Vba excel функции sub - Word и Excel - помощь в работе с программами

“Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.” – Pablo Picasso.

This post provides a complete guide to using the VBA Sub. I also cover VBA functions which are very similar to Subs.

If you want some quick information about creating a VBA Sub, Function, passing parameters, return values etc. then check out the quick guide below.

If you want to understand all about the VBA Sub, you can read through the post from start to finish or you can check out the table of contents below.

Quick Guide to the VBA Sub

Sub	Example
Sub Cannot return a value.
Function Can return a value or object. Can run as Worksheet function.
Create a sub	Sub CreateReport() End Sub
Create a function	Function GetTotal() As Long End Function
Create a sub with parameters	Sub CreateReport(ByVal Price As Double) Sub CreateReport(ByVal Name As String)
Create a function with parameters	Function GetTotal(Price As Double) Function GetTotal(Name As String)
Call a sub	Call CreateReport ‘ Or CreateReport
Call a function	Call CalcPrice ‘ Or CalcPrice
Call a sub with parameters	Call CreateReport(12.99) CreateReport 12.99
Call a function with parameters	Call CalcPrice(12.99) CalcPrice 12.99
Call a function and retrieve value (cannot use Call keyword for this)	Price = CalcPrice
Call a function and retrieve object	Set coll = GetCollection
Call a function with params and retrieve value/object	Price = CalcPrice(12) Set coll = GetCollection(«Apples»)
Return a value from Function	Function GetTotal() As Long GetTotal = 67 End Function
Return an object from a function	Function GetCollection() As Collection Dim coll As New Collection Set GetCollection = coll End Function
Exit a sub	If IsError(Range(«A1»)) Then Exit Sub End If
Exit a function	If IsError(Range(«A1»)) Then Exit Function End If
Private Sub/Private Function (available to current module)	Private Sub CreateReport()
Public Sub/Public Function (available to entire project)	Public Sub CreateReport()

Introduction

The VBA Sub is an essential component of the VBA language. You can also create functions which are very similar to subs. They are both procedures where you write your code. However, there are differences and these are important to understand. In this post I am going to look at subs and functions in detail and answer the vital questions including:

What is the difference between them?
When do I use a sub and when do I use a function?
How do you run them?
Can I return values?
How do I pass parameters to them?
What are optional parameters?
and much more

Let’s start by looking at what is the VBA sub?

What is a Sub?

In Excel VBA a sub and a macro are essentially the same thing. This often leads to confusion so it is a good idea to remember it. For the rest of this post I will refer to them as subs.

A sub/macro is where you place your lines of VBA code. When you run a sub, all the lines of code it contains are executed. That means that VBA carries out their instructions.

The following is an example of an empty sub

Sub WriteValues()

End Sub

You declare the sub by using the Sub keyword and the name you wish to give the sub. When you give it a name keep the following in mind:

The name must begin with a letter and cannot contain spaces.
The name must be unique in the current workbook.
The name cannot be a reserved word in VBA.

The end of the Sub is marked by the line End Sub.

When you create your Sub you can add some code like the following example shows:

Sub WriteValues()
    Range("A1") = 6
End Sub

What is a Function?

A Function is very similar to a sub. The major difference is that a function can return a value – a sub cannot. There are other differences which we will look at but this is the main one.

You normally create a function when you want to return a value.

Creating a function is similar to creating a sub

Function PerformCalc()

End Function

It is optional to add a return type to a function. If you don’t add the type then it is a Variant type by default. This means that VBA will decide the type at runtime.

The next example shows you how to specify the return type

Function PerformCalc() As Long

End Function

You can see it is simple how you declare a variable. You can return any type you can declare as a variable including objects and collections.

A Quick Comparison

Sub:

Cannot return a value.
Can be called from VBAButtonEvent etc.

Function

Can return a value but doesn’t have to.
Can be called it from VBAButtonEvent etc. but it won’t appear in the list of Macros. You must type it in.
If the function is public, will appear in the worksheet function list for the current workbook.

Note 1: You can use “Option Private Module” to hide subs in the current module. This means that subs won’t be visible to other projects and applications. They also won’t appear in a list of subs when you bring up the Macro window on the developer tab.

Note 2:We can use the word procedure to refer to a function or sub

Calling a Sub or Function

When people are new to VBA they tend to put all the code in one sub. This is not a good way to write your code.

It is better to break your code into multiple procedures. We can run one procedure from another.

Here is an example:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Main()
    
    ' call each sub to perform a task
    CopyData
    
    AddFormulas
    
    FormatData

End Sub

Sub CopyData()
    ' Add code here
End Sub

Sub AddFormulas()
    ' Add code here
End Sub

Sub FormatData()
    ' Add code here
End Sub

You can see that in the Main sub, we have added the name of three subs. When VBA reaches a line containing a procedure name, it will run the code in this procedure.

We refer to this as calling a procedure e.g. We are calling the CopyData sub from the Main sub.

There is actually a Call keyword in VBA. We can use it like this:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Main()
    
    ' call each sub to perform a task
    Call CopyData
    
    Call AddFormulas
    
    Call FormatData

End Sub

Using the Call keyword is optional. There is no real need to use it unless you are new to VBA and you feel it makes your code more readable.

If you are passing arguments using Call then you must use parentheses around them.

For example:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Main()
    
    ' If call is not used then no parentheses
    AddValues 2, 4
    
    ' call requires parentheses for arguments
    Call AddValues(2, 4)
End Sub

Sub AddValues(x As Long, y As Long)

End Sub

How to Return Values From a Function

To return a value from a function you assign the value to the name of the Function. The following example demonstrates this:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Function GetAmount() As Long
    ' Returns 55
    GetAmount = 55
End Function

Function GetName() As String
    ' Returns John
    GetName = "John"
End Function

When you return a value from a function you will obviously need to receive it in the function/sub that called it. You do this by assigning the function call to a variable. The following example shows this:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub WriteValues()
    Dim Amount As Long
    ' Get value from GetAmount function
    Amount = GetAmount
End Sub

Function GetAmount() As Long
    GetAmount = 55
End Function

You can easily test your return value using by using the Debug.Print function. This will write values to the Immediate Window (View->Immediate window from the menu or press Ctrl + G).

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub WriteValues()
    ' Print return value to Immediate Window
    Debug.Print GetAmount
End Sub

Function GetAmount() As Long
    GetAmount = 55
End Function

Using Parameters and Arguments

We use parameters so that we can pass values from one sub/function to another.

The terms parameters and arguments are often confused:

A parameter is the variable in the sub/function declaration.
An argument is the value that you pass to the parameter.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub UsingArgs()

    ' The argument is 56
    CalcValue 56
    
    ' The argument is 34
    CalcValue 34

End Sub

' The parameter is amount
Sub CalcValue(ByVal amount As Long)

End Sub

Here are some important points about parameters:

We can have multiple parameters.
A parameter is passed using either ByRef or ByVal. The default is ByRef.
We can make a parameter optional for the user.
We cannot use the New keyword in a parameter declaration.
If no variable type is used then the parameter will be a variant by default.

The Format of Parameters

Subs and function use parameters in the same way.

The format of the parameter statement is as follows:

' All variables except arrays
[ByRef/ByVal]  As [Variable Type]

' Optional parameter - can only be a basic type
[Optional] [ByRef/ByVal] [Variable name] As <[Variable Type] = 

' Arrays
[ByRef][array name]() As [Variable Type]

Here are some examples of the declaring different types of parameters:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
' Basic types

Sub UseParams1(count As Long)
End Sub

Sub UseParams2(name As String)
End Sub

Sub UseParams3(amount As Currency)
End Sub

' Collection
Sub UseParamsColl(coll As Collection)
End Sub

' Class module object
Sub UseParamsClass(o As Class1)
End Sub

' Variant
' If no type is give then it is automatically a variant
Sub UseParamsVariant(value)
End Sub

Sub UseParamsVariant2(value As Variant)
End Sub

Sub UseParamsArray(arr() As String)
End Sub

You can see that declaring parameters looks similar to using the Dim statement to declare variables.

Multiple Parameters

We can use multiple parameters in our sub/functions. This can make the line very long

Sub LongLine(ByVal count As Long, Optional amount As Currency = 56.77, Optional name As String = "John")

We can split up a line of code using the underscore (_) character. This makes our code more readable

Sub LongLine(ByVal count As Long _
            , Optional amount As Currency = 56.77 _
            , Optional name As String = "John")

Parameters With a Return Value

This error causes a lot of frustration with new users of VBA.

If you are returning a value from a function then it must have parentheses around the arguments.

The code below will give the “Expected: end of statement” syntax error.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub UseFunction()
    
    Dim result As Long
    
    result = GetValue 24.99
    
End Sub


Function GetValue(amount As Currency) As Long
    GetValue = amount * 100
End Function

We have to write it like this

result = GetValue (24.99)

ByRef and ByVal

Every parameter is either ByRef or ByVal. If no type is specified then it is ByRef by default

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
' Pass by value
Sub WriteValue1(ByVal x As Long)

End Sub

' Pass by reference
Sub WriteValue2(ByRef x As Long)

End Sub

' No type used so it is ByRef
Sub WriteValue3(x As Long)

End Sub

If you don’t specify the type then ByRef is the type as you can see in the third sub of the example.

The different between these types is:

ByVal – Creates a copy of the variable you pass.
This means if you change the value of the parameter it will not be changed when you return to the calling sub/function

ByRef – Creates a reference of the variable you pass.
This means if you change the value of the parameter variable it will be changed when you return to the calling sub/function.

The following code example shows this:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Test()

    Dim x As Long

    ' Pass by value - x will not change
    x = 1
    Debug.Print "x before ByVal is"; x
    SubByVal x
    Debug.Print "x after ByVal is"; x

    ' Pass by reference - x will change
    x = 1
    Debug.Print "x before ByRef is"; x
    SubByRef x
    Debug.Print "x after ByRef is"; x

End Sub

Sub SubByVal(ByVal x As Long)
    ' x WILL NOT change outside as passed ByVal
    x = 99
End Sub

Sub SubByRef(ByRef x As Long)
    ' x WILL change outside as passed ByRef
    x = 99
End Sub

The result of this is:
x before ByVal is 1
x after ByVal is 1
x before ByRef is 1
x after ByRef is 99

You should avoid passing basic variable types using ByRef. There are two main reasons for this:

The person passing a value may not expect it to change and this can lead to bugs that are difficult to detect.
Using parentheses when calling prevents ByRef working – see next sub section

A Little-Known Pitfall of ByRef

There is one thing you must be careful of when using ByRef with parameters. If you use parentheses then the sub/function cannot change the variable you pass even if it is passed as ByRef.

In the following example, we call the sub first without parentheses and then with parentheses. This causes the code to behave differently.

For example

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Test()

    Dim x As Long

    ' Call using without Parentheses - x will change
    x = 1
    Debug.Print "x before (no parentheses): "; x
    SubByRef x
    Debug.Print "x after (no parentheses): "; x

    ' Call using with Parentheses - x will not change
    x = 1
    Debug.Print "x before (with parentheses): "; x
    SubByRef (x)
    Debug.Print "x after (with parentheses): "; x

End Sub

Sub SubByRef(ByRef x As Long)
    x = 99
End Sub

If you change the sub in the above example to a function, you will see the same behaviour occurs.

However, if you return a value from the function then ByRef will work as normal as the code below shows:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub TestFunc()

    Dim x As Long, ret As Long

    ' Call using with Parentheses - x will not change
    x = 1
    Debug.Print "x before (with parentheses): "; x
    FuncByRef (x)
    Debug.Print "x after (with parentheses): "; x
    
    ' Call using with Parentheses and return - x will change
    x = 1
    Debug.Print "x before (with parentheses): "; x
    ret = FuncByRef(x)
    Debug.Print "x after (with parentheses): "; x


End Sub

Function FuncByRef(ByRef x As Long)
    x = 99
End Function

As I said in the last section you should avoid passing a variable using ByRef and instead use ByVal.

This means

The variable you pass will not be accidentally changed.
Using parentheses will not affect the behaviour.

ByRef and ByVal with Objects

When we use ByRef or ByVal with an object, it only affects the variable. It does not affect the actual object.

If we look at the example below:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub UseObject()
    
    Dim coll As New Collection
    coll.Add "Apple"
    
    ' After this coll with still reference the original
    CollByVal coll
    
    
    ' After this coll with reference the new collection
    CollByRef coll
    
End Sub

Sub CollByVal(ByVal coll As Collection)
    
    ' Original coll will still reference the original
    Set coll = New Collection
    coll.Add "ByVal"

End Sub

Sub CollByRef(ByRef coll As Collection)
    
    ' Original coll will reference the new collection
    Set coll = New Collection
    coll.Add "ByRef"

End Sub

When we pass the coll variable using ByVal, a copy of the variable is created. We can assign anything to this variable and it will not affect the original one.

When we pass the coll variable using ByRef, we are using the original variable. If we assign something else to this variable then the original variable will also be assigned to something else.

You can see find out more about this here.

Optional Parameters

Sometimes we have a parameter that will often be the same value each time the code runs. We can make this parameter Optional which means that we give it a default value.

It is then optional for the caller to provide an argument. If they don’t provide a value then the default value is used.

In the example below, we have the report name as the optional parameter:

Sub CreateReport(Optional reportName As String = "Daily Report")

End Sub

If an argument is not provided then name will contain the “Daily Report” text

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Main()
    
    ' Name will be "Daily Report"
    CreateReport
    
    ' Name will be "Weekly Report"
    CreateReport "Weekly Report"

End Sub

The Optional parameter cannot come before a normal parameter. If you do this you will get an Expected: Optional error.

When a sub/function has optional parameters they will be displayed in square parentheses by the Intellisense.

In the screenshot below you can see that the name parameter is in square parentheses.

A sub/function can have multiple optional parameters. You may want to provide arguments to only some of the parameters.

There are two ways to do this:
If you don’t want to provide an argument then leave it blank.

A better way is to use the parameter name and the “:=” operator to specify the parameter and its’ value.

The examples below show both methods:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Multi(marks As Long _
            , Optional count As Long = 1 _
            , Optional amount As Currency = 99.99 _
            , Optional version As String = "A")
            
    Debug.Print marks, count, amount, version
    
End Sub


Sub UseBlanks()

    ' marks and count
    Multi 6, 5
    
    ' marks and amount
    Multi 6, , 89.99
    
    ' marks and version
    Multi 6, , , "B"
    
    ' marks,count and version
    Multi 6, , , "F"

End Sub

Sub UseName()

    ' marks and count
    Multi 12, count:=5
    
    ' marks and amount
    Multi 12, amount:=89.99
    
    ' marks and version
    Multi 12, version:="B"
    
    ' marks,count and version
    Multi 12, count:=6, version:="F"

End Sub

Using the name of the parameter is the best way. It makes the code more readable and it means you won’t have error by mistakenly adding extra commas.

wk.SaveAs "C:Docsdata.xlsx", , , , , , xlShared
    
wk.SaveAs "C:Docsdata.xlsx", AccessMode:=xlShared

IsMissing Function

We can use the IsMissing function to check if an Optional Parameter was supplied.

Normally we check against the default value but in certain cases we may not have a default.

We use IsMissing with Variant parameters because it will not work with basic types like Long and Double.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub test()
    ' Prints "Parameter not missing"
    CalcValues 6
    
    ' Prints "Parameter missing"   
    CalcValues
    
End Sub

Sub CalcValues(Optional x)

    ' Check for the parameter
    If IsMissing(x) Then
        Debug.Print "Parameter missing"
    Else
        Debug.Print "Parameter Not missing"
    End If

End Sub

Custom Function vs Worksheet Function

When you create a function it appears in the function list for that workbook.

Have a look at the function in the next example.

Public Function MyNewFunction()
    MyNewFunction = 99
End Function

If you add this to a workbook then the function will appear in the function list. Type “=My” into the function box and the function will appear as shown in the following screenshot.

If you use this function in a cell you will get the result 99 in the cell as that is what the function returns.

Conclusion

The main points of this post are:

Subs and macros are essentially the same thing in VBA.
Functions return values but subs do not.
Functions appear in the workbook function list for the current workbook.
ByRef allows the function or sub to change the original argument.
If you call a function sub with parentheses then ByRef will not work.
Don’t use parentheses on sub arguments or function arguments when not returning a value.
Use parentheses on function arguments when returning a value.

What’s Next?

Free VBA Tutorial If you are new to VBA or you want to sharpen your existing VBA skills then why not try out the The Ultimate VBA Tutorial.

Related Training: Get full access to the Excel VBA training webinars and all the tutorials.

(NOTE: Planning to build or manage a VBA Application? Learn how to build 10 Excel VBA applications from scratch.)

Источник

Содержание

Встроенные функции VBA
Пользовательские процедуры «Function» и «Sub» в VBA
Аргументы
Необязательные аргументы
Передача аргументов по значению и по ссылке
VBA процедура «Function»
Пример VBA процедуры «Function»: Выполняем математическую операцию с 3 числами
Вызов VBA процедуры «Function»
Вызов VBA процедуры «Function» из другой процедуры
Вызов VBA процедуры «Function» из рабочего листа
VBA процедура «Sub»
VBA процедура «Sub»: Пример 1. Выравнивание по центру и изменение размера шрифта в выделенном диапазоне ячеек
VBA процедура «Sub»: Пример 2. Выравнивание по центру и применение полужирного начертания к шрифту в выделенном диапазоне ячеек
Вызов процедуры «Sub» в Excel VBA
Вызов VBA процедуры «Sub» из другой процедуры
Вызов VBA процедуры «Sub» из рабочего листа
Область действия процедуры VBA
Ранний выход из VBA процедур «Function» и «Sub»

Встроенные функции VBA

Перед тем, как приступить к созданию собственных функций VBA, полезно знать, что Excel VBA располагает обширной коллекцией готовых встроенных функций, которые можно использовать при написании кода.

Список этих функций можно посмотреть в редакторе VBA:

Откройте рабочую книгу Excel и запустите редактор VBA (нажмите для этого Alt+F11), и затем нажмите F2.
В выпадающем списке в верхней левой части экрана выберите библиотеку VBA.
Появится список встроенных классов и функций VBA. Кликните мышью по имени функции, чтобы внизу окна отобразилось её краткое описание. Нажатие F1 откроет страницу онлайн-справки по этой функции.

Кроме того, полный список встроенных функций VBA с примерами можно найти на сайте Visual Basic Developer Centre.

Пользовательские процедуры «Function» и «Sub» в VBA

В Excel Visual Basic набор команд, выполняющий определённую задачу, помещается в процедуру Function (Функция) или Sub (Подпрограмма). Главное отличие между процедурами Function и Sub состоит в том, что процедура Function возвращает результат, процедура Sub – нет.

Поэтому, если требуется выполнить действия и получить какой-то результат (например, просуммировать несколько чисел), то обычно используется процедура Function, а для того, чтобы просто выполнить какие-то действия (например, изменить форматирование группы ячеек), нужно выбрать процедуру Sub.

Аргументы

При помощи аргументов процедурам VBA могут быть переданы различные данные. Список аргументов указывается при объявлении процедуры. К примеру, процедура Sub в VBA добавляет заданное целое число (Integer) в каждую ячейку в выделенном диапазоне. Передать процедуре это число можно при помощи аргумента, вот так:

Sub AddToCells(i As Integer)

...

End Sub

Имейте в виду, что наличие аргументов для процедур Function и Sub в VBA не является обязательным. Для некоторых процедур аргументы не нужны.

Необязательные аргументы

Процедуры VBA могут иметь необязательные аргументы. Это такие аргументы, которые пользователь может указать, если захочет, а если они пропущены, то процедура использует для них заданные по умолчанию значения.

Возвращаясь к предыдущему примеру, чтобы сделать целочисленный аргумент функции необязательным, его нужно объявить вот так:

Sub AddToCells(Optional i As Integer = 0)

В таком случае целочисленный аргумент i по умолчанию будет равен 0.

Необязательных аргументов в процедуре может быть несколько, все они перечисляются в конце списка аргументов.

Передача аргументов по значению и по ссылке

Аргументы в VBA могут быть переданы процедуре двумя способами:

ByVal – передача аргумента по значению. Это значит, что процедуре передаётся только значение (то есть, копия аргумента), и, следовательно, любые изменения, сделанные с аргументом внутри процедуры, будут потеряны при выходе из неё.
ByRef – передача аргумента по ссылке. То есть процедуре передаётся фактический адрес размещения аргумента в памяти. Любые изменения, сделанные с аргументом внутри процедуры, будут сохранены при выходе из процедуры.

При помощи ключевых слов ByVal или ByRef в объявлении процедуры можно задать, каким именно способом аргумент передаётся процедуре. Ниже это показано на примерах:

Sub AddToCells(ByVal i As Integer) ... End Sub	В этом случае целочисленный аргумент i передан по значению. После выхода из процедуры Sub все сделанные с i изменения будут утрачены.
Sub AddToCells(ByRef i As Integer) ... End Sub	В этом случае целочисленный аргумент i передан по ссылке. После выхода из процедуры Sub все сделанные с i изменения будут сохранены в переменной, которая была передана процедуре Sub.

Помните, что аргументы в VBA по умолчанию передаются по ссылке. Иначе говоря, если не использованы ключевые слова ByVal или ByRef, то аргумент будет передан по ссылке.

Перед тем как продолжить изучение процедур Function и Sub более подробно, будет полезным ещё раз взглянуть на особенности и отличия этих двух типов процедур. Далее приведены краткие обсуждения процедур VBA Function и Sub и показаны простые примеры.

VBA процедура «Function»

Редактор VBA распознаёт процедуру Function, когда встречает группу команд, заключённую между вот такими открывающим и закрывающим операторами:

Function

...

End Function

Как упоминалось ранее, процедура Function в VBA (в отличие от Sub), возвращает значение. Для возвращаемых значений действуют следующие правила:

Тип данных возвращаемого значения должен быть объявлен в заголовке процедуры Function.
Переменная, которая содержит возвращаемое значение, должна быть названа так же, как и процедура Function. Эту переменную не нужно объявлять отдельно, так как она всегда существует как неотъемлемая часть процедуры Function.

Это отлично проиллюстрировано в следующем примере.

Пример VBA процедуры «Function»: Выполняем математическую операцию с 3 числами

Ниже приведён пример кода VBA процедуры Function, которая получает три аргумента типа Double (числа с плавающей точкой двойной точности). В результате процедура возвращает ещё одно число типа Double, равное сумме первых двух аргументов минус третий аргумент:

Function SumMinus(dNum1 As Double, dNum2 As Double, dNum3 As Double) As Double

   SumMinus = dNum1 + dNum2 - dNum3

End Function

Эта очень простая VBA процедура Function иллюстрирует, как данные передаются процедуре через аргументы. Можно увидеть, что тип данных, возвращаемых процедурой, определён как Double (об этом говорят слова As Double после списка аргументов). Также данный пример показывает, как результат процедуры Function сохраняется в переменной с именем, совпадающим с именем процедуры.

Вызов VBA процедуры «Function»

Если рассмотренная выше простая процедура Function вставлена в модуль в редакторе Visual Basic, то она может быть вызвана из других процедур VBA или использована на рабочем листе в книге Excel.

Вызов VBA процедуры «Function» из другой процедуры

Процедуру Function можно вызвать из другой VBA процедуры при помощи простого присваивания этой процедуры переменной. В следующем примере показано обращение к процедуре SumMinus, которая была определена выше.

Sub main()

   Dim total as Double
   total = SumMinus(5, 4, 3)

End Sub

Вызов VBA процедуры «Function» из рабочего листа

VBA процедуру Function можно вызвать из рабочего листа Excel таким же образом, как любую другую встроенную функцию Excel. Следовательно, созданную в предыдущем примере процедуру Function – SumMinus можно вызвать, введя в ячейку рабочего листа вот такое выражение:

=SumMinus(10, 5, 2)

VBA процедура «Sub»

Редактор VBA понимает, что перед ним процедура Sub, когда встречает группу команд, заключённую между вот такими открывающим и закрывающим операторами:

VBA процедура «Sub»: Пример 1. Выравнивание по центру и изменение размера шрифта в выделенном диапазоне ячеек

Рассмотрим пример простой VBA процедуры Sub, задача которой – изменить форматирование выделенного диапазона ячеек. В ячейках устанавливается выравнивание по центру (и по вертикали, и по горизонтали) и размер шрифта изменяется на заданный пользователем:

Sub Format_Centered_And_Sized(Optional iFontSize As Integer = 10)

   Selection.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenter
   Selection.VerticalAlignment = xlCenter
   Selection.Font.Size = iFontSize

End Sub

Данная процедура Sub выполняет действия, но не возвращает результат.

В этом примере также использован необязательный (Optional) аргумент iFontSize. Если аргумент iFontSize не передан процедуре Sub, то его значение по умолчанию принимается равным 10. Однако же, если аргумент iFontSize передается процедуре Sub, то в выделенном диапазоне ячеек будет установлен размер шрифта, заданный пользователем.

VBA процедура «Sub»: Пример 2. Выравнивание по центру и применение полужирного начертания к шрифту в выделенном диапазоне ячеек

Следующая процедура похожа на только что рассмотренную, но на этот раз, вместо изменения размера, применяется полужирное начертание шрифта в выделенном диапазоне ячеек. Это пример процедуры Sub, которой не передаются никакие аргументы:

Sub Format_Centered_And_Bold()

   Selection.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenter
   Selection.VerticalAlignment = xlCenter
   Selection.Font.Bold = True

End Sub

Вызов процедуры «Sub» в Excel VBA

Вызов VBA процедуры «Sub» из другой процедуры

Чтобы вызвать VBA процедуру Sub из другой VBA процедуры, нужно записать ключевое слово Call, имя процедуры Sub и далее в скобках аргументы процедуры. Это показано в примере ниже:

Sub main()

   Call Format_Centered_And_Sized(20)

End Sub

Если процедура Format_Centered_And_Sized имеет более одного аргумента, то они должны быть разделены запятыми. Вот так:

Sub main()

   Call Format_Centered_And_Sized(arg1, arg2, ...)

End Sub

Вызов VBA процедуры «Sub» из рабочего листа

Процедура Sub не может быть введена непосредственно в ячейку листа Excel, как это может быть сделано с процедурой Function, потому что процедура Sub не возвращает значение. Однако, процедуры Sub, не имеющие аргументов и объявленные как Public (как будет показано далее), будут доступны для пользователей рабочего листа. Таким образом, если рассмотренные выше простые процедуры Sub вставлены в модуль в редакторе Visual Basic, то процедура Format_Centered_And_Bold будет доступна для использования на рабочем листе книги Excel, а процедура Format_Centered_And_Sized – не будет доступна, так как она имеет аргументы.

Вот простой способ запустить (или выполнить) процедуру Sub, доступную из рабочего листа:

Нажмите Alt+F8 (нажмите клавишу Alt и, удерживая её нажатой, нажмите клавишу F8).
В появившемся списке макросов выберите тот, который хотите запустить.
Нажмите Выполнить (Run)

Чтобы выполнять процедуру Sub быстро и легко, можно назначить для неё комбинацию клавиш. Для этого:

Нажмите Alt+F8.
В появившемся списке макросов выберите тот, которому хотите назначить сочетание клавиш.
Нажмите Параметры (Options) и в появившемся диалоговом окне введите сочетание клавиш.
Нажмите ОК и закройте диалоговое окно Макрос (Macro).

Внимание: Назначая сочетание клавиш для макроса, убедитесь, что оно не используется, как стандартное в Excel (например, Ctrl+C). Если выбрать уже существующее сочетание клавиш, то оно будет переназначено макросу, и в результате пользователь может запустить выполнение макроса случайно.

Область действия процедуры VBA

В части 2 данного самоучителя обсуждалась тема области действия переменных и констант и роль ключевых слов Public и Private. Эти ключевые слова так же можно использовать применительно к VBA процедурам:

Public Sub AddToCells(i As Integer) ... End Sub	Если перед объявлением процедуры стоит ключевое слово Public, то данная процедура будет доступна для всех модулей в данном проекте VBA.
Private Sub AddToCells(i As Integer) ... End Sub	Если перед объявлением процедуры стоит ключевое слово Private, то данная процедура будет доступна только для текущего модуля. Её нельзя будет вызвать, находясь в любом другом модуле или из рабочей книги Excel.

Помните о том, что если перед объявлением VBA процедуры Function или Sub ключевое слово не вставлено, то по умолчанию для процедуры устанавливается свойство Public (то есть она будет доступна везде в данном проекте VBA). В этом состоит отличие от объявления переменных, которые по умолчанию бывают Private.

Ранний выход из VBA процедур «Function» и «Sub»

Если нужно завершить выполнение VBA процедуры Function или Sub, не дожидаясь её естественного финала, то для этого существуют операторы Exit Function и Exit Sub. Применение этих операторов показано ниже на примере простой процедуры Function, в которой ожидается получение положительного аргумента для выполнения дальнейших операций. Если процедуре передано не положительное значение, то дальнейшие операции не могут быть выполнены, поэтому пользователю должно быть показано сообщение об ошибке и процедура должна быть тут же завершена:

Function VAT_Amount(sVAT_Rate As Single) As Single

   VAT_Amount = 0
   If sVAT_Rate <= 0 Then
      MsgBox "Expected a Positive value of sVAT_Rate but Received " & sVAT_Rate
      Exit Function
   End If

...

End Function

Обратите внимание, что перед тем, как завершить выполнение процедуры Function – VAT_Amount, в код вставлена встроенная VBA функция MsgBox, которая показывает пользователю всплывающее окно с предупреждением.

Оцените качество статьи. Нам важно ваше мнение:

Источник

In Visual Basic, the functions and sub-procedures play similar roles but have different or unique characteristics. However, both perform a programmed task. They utilize a set or group of commands to deliver the required results. The key difference between the sub and the functions is that a sub-procedure generally does not return a result whereas functions tend to return a result. Hence if there is a need for having a value post execution of tasks, then place the VBA code under a function or otherwise place the code under a sub-procedure. In Excel, there is the availability of large numbers of VBA functions that could be utilized in the development of new VBA codes. Such functions are referred to as Built-in functions. With the increase in the size of a VBA program, both Functions and Sub-procedures play a crucial role in the management and performance of VBA code.

Functions in VBA

A function in VBA can be defined as a procedure that executes a piece of code or instructions and post-execution, it returns the value of the tasks performed. A function is hence invoked using a variable. Functions are directly called in the spreadsheets by using excel based formulas. An excel VBA function is not of executable nature. They help in performing a set of repetitive tasks. Following is the syntax for the VBA function: –

Function <Function name> (Parameters) as variable type

Piece of codes

End function.

Here is a small example of the VBA function:

Function CalcArea(a As Double, b As Double) As Double

CalcArea = a * b

End Function

In an excel spreadsheet, place the formula in range A1 as shown below:

The following would be the output in range A1 of the excel spreadsheet as shown below:

The above code is a very simple example of how to program or develop custom functions. A VBA programmer can develop as many custom functions’ basis the need of the program. He can insert a new module and start developing a new function just by naming it by a new unique function name.

Sub in VBA

A sub-procedure in VBA can be defined as a procedure that executes a piece of code or instructions, but post-execution does not return the value of the tasks performed. A sub-procedure, therefore, does not require a variable for getting invoked. An excel VBA sub-routine or a sub-procedure is of executable nature and can be assigned as a macro to any excel based object. Like functions, they help in performing a set of repetitive tasks. Following is the syntax for the VBA sub-procedure:

Sub <sub name> (Parameters)

Piece of codes

End sub

Here is a small example of a VBA sub-routine:

sub CalcArea()

Dim a As Double, b As Double

c = a * b

Sheet3.activate

Sheet3.range(“A1”).value=c

End sub

In an excel module, select run sub/user form present under the Run option:

The following would be the output in range A1 of the excel spread sheet as shown below:

The above code is like functions but the only difference is that in this program, the values are hard coded in the sub-procedure itself whereas, in functions, the values are to be passed by the end user. The following things should be followed when creating a sub-routine:

It should not have any spaces.
It should not begin with any number or special character. It can however begin with an underscore or a simple letter.
The name of the sub-procedure should not be the same as that of the reserved keywords present in the excel VBA.

To Summarize, the following are the differences between a function and a sub in VBA:

Function In VBA	Sub In VBA
Functions always return a value after it completes their required set of instructions.	Sub does not return a value after it completes its required set of instructions.
Functions do not have any alternate nomenclature in VBA	In VBA, Subs are referred to as subprocedures as well as subroutines
To Execute Function, it is to be passed on to the excel sheet beginning with equal to sign. In Short, they are invoked as excel based formulas.	To execute a sub in VBA, it can be run or could be executed through Project explorer or by assigning it as a macro on excel objects.

Источник

If you’ve read other Excel tutorials covering the topics of macros and Visual Basic for Applications, you’ve probably seen the term procedure mentioned several times. If you’re only beginning to read about these topics, you’ll probably see this term in the near future.

And there are good reasons for this:

If you want to become a powerful macro and VBA user, you must understand the concept of procedures, the different types of procedures and how to work with them. In fact, procedures are so important that I’ve included them among the 16 essential terms you need to know in order to learn VBA programming.

However, the post I reference above only provides an introduction to the topic of procedures. Today I’m digging much deeper and explaining, in a lot more detail, one of the most common types of procedures: VBA Sub procedures. More particularly, in today’s VBA tutorial I cover the following topics:

What Is A Procedure: VBA Sub Procedures And Function Procedures
How Does A VBA Sub Procedure Look Like
How To Name A VBA Sub Procedure
How To Determine The Scope Of A VBA Sub Procedure
- Public VBA Sub Procedures
- Private VBA Sub Procedures
- How To Make All VBA Sub Procedures In a Module Private To A VBA Project
- When To Make VBA Sub Procedures Private: An Example
How To Execute / Run / Call a VBA Sub Procedure
- Option #1: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Directly From The Visual Basic Editor
- Option #2: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using The Macro Dialog
- Option #3: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using A Keyboard Shortcut
- Option #4: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using A Button Or Other Object
- Option #5: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure From Another Procedure
- Option #6: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using The Ribbon
- Option #7: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using The Quick Access Toolbar
- Option #8: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure When A Particular Event Occurs
- Option #9: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure From The Immediate Window Of The Visual Basic Editor
Conclusion
Books Referenced In This Excel Tutorial

Let’s start with the most basic topic:

What Is A Procedure: VBA Sub Procedures And Function Procedures

When you’re using Excel’s Visual Basic Editor, a procedure is the block of statements that is enclosed by a particular declaration statement and End declaration. The main purpose of a procedure is to carry out a particular task or action.

VBA instructions are generally within a procedure. Therefore, if you want to master Visual Basic for Applications and macros, you should get familiar with this topic.

The 2 most common types of procedures in Visual Basic for Applications are Sub procedures and Function procedures. In this VBA tutorial, I focus on VBA Sub procedures. I cover Function procedures in this separate Excel tutorial.

The main difference between VBA Sub procedures and Function procedures is the following:

VBA Sub procedures perform an action with Excel.
In other words, when you execute a VBA Sub procedure, Excel does something. What happens in Excel depends on what the particular VBA code says.
Function procedures carry out calculations and return a value. As explained by John Walkenbach in Excel VBA Programming for Dummies, this value can be either a single value or an array.
If you’ve worked with regular Excel functions and formulas, you already have a good basis to understand how Function procedures work. Function procedures work similarly to regular Excel functions; they carry out certain calculations behind the scenes before returning a value.

According to Walkenbach, one of the foremost Excel authorities:

Most of the macros you write in VBA are Sub procedures.

Additionally, if you use the macro recorder to create a macro, Excel always creates a VBA Sub procedure.

The above comments make it quite clear that you’ll be working quite a bit with VBA Sub procedures. Therefore, let’s start taking a more detailed look at them…

How Does A VBA Sub Procedure Look Like

The image below shows how a basic VBA Sub procedure looks like in the Visual Basic Editor. Notice how, this VBA Sub procedure:

Begins with the declaration statement “Sub”.
Has an End declaration statement.
Has a block of statements that is enclosed by the declaration and End declaration statements.

The purpose of this particular VBA Sub procedure, named “Delete_Blank_Rows_3”, is to delete rows when some of the cells in those rows are blank.

Before we continue, let’s take a look at the first statement of this VBA Sub procedure. There are 3 items:

The Sub keyword which you already know is used to declare the beginning of the VBA Sub procedure.
The name of the VBA Sub procedure.
VBA Sub procedure names must follow certain rules, which I explain in the following section.
Parentheses.
If you’re creating a particular VBA Sub procedure that uses arguments from other procedures, you should list them here. The arguments must be separated by a comma (,).

You can have a VBA Sub procedure without arguments (they’re optional). However, the parentheses themselves aren’t. If the relevant procedure uses no arguments, such as the example above, you must have the set of empty parentheses.

I’ve described 4 elements that are required in any VBA Sub procedure:

Sub statement.
Name.
Parentheses.
End Sub keyword.

Additionally, I’ve also described 2 elements that are optional:

The list of arguments that may go within the parentheses.
The valid VBA instructions that are enclosed by the declaration and End declaration statements.

However, there 3 other main optional items of a VBA Sub procedure. I introduce them below…

But first, let’s take a look at how a procedure with all the most important elements (both optional and required) is structured, as explained in Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA:

[Private/Public] [Static] Sub name ([Argument list])

[Instructions]

[Exit Sub]

[Instructions]

End Sub

You can learn more about the different parts of the Sub statement (including some that I don’t describe above) at the Microsoft Dev Center.

Now, let’s take a look at the optional elements within the above structure. You can identify these elements because I’ve written them within square brackets ([ ]).

Element #1: [Private/Public].

Private and Public are known as access modifiers.

If you type “Private” at the beginning of a VBA Sub procedure, the only procedures that are able to access it are those stored in the same VBA module.

If, on the other hand, you use “Public”, the VBA Sub procedure has no access restrictions. Despite this, if the procedure is located in a module that uses the Option Private Statement, the VBA Sub procedure can’t be referenced outside the relevant project.

I explain the topic of procedure scope below.

Element #2: [Static].

If you type “Static” before indicating the beginning of the VBA Sub procedure, the variables of the relevant procedure are preserved when the module ends.

Element #3: [Exit Sub].

An Exit Sub statement is used to immediately exit the VBA Sub procedure in which the statement is included.

How To Name A VBA Sub Procedure

Procedures must always be named. The main rules that you must follow when naming a VBA Sub procedure are the following:

The first character must be a letter.
Despite the above, the other characters can be letters, numbers or certain (but not any) punctuation characters.
For example, the following characters can’t be used: #, $, %, &, @, ^, * and !.
Periods (.) and spaces ( ) are not allowed.
There is no distinction between upper and lowercase letters. In other words “A” is the same as “a”.
The maximum number of characters a name can have is 255.

In Excel VBA Programming for Dummies and Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA, Excel authority John Walkenbach suggests that your VBA Sub procedure names:

Describe the purpose of the VBA Sub procedure or what the procedure does.
Are not meaningless.
Usually, combine a verb and a noun.

Walkenbach goes on to explain how certain practitioners name the VBA Sub procedures using sentences that provide a complete description. In his opinion, this method has one main advantage and one main disadvantage:

On the one hand, using sentences to name VBA Sub procedures pretty much guarantees that the names are descriptive and unambiguous.
On the other, typing a full sentence requires more time. This may slow you down a little bit while working.

In my opinion, as long as the VBA Sub procedure names you use are descriptive, meaningful and unambiguous, you should be fine. This is an aspect where you can and should choose a style that you find comfortable and appropriate to achieve your own goals and purposes.

How To Determine The Scope Of A VBA Sub Procedure

The word scope refers to how a VBA Sub procedure may be called.

When creating a VBA Sub procedure you have the option of determining which other procedures are able to call it. This is done through the use of the Public or Private keywords that I introduce above and which are one of the optional elements of VBA Sub procedures. However, let’s take a deeper look at what is the meaning of public or private procedures, and how can you determine whether a particular VBA Sub procedure is public or private.

Public VBA Sub Procedures

VBA Sub procedures are, by default, public. When a particular procedure is public, there are generally no access restrictions.

Since the default is that procedures are public, you actually don’t need to use the Public keyword. For example, the following VBA Sub procedure, Delete_Blank_Rows_3, is public. Note that there is no Public keyword.

However, in order to make your VBA code clearer, you may want to include the Public keyword in your VBA Sub procedures. This practice is relatively common among programmers. The following screenshot shows how the VBA code of the Delete_Blank_Rows_3 macro looks like with this keyword included.

In both of the above cases, the VBA Sub procedures are public. In other words, both are essentially the same.

Private VBA Sub Procedures

As explained by Microsoft, when you use the Private keyword, the relevant element can only be accessed from within the context in which it was declared. In the case of private VBA Sub procedures, this means that they can only be accessed or called by those procedures that are stored in the same VBA module. Any procedures within any other module are not able to call it, even if those other modules are in the same Excel workbook.

For example, continuing with the Delete_Blank_Rows_3 macro, the following screenshot shows the relevant VBA code to make the VBA Sub procedure private:

How To Make All VBA Sub Procedures In a Module Private To A VBA Project

In addition to the public and private scopes that I’ve explained above, you can make all the VBA Sub procedures within a particular module accessible only from the VBA project that contains them (but not from other VBA projects) by using a single statement: the Option Private Statement.

The syntax of the Option Private Statement is: “Option Private Module”. If you decide to use it, the statement must go before the first Sub statement of the module.

For example, the following screenshot shows how the VBA code of a module with 3 macros that delete blank rows based on whether a row has empty cells. The last of these VBA Sub procedures is the Delete_Blank_Rows_3 macro that I’ve used as an example in other parts of this VBA tutorial, and doesn’t appear fully.

All of the 3 VBA Sub procedures contained in the module above can only be referenced and accessed from the VBA project that contains them.

When To Make VBA Sub Procedures Private: An Example

One way of executing a VBA Sub procedure is by having another procedure call it. You’re quite likely to use this method of running procedures in the future. In fact, in some cases, you may have certain procedures that aren’t stand-alone and are designed to be called by another Sub procedure.

If you have such procedures within a particular Excel workbook, it is advisable to make them private. If you do this, these private VBA Sub procedures aren’t listed in the Macro dialog which is one of the most common methods to execute a Sub procedure.

Don’t worry if you don’t fully understand how this works yet. I explain how to execute VBA Sub procedures both by calling them from other procedures or by using the Macro dialog below.

How To Execute / Run / Call a VBA Sub Procedure

While working with macros, you may use the terms execute, run or call when referring to the action of executing a VBA Sub procedure. As explained by John Walkenbach in Excel VBA Programming for Dummies, they mean the same thing and “you can use whatever terminology you like”.

You can execute, run or call a VBA Sub procedure in a variety of ways. In this section, I illustrate 9 of the ways in which you can execute a Sub procedure. There is an additional (tenth) option that I don’t explain in this VBA tutorial: executing a macro from a customized context menu. The reason for this is that context menu customization is a different topic that I may cover in a separate guide. If you want to receive emails whenever I publish new posts in Power Spreadsheets, please enter your email below.

The VBA Sub procedure that I use as an illustration is the Delete_Blank_Rows_3 macro that I show you above.

This Excel VBA Sub Procedures Tutorial is accompanied by Excel workbooks containing the data and macros I use throughout this Tutorial (including Delete_Blank_Rows_3). You can get immediate free access to these example workbooks by subscribing to the Power Spreadsheets Newsletter.

Option #1: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Directly From The Visual Basic Editor

According to Walkenbach, this method is the fastest way to execute a VBA Sub procedure. In this case, you’re basically running the procedure directly from the module within the Visual Basic Editor.

Despite the above, I believe you’ll probably not use this method too often. In practice, you’ll usually want to execute VBA Sub procedures while you’re in Excel, not in the VBE. Some of the other options that I describe below allow you to do this.

This particular method only works when the particular VBA Sub procedure that you want to run doesn’t rely on arguments that come from another procedure. The reason for this is that this option doesn’t allow you to pass the arguments from the other procedures to the VBA Sub procedure you’re calling.

If you want to run a VBA Sub procedure that contains arguments, John Walkenbach explains that you can only do it by calling it from another procedure. That procedure from which you make the calling needs to supply the arguments that are required by the Sub procedure you want to execute.

In any case, if you choose to use this first method, you can call a VBA Sub procedure in 3 easy steps:

Step #1: Open The Visual Basic Editor.

You can open the VBE with the keyboard shortcut “Alt + F11”. Alternatively, click on the Visual Basic icon in the Developer tab of the Ribbon.

Step #2: Open The VBA Module That Contains The VBA Sub Procedure You Want To Execute.

You want the Visual Basic Editor to show you the VBA code of the Sub procedure that you want to call.

You can do this in several ways, which I explain in The Beginner’s Guide to Excel’s Visual Basic Editor. One of the methods you can use is to double-click on the relevant VBA module.

For example, if the VBA Sub procedure is within Module1, simply double-click on “Module1” in the Project Explorer of the VBE.

As a result of the above, the Visual Basic Editor displays the relevant code in the Programming Window and places the cursor there:

Step #3: Run The VBA Sub Procedure.

You can call a VBA Sub Procedure directly from the relevant module in the Visual Basic Editor using any of the following methods:

Click on “Run Sub/UserForm” in the Run menu.
Use the keyboard shortcut “F5”.

Option #2: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using The Macro Dialog

This method only works if the VBA Sub procedure you want to call doesn’t contain arguments. The reason for this is the same that I explained previously: You can’t specify those arguments.

Regardless of the above, this option is one of the most commonly used methods to execute VBA Sub procedures. When using it, you can run a VBA Sub procedure in 2 simple steps. Let’s take a look at them.

Step #1: Open the Macro dialog.

You can ask Excel to open the Macro dialog box in either of the following ways:

Use the “Alt + F8” keyboard shortcut.
Click on “Macros” in the Developer tab of the Ribbon.

Excel displays the Macro dialog, which looks roughly as follows:

Step #2: Select The Macro You Want To Execute And Execute It.

You’ve probably notice in the screenshot above that there is only 1 macro in all open Excel workbooks (Delete_Blank_Rows_3). Therefore, this is the only macro listed and, obviously, is the macro that we’ll be executing.

You already know that this method for running macros doesn’t allow you to call VBA Sub procedures that use arguments. Therefore, any such Sub procedure wouldn’t even appear in the Macro dialog.

Additionally, the Macro dialog only shows public procedures. However, you can still execute private VBA Sub procedures from the Macro dialog. To do this, type the name of the relevant private Sub procedure in the Macro name field that appears in the image below.

Similarly, the Macro dialog doesn’t show VBA Sub procedures that are contained in Add-Ins. In that case, you can also execute the procedure by typing the name of the relevant macro in the Macro name field.

In any case, the rules to select and execute a macro are the same regardless of whether you have only 1 or several macros in the open Excel workbooks. You can do the selection and execution in either of the following ways:

Double-click on the macro you want to execute. For example, in the image below you’d double-click on the macro Delete_Blank_Rows_3.
Click on the macro you want to execute to select it, and click on the Run button.

Option #3: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using A Keyboard Shortcut

You can execute VBA Sub procedures by using keyboard shortcuts. To run a macro using this method, simply press the relevant key combination.

This option doesn’t work for macros that use arguments. I explain the reasons for this above.

However, you may be wondering:

How does one assign a keyboard shortcut to a macro?

There are 2 main ways of assigning a keyboard shortcut to a macro.

The first method to assign a keyboard shortcut to a macro works only if you’re using the macro recorder. If this is the case, during the recording process (which I explain in detail in an Excel macro tutorial for beginners), you’ll encounter the Record Macro dialog. This dialog allows you to determine whether the macro you’ll be recording can be called by a keyboard shortcut and which keys compose that shortcut.

The second method of assigning a keyboard shortcut to a macro is perhaps more interesting. This method allows you to assign or edit the keyboard shortcut of any macro in the following 3 quick steps.

Step #1: Open The Macro Dialog.

You can access the Macro dialog by using the “Alt + F8” keyboard shortcut or going to the Developer tab and clicking on “Macros”.

Step #2: Select The Macro You Want To Assign A Keyboard Shortcut To.

On the Macro dialog, simply select the VBA Sub procedure you want to assign a macro to and click on “Options…” on the lower right side of the dialog box. For example, in the screenshot below I’ve selected the macro Delete_Blank_Rows_3.

Step #3: Assign A Keyboard Shortcut.

When Excel displays the Macro Options dialog, assign the keyboard shortcut and click on the OK button at the bottom of the dialog box.

Keyboard shortcuts are of the form “Ctrl + Letter” or “Ctrl + Shift + Letter”.

When selecting a keyboard shortcut, be mindful about what is the combination you’re assigning to the VBA Sub procedure. The reason for this is that assigned macro keyboard shortcuts override built-in shortcuts. Therefore, if you choose a shortcut that is the same as a built-in one, you’ll be disabling the latter.

For example, “Ctrl + B” is the default built-in keyboard shortcut for bold. If you were to assign the same shortcut to a macro, you’ll not be able to use the shortcut in order to make text bold.

Using keyboard shortcuts of the form “Ctrl + Shift + Letter” reduces the risk of overriding pre-existing keyboard shortcuts. In any case, remember to be careful about what is the exact combination that you assign.

Option #4: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using A Button Or Other Object

The idea behind this method is that you can assign or attach a macro to certain “objects”. I put quotations around the word objects because, in this particular case, I’m not referring to any type of object but to certain types of objects that Excel allows you to put in a worksheet. In Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA, John Walkenbach classifies these objects into 3 classes:

ActiveX controls.
Form controls.
Inserted objects, such as shapes, text boxes, clip art, SmartArt, WordArt, charts and pictures.

In this guide I explain how you can attach a macro to a button from the Form controls or to other inserted objects.

How To Assign A Macro To A Form Control Button

Let’s look at how you can attach a macro to a Form control button in just 4 steps.

Step #1: Insert A Button.

Go to the Developer tab in the Ribbon. Click on “Insert” and choose the Button Form Control. The following screenshot shows you the location of all of these:

Step #2: Create The Button.

Once you’ve clicked on the Button Form Control, you can actually create the button in the Excel worksheet by simply clicking on section of the worksheet where you want the top left corner of the button to appear.

For example, if I want the button to appear in cell B5, I click on the top left corner of that cell.

Step #3: Assign A Macro To The Button.

Once you’ve clicked on the location where you want the button to appear, Excel displays the Assign Macro dialog.

Excel suggests a macro that is based on the button’s name. In the case below, this is “Button1_Click”.

In many cases, this suggestion isn’t going to match what you want. Therefore, select the macro that you actually want to assign to the button and click on the OK button at the bottom right corner of the Assign Macro dialog.

In the example we’ve been working with, the macro to be assigned to the button is Delete_Blank_Rows_3.

Step #4: Edit Button (Optional).

Once you’ve completed the 3 steps described above, Excel shows the button that you’ve created. Now you can execute the relevant VBA Sub procedure by simply clicking on the button.

After the button has been created, you can edit it in a few ways. The following are 4 of the main things you can change:

Size: The button created by Excel has the default size. You can change this size by dragging any of the handles with your mouse.

For example, if I want to increase the size of the button so that it covers 4 cells (B5, B6, C5 and C6), I drag the bottom right handle as required.

If the handles are not visible, you can make Excel show them by right-clicking on the button or pressing the left mouse button at the same time as the Ctrl key.
Location: You can modify the location of the button by dragging it with your mouse.
You can only drag the button with the left button of your mouse if the handles (as shown above) are visible. Therefore, if they’re not, right-click on the button or press the left mouse button at the same time of the the Ctrl key before attempting to drag it somewhere else.

Alternatively, you can simply drag the button using the right mouse button. For example, if you want to move the button a couple of cells down, so that it covers cells B8, B9, C8 and C9, drag the button with the right mouse until the desired point. As you drag, Excel shows a shadow in the new location, but the button continues in the original spot.

Once you let go off the right mouse button, Excel displays a contextual menu. Click on “Move Here” to move the button.
Text: To edit the text of the button, right click on the button. Excel displays a contextual menu, where you can choose “Edit Text”.

Excel places the cursor inside the button so you can modify the text as you desire. Once you’re done, click outside the button to confirm the change.

In the case used as an example throughout this VBA tutorial, a more appropriate button label is Delete Blank Rows. Once the process is completed, the button looks as follows:
Assigned macro: If necessary, you can change the VBA Sub procedure that has been assigned to any button by right-clicking on it and selecting “Assign Macro…”.

In that case, Excel takes you back to the Assign Macro dialog, which allows you to select which particular VBA Sub procedure is assigned to the button. You’re already familiar with this dialog box, which I explain above.

In addition to the above, you can edit several other aspects of the button by right-clicking on it and selecting “Format Control…”.

Excel displays the Format Control dialog. By using this dialog you can determine several settings of the macro button.

Some of the main settings you can modify from the Format Control dialog are the following:

Font, including typeface, style, size, underline, color and effects.
Text alignment and orientation.
Internal margins.
Size.
Whether the button moves and/or sizes with cells.

How To Assign A Macro To Another Object

In addition to the ability to assign macros to Form Control buttons, Excel allows you to assign a macro to other objects. As I explain above, these objects include shapes, text boxes, clip art, SmartArt, WordArt, charts or pictures.

Attaching a VBA Sub procedure to these objects is very easy. Let’s see how to do it in the case of a WordArt object which says “Delete Blank Rows”.

Step #1: Open The Assign Macro Dialog.

To open the Assign Macro dialog, right-click on the object and select “Assign Macro…”

Step #2: Select Macro To Assign.

Once you’ve completed the first step above, Excel displays the Assign Macro dialog. You’re already familiar with this dialog box.

To complete the process of assigning a VBA Sub procedure to the object, simply select the macro you want to assign and click the OK button on the bottom right corner of the dialog box. In the example used throughout this VBA tutorial, the macro to be assigned is Delete_Blank_Rows_3.

Once you’ve completed the 2 steps above, you can execute the VBA Sub procedure by simply clicking on the relevant object.

Option #5: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure From Another Procedure

In Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA, John Walkenbach explains that executing a VBA Sub procedure from another procedure is fairly common. The term used to refer to this way of running a procedure is procedure call and the code that is invoking the procedure is known as the calling code.

As explained by Microsoft, the calling code specifies the relevant Sub procedure and transfers control to it. Once the called procedure has ran, control returns to the calling code.

According to Walkenbach, there are several reasons why calling other procedures is advisable, including the following:

As explained by Microsoft, this makes VBA code simpler, smaller and clearer. As a consequence, it is easier to understand, debug, maintain or modify.
More generally, maintaining several separate and small VBA Sub procedures is a good practice. Even though you can create very long procedures, I suggest you avoid this. Instead, when working with Visual Basic for Applications, follow Walkenbach’s suggestion of (i) creating several small procedures, and then (ii) create a main procedure that calls the other small procedures.

The following diagram shows how a possible structure of several VBA Sub procedures calling each other can work. The main procedure appears on the left side. This main procedure then calls each of the smaller VBA Sub procedures, all of which appear on the right side.
It helps you avoid repetition and redundancies.
There are cases where you’ll need to create a macro that carries out the same action in several different places. You can either create a VBA Sub procedure that is called in all those places, or enter the full piece of VBA code each and every time. As you can imagine, having a VBA Sub procedure that is executed in those different places is a more appropriate option.
If you have certain VBA Sub procedures that you use frequently, you can store them in a frequently-used module which can be easily imported into all your VBA projects. Once the module is imported, you can easily call those macros whenever you need them.
The alternative is to always be copying and pasting VBA code into your new VBA procedures. You’ll probably agree that the first option (importing a module with frequently-used VBA Sub procedures) is easier and faster to implement on your day-to-day work.

There are 3 methods you can use to call a VBA Sub procedure from another procedure. Let’s take a look at each of them.

Method #1: Use VBA Sub Procedure’s Name

Under this method, you enter the following 2 things in the VBA code of the calling Sub procedure:

#1: The name of the procedure that is being called.
#2: The arguments of the procedure that is being called. The arguments are separated by commas.

In other words, the syntax you must apply when using this method is simply “Procedure_Name Arguments”.

As a very simple example, let’s assume that you create a VBA Sub procedure that only calls the Delete_Blank_Rows_3 macro.

This new macro doesn’t make much sense, because you may as well simply execute the Delete_Blank_Rows_3 macro directly. However, since the structure is extremely simple, I’ll use it as an example so you can clearly see how this method works.

The new VBA Sub procedure is called “Calling_Delete_Blank_Rows”. The macro contains just 3 statements:

Sub Calling_Delete_Blank_Rows()

Delete_Blank_Rows_3

End Sub

The following screenshot shows the whole VBA code (including comments) as it appears in the Visual Basic Editor:

You can, obviously, add statements to the VBA Sub procedure used as an example in order to make it more realistic and useful.

Method #2: Use Call Statement

To apply this method you must proceed, to a certain extent, similarly as with method #1 above. In this particular case, you also enter the name and arguments of the procedure that is being called within the VBA code of the calling Sub procedure.

There are, as explained by Microsoft, 2 main differences between methods #1 and #2:

In method #2, you use the Call statement. This keyword goes before the name of the procedure you’re calling.
In method #2, the arguments of the VBA Sub procedure being called are enclosed in parentheses.

In other words, when using method #2, the syntax you must apply is “Call Procedure_Name (Arguments)”.

Let’s see how this looks in practice. Again, we’ll be creating a very simple VBA Sub procedure whose sole purpose if to call the Delete_Blank_Rows_3 macro. The VBA code behind this new macro, called “Delete_Blank_Rows_2”, is as follows:

Sub Calling_Delete_Blank_Rows_2()

Call Delete_Blank_Rows_3

End Sub

Within the Visual Basic Editor environment, this VBA Sub procedure looks as follows:

The question you may have is, if I can use method #1 which doesn’t require the use of any keyword to call another VBA Sub procedure, why would I use method #2 which requires the use of the Call keyword?

The main reason for using this method #2 is simple: clarity. In the words of John Walkenbach:

Even though it’s optional, some programmers always use the Call keyword just to make it perfectly clear that another procedure is being called.

Despite the above, Microsoft states that the use of the Call keyword is generally not recommended. According to the information available at the Microsoft Dev Center, the Call statement is usually used when the VBA Sub procedure you’re calling doesn’t begin with an identifier.

Method #3: Use The Application.Run Method

You can use the Application.Run method to run a VBA Sub procedure.

As explained in Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA, this particular method is useful if you want to call a VBA Sub procedure whose name is assigned to a variable. Using the Application.Run method is the only way of running a procedure like that. The reason for this is that, when you use the Application.Run method, you’re taking the variable and passing it as an argument to the Run method.

You can see an example of this method being applied in the above-cited Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA.

How To Call A VBA Sub Procedure From A Different Module

When you call a VBA Sub procedure from another procedure, the process followed to search for the relevant Sub procedure is as follows:

First, the search is carried in the same module.
If the desired VBA Sub procedure is not found in the same module, search among the accessible procedures in the other modules within the same Excel workbook takes place.
A logical consequence of the above is that, in order for a procedure to be able to call a private procedure, both procedures must be in the same module.

There may be cases where you have procedures that have the same name but are in different modules (they can’t be in the same module). If you try to call one of these VBA Sub procedures by simply stating its name, an error message (Ambiguous name detected) is displayed.

However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t ask Excel to execute the procedure that you want. More precisely:

If you want to call the VBA Sub procedure that is located in a different module, you need to clarify this by:

Stating the name of the relevant module before the name of the procedure.
Using a dot (.) to separate the name of the module and the name of the procedure.

The precise syntax you must use in these cases is “Module_Name.Procedure_Name”.

Now you know how to handle the cases where you need to call a VBA Sub procedure that is in a different module. However, there are times where you may want to run procedures that are not only in a different module but in an altogether different Excel workbook. Therefore, let’s take a look at…

How To Call A VBA Sub Procedure From A Different Excel Workbook

In Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA, John Walkenbach explains that there are 2 main methods to execute a VBA Sub procedure that is stored in a different Excel workbook:

Establish a reference to the other workbook.
Use the Run method and specify the name of the workbook explicitly.

Let’s take a look at how you can use either of these methods:

Method #1: Establish A Reference To Another Excel Workbook.

You can establish a reference to an Excel workbook in the following 2 simple steps:

Step #1: Open The References Dialog.

Inside the Visual Basic Editor, go to the Tools menu and select “References…”.

Step #2: Select The Excel Workbook To Add As Reference.

Once you’ve completed step #1 above, Excel displays the References dialog.

This dialog box lists all the possible references you can use and establish. All the Excel workbooks that are currently open are listed there. Notice, for example, all the Excel workbooks that appear in the screenshot below.

In this particular case, Excel workbooks are not listed using their regular file name. Instead, they appear under their VBE project names. Since “VBAProject” is the default name for every project, the situation below (where “VBAProject” appears several times) isn’t uncommon.

In order to help you identify which particular VBA project you want to add as reference, you can use the location data that appears at the bottom of the dialog box. Alternatively, you can go back to the Visual Basic Editor and change the relevant project’s name.

In order to add an Excel workbook that is currently open as reference, double-click on it or select it (by checking the box to its left) and click the OK button.

Even though the References dialog only lists Excel workbooks that are currently open, you can also create references to workbooks that aren’t currently open. To do this, you need to first click on the Browse button on the right side of the References dialog.

The Add Reference dialog is displayed. This dialog looks pretty much like any other browsing dialog box you’ve used before. Use the Add Reference dialog to browse to the folder where the relevant Excel workbook is saved, select the workbook and click on “Open”.

In the example below, I’m adding one of the sample Excel workbooks for this post.

Once you’ve completed the step above, the relevant Excel workbook is added to the bottom of the list of Available References in the References dialog. You can then select it and click the OK button to add it as a reference.

Done! Once you’ve carried out the 2 steps above, the new references that you’ve added are listed in the Project Window of the Visual Basic Editor under the References node.

You can now start calling procedures that are in the reference Excel workbook as if they were in the same workbook of the VBA Sub procedure that is calling them. You can do this, for example, by using the Sub Procedure’s name or the Call keyword.

In Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA, John Walkenbach suggests that, in order to clearly identify a procedure that is within a different Excel workbook, you use the following syntax:

Project_Name.Module_Name.Procedure_Name

In other words, he suggests that you first specify the name of the project, followed by the name of the module and the name of the actual VBA Sub procedure.

You’ll notice that whenever you open an Excel workbook that references another workbook, the latter is opened automatically. Additionally, you won’t be able to close the referenced Excel workbook without closing the one that you originally opened. If you try to do this, Excel warns you that the workbook is currently referenced by another workbook and cannot be closed.

Method #2: Use The Application.Run Method.

You can use the Application.Run method to execute a VBA Sub procedure.

If you choose to apply this method, you don’t need to create any reference (as explained above). However, the Excel workbook that contains the VBA Sub procedure that you want to execute must be open.

You can see an example of this method being applied in the above-cited Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA.

Option #6: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using The Ribbon

You can customize the Ribbon in order to add a new button which is assigned to a particular VBA Sub procedure. Then, you can execute the relevant macro by simply clicking on its button.

I cover the topic of Ribbon customization (with code) in this Excel tutorial. In this particular post, I show you (in a slightly simplified manner) one of the ways in which you can add a button that allows you to execute a VBA Sub procedure from the Ribbon. As with the other sections throughout this VBA tutorial, I use the Delete_Blank_Rows_3 macro as an example.

As explained by Excel experts Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad in Excel 2013 VBA and Macros, this method of executing a VBA Sub procedure is most appropriate for macros that are in the personal macro workbook.

The personal macro workbook is a special workbook where you can store macros that later you can apply to any Excel workbook. In other words, the macros saved in the personal macro workbook are available when you use Excel in the same computer, regardless of whether you’re working on a different Excel workbook from the one you were when you created the macro.

Let’s check out these 5 easy steps to add a new button to the Ribbon.

Step #1: Access The Excel Options Dialog.

Right-click anywhere on the Ribbon to have Excel display a context menu. On the context menu, select “Customize the Ribbon…”.

Step #2: Choose To Work With Macros.

At the top left corner of the Customize Ribbon tab in the Excel Options dialog, you’ll see the Choose commands from drop-down menu.

This drop-down menu allows you to choose from several sub-sets of commands to browse when adding commands to the Ribbon. Click on it and select “Macros”.

Once you’ve done this, Excel displays all the Macros that you can currently add to the Ribbon on the Choose commands from list. This is the list that appears just below the Choose commands from drop-down menu, as shown in the image below.

Step #3: Select The Tab And Group Of Commands To Which You Want To Add The Macro.

The Customize the Ribbon list is located on the right side of the Excel Options dialog. Here is where you find all the commands that are currently in the Ribbon. These commands are organized by tabs and groups of commands.

For example, the screenshot below shows how, within the Developer tab, there are 5 group of commands: Code, Add-Ins, Controls, XML and Modify.

In the Customize the Ribbon list is where you’ll be able to choose the location of the button that you’re about to add to the Ribbon. You can expand and contract any tab or group of commands by clicking on the “+” and “-” signs that appear on the left side of the list.

You can also add new tabs or new command groups (and rename them) using the buttons that appear below the Customize the Ribbon list.

Therefore, you can either select a pre-existing command group or create a new one for purposes of adding a macro to the Ribbon. Below I show you how you can add a new tab and group of commands to the Ribbon.

In this example, and for purposes of organization, I add a new tab just after the Developer tab by clicking on “Developer” and the New Tab button.

I rename the tab by selecting the newly added tab and clicking on the Rename button.

Excel displays the Rename dialog. I enter the new display name (Macro Collection) and click the OK button.

I repeat the process with the command group. First, I select “New Group (Custom)” and click on the Rename button.

Excel displays a slightly different Rename dialog, which provides you the opportunity to choose a symbol that represents the new group of commands. I choose an icon, enter the new display name for the command group (Delete Blank Rows) and click the OK button.

Once everything is in order, I select the group of commands to which I want to add the macro. In this example, that command group is the newly created Delete Blank Rows group.

Step #4: Add VBA Sub Procedure To The Ribbon.

To add a macro to the Ribbon, simply select the relevant item in the Choose commands from list and click the Add button that appears in the middle of the Excel Options dialog.

The following screenshot shows how this works for the Delete_Blank_Rows_3 macro:

Step #5: Finish The Process.

Click on the OK button at the lower right corner of the Excel Options dialog to finish the process.

Excel closes the Excel Options dialog and implements the changes you’ve made. Notice how, in the case of the example, Excel has added a new tab (Macro Collection), group of commands (Delete Blank Rows) and button (Delete_Blank_Rows_3) to the Ribbon.

Once you’ve completed the process described above for any VBA Sub procedure, you’ll be able to execute it by simply clicking on the relevant button in the Ribbon. This icon is enabled even if the Excel workbook that is holding the macro is closed. If this is the case, Excel opens the relevant Excel workbook that contains the macro before actually running it.

Option #7: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using The Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar is the small toolbar located on the upper left corner of Excel.

Just as with the Ribbon, you can customize the Quick Access Toolbar in order to add a button that is assigned to a VBA Sub procedure. Afterwards, you can execute the macro by clicking that button.

Also, just as with the method of executing VBA Sub procedures using the Ribbon, this method is most appropriate when the macro you want to add to the Quick Access Toolbar is stored in the personal macro workbook. However, as explained in Excel 2013 VBA and Macros, if the VBA Sub procedure you want to add to the Quick Access Toolbar is stored in the Excel workbook you’re currently working on, you can indicate that Excel should only show the button when that particular workbook is open.

I’ll cover how to customize the Quick Access Toolbar more in detail in future tutorials. For the moment, let’s take a look at how you can add a macro button to the Quick Access Toolbar in 5 easy steps.

Step #1: Access The Excel Options Dialog.

You already know one of the ways you can access the options dialog. I will be covering additional methods of doing this in future Excel tutorials.

However, for this particular case, the fastest way to access the Quick Access Toolbar tab (which is the one we need) of the Excel Options dialog is the following:

Right-click on the Quick Access Toolbar and select “Customize Quick Access Toolbar…”.

Once you’ve completed this step, Excel opens the Options dialog.

Step #2: Choose For Which Excel Workbooks The Customized Quick Access Toolbar Applies.

At the top right corner of the Excel Options dialog, you can see the Customize Quick Access Toolbar drop-down menu. This is the section that allows you to determine to which workbooks does the customized Quick Access Toolbar with the macro button applies.

Click on the Customize Quick Access drop-down menu and select your preferred option.

If you want the macro button to appear in all Excel workbooks, select “For all documents (default)”. As implied by the description, this is the default setting.
If the macro button should only appear in a particular Excel workbook, select that particular workbook.

The screenshot below shows the rough look of the options above when the Customize Quick Access Toolbar drop-down menu is expanded. In this particular case, the only Excel workbook that is open is called “Book 1”:

For this example, I simply leave the default option. Therefore, the customization applies to all Excel workbooks.

Step #3: Choose To Work With Macros.

At the top left corner of the Quick Access Toolbar tab in the Excel Options dialog you can find the Choose commands from drop-down menu.

Click on this drop-down menu and select “Macros”.

Step #4: Add Macro To Quick Access Toolbar.

After you’ve completed step #3 above, the Excel Options dialog displays a list of macros that you can add to the Quick Access Toolbar. You can find these macros in the Choose commands from list box which appears on the left side of the Quick Access Toolbar tab of the dialog box.

Choose the macro you want to add from the Choose commands from list box and click on the Add button that appears in the middle of the Excel Options dialog. The following screenshot shows how to add the Delete_Blank_Rows_3 macro:

Step #5: Click The OK Button.

Once you’ve completed the 4 steps above, Excel adds the relevant macro button to the Quick Access Toolbar. Notice how it appears in the Customize Quick Access Toolbar list on the right side of the Excel Options dialog:

To complete the process and implement the changes, simply press the OK button on the lower right corner of the Excel Options dialog.

Once you’re back in Excel, notice how the relevant macro button has been added to the Quick Access Toolbar.

Now you can execute the relevant VBA Sub procedure by simply clicking on the button that you’ve just added to the Quick Access Toolbar.

Option #8: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure When A Particular Event Occurs

Excel allows you to determine that a particular VBA Sub procedure is to be executed whenever a certain event occurs. I cover this particular topic in more detail here.

In Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA, John Walkenbach provides several examples of events, such as the following:

Opening an Excel workbook.
Entering data in a worksheet.
Saving a file.
Clicking a CommandButton ActiveX control.

The name for VBA Sub procedures that are executed when a particular event occurs is “event handler procedure”. These procedures have 2 main characteristics that distinguish them from other types of VBA Sub procedures:

Their names have a different structures than usual. More particularly, their name syntax is “object_EventName”. In other words, these names are composed of 3 elements:
Element #1: An object.

Element #2: An underscore.

Element #3: The name of the relevant event.
The VBA module in which they’re stored is the module for the relevant object.

Event handler procedures are different topic that requires its own VBA tutorial. If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, please refer to Chapter 17 of the above cited Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA.

Option #9: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure From The Immediate Window Of The Visual Basic Editor

Executing a VBA Sub procedure from the Immediate Window of the VBE is useful, in particular, if you’re in the middle of the developing a particular procedure within the Visual Basic Editor environment.

When displayed, the Immediate Window usually appears at the bottom of the Visual Basic Editor.

You can check out my introduction to the Immediate Window by checking my post about the Visual Basic Editor. You can find this, along with all other VBA tutorials within Power Spreadsheets, in the Archives.

In order to execute a VBA Sub procedure using the Immediate Window, simply type the name of the relevant procedure in the Immediate Window and press the Enter key.

Conclusion

The concept of procedures is frequently used in the books and blogs that cover the topic of macros and Visual Basic for Applications. If you don’t understand what Excel authorities are talking about when using this term, you’ll have a very hard time learning VBA.

Perhaps most importantly, once you reach a certain expertise level with Excel you must work with VBA Sub procedures.

Therefore, if your purpose is becoming a powerful Excel user, understanding VBA Sub procedures and mastering how to work with them is not optional. However, after reading this VBA tutorial you have a good understanding of the concept itself. Additionally, you probably also have a basic understanding of how to work with Sub procedures in practice, including the following topics:

What is the syntax you should use when creating VBA Sub procedures.
What rules and suggestions to bear in mind when naming a VBA Sub procedure.
What are the different scopes that a VBA Sub procedure can have, and how you can (and whether should) limit that scope.
What are some of the most common ways to execute a VBA Sub procedure.

Books Referenced In This Excel Tutorial

Jelen, Bill and Syrstad, Tracy (2013). Excel 2013 VBA and Macros. United States of America: Pearson Education, Inc.
Walkenbach, John (2013). Excel VBA Programming for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Walkenbach, John (2013). Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Источник

VBA Sub Function

It is the most essential & significant component of VBA. A Sub routine procedure is a series of Visual Basic statements enclosed by the Sub and End Sub statements. SUB means Subroutine procedure, it’s a series of VBScript statements, where it does not return a result or value.

Sub procedure usually take arguments or code (i.e. variables, constants or expressions that are passed by a calling procedure) which are carried out to perform a specific task. Sub statement contains empty set of parentheses () without any argument in it.

How to Write Sub Procedures in Excel VBA?

Let’s check out,

Basic Structure of VBA Sub

Sub [Sub Procedure or task name] ()

[What task needs to be done?]

End Sub

Usually, Subroutine begins with a Sub statement and ends with an End Sub statement. Sub Procedure or task name is also called a Macro name, where it should not contain any spaces and of a unique name. Sub accepts input or code from the user & displays or prints information. When the statement is finished, or at the end of the statement, End Sub is used

Note: Sub can only take arguments, they don’t return results

Different Types of Subroutine in VBA (ACCESS MODIFIERS)

Public Sub Procedure
Private Sub Procedure

Prior to knowing the difference between them, you should be aware of “Access level” it’s an extent of ability to access it. Public Sub is similar to Sub, where Procedure allows you to use the procedure or VBA code in all the modules of the workbook. whereas Private Sub Procedure allows you to use the procedure or VBA code only in the current module. (Explained in the example)

How to Use Sub Function in Excel VBA?

Below are the different examples to use Sub Function in Excel using VBA code.

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

VBA Sub Function – Example #1

Step 1: In the Developer tab, click on Visual Basic in the Code group or you can use the shortcut key Alt + F11

Step 2: Now, you can create a blank module i.e. right-click on Sheet1(VBA_SUB), various options appear, in that select Insert and under the insert, three options appear, where you need to select Module, the blank module gets created. You can rename it as “VBA_SUB” under the properties section window

Step 3: Start with subprocedure as follows and create code of VBA_SUB

Code:

Sub VBA_SUB()

End Sub

Step 4: Once you start typing range, its argument appears in the parenthesis and click on the tab key to select it. Once you leave a space and enter open bracket “(”, CELLS argument will appear where you need to enter the syntax or argument for the range function i.e. “E5”

Suppose, I want SUBROUTINE to appear in the cell “E5” For this to happen, I need to type = “SUBROUTINE” after range function. and then click enter.

Now, the code is ready,

Code:

Sub VBA_SUB()

Range("E5") = "SUB ROUTINE"

End Sub

Step 5: Now, you can run the macro by clicking the Run Sub button (i.e. green “play” button) or by pressing F5. You can observe “SUBROUTINE” appears in the cell “B4”

VBA Sub Function – Example #2

Step 1: Start with the Sub and now we will see how we can call the function by using the MsgBox.

Code:

Private Sub Display_Message()

MsgBox "my first programme"

End Sub

Step 2: Suppose, when you run the above-mentioned code in VBA_SUB module it will work out, but when you try to copy & run it to another module, i.e. run this code in newly created module 1 of sheet 2 or 3, a popup message will not appear.

VBA Sub Function – Example #3

Step 1: Public Sub Procedures can be accessed from a different module, let’s check out how it works.

Code:

Public Sub task_1()

Range("H7") = "PUBLIC SUBROUTINE"

End Sub

Step 2: When I run the above-mentioned code (Public sub task_1) in VBA_SUB module, it returns the value or result i.e. “PUBLIC SUBROUTINE” text string in the cell “H7” of sheet1

Suppose, I want to run this same code in newly created module i.e. PUBLIC_SUB, then it is not required to write the entire code in that module, just you mention the macro name i.e. call task_1, instead of range function in the second line of code, you will get the same output or result i.e. “PUBLIC SUBROUTINE” text string in the cell “H7” of sheet2.

Code:

Public Sub task_2()

Call task_1

End Sub

Save your workbook as “Excel macro-enabled workbook”. When you open this excel file again, you can use below-mentioned shortcut key i.e.

Function + Alt + F11 short cut key helps you out to access all the created macro code of the workbook
Function + Alt + F8 short cut key helps you out to open a “Macro” dialog box window, which contains all the macro name, where you can run a specific macro code of your choice

Things to Remember

If no keyword like PUBLIC or PRIVATE is mentioned or inserted at the start of a VBA Function, i.e. Sub declaration, then, it will consider the default setting “Public” Sub.
Intellisense menu is the drop-down menu that appears even when you type a period “.” in the VB code or Editor window) dropdown contains a list of all the members of the VB OBJECT MODEL active reference (i.e. includes objects, properties, variables, methods, and constants). This feature helps out in saving time & prevent misspell the words or typo-error.
Apart from End Sub, there is an option of Exit Sub statement between SUB and END SUB which causes or helps you out in an immediate exit from a Sub procedure.

Creating a Function without Arguments

To create a function you need to define the function by giving the function a name. The function can then be defined as a data type indicating the type of data you want the function to return.

You may want to create a function that returns a static value each time it is called – a bit like a constant.

Function GetValue() As Integer
   GetValue = 50
End Function

If you were to run the function, the function would always return the value of 50.

You can also create functions that refer to objects in VBA but you need to use the Set Keyword to return the value from the function.

Function GetRange() as Range
  Set GetRange = Range("A1:G4")
End Function

If you were to use the above function in your VBA code, the function would always return the range of cells A1 to G4 in whichever sheet you are working in.

Calling a Function from a Sub Procedure

Once you create a function, you can call it from anywhere else in your code by using a Sub Procedure to call the function.

The value of 50 would always be returned.

You can also call the GetRange function from a Sub Procedure.

In the above example, the GetRange Function is called by the Sub Procedure to bold the cells in the range object.

Creating Functions

Single Argument

You can also assign a parameter or parameters to your function. These parameters can be referred to as Arguments.

Function ConvertKilosToPounds (dblKilo as Double) as Double
   ConvertKiloToPounds = dblKilo*2.2
End Function

We can then call the above function from a Sub Procedure in order to work out how many pounds a specific amount of kilos are.

A function can be a called from multiple procedures within your VBA code if required. This is very useful in that it stops you from having to write the same code over and over again. It also enables you to divide long procedures into small manageable functions.

In the above example, we have 2 procedures – each of them are using the Function to calculate the pound value of the kilos passed to them in the dblKilo Argument of the function.

Multiple Arguments

You can create a Function with multiple arguments and pass the values to the Function by way of a Sub Procedure.

Function CalculateDayDiff(Date1 as Date, Date2 as Date) as Double
   CalculateDayDiff = Date2-Date1
End Function

We can then call the function to calculate the amount of days between 2 dates.

Optional Arguments

You can also pass Optional arguments to a Function. In other words, sometimes you may need the argument, and sometimes you may not – depending on what code you are using the Function with .

Function CalculateDayDiff(Date1 as Date, Optional Date2 as Date) as Double
'check for second date and if not there, make Date2 equal to today's date.
   If Date2=0 then Date2 = Date
'calculate difference
   CalculateDayDiff = Date2-Date1 
End Function

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Default Argument Value

You can also set the default value of the Optional arguments when you are creating the function so that if the user omits the argument, the value that you have put as default will be used instead.

Function CalculateDayDiff(Date1 as Date, Optional Date2 as Date="06/02/2020") as Double 
'calculate difference 
   CalculateDayDiff = Date2-Date1 
End Function

ByVal and ByRef

When you pass values to a function, you can use the ByVal or ByRef keywords. If you omit either of these, the ByRef is used as the default.

ByVal means that you are passing a copy of the variable to the function, whereas ByRef means you are referring to the original value of the variable. When you pass a copy of the variable (ByVal), the original value of the variable is NOT changed, but when you reference the variable, the original value of the variable is changed by the function.

Function GetValue(ByRef intA As Integer) As Integer
   intA = intA * 4
   GetValue = intA
End Function

In the function above, the ByRef could be omitted and the function would work the same way.

Function GetValue(intA As Integer) As Integer
   intA = intA * 4
   GetValue = intA
End Function

To call this function, we can run a sub-procedure.

Sub TestValues()
   Dim intVal As Integer
'populate the variable with the value 10
   intVal = 10
'run the GetValue function, and show the value in the immediate window
   Debug.Print GetValue(intVal)
'show the value of the intVal variable in the immediate window 
   Debug.Print  intVal
End Sub

Note that the debug windows show the value 40 both times. When you pass the variable IntVal to the function – the value of 10 is passed to the function, and multiplied by 4. Using the ByRef keyword (or omitting it altogether), will AMEND the value of the IntVal variable. This is shown when you show first the result of the function in the immediate window (40), and then the value of the IntVal variable in the debug window (also 40).

If we do NOT want to change the value of the original variable, we have to use ByVal in the function.

Function GetValue(ByVal intA As Integer) As Integer
intA = intA * 4
GetValue = intA
End Function

Now if we call the function from a sub-procedure, the value of the variable IntVal will remain at 10.

Exit Function

If you create a function that tests for a certain condition, and once the condition is found to be true, you want return the value from the function, you may need to add an Exit Function statement in your Function in order to exit the function before you have run through all the code in that function.

Function FindNumber(strSearch As String) As Integer
   Dim i As Integer
'loop through each letter in the string
   For i = 1 To Len(strSearch)
   'if the letter is numeric, return the value to the function
      If IsNumeric(Mid(strSearch, i, 1)) Then
         FindNumber= Mid(strSearch, i, 1)
   'then exit the function
         Exit Function
      End If
   Next
   FindNumber= 0
End Function

The function above will loop through the string that is provided until it finds a number, and then return that number from the string. It will only find the first number in the string as it will then Exit the function.

The function above can be called by a Sub routine such as the one below.

Sub CheckForNumber()
   Dim NumIs as Integer
'pass a text string to the find number function
   NumIs = FindNumber("Upper Floor, 8 Oak Lane, Texas")
'show the result in the immediate window
   Debug.Print NumIs
End Sub

VBA Programming | Code Generator does work for you!

Using a Function from within an Excel Sheet

In addition to calling a function from your VBA code using a sub procedure, you can also call the function from within your Excel sheet. The functions that you have created should by default appear in your function list in the User Defined section of the function list.

Click on the fx to show the Insert Function dialog box.

Select User Defined from the Category List

Select the function you require from the available User Defined Functions (UDF’s).

Alternatively, when you start writing your function in Excel, the function should appear in the drop down list of functions.

If you do not want the function to be available inside an Excel sheet, you need to put the Private word in front of the word Function when you create the function in your VBA code.

Private Function CalculateDayDiff(Date1 as Date, Date2 as Date) as Double 
   CalculateDayDiff = Date2-Date1 
End Function

It will now not appear in the drop down list showing the Excel functions available.

Interestingly enough, however, you can still use the function – it just will not appear in the list when looking for it!

If you have declared the second argument as Optional, you can omit it within the Excel sheet as well as within the VBA code.

You can also use the a function that you have created without arguments in your Excel sheet.

Источник

Quick Guide to the VBA Sub

Introduction

What is a Sub?

What is a Function?

A Quick Comparison

Calling a Sub or Function

How to Return Values From a Function

Using Parameters and Arguments

The Format of Parameters

Multiple Parameters

Parameters With a Return Value

ByRef and ByVal

A Little-Known Pitfall of ByRef

ByRef and ByVal with Objects

Optional Parameters

IsMissing Function

Custom Function vs Worksheet Function

Conclusion

What’s Next?

Встроенные функции VBA

Пользовательские процедуры «Function» и «Sub» в VBA

Аргументы

Необязательные аргументы

Передача аргументов по значению и по ссылке

VBA процедура «Function»

Пример VBA процедуры «Function»: Выполняем математическую операцию с 3 числами

Вызов VBA процедуры «Function»

Вызов VBA процедуры «Function» из другой процедуры

Вызов VBA процедуры «Function» из рабочего листа

VBA процедура «Sub»

VBA процедура «Sub»: Пример 1. Выравнивание по центру и изменение размера шрифта в выделенном диапазоне ячеек

VBA процедура «Sub»: Пример 2. Выравнивание по центру и применение полужирного начертания к шрифту в выделенном диапазоне ячеек

Вызов процедуры «Sub» в Excel VBA

Вызов VBA процедуры «Sub» из другой процедуры

Вызов VBA процедуры «Sub» из рабочего листа

Область действия процедуры VBA

Ранний выход из VBA процедур «Function» и «Sub»

Functions in VBA

Sub in VBA

What Is A Procedure: VBA Sub Procedures And Function Procedures

How Does A VBA Sub Procedure Look Like

How To Name A VBA Sub Procedure

How To Determine The Scope Of A VBA Sub Procedure

Public VBA Sub Procedures

Private VBA Sub Procedures

How To Make All VBA Sub Procedures In a Module Private To A VBA Project

When To Make VBA Sub Procedures Private: An Example

How To Execute / Run / Call a VBA Sub Procedure

Option #1: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Directly From The Visual Basic Editor

Option #2: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using The Macro Dialog

Option #3: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using A Keyboard Shortcut

Option #4: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using A Button Or Other Object

How To Assign A Macro To A Form Control Button

How To Assign A Macro To Another Object

Option #5: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure From Another Procedure

Method #1: Use VBA Sub Procedure’s Name

Method #2: Use Call Statement

Method #3: Use The Application.Run Method

How To Call A VBA Sub Procedure From A Different Module

How To Call A VBA Sub Procedure From A Different Excel Workbook

Option #6: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using The Ribbon

Option #7: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure Using The Quick Access Toolbar

Option #8: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure When A Particular Event Occurs

Option #9: How To Execute A VBA Sub Procedure From The Immediate Window Of The Visual Basic Editor

Conclusion

Books Referenced In This Excel Tutorial

VBA Sub Function

How to Write Sub Procedures in Excel VBA?

How to Use Sub Function in Excel VBA?

VBA Sub Function – Example #1

VBA Sub Function – Example #2

VBA Sub Function – Example #3

Things to Remember

Recommended Articles

Creating a Function without Arguments

Calling a Function from a Sub Procedure

Creating Functions

Single Argument

Multiple Arguments

Optional Arguments