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: Worksheet Events.

Worksheet Events

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated January 19, 2017)

1

One of the beauties of creating macros for Excel is that they can be event-driven. This means that you can create macros that will run automatically when specific, well-defined events happen within Excel. These events can happen either on a worksheet or a workbook level.

The easiest way to see what worksheet events are available is to follow these steps:

  1. Press Alt+F11 to display the VBA Editor.
  2. In the Project Explorer window (upper-left corner of the VBA Editor), find the project (workbook) that you are working on.
  3. Expand the project, if necessary, by clicking the plus sign to the left of the project name. You should see all the worksheets in the project listed.
  4. Double-click the worksheet you want to work with. A code window should appear for the worksheet.
  5. At the top of the worksheet's code window are two drop-down lists. In the left-hand drop-down list, choose Worksheet.

At this point, the right-hand drop-down list contains all the events that you can "trap" for this worksheet. The available events may vary, according to your version of Excel. In Excel 2003 the following events are available:

  • Activate
  • BeforeDoubleClick
  • BeforeRightClick
  • Calculate
  • Change
  • Deactivate
  • FollowHyperlink
  • PivotTableUpdate
  • SelectionChange

The names of the events should be descriptive enough that you can tell what triggers each of them. If you choose one of the events, you can create the macro you want run when the event actually occurs.

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 (2569) 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: Worksheet Events.

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

Forcing Stubborn Recalculation

Have you ever recalculated a worksheet, only to notice that not everything calculated as it should? Here's a way you can ...

Discover More

Allowing for Words that Contain Numbers

When Excel does a spell-check of the information in a worksheet, you may want it to ignore words that contain numbers. ...

Discover More

Differences between Deleting, Clearing, and Cutting

When getting rid of text from your document, Word allows you to delete, clear, or cut. Here are the differences between ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Getting Big Macros to Run

Troubleshooting an Excel macro when it causes the entire computer to freeze can be a tedious affair. This tip provides ...

Discover More

Testing for an Empty Worksheet

If you are using a macro to process a number of worksheets, you may have a need to know if the worksheet is empty or not. ...

Discover More

Creating a Photo Catalog from a Folder of Photos

Excel is great for collecting all sorts of information. You might even use it to create a catalog of your photos. Working ...

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.

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

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}] 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 nine more than 5?

2014-02-02 08:49:05

Wim Coenen

Hope you're having fun.

Is there an easy way of creating a function that returns a value depending on the change of content of another cell. inhoud

To be used like: =Ifchanged(b4;now();))

If the content of b4 is changed the current date would be returned to the current cell, else nothing would be done.

That's the general idea.


Greetings the Netherlands Wim Coenen.

I wonder why there's no equivalent of such a function Excel.

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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2020 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.