Interactive Userform

Below we will look at a program in Excel VBA that creates an interactive Userform. The Userform we are going to create looks as follows:

Explanation: whenever you enter a value in the ID text box, Excel VBA loads the corresponding record. When you click the Edit / Add button, Excel VBA edits the record on the sheet or adds the record when the ID does not yet exist. The Clear button clears all the text boxes. The Close button closes the Userform.

To create this Userform, execute the following steps.

1. Open the Visual Basic Editor. If the Project Explorer is not visible, click View, Project Explorer.

2. Click Insert, Userform. If the Toolbox does not appear automatically, click View, Toolbox. Your screen should be set up as below.

3. Add the labels, text boxes (first at the top, the second below the first, and so on) and command buttons. Once this has been completed, the result should be consistent with the picture of the Userform shown earlier. For example, create a text box control by clicking on TextBox from the Toolbox. Next, you can drag a text box on the Userform.

4. You can change the names and the captions of the controls. Names are used in the Excel VBA code. Captions are those that appear on your screen. It is good practice to change the names of the controls, but it is not necessary here because we only have a few controls in this example. To change the caption of the labels, text boxes and command buttons, click View, Properties Window and click on each control.

5. To show the Userform, place a command button on your worksheet and add the following code line:

Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()

UserForm1.Show

End Sub

We are now going to create the Sub UserForm_Initialize. When you use the Show method for the Userform, this sub will automatically be executed.

6. Open the Visual Basic Editor.

7. In the Project Explorer, right click on UserForm1 and then click View Code.

8. Choose Userform from the left drop-down list. Choose Initialize from the right drop-down list.

9. Add the following code line:

Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()

TextBox1.SetFocus

End Sub

Explanation: this code line sets the focus on the first text box as this is where we want to start when the Userform is loaded.

We have now created the first part of the Userform. Although it looks neat already, nothing will happen yet when we enter a value in the ID text box or when we click one of the command buttons.

10. In the Project Explorer, right click on UserForm1 and then click View Code.

11. Choose TextBox1 from the left drop-down list. Choose Change from the right drop-down list.

12. Add the following code line:

Private Sub TextBox1_Change()

GetData

End Sub

13. In the Project Explorer, double click on UserForm1.

14. Double click on the Edit / Add command button.

15. Add the following code line:

Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()

EditAdd

End Sub

16. Double click on the Clear command button.

17. Add the following code line:

Private Sub CommandButton2_Click()

ClearForm

End Sub

Explanation: these subs call other subs we are going to create in a second.

18. Double click on the Close command button.

19. Add the following code line:

Private Sub CommandButton3_Click()

Unload Me

End Sub

Explanation: this code line closes the Userform.

Time to create the subs. You can go through our Function and Sub chapter to learn more about subs. If you are in a hurry, simply place the following subs into a module (In the Visual Basic Editor, click Insert, Module).

20. First, declare three variables of type Integer and one variable of type Boolean. Declare the variables in the General Declarations section (at the top of the module). This way you only have to declare the variables once and you can use them in multiple subs.

Dim id As Integer, i As Integer, j As Integer, flag As Boolean

21. Add the GetData sub.

Sub GetData()

If IsNumeric(UserForm1.TextBox1.Value) Then
    flag = False
    i = 0
    id = UserForm1.TextBox1.Value

    Do While Cells(i + 1, 1).Value <> ""

        If Cells(i + 1, 1).Value = id Then
            flag = True
            For j = 2 To 3
                UserForm1.Controls("TextBox" & j).Value = Cells(i + 1, j).Value
            Next j
        End If

        i = i + 1

    Loop

    If flag = False Then
        For j = 2 To 3
            UserForm1.Controls("TextBox" & j).Value = ""
        Next j
    End If

Else
    ClearForm
End If

End Sub

Explanation: If the ID text box contains a numeric value, Excel VBA searches for the ID and loads the corresponding record. We use the Controls Collection to easily loop through text boxes. If Excel VBA cannot find the ID (flag is still False), it empties the second and third text box. If the ID text box does not contain a numeric value, Excel VBA calls the ClearForm sub.

22. Add the ClearForm sub.

Sub ClearForm()

For j = 1 To 3
    UserForm1.Controls("TextBox" & j).Value = ""
Next j

End Sub

Explanation: Excel VBA clears all the text boxes.

23. Add the EditAdd sub.

Sub EditAdd()

Dim emptyRow As Long

If UserForm1.TextBox1.Value <> "" Then
    flag = False
    i = 0
    id = UserForm1.TextBox1.Value
    emptyRow = WorksheetFunction.CountA(Range("A:A")) + 1

    Do While Cells(i + 1, 1).Value <> ""

        If Cells(i + 1, 1).Value = id Then
            flag = True
            For j = 2 To 3
                Cells(i + 1, j).Value = UserForm1.Controls("TextBox" & j).Value
            Next j
        End If

        i = i + 1

    Loop

    If flag = False Then
        For j = 1 To 3
            Cells(emptyRow, j).Value = UserForm1.Controls("TextBox" & j).Value
        Next j
    End If

End If

End Sub

Explanation: If the ID text box is not empty, Excel VBA edits the record on the sheet (the opposite of loading a record as we have seen earlier). If Excel VBA cannot find the ID (flag is still False), it adds the record to the next empty row. The variable emptyRow is the first empty row and increases every time a record is added.

24. Exit the Visual Basic Editor, enter the labels shown below into row 1 and test the Userform.