As Integer, result As String
For a = 1 To 8
result = result & a & vbTab
Next a
MsgBox result
End Sub

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2. Input box (VBA)

An input box asks the user for a value, you can specify the text and the title in the inputbox. You also have the option where to show the input box on screen and a default input value.

prompt — text in input box

title — Text at the very top of the input box

default — default value shown in the input box

xpo,ypos — specify where you want the input box on the screen from the upper-left corner.

helpfile — path to help file

context — A numerical value

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2.1 How to set the default value for an input box?

This macro asks where you are from. The default value is «United Kingdom».

Sub Macro1()
Dim Country

Country = InputBox("Where are you from?", "Country", "United Kingdom")

MsgBox Country

End Sub

Note, the Input box returns nothing if you press with left mouse button on the Cancel button.

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3. Input box (Excel)

Excel input box is more versatile, it will do basic validation for you and the user can select a cell range on a worksheet. You have also the option to select one or multiple data types returned by the input box.

prompt — text in input box

title — Text at the very top of the input box

default — default value shown in the input box

left, top — specify where you want the input box from the upper-left corner of the screen.

helpfile — path to help file

HelpContextID — A numerical value

Type — A number representing the data type returned

0 — Formula
1 — Number
2 — Text
4 — Logical value, True or False
8 — A cell reference
16 — Error value
64 — An array of values

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3.1 Number

Sub Macro1()
Dim cd

cd = Application.InputBox("Enter birth year", , , , , , , 1)

MsgBox "Your birth year is " & cd

End Sub

Excel provides basic data validation, if you type a text string excel gives you this warning message.

If you press with left mouse button on «Cancel» button excel returns «False».

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3.2 Range

Data type 8 (Cell reference) lets the user select a cell range.

Sub Macro1()
Dim rngAs Range

Set rng = Application.InputBox("Select a range: ", , , , , , , 8)

MsgBox "You selected " & rng.Address

End Sub

If the user enters something else than a cell reference excel gives this message until a valid cell reference is entered:

Press with left mouse button oning on «Cancel» button makes excel error out:

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3.3 Combine data types

If you combine data types by adding their corresponding value, like this 1+2 = 3 the user is allowed to enter both numbers and text.

Sub Macro1()
Dim cd

cd = Application.InputBox("You can enter both text an numbers: ", , , , , , , 3)

MsgBox "You entered " & cd

End Sub

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4. Data Form

Data in this table is made up and random.

The data form is a smart dialog box, it analyzes your table and customizes the dialog box using table headers.

Make sure you have a cell selected in the table you want to work with before running this macro:

Sub Macro1()
ActiveSheet.ShowDataForm

End Sub

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5. FileDialog

FileDialog property lets you prompt the user for a directory or open/save/select a file

fileDialogType — Choose between 4 constants, see below.

msoFileDialogFilePicker — Select a file
msoFileDialogFolderPicker — Select a folder
msoFileDialogOpen — Open a file
msoFileDialogSaveAs — Save a file

5.1 msoFileDialogFilePicker

Allows the user to select a file. The following macro prompts the user for a file o multiple files and then a message box returns the path and file name for each file.

Sub Macro1()
Dim i As Integer
With Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogFilePicker)
.Show
For i = 1 To .SelectedItems.Count
MsgBox .SelectedItems(i)
Next i
End With
End Sub

5.2 msoFileDialogFolderPicker

The following macro lets the user pick a folder. A message box displays the path and folder name.

Sub Macro1()
Dim i As Integer
With Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogFolderPicker)
.Show
MsgBox .SelectedItems(1)
End With
End Sub

5.3 msoFileDialogOpen

The macro below asks the user for a file to open. A message box displays the path and file name. Note, it doesn’t open the file.

Sub Macro1()
Dim i As Integer
With Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogOpen)
.Show
MsgBox .SelectedItems(1)
End With
End Sub

5.4 msoFileDialogSaveAs

This macro lets the user pick a folder and a save name. A message box displays the path and file name. It doesn’t save the file

Sub Macro1()
Dim i As Integer
With Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogOpen)
.Show
MsgBox .SelectedItems(1)
End With
End Sub

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6. GetOpenFilename

Filefilter — Filter criteria (Optional)
FilterIndex — Index number of default filter (Optional)
Title — title of dialog box (Optional)
Multiselect — Enables the user to select multiple filenames (Optional)

The following macro asks for a file to open, filters used are *.xlsx and *.xlsm. The second filter is the default value. Keep in mind, the macro doesn’t open the file it just returns a file name and path.

Sub Macro1()
Dim txt
txt = Application.GetOpenFilename("Excel Files (*.xlsx), *.xlsx, Excel macro files (*.xlsm),*.xlsm", 2)

MsgBox txt

End Sub

If the user press with left mouse button ons «Cancel» a False is returned.

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7. GetSaveFilename

Filefilter — Filter criteria (Optional)
FilterIndex — Index number of default filter (Optional)
Title — title of dialog box (Optional)

Sub Macro1()
Dim txt
txt = Application.GetSaveAsFilename("Excel Files (*.xlsx), *.xlsx, Excel macro files (*.xlsm),*.xlsm", 2)
MsgBox txt
End Sub

This macro does not save the file, it only returns the selected path and name.

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