Microsoft Office

Part VI
Programming Excel with VBA
Using Non-Object Events
So far, the events discussed in this chapter are associated with an object (Application, Workbook,
Sheet, and so on). This section discusses two additional events: OnTime and OnKey. These events are not
associated with an object. Rather, you access them by using methods of the Application object.
NOTE
Unlike the other events discussed in this chapter, you use a general VBA module to program
the “On” events in this section.
Using the OnTime event
The OnTime event occurs at a specified time. The following example demonstrates how to program Excel
to beep and then display a message at 3 p.m.:
Sub SetAlarm()
Application.OnTime 0.625, “DisplayAlarm”
End Sub
Sub DisplayAlarm()
Beep
MsgBox “Wake up. It’s time for your afternoon break!”
End Sub
In this example, the SetAlarm procedure uses the OnTime method of the Application object to set up
the OnTime event. This method takes two arguments: the time (0.625, or 3 p.m., in the example) and the
procedure to execute when the time occurs (DisplayAlarm in the example). In the example, after
SetAlarm executes, the DisplayAlarm procedure is called at 3 p.m., bringing up the message.
Most people find it difficult to think of time in terms of Excel’s time numbering system. Therefore, you may
want to use VBA’s TimeValue function to represent the time. TimeValue converts a string that looks like
a time into a value that Excel can handle. The following statement shows an easier way to program an event
for 3 p.m.:
Application.OnTime TimeValue(“3:00:00 pm”), “DisplayAlarm”
If you want to schedule an event that’s relative to the current time — for example, 20 minutes from now —
you can write an instruction like this:
Application.OnTime Now + TimeValue(“00:20:00”), “DisplayAlarm”
You also can use the OnTime method to schedule a procedure on a particular day. Of course, you must
keep your computer turned on, and Excel must be running.
Using the OnKey event
While you work, Excel constantly monitors what you type. As a result, you can set up a keystroke or a key
combination that — when pressed — executes a particular procedure.
The following example uses the OnKey method to set up an OnKey event. This event essentially reassigns
the PgDn and PgUp keys. After the Setup_OnKey procedure executes, pressing PgDn executes the
PgDn_Sub procedure, and pressing PgUp executes the PgUp_Sub procedure. The next effect is that pressing
PgDn moves down one row, and pressing PgUp moves up one row.
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