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: Conditionally Displaying a Message Box.

Conditionally Displaying a Message Box

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 11, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


You may have a need to display a message box whenever specific information is placed in a specific cell by the user. Fortunately, using the Change event for a worksheet can help you to figure out when something has been placed in a cell.

For instance, let's say that you wanted to displays a message whenever the information in cell C3 is changed. The following, added to the code window for a specific worksheet, will do the trick:

Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)
    If Target.Address = "$C$3" Then
        MsgBox "Changed It!"
    End If
End Sub

The Change event is called, and passes the cell range to the routine. In this case, the range is assigned to the Target variable. The address of this range is then checked, and if it is equal to C3 (it has to be noted in absolute terms, such as $C$3), then the message box is displayed.

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 (2553) 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: Conditionally Displaying a Message Box.

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

Updating Fields in Locked Forms

Updating form fields in Word can be confusing, especially when the fields are locked in a form. This tips explains why ...

Discover More

Deleting Cells

You can modify the structure of a table by deleting cells. This tip shows just how easy it is to delete one (or more) ...

Discover More

Hiding the Taskbar when It is Not in Use

Don't like the Taskbar visible on the screen? You can easily hide it when you aren't using it by making just one small ...

Discover More

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!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Counting All Characters

Need to know how many characters there are in a workbook? You can find out easily with the handy macro introduced in this ...

Discover More

Determining Differences Between Dates

Macros are often used to process the data in a worksheet. If that data includes dates that need to be processed, you'll ...

Discover More

Using InputBox to Get Data

Need your macro to get some input from a user? The standard way to do this is with the InputBox function, described in ...

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 seven more than 1?

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.