Switching Windows in a Macro

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 13, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Andrew needs, in his macro, to display a dialog box that allows a user to switch windows. When someone clicks the Window menu (in Excel), the available workbooks are listed at the bottom of the menu. Those are what Andrew needs to show up in the dialog box. He wonders if there is a built-in dialog box to do this, or if he needs to create his own.

The short answer is that there is no built-in dialog box to accomplish this task. You can, however, easily create your own. Here is a simple example:

Sub SwitchWindows()
    Dim i As Integer
    Dim n As Integer
    Dim s As String
    Dim v As Variant

    n = Windows.Count
    s = "Choose Window from:"
    For i = 1 To n
        s = s & Chr(10) & i & ")  " & Windows(i).Caption
    Next
    s = s & Chr(10) & "Enter a number from 1 to " & n
    v = Application.InputBox(prompt:=s, Type:=2)
    i = Val(v)
    If i >= 1 And i <= n Then
        Windows(i).Activate
    End If
End Sub

All this does is create a list of the names for each window in your system. It presents them in an InputBox, and then switches to whatever window the user selected.

If you are seeking different ways to present the same information, you can refer to this tip.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11910) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Entering or Importing Times without Colons

Enter a time into a cell and you normally include a colon between the hours and minutes. If you want to skip that pesky ...

Discover More

Using a Protected Worksheet

If you have a worksheet protected, it may not be immediately evident that it really is protected. This tip explains some ...

Discover More

Automatically Printing an Envelope

When you create a letter, you may want to have Word print a single envelope for that letter. You can do so by following ...

Discover More

Dive Deep into Macros! Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create powerful automated reports. Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad help you instantly visualize information to make it actionable. You’ll find step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and 50 workbooks packed with examples and solutions. Check out Microsoft Excel 2019 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Recording a Macro

One of the most common ways of creating macros is to use Excel's macro recorder. This tip shows how easy it is to use the ...

Discover More

Macro Fails after AutoFilter

When developing a macro that others may use, you might want to test it out to make sure it works properly if an ...

Discover More

Continuing Macro Lines

Sometimes a macro command line can get very, very long. This can make it hard to understand when you look at it a month ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four less than 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.