Showing An Array On A Form; Autosizing ColumnWidths Of A ListBox

Content

Introduction

For a project I needed a quick way to display the content of an array to the user. I didn't want to use a worksheet, but opted for a userform. The data I wanted to show was contained in an array. The array contained something like:

Description
Before
After
Cell Errors
100
10
Corrupt Names
1000
0
Unused styles
232
0

So I figured I'd put a listbox on a userform and make sure the column widths of the listbox resize with the data I want shown. That proved far from easy...

UserForm Setup

I devised a userform that looks like this:

Setting up the userform

The form contains these controls (and I list the most important properties too):

Controlname
Type
AutoSize
Cancel
Caption
Default
TabIndex
Tag
WordWrap
Visible
lbxTable
ListBox
0
WH
TRUE
cmbClose
CommandButton
FALSE
TRUE
Close
TRUE
1
TL
TRUE
lblTableTitle
Label
FALSE
Label1
2
TRUE
lblHidden
Label
TRUE
lblHidden
3
False
FALSE

To be able to use the form I have added a couple of properties and methods to use:

Property/method
Description
Table (Variant)
Used to pass the table you want displayed (expects a variant)
Title (string)
The title to show above the listbox
AutoColWidths (Boolean)
To tell the form Whether or not to autosize the column widths
FormWidth and FormHeight (Double)
Used by the CFormResizer class (see the sample file) to handle resizing of the form
Initialise
Initialises the form: reads the table, puts it on the listbox and starts the column resize routine

Which all sums up to this VBA code behind the UserForm:

'-------------------------------------------------------------
' Module    : ufShowTable
' Company   : JKP Application Development Services (c)
' Author    : Jan Karel Pieterse (jkp-ads.com)
' Created   : 14-5-2008
' Purpose   : Code to handle showing of table on this userform
'-------------------------------------------------------------
Option Explicit

Private mvTable As Variant
Private mbAutoColWidths As Boolean

Private mdFormWidth As Double
Private mdFormHeight As Double

'Code for form resizing courtesy:
'Stephen Bullen, www.oaltd.co.uk
'Rob Bovey, www.appspro.com

'Declare an object for the CFormResizer class to handle resizing for this form
Dim mclsResizer As CFormResizer

'----------------------EVENT CODE ----------------------

Private Sub cmbClose_Click()
    Me.Hide
End Sub

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
' Comments: When the form is resized, the UserForm_Resize event
'           is raised, which we just pass on to the Resizer class
'
' Date          Developer       Action
' ------------------------------------------------------
' 07 Oct 04     Stephen Bullen  Initial version
'
Private Sub UserForm_Resize()
    If mclsResizer Is Nothing Then Exit Sub
    mclsResizer.FormResize
End Sub
'----------------------METHODS----------------------

Public Sub Initialise()
'---------------------------------------------------
' Procedure : Initialise
' Company   : JKP Application Development Services (c)
' Author    : Jan Karel Pieterse (jkp-ads.com)
' Created   : 14-5-2008
' Purpose   : Initialises the form and makes sure the listbox resizes according to the data
'-------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Dim lRowCt As Long
    Dim lColCt As Long
    Dim lLengths() As Long

    On Error GoTo LocErr
    On Error GoTo LocErr
    ReDim lLengths(UBound(mvTable, 2))
    With lbxTable
        .Clear
        .ColumnCount = UBound(mvTable, 2) + 1
        For lRowCt = LBound(mvTable, 1) To UBound(mvTable, 1)
            For lColCt = LBound(mvTable, 2) To UBound(mvTable, 2)
                'Store the largest string length of each column of the array
                lLengths(lColCt) = Application.Max(4, lLengths(lColCt), Len(mvTable(lRowCt, lColCt)))
                If lColCt = LBound(mvTable, 2) Then
                    'first item has to be added through additem
                    .AddItem mvTable(lRowCt, lColCt)
                Else
                    .List(.ListCount - 1, lColCt - 1) = CStr(mvTable(lRowCt, lColCt))
                End If
            Next
        Next
    End With
    If AutoColWidths Then
        'Now autosize the ColumnWidths
        SetWidths lLengths()
    End If
   
    'Create the instance of the form resizer class
    Set mclsResizer = New CFormResizer
    'Tell it where to store the form dimensions
    mclsResizer.RegistryKey = GSREGKEY
    'Tell it which form it's handling
    Set mclsResizer.Form = Me
   
    'Temporarily disable adjusting lbxtable, it has been sized already
    lbxTable.Tag = ""
   
    'Adjust dimensions of form using new dimensions of the listbox
    'The form_resize event handles the positioning of the other controls on the form
    Me.Width = lbxTable.Left + lbxTable.Width + 12
    Me.Height = lbxTable.Top + lbxTable.Height + 30 + cmbClose.Height
   
    'Enable size of listbox again
    lbxTable.Tag = "WH"
TidyUp:
    On Error GoTo 0
    Exit Sub
LocErr:
    Select Case ReportError(Err.Description, Err.Number, "Initialise", "Form ufShowTable")
    Case vbRetry
        Resume
    Case vbIgnore
        Resume Next
    Case vbAbort
        Resume TidyUp
    End Select
End Sub

Private Function SetWidths(lLengths() As Long)
'--------------------------------------------------
' Procedure : SetWidths
' Company   : JKP Application Development Services (c)
' Author    : Jan Karel Pieterse (jkp-ads.com)
' Created   : 14-5-2008
' Purpose   : Sets the column widths of the listbox according to an array of max text lengths
'--------------------------------------------------
    Dim lCt As Long
    Dim sWidths As String
    Dim dTotWidth As Double
    On Error GoTo LocErr
    For lCt = 1 To UBound(lLengths)
        With lblHidden
            'Using repeating letter m to determine width because that is a relatively wide letter.
            'To ensure text always fits, use capital M instead
            .Caption = String(lLengths(lCt), "m")
        End With
        dTotWidth = dTotWidth + lblHidden.Width
        If Len(sWidths) = 0 Then
            sWidths = CStr(Int(lblHidden.Width) + 1)
        Else
            sWidths = sWidths & ";" & CStr(Int(lblHidden.Width) + 1)
        End If
    Next
   
    'Now set the widths of the columns
    lbxTable.ColumnWidths = sWidths
   
    'Adjust the dimensions of the listbox itself. You may want to adjust the constants
    'I hard coded here.
   
    'Listbox will always be at least 200 wide
    lbxTable.Width = Application.Min(Application.Max(200, dTotWidth + 12), lbxTable.Width)
   
    'Listbox will always be at least 48 high.
    lbxTable.Height = Application.Min(Application.Max((lbxTable.ListCount + 1) * 12, 48), lbxTable.Height)
TidyUp:
    On Error GoTo 0
    Exit Function
LocErr:
    Select Case ReportError(Err.Description, Err.Number, "SetWidths", "Form ufShowTable")
    Case vbRetry
        Resume
    Case vbIgnore
        Resume Next
    Case vbAbort
        Resume TidyUp
    End Select
End Function

'----------------------PROPERTIES----------------------
Public Property Get Table() As Variant
    Table = mvTable
End Property

Public Property Let Table(ByVal vTable As Variant)
    mvTable = vTable
End Property

Public Property Let Title(ByVal sTitle As String)
    lblTableTitle.Caption = sTitle
End Property

Public Property Get AutoColWidths() As Boolean
    AutoColWidths = mbAutoColWidths
End Property

Public Property Let AutoColWidths(ByVal bAutoColWidths As Boolean)
    mbAutoColWidths = bAutoColWidths
End Property

Public Property Get FormWidth() As Double
    FormWidth = Me.Width
End Property

Public Property Let FormWidth(ByVal dFormWidth As Double)
    Me.Width = dFormWidth
End Property

Public Property Get FormHeight() As Double
    FormHeight = Me.Height
End Property

Public Property Let FormHeight(ByVal dFormHeight As Double)
    Me.Height = dFormHeight
End Property


The attentive reader will have spotted that I hard-coded some constants into the code. Of course if you develop this thing for yourself, you'd have used constants or some other way to control (for example) the maximum column widths.

How The Resize Works

Various people have devised a trick to calculate the column widths. Some use constants, which which the number of characters to be displayed is multiplied. This trick doesn't work reliably since screen resolution and Font may affect this.
The best method I know of is by using a (hidden) label with its AutoSize property set to True. This label must have the same Font characteristics as the ListBox. After changing the Caption of the Label, one can read its width to fetch the size needed for the text.

The trick to make the resizing work lies in the Function SetWidths behind the userform. I pass an array of character counts to the function (containing the maximum # of characters for each column to be shown in the listbox). Then for each column I change the caption of the label to an equal amount of characters as the value in the array. I use the same character, since the Font for the label is proportional. Thus, the letter used will determine what width the label gets.
Then I read the label's width and string that value together to form the ColumnWidths string (widths delimited by a ;).

The tricky part are the properties of the label. Set the WordWrap to False and the AutSize to True to make this work.

The end results looks like this:

Demo of userform with table displayed

Great, isn't it?

Module code

To use the form, you can use this generic function:

'-------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Module    : modShowTable
' Company   : JKP Application Development Services (c)
' Author    : Jan Karel Pieterse (jkp-ads.com)
' Created   : 2-4-2008
' Purpose   : Shows a table on ufTable
'-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option Explicit

Public Function ShowTable(vTable As Variant, sTableTitle As String, bAutoColWidths As Boolean) As Variant
'-------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Procedure : ShowTable
' Company   : JKP Application Development Services (c)
' Author    : Jan Karel Pieterse (jkp-ads.com)
' Created   : 2-4-2008
' Purpose   : Shows vTable on the userform ufShowTable, with a maximum width and height.
'-------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Dim frmShowTable As ufShowTable
    On Error GoTo LocErr
    Set frmShowTable = New ufShowTable
    With frmShowTable
        .Table = vTable
        .Title = sTableTitle
        .Caption = GSAPPNAME
        .AutoColWidths = bAutoColWidths
        .Initialise
        .Show
    End With
TidyUp:
    On Error GoTo 0
    Exit Function
LocErr:
    Select Case ReportError(Err.Description, Err.Number, "ShowTable", "Module modShowTable")
    Case vbRetry
        Resume
    Case vbIgnore
        Resume Next
    Case vbAbort
        Resume TidyUp
    End Select
End Function

You use the function like this:

Sub demo()
'-------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Procedure : demo
' Company   : JKP Application Development Services (c)
' Author    : Jan Karel Pieterse (jkp-ads.com)
' Created   : 14-5-2008
' Purpose   : Shows the usedrange on the form
'-------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Select
    ShowTable Selection.Value, "Test", True
End Sub

Conclusion

As you've seen it takes a little bit of trickery to get this to work. We've used a (hidden) label control with AutoSize set to True and WordWrap to False. Then we fetch that label's width to determine the width the text will occupy in the listbox.

Download the sample file

 


Comments

All comments about this page:


Comment by: Andy Pope (15-5-2008 00:41:28) deeplink to this comment

This is exactly how I do my column sizing for listboxes.

But there is no need to repeat the resize if you set the Width property to a larger
value. Try setting it to 9999 and comment out the duplication.


Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (15-5-2008 04:10:27) deeplink to this comment

Hi Andy,

I adjusted the code based on a suggestion by Stephen Bullen and now the repeat is no
longer needed.


Comment by: SHAKEEL (18-5-2008 10:11:42) deeplink to this comment

It's nice I am happy with it, but I am looking for something would help me learn
more about formulas & Charts.
Thanks for the Information you have provided me..........


Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (19-5-2008 00:01:43) deeplink to this comment

Hi Shakeel,

Try this site for lots of general Excel help:

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.cpearson.com/">Pearson Software Consulting
Services</a>


Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (19-5-2008 00:02:23) deeplink to this comment

and this site for charting:

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.peltiertech.com/">Peltiertech</a>


Comment by: Redge (19-12-2010 17:34:35) deeplink to this comment

Thank you for such a detailed presentation. I have been working on a small utility and found myself wondering how to get the automatic resizing to work. This absolutely answered the question!

Thank you.


Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (20-12-2010 05:24:52) deeplink to this comment

Hi Redge,

You're welcome!

Always nice if I hear about people being able to use something from my website.


Comment by: Ceelly (12-7-2011 22:25:43) deeplink to this comment

Hi,

Found your article when I was haiving a problem with column widths needing to be adjustable.. thanks your code really worked. Takes a bit to get your head around as I am not familar with object orinated code but it was well worth it.

thanks

Ceelly


Comment by: Paul Forster (13-7-2013 18:32:43) deeplink to this comment

first of all its amazing file. however i want the button on one page "sheet1" but i need the form to get its information from another sheet "Progress Schedule" within the same workbook. and i dont know how as im what people call a noob. lol

anyway thanks again

paul


Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (13-7-2013 19:11:34) deeplink to this comment

Hi

You can. Replace this:

    ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Select
    ShowTable Selection.Value, "Test", True


with:

    ShowTable Worksheets("Sheet1").UsedRange.Value, "Test", True


Then put a button from the forms set on the other sheet and assign the macro called "Demo" to it.


Comment by: Paul Forster (13-7-2013 22:33:33) deeplink to this comment

It comes up blank its not showing data


Comment by: Paul Forster (13-7-2013 22:51:57) deeplink to this comment

ok got it working had to use a button that allows macro's. however the autosize is not working and ideas


Comment by: Bruce Volkert (9-10-2015 22:38:06) deeplink to this comment

I have a workbook in Office 365 that generates a couple of tables (listobject) in a couple of sheets in that workbook. I have several other workbooks that need to use the information, some of which may need to add or change the information.

I'm struggling to find a simple approach (preferably one that does not require using a separate database). I'd prefer to stick to Excel because the application is relatively simple and my users have very limited computing skills.

I started to think I would use ADO to access the table using a connection and then update it from time to time with new information. However, my current understanding is that ADO is not able to delete records when the connection is to a listobject in a workbook. Since my users will need to create and change the records in the table, it seems that ADO may not be the best choice.

Is my best option to read all the information in, change it within Excel and then create a new version of the independent file? If not, what approach do you suggest?


Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (12-10-2015 11:34:53) deeplink to this comment

Hi Bruce,

As you have experienced, deleting records from an Excel table is not possible using ADO.


Comment by: John (30-11-2016 18:07:46) deeplink to this comment

Thanks for the detailing of the demo, very nicely done.

I ran into a problem and I don't know if this can be fixed... The problem is that if I load more than 10 columns, it does not load the data into the form. I don't know if this is the limitation of the Listbox...

Thanks again.


Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (30-11-2016 18:11:37) deeplink to this comment

Hi John,

If you push the data to the listbox using a variant array you should be able to have many more columns than 10.


Comment by: John (30-11-2016 21:15:50) deeplink to this comment

Thanks, Jan
I did what you said and it worked


Comment by: KEVIN BRISEBOIS (8-5-2020 22:15:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi Jan,

i ran into the same problem of +10 columns.

our answer is:
If you push the data to the listbox using a variant array you should be able to have many more columns than 10.

.. how can i do this?

Thanks!


Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (11-5-2020 10:22:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi Kevin,

In the userform code on page https://jkp-ads.com/Articles/AutoSizeListBox01.asp, in this sub: Initialise replace this bit:

    With lbxTable
        .Clear
        .ColumnCount = UBound(mvTable, 2) + 1
        For lRowCt = LBound(mvTable, 1) To UBound(mvTable, 1)
            For lColCt = LBound(mvTable, 2) To UBound(mvTable, 2)
                'Store the largest string length of each column of the array
                lLengths(lColCt) = Application.Max(4, lLengths(lColCt), Len(mvTable(lRowCt, lColCt)))
                If lColCt = LBound(mvTable, 2) Then
                    'first item has to be added through additem
                    .AddItem mvTable(lRowCt, lColCt)
                Else
                    .List(.ListCount - 1, lColCt - 1) = CStr(mvTable(lRowCt, lColCt))
                End If
            Next
        Next
    End With


with

Sub foobar()
    With lbxTable
        .Clear
        .ColumnCount = UBound(mvTable, 2) + 1
        .List = mvTable
    End With
    For lRowCt = LBound(mvTable, 1) To UBound(mvTable, 1)
        For lColCt = LBound(mvTable, 2) To UBound(mvTable, 2)
            'Store the largest string length of each column of the array
            lLengths(lColCt) = Application.Max(4, lLengths(lColCt), Len(mvTable(lRowCt, lColCt)))
        Next
    Next
End Sub


Have a question, comment or suggestion? Then please use this form.

If your question is not directly related to this web page, but rather a more general "How do I do this" Excel question, then I advise you to ask your question here: www.eileenslounge.com.




To post VBA code in your comment, use [VB] tags, like this: [VB]Code goes here[/VB].