Microsoft Office

Part VI
Programming Excel with VBA
Using the BeforeSave event
The BeforeSave event occurs before the workbook is actually saved. As you know, choosing Office ➪
Save sometimes brings up the Save As dialog box — for example, when the file has never been saved or was
opened in read-only mode.
When the Workbook_BeforeSave procedure executes, it receives an argument that enables you to identify
whether the Save As dialog box will appear. The following example demonstrates this:
Private Sub Workbook_BeforeSave _
(ByVal SaveAsUI As Boolean, Cancel As Boolean)
If SaveAsUI Then
MsgBox “Use the new file-naming convention.”
End If
End Sub
When the user attempts to save the workbook, the Workbook_BeforeSave procedure executes. If the
save operation brings up the Save As dialog box, the SaveAsUI variable is True. The preceding procedure
checks this variable and displays a message only if the Save As dialog box is displayed. In this case, the message
is a reminder about how to name the file.
The BeforeSave event procedure also has a Cancel variable in its argument list. If the procedure sets the
Cancel argument to True, then the file is not saved.
Using the BeforeClose event
The BeforeClose event occurs before a workbook is closed. This event often is used in conjunction with
a Workbook_Open event handler. For example, use the Workbook_Open procedure to initialize items in
your workbook and use the Workbook_BeforeClose procedure to clean up or restore settings to normal
before the workbook closes.
If you attempt to close a workbook that hasn’t been saved, Excel displays a prompt that asks whether you
want to save the workbook before it closes.
A problem can arise from this event. By the time the user sees this message, the
BeforeClose event has already occurred. This means that the Workbook_BeforeClose
procedure has already executed.
CAUTION
Working with Worksheet Events
The events for a Worksheet object are some of the most useful. As you’ll see, monitoring these events can
make your applications perform feats that otherwise would be impossible.
Table 43.2 lists the worksheet events, with a brief description of each. Remember that these event procedures
must be entered into the code module for the sheet. These code modules have default names like
Sheet1, Sheet2, and so on.
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