I am used to creating Add-Ins with my own custom functions, but what I want to do now is create an Add-In with a user interface. If I create a form, how can I make it show? For the Add-Ins that come with Microsoft Office Excel, the user interfaces are opened by selecting "Tools" from the toolbar, and then the name of the Add-In. How can I do the same with my own Add-In? Any help is much appreciated
Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!
Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!
-
Congratulations strongm on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!
Excel Add-In GUI
- Thread starter 1uptheman
- Start date
For others to use your add-in it must be saved where they can access it, for example on a server, shared folder or their local hard drive.
When selecting Add-ins the user has the option to browse for add-ins not in the default folder. When an add-in is chosen this way the user is prompted to copy the add-in to the default folder or use the original location depending on the button they click, this is done automatically.
If you are using a server or shared folders you can update a single copy of the add-in as you make improvments. The users which chose to keep the add-in in the original folder will recieve the updated add-in when they start Excel the next time.
Important quirk! He who accesses the add-in first each day has read/write capabilities, all others are read only. If you need to save changes but have a read only copy you will have to restart Excel after the other users log off to be able to save the add-in. You can save the add-in under a new name so you don't lose your work.
When selecting Add-ins the user has the option to browse for add-ins not in the default folder. When an add-in is chosen this way the user is prompted to copy the add-in to the default folder or use the original location depending on the button they click, this is done automatically.
If you are using a server or shared folders you can update a single copy of the add-in as you make improvments. The users which chose to keep the add-in in the original folder will recieve the updated add-in when they start Excel the next time.
Important quirk! He who accesses the add-in first each day has read/write capabilities, all others are read only. If you need to save changes but have a read only copy you will have to restart Excel after the other users log off to be able to save the add-in. You can save the add-in under a new name so you don't lose your work.
To access the addin from Excel you need to code it some way, generally this is through either a custom menu or toolbar, or adding a control to an existing menu (i.e. the Tools menu). This is all best done via coding and called in the workbook open and close events (in the ThisWorkbook module).
Do you have any of this code? Also, is this going to be a network deployment, as bpeirson speaks of?
-----------
Regards,
Zack Barresse
Do you have any of this code? Also, is this going to be a network deployment, as bpeirson speaks of?
-----------
Regards,
Zack Barresse
- Thread starter
- #4
bpeirson, thanks for the tip. I intend to update my add-in regularly, and had not thought about deploying it from a shared folder. After reading your tip, I realized how much time I can save using this method.
firefytr, I was able to add a custom control to the Tools menu to invoke my user form, as you mentioned, and it works perfectly! Thanks for the help.
firefytr, I was able to add a custom control to the Tools menu to invoke my user form, as you mentioned, and it works perfectly! Thanks for the help.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
- Solved
- Locked
- Question
