Getting a range from the user with VBA (Bug in Application.InputBox function)

Applies to

This bug applies to all excel versions as from Excel 5/95. It has been fixed in Excel 2007.

Introduction

This article describes a bug recently discovered by Ron de Bruin and also reported here.

The Application.InputBox function is very useful to get a range from the user. Unfortunately, this function exposes a bug in Excel (all current versions up to and including 2003!). If the sheet on which a (range of) cell(s) is selected contains conditional formatting using the : "Formula Is" option, the function may fail, returning an empty range.

How to reproduce the bug

Use this sample code on a worksheet with elaborate conditional formatting (see download below for an example):

Option Explicit

Sub ProblemCode()
    Dim oRangeSelected As Range
    On Error Resume Next
    Set oRangeSelected = Application.InputBox("Please select a range of cells!", _
                                              "SelectARAnge Demo", Selection.Address, , , , , 8)
    If oRangeSelected Is Nothing Then
        MsgBox "It appears as if you pressed cancel!"
    Else
        MsgBox "You selected: " & oRangeSelected.Address(External:=True)
    End If
End Sub

If you run this code and the user selects a range on a worksheet with conditional formatting which uses a "Formula Is" setting, the code may return an empty range object, even if the user selected a valid area and hit OK. An example formula for the CF might be:

=OR($AL1=1, $AL1=3)

There are two possible workarounds.

Method 1: use a userform.

I included a userform with two controls: A dropdown to select the workbook and a refedit control to select ranges. Note that the refedit control has been causing some havoc with some users, due to updates to Office versions. A foolproof way to overcome trouble which users might have with your file is opening the file in Excel 2000 and saving it again, before distributing.

The userform looks like this:

Selecting a range using the userform

The code that shows the form:

'-------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Module    : modWorkaround1
' Company   : JKP Application Development Services (c)
' Author    : Jan Karel Pieterse (www.jkp-ads.com)
' Created   : 23-2-2009
' Purpose   : Workaround for the application.inputbox (type 8) bug
'-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option Explicit

Sub Test()
    Dim oRangeSelected As Range
    If SelectARange("Please select a range of cells!", "SelectARAnge Demo", oRangeSelected) = True Then
        MsgBox "You selected:" & oRangeSelected.Address(, , , True)
    Else
        MsgBox "You cancelled"
    End If
End Sub

Function SelectARange(sPrompt As String, sCaption As String, oReturnedRange As Range) As Boolean
    Dim frmSelectCells As ufSelectCells
    Set frmSelectCells = New ufSelectCells
    With frmSelectCells
        .PromptText = sPrompt
        .CaptionText = sCaption
        If TypeName(Selection) = "Range" Then
            .StartAddress = Selection.Address(External:=True)
        End If
        .Initialise
        .Show
        If .OK Then
            Set oReturnedRange = .ReturnedRange
            If oReturnedRange Is Nothing Then
                SelectARange = False
            Else
                SelectARange = True
            End If
        Else
            SelectARange = False
        End If
    End With
    Unload frmSelectCells
    Set frmSelectCells = Nothing
End Function

The code behind the form:

Option Explicit

Private mbOK As Boolean
Private moReturnedRange As Range
Private msPromptText As String
Private msCaptionText As String
Private msStartAddress As String

Public Sub Initialise()
    Dim oBk As Workbook
    cmbOK.Enabled = False
    lblQuestion.Caption = msPromptText
    Me.Caption = CaptionText
    refSelectCells.Text = StartAddress
    cbxWorkbooks.Clear
    For Each oBk In Workbooks
        If oBk.Windows(1).Visible Then
            cbxWorkbooks.AddItem oBk.Name
        End If
    Next
    cbxWorkbooks.Value = ActiveWorkbook.Name
End Sub

Private Sub cbxWorkbooks_Change()
    Windows(cbxWorkbooks.Value).Activate
End Sub

Private Sub cmbCancel_Click()
    OK = False
    Me.Hide
End Sub

Private Sub cmbOK_Click()
    If refSelectCells.Text <> "" Then
        If TypeName(Selection) = "Range" Then
            If IsValidRef(refSelectCells.Text) Then
                OK = True
            End If
        End If
    End If
    Me.Hide
End Sub

Public Property Get OK() As Boolean
    OK = mbOK
End Property

Public Property Let OK(ByVal bOK As Boolean)
    mbOK = bOK
End Property

Public Property Get ReturnedRange() As Range
    Dim sRef As String
    Dim oSh As Worksheet
    On Error Resume Next
    sRef = refSelectCells.Text
    If OK And IsValidRef(sRef) Then
        If InStr(sRef, "!") Then
            Set oSh = ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets(Application.Substitute(Left(sRef, InStr(sRef, "!") - 1), "'", ""))
        Else
            Set oSh = ActiveSheet
        End If
        Set moReturnedRange = oSh.Range(Mid(sRef, InStr(sRef, "!") + 1))
        Set ReturnedRange = moReturnedRange
    End If
End Property

Public Property Set ReturnedRange(oReturnedRange As Range)
    Set moReturnedRange = oReturnedRange
End Property

Public Function IsValidRef(sRef As String) As Boolean
'-------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Procedure : IsValidRef Created by Jan Karel Pieterse
' Company   : JKP Application Development Services (c) 2005
' Author    : Jan Karel Pieterse
' Created   : 21-12-2005
' Purpose   : Checks of argument is a valid cell reference
'-------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Dim sTemp As String
    Dim oSh As Worksheet
    Dim oCell As Range
'    On Error GoTo LocErr
    IsValidRef = False
    On Error Resume Next
    sTemp = Left(sRef, InStr(sRef, "!") - 1)
    sTemp = Replace(sTemp, "=", "")
    If Not IsIn(ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets, sTemp) Then
        IsValidRef = False
        Exit Function
    End If
    Set oSh = ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets(sTemp)
    If oSh Is Nothing Then
        Set oSh = ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets(Replace(sTemp, "'", ""))
    End If
    sTemp = Right(sRef, Len(sRef) - InStr(sRef, "!"))
    Set oCell = oSh.Range(sTemp)
    If oCell Is Nothing Then
        IsValidRef = False
    Else
        IsValidRef = True
    End If
End Function

Function IsIn(vCollection As Variant, ByVal sName As String) As Boolean
'-------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Procedure : funIsIn Created by Jan Karel Pieterse
' Company   : JKP Application Development Services (c) 2005
' Author    : Jan Karel Pieterse
' Created   : 28-12-2005
' Purpose   : Determines if object is in collection
'-------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Dim oObj As Object
    On Error Resume Next
    Set oObj = vCollection(sName)
    If oObj Is Nothing Then
        IsIn = False
    Else
        IsIn = True
    End If
    If IsIn = False Then
        sName = Replace(sName, "'", "")
        Set oObj = vCollection(sName)
        If oObj Is Nothing Then
            IsIn = False
        Else
            IsIn = True
        End If
    End If
End Function

Public Property Let PromptText(ByVal sPromptText As String)
    msPromptText = sPromptText
End Property

Private Sub refSelectCells_Change()
    If IsValidRef(refSelectCells.Text) Then
        cmbOK.Enabled = True
    Else
        cmbOK.Enabled = False
    End If
End Sub

Public Property Get CaptionText() As String
    CaptionText = msCaptionText
End Property

Public Property Let CaptionText(ByVal sCaptionText As String)
    msCaptionText = sCaptionText
End Property

Private Sub UserForm_QueryClose(Cancel As Integer, CloseMode As Integer)
    If CloseMode <> vbFormCode Then
        Cancel = True
        Me.cmbCancel.SetFocus
        cmbCancel_Click
    End If
End Sub

Public Property Get StartAddress() As String
    msStartAddress = Mid(msStartAddress, InStr(msStartAddress, "]") + 1)
    StartAddress = msStartAddress
End Property

Public Property Let StartAddress(sStartAddress As String)
    msStartAddress = sStartAddress
End Property

Method 2: Use Application.InputBox anyway

The second method was suggested by Peter Thornton (also an Excel MVP).

It does use the Application.InputBox method, but uses type 0 instead of 8 and a helper function to extract a proper range from the entered string. Funny thing is, even though one uses type 0, the box still enables you to select cells.

The returned formula normally requires a little parsing before it will be recognized as a valid Range address. Therefore it makes sense to wrap all this in a function. This demo wrapper has two bonus features. Firstly, the developer has the option to re-activate the Input range. Secondly, if the user types an address instead of selecting cells, the user can make a couple of incorrect typo attempts without having to start all over, it happens!

The code to accomplish this is copied below:

Option Explicit
'Courtesy Peter Thornton (Excel MVP)

Sub TestGetInput()
    Dim bGotRng As Boolean
    Dim bActivate As Boolean
    Dim rInput As Range
    bActivate = False   ' True to re-activate the input range
    bGotRng = GetInputRange(rInput, "Please select a range of cells!", _
                            "SelectARAnge Demo", "", bActivate)
    If bGotRng Then
        MsgBox rInput.Address(External:=True)
    Else
        MsgBox "You pressed cancel"
    End If
End Sub

Function GetInputRange(rInput As Excel.Range, _
                       sPrompt As String, _
                       sTitle As String, _
                       Optional ByVal sDefault As String, _
                       Optional ByVal bActivate As Boolean, _
                       Optional X, Optional Y) As Boolean
' rInput:    The Input Range which returns to the caller procedure
' bActivate: If True user's input range will be re-activated
'
' The other arguments are standard InputBox arguments.
' sPrompt & sTitle should be supplied from the caller proccedure
' but sDefault will be completed below if empty
'
' GetInputRange returns True if rInput is successfully assigned to a Range

    Dim bGotRng As Boolean
    Dim bEvents As Boolean
    Dim nAttempt As Long
    Dim sAddr As String
    Dim vReturn

    On Error Resume Next
    If Len(sDefault) = 0 Then
        If TypeName(Application.Selection) = "Range" Then
            sDefault = "=" & Application.Selection.Address
            ' InputBox cannot handle address/formulas over 255
            If Len(sDefault) > 240 Then
                sDefault = "=" & Application.ActiveCell.Address
            End If
        ElseIf TypeName(Application.ActiveSheet) = "Chart" Then
            sDefault = " first select a Worksheet"
        Else
            sDefault = " Select Cell(s) or type address"
        End If
    End If
    Set rInput = Nothing    ' start with a clean slate
    For nAttempt = 1 To 3 ' give user 3 attempts for typos
        vReturn = False
        vReturn = Application.InputBox(sPrompt, sTitle, sDefault, X, Y, Type:=0)
        If False = vReturn Or Len(vReturn) = 0 Then
            Exit For    ' user cancelled
        Else
            sAddr = vReturn
            ' The address (or formula) could be in A1 or R1C1 style,
            ' w/out an "=" and w/out embracing quotes, depends if the user
            ' selected cells, typed an address, or accepted the default
            If Left$(sAddr, 1) = "=" Then sAddr = Mid$(sAddr, 2, 256)
            If Left$(sAddr, 1) = Chr(34) Then sAddr = Mid$(sAddr, 2, 255)
            If Right$(sAddr, 1) = Chr(34) Then sAddr = Left$(sAddr, Len(sAddr) - 1)
            ' will fail if R1C1 address
            Set rInput = Application.Range(sAddr)
            If rInput Is Nothing Then
                sAddr = Application.ConvertFormula(sAddr, xlR1C1, xlA1)
                Set rInput = Application.Range(sAddr)
                bGotRng = Not rInput Is Nothing
            Else
                bGotRng = True
            End If
        End If

        If bGotRng Then
            If bActivate Then   ' optionally re-activate the Input range
                On Error GoTo errH
                bEvents = Application.EnableEvents
                Application.EnableEvents = False
                If Not Application.ActiveWorkbook Is rInput.Parent.Parent Then
                    rInput.Parent.Parent.Activate    ' Workbook
                End If
                If Not Application.ActiveSheet Is rInput.Parent Then
                    rInput.Parent.Activate    ' Worksheet
                End If
                rInput.Select    ' Range
            End If
            Exit For
        ElseIf nAttempt < 3 Then
            ' Failed to get a valid range, maybe a typo
            If MsgBox("Invalid reference, do you want to try again ?", _
                      vbOKCancel, sTitle) <> vbOK Then
                Exit For
            End If
        End If
    Next    ' nAttempt
cleanUp:
    On Error Resume Next
    If bEvents Then
        Application.EnableEvents = True
    End If
    GetInputRange = bGotRng
    Exit Function
errH:
    Set rInput = Nothing
    bGotRng = False
    Resume cleanUp
End Function

Both methods are demonstrated in this download.

Comments

Showing last 8 comments of 46 in total (Show All Comments):

Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (10/7/2010 2:09:51 AM)

Hi Vijay,

Please visit http://www.eileenslounge.com to ask questions like these!

Comment by: Scott Solberg (12/3/2010 6:24:30 AM)

Hello,

I found a bug in the "Method 2" macro which I found here:
http://www.jkp-ads.com/articles/SelectARange.asp

I included the commented-out old code, and the new code
which works better below:

' 20101202 S. Solberg : bug found in this routine
' If user selects entire rows or columns, then the returned address,
' while still in R1C1 form, *appears* to be in A1 form, because
' it will either be C1:C3 or C1:C2,C5 or R2:R7 etc.
' so that the Application.Range(address) function thinks that the
' "C" or "R" refer to columns "C" or "R" !!
' So, one must *always* convert the range to A1 format before using
' the Application.Range() method.

' **** old code ******
' Set rInput = Application.Range(sAddr) ' will fail if R1C1 address
' If rInput Is Nothing Then ' so, must first convert to A1 reference style
' sAddr = Application.ConvertFormula(sAddr, xlR1C1, xlA1)
' Set rInput = Application.Range(sAddr)
' bGotRng = Not rInput Is Nothing
' Else
' bGotRng = True
' End If
' ***** end of old code *****

' so, use this code instead:
sAddr = Application.ConvertFormula(sAddr, xlR1C1, xlA1)
Set rInput = Application.Range(sAddr)
If rInput Is Nothing Then GoTo errH
bGotRng = True

----------------------
Otherwise, this routine by Peter Thorton works well,
and hopefully would avoid the bug caused by conditional formatting which you described.

Comment by: Ganesh (8/23/2011 4:24:44 AM)

Hello. I want to select only the formulas in a range.Kindly suggest me the VBA code.Thanks in advance.

Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (8/23/2011 5:50:46 AM)

Have a look at the SpecialCells method of the Range object:

Range("A1:Z100").Specialcells(xlCellTypeFormulas).Select

Comment by: narendra (10/13/2011 7:49:38 AM)

Hi,
I am trying to create macro witch control location of output of an action by using cell value,

As i have created copy macro,its copying range"A4":"A18" Values and pasting at "E5" cell,

Sub copy()
'
' copy Macro
'

'
    Range("A4:A18").copy
    Range("E5").Select
    ActiveSheet.Paste
End Sub
What i want to do is,
consider,cell "B10" having valuve Like "X10 or Y10 or Z10" witch is variable as per requarment and i want to use the paste location as per Value of "B10" witch is X10 or Y10 or Z10 or may other as per value of cell "B10" witch is variable as per requarment.

please hlep me in this,
Hoping for yours reply.

Thanks & Regards,

Narendra Chavan,
nvcworld@gamil.com

Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (10/14/2011 2:01:09 AM)

HI Narandera,

I think you need this:

Sub copy()
Range("A4:A18").copy Destination:=Range(Range("B10").Value)
End Sub

Comment by: Rich Newsome (12/5/2011 4:29:43 PM)

I use VBA to create new sheet if it does not exist already, or clear it if it does:

On Error Resume Next
Worksheets("Summary").Activate
If Not Err = 0 Then
    Worksheets.Add , Worksheets(2), 1, xlWorksheet
    Worksheets(3).Name = "Summary"
    Err.Clear
Else
    Worksheets("Summary").Clear
End If
Set xlWs = Worksheets("Summary")
Worksheets("Summary").Activate
Worksheets("Summary").UsedRange.Delete

Then I want to use standard column formats from master sheet
Sheets("Prior Material Log").Select
Range("A1:BB1").Select
Selection.Copy
Sheets("Summary").Select
Range("A1").Select
Selection.PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteAllUsingSourceTheme, Operation:=xlNone _
        , SkipBlanks:=False, Transpose:=False
but VBA exits on Range("A1:BB1").Select

Nothing I try to do to the sheet (set column widths and names) works; Is there a property that I have missed that locks the sheet for editing after it is created. I recordered the macro and it still will not change when I call the method

Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (12/6/2011 8:35:11 AM)

Hi Richie,

Instead of xlPasteAllUsingSourceTheme, try using xlPasteColumnWidths

If that works, copy that entire pastespecial line of code and change the xlPaste constant to the other one(s) you need, repeating the entire pastespecial line for each pastespecial type you need.

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