Enums in excel vba

VBA Enum

Enum is abbreviated as enumeration. It is a process in which we mention something one by one. Similarly, we have enumerations in every programming language be it JAVA, C or excel VBA. In VBA we have some inbuilt enumerations which starts with VB like VBnewLine is used to insert a new line. It is an enumeration. In Excel VBA we can also create our own custom enumerations.

In VBA, Enum is actually a variable just like integer or string and others. We can make a list of elements in VBA and use the variables. Enums are made to make things easier to use or easy to find. For example for a motorbike company like Bajaj enumeration will be a list of bikes they produce such as pulsar, Avenger, dominar, etc. The one thing which we need to keep in mind is that enum is like a numeric variable which can be used as a representation of one interpretation. There is also another way to use status messages by using constant but they can be tiresome because they are not grouped and come along with all the other enumerated variables of VBA. But with using VBA ENUM we can group our enumerations in one group and use them whenever we like.

Syntax of Enum in Excel VBA

The syntax to use ENUM in excel VBA is as follows:

Enum EnumName
EnumValue [= LongValue]
EnumValue [= LongValue]
[[_EnumValue]] [= LongValue]
End Enum

An important thing to remember is that the values specified in ENUM should have specific values but if we do not provide any value to it VBA automatically gives the first enum value as 0 and the next one as 1 and so on.

So as above I said about a motorbike company manufacturing bikes the enumeration for it will be such as follows.

ENUM Bikes
Pulsar
Avenger = 4
Dominar
End ENUM

Now in the above sample enum, I have assigned values to only Avenger so by default pulsar is zero and dominar is 5 as the previous list value was 4. This is how values are assigned to ENUM values.

First, let us understand why enumerations are important in VBA then we will move to examples on how to make custom enumerations in VBA.

For a demonstration in VBA code try to refer to cell A1 and as soon as we use the dot operator we can see that many other enumerations pop up which may or may be not required for us. Have a look at the screenshot below.

We can see that in the above screenshot that there are many enumerations starting from A. Those are inbuilt VBA enumerations.

Now let us learn how to make custom enumerations in VBA by few examples of ourselves.

Note: In order to use Excel VBA ensure to have the developer’s tab enabled from the files tab and options section.

How to Make Custom Enumerations in Excel VBA

We will learn how to make custom Enumerations (Enum) with a few examples in Excel VBA.

You can download this VBA Enum Excel Template here – VBA Enum Excel Template

Excel VBA Enum – Example #1

Let us make a very simple enumeration first. In this example, we will define the greetings of the day as some numbers and display them as a personalized message.

Follow the below steps to use VBA Enum:

Step 1: In the developer’s tab click on Visual Basic to open VB Editor.

Step 2: Insert a new module from the insert tab in the VB Editor.

Step 3: Declare the Enum function with an enum name.

Code:

Enum Greetings

End Enum

Step 4: Declare the enum values as follows,

Code:

Enum Greetings

Morning = 1
Afternoon = 2
Evening = 3
Night = 4

End Enum

Step 5: Now declare a sub-function below the enum function to use the enum.

Code:

Enum Greetings

Morning = 1
Afternoon = 2
Evening = 3
Night = 4

End Enum

Sub UseEnum()

End Sub

Step 6: Display a personalized message using msgbox function.

Code:

Enum Greetings

Morning = 1
Afternoon = 2
Evening = 3
Night = 4

End Enum

Sub UseEnum()

MsgBox "Greeting Number"

End Sub

Step 7: To display the greeting number we use the enum as follows,

Code:

Enum Greetings

Morning = 1
Afternoon = 2
Evening = 3
Night = 4

End Enum

Sub UseEnum()

MsgBox "Greeting Number" & Greetings.

End Sub

Step 8: Choose any of the greetings values as follows.

Code:

Enum Greetings

Morning = 1
Afternoon = 2
Evening = 3
Night = 4

End Enum

Sub UseEnum()

MsgBox "Greeting Number" & Greetings.Afternoon

End Sub

Step 9: Once done, compile and run the complete code by clicking on the play button which is located just below to the menu bar. When we run the code we see the following result.

It was very easy to create an enumeration and use them this is clear from the above example.

Excel VBA Enum – Example #2

Now in this example let us use enumeration to store the data in an excel sheet. We will use the example of motorbikes used in the introduction section.

We have some sort of pre-written calculation in sheet 1 as follows.

We will fill the cells of a count of motorbikes using enumerations and which will calculate the total cost of these bikes.

For this, Follow the below steps to use VBA Enum:

Step 1: Go to the developer’s tab to click on visual basic in order to open the VB Editor.

Step 2: Insert a new module from the insert tab in the VB Editor.

Step 3: Declare the enum function as motorbikes.

Code:

Enum Motorbikes

End Enum

Step 4: Declare the enum list as follows,

Code:

Enum Motorbikes

Pulsar = 20
Avenger = 15
Dominar = 10
Platina = 25

End Enum

Step 5: Now declare a sub-function to use these enumerations.

Code:

Enum Motorbikes

Pulsar = 20
Avenger = 15
Dominar = 10
Platina = 25

End Enum

Sub TotalCalculation()

End Sub

Step 6: We know in order to use sheet 1 properties we need to activate the sheet first by the following code.

Code:

Enum Motorbikes

Pulsar = 20
Avenger = 15
Dominar = 10
Platina = 25

End Enum

Sub TotalCalculation()

Worksheets("Sheet1").Activate

End Sub

Step 7: Now assign the values of the cell by using enumeration as follows,

Code:

Enum Motorbikes

Pulsar = 20
Avenger = 15
Dominar = 10
Platina = 25

End Enum

Sub TotalCalculation()

Worksheets("Sheet1").Activate
Range("B2").Value = Motorbikes.Pulsar
Range("B3").Value = Motorbikes.Avenger
Range("B4").Value = Motorbikes.Dominar
Range("B5").Value = Motorbikes.Platina

End Sub

Step 8: Run the above code by the run button or press F5 and see the following result in sheet 1.

We can see in the above example that we have added values to the cells using VBA enumeration.

Now by the above examples, it is very clear to us what an ENUM in VBA is. ENUM is a numeric variable in VBA which is used to make data and referring to specific values easily. In Enum, we group the messages so that they can be used effectively.

Things to Remember

• ENUM is a numeric variable which can be custom built but it is also inbuilt in VBA.
• If we do not assign any values to ENUM values VBA automatically assigns values to them.
• To use the VBA enumerations in our code we refer them by enum name.

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This has been a guide to VBA Enum. Here we discussed how to make custom enumerations in excel VBA along with practical examples and downloadable excel template. You can also go through our other suggested articles –

1. VBA Range
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Enum is a short form for enumerations. Almost in every programming language, we have enumerations. Some are pre-defined, and some are user-defined enumerations. Like in VBA, Vbnewline is an enumeration. We can make our enumerations using the Enum statement.

VBA Enumerations (Enum)

We usually declare variables and assign data types to them. We use common data types: Integer, Long, Single, Double, Variant, and String. But, we have one more data type, VBA “Enum.” You must think about what this is and looks like a strange thing. But to clear all your doubts, we are presenting this article on “VBA Enumerations.”

What is VBA Enum?

“Enum” means enumerations. Enum is a variable type just like our string, integer, or any other data type, but here we create a list element using the Excel VBA Enum statement. Enumeration means “the action of mentioning several things one by one.”

In Excel, VBA Enum is a type that contains an enumeration of constants. Enumerations create a list of items and make them in a group. For example, types of mobiles: Redmi, Samsung, Apple, Vivo, Oppo.

Using enumerations, we can group all of them under a single value. For example, one can use the Enum as a variable in VBA, a numeric variable data type of Long.

The formula of VBA Enum

If you do not understand anything, do not worry. You will slowly get the hang of it. Now, take a look at the formula of VBA Enum.

Enum GroupName

     Member1 = [Long]
     Member2 = [Long]
     Member3 = [Long]
     Member4 = [Long]
     Member5 = [Long]

End Enum

As we said in the beginning, one can use Enum as a variable, the numeric variable data type of Long.

Examples of VBA Enum

Before we start the Enum examples, let us show you the “Constant” example in VBA. Constant is also a word used to declare the variable in VBA.

Look at the below codes.

Code:

Option ExplicitVBA option explicitly makes a user mandatory to declare all the variables before using them; any undefined variable will throw an error while coding execution. We can enable it for all codes from options to require variable declaration.read more

   Const Samsung = 15000
   Const VIVO = 18000
   Const Redmi = 8500
   Const Oppo = 18500

Sub Enum_Example1()

End Sub

We have declared the variables at the top of the module by using the Const word.

Const Samsung = 15000

Const VIVO = 18000

Const Redmi = 8500

Const Oppo = 18500

Now, we know all these variables are group members of mobile. So, if we want to use these variables, let us say “Vivo” in the module.

Code:

Sub Enum_Example1()

 V

End Sub

As we start with the character “V,” we can see many other things of VBA mixed up with them, starting with the letter “V.”

It is where the picture of VBA “Enumerations” comes into the picture.

For better understanding, let us try to change the cell’s background color.

Code:

Sub Enum_Example1()

  AcriveCell.Interior.Color = RGB

End Sub

As you can see in the above code, we can see all the RGB colors available in VBARGB can be also termed as red green and blue, this function is used to get the numerical value of the color value, this function has three components as a named range and they are red, blue and green the other colors are considered as the components of these three different colors in VBA.read more. These are all constants with wonderful names with them.

All these RGB colors are part of the family enumeration called “xlRGBColor.”

Code:

Sub Enum_Example1()

  AcriveCell.Interior.Color = xlrg

End Sub

Using these VBA enumerations, we can access this enumeration’s group members.

Code:

Sub Enum_Example1()

  AcriveCell.Interior.Color = XlRgbColor.

End Sub

As we can see in the above image, we see only color combinations, nothing else. It is a simple overview of the “VBA Enum.”

We will go back to our original example of mobile group members. Like how we have seen group members of RGB color similarly, we can declare the variables using the VBA Enum statement.

Code:

Enum Mobiles
   Samsung = 15000
   VIVO = 18000
   Redmi = 8500
   Oppo = 18500
End Enum

Sub Enum_Example1()

End Sub

We have now declared all the mobile brands under the “Mobiles” group using “Enum” statements.

Using the group name “Mobiles,” we can now access all these brands in the module.

Code:

Enum Mobiles
   Samsung = 15000
   VIVO = 18000
   Redmi = 8500
   Oppo = 18500
End Enum

Sub Enum_Example1()

  Mob

End Sub

Select the group and put a dot to see all the group members.

We can see only the group members’ “Mobiles” and nothing else. That is how we can use VBA enumerations to group a list of items under one roof.

Using VBA Enumeration Variables to Store the Data

Let us see a simple example of using declared Enum variables. First, declare the Enum group name as “Department” and add the department’s names as the group member.

Code:

Enum Mobiles
   Finance = 150000
   HR = 218000
   Sales = 458500
   Marketing = 718500
End Enum

Sub Enum_Example1()

End Sub

We have declared each department’s salary numbers in front of them.

Now, we will store the values of these numbers in an Excel sheet. Before applying the code, create a table like the one below.

Now, go back to the basic visual editor and refer the cell B2 using the RANGE object.

Code:

Sub Enum_Example1()

  Range("B2").Value =

End Sub

In the A2 cell, we have the “Finance” department, so in the B2 cell, we will store the department’s salary. So first, access the group name “Department.”

Code:

Sub Enum_Example1()

  Range("B2").Value = Dep

End Sub

Now in this group, we can see only declared department names.

Code:

Sub Enum_Example1()

  Range("B2").Value = Department.

End Sub

Select the department named “Finance.”

Code:

Sub Enum_Example1()

  Range("B2").Value = Department.Finance

End Sub

Similarly, for all the other cells, select the respective department names.

Code:

Sub Enum_Example1()

  Range("B2").Value = Department.Finance
  Range("B3").Value = Department.HR
  Range("B4").Value = Department.Marketing
  Range("B5").Value = Department.Sales

End Sub

Run this VBA codeVBA code refers to a set of instructions written by the user in the Visual Basic Applications programming language on a Visual Basic Editor (VBE) to perform a specific task.read more to get the assigned salary amount for these departments.

It is how we can use VBA Enum.

You can download this VBA Enum Excel here. VBA Enum Excel Template

Recommended Articles

This article is a guide to what is VBA Enum (Enumerations). Here, we discuss how we can use VBA Enum along with examples and download an Excel template. Below are some useful Excel articles related to VBA: –

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