Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Macro Runs Slowly, but Steps Quickly.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 31, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Fredric wrote about a problem he was having with a macro. When he is running the macro in the VB Editor using F8 (stepping through the macro), it completes in just a few minutes. When he runs the macro outright, it seems to take forever to run, often taking 20 minutes or more to execute. Even though Fredric's workbook is large (46 MB), the time differential between the two methods of running is bothersome.
Problems like this can be baffling, and they often take some heavy-duty analysis in order to figure out. A good place to start is to add some "timer code" in your macro. Add a small routine that saves a time value and another routine that compares that saved value to the current time and displays the difference. At the beginning of a section of code you want to analyze, you call the first routine (which saves the start time) and then at the end of the section of code you call the second routine. In that way, you can determine which portions of your code are taking the longest time to execute. These are the code sections you then focus on, so you can figure out what they are doing that is taking so long.
Another thing to make sure is that you add these two lines at the beginning of your macro:
Application.ScreenUpdating = False Application.EnableEvents = False
These turn off screen updating, which can slow down a running macro, and disable events. This last line is included so that changes done by the macro in your worksheet won't trigger Excel's recalculation routines. If your macro is making a lot of changes in the data in the worksheet, and a full recalculation is triggered after each change, then with such a large workbook, lots and lots of time can be spent just doing the recalc. At the end of your macro, you reverse the effect of the two lines you added:
Application.EnableEvents = True Application.ScreenUpdating = True
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2436) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Macro Runs Slowly, but Steps Quickly.
Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!
Do you need to create a number of words or phrases where you only alter a few letters in each one? If the alterations ...
Discover MoreNeed to click on a cell and have it replaced with an "X"? Macros make it easy to do, as illustrated in this tip.
Discover MoreMacros are often used to process information in a worksheet. You may need your macro to change the values stored in ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here:
Comments