user6095724
user6095724

Reputation:

Excel - Change BackColor of UserForm TextBoxes and ComboBoxes with VBA

I am just learning VBA and have used some code from an older book (Excel 2010). It could be that Excel 2016 had some changes that make this code not work anymore.

I do not get a compile error for the class or the Subs. The behavior is that NOTHING happens. What is supposed to happen is that the BackColor of either a ComboBox or a TextBox should change color as if is in focus or leaves focus.

As I said, for some reason when I run the code nothing happens. No errors or warnings appear so it's as if the code is running and then just doing nothing.

Here is my code. The comments should make it clear. I am hoping someone can explain to me what is going on and why this code results in no color changes as the focus changes when I tab through the UserForm.

This first block of code is a stand alone Class Module called "clsCtlColor"

Public Event GetFocus()
Public Event LostFucus(ByVal strCtrl As String)
Private strPreCtr As String


'Base Class for chaging Backcolor of ComBoxes and TextBoxes when focus is changed.
Public Sub CheckActiveCtrl(objForm As MSForms.UserForm)

With objForm
    If TypeName(.ActiveControl) = "ComboBox" Or _
        TypeName(.ActiveControl) = "TextBox" Then
        strPreCtr = .ActiveControl.Name
        'On Error GoTo Terminate
        Do
            DoEvents
            If .ActiveControl.Name <> strPreCtr Then
                    If TypeName(.ActiveControl) = "ComboBox" Or _
                    TypeName(.ActiveControl) = "TextBox" Then
                    RaiseEvent LostFucus(strPreCtr)
                    strPreCtr = .ActiveControl.Name
                    RaiseEvent GetFocus
                End If
            End If
        Loop
    End If
End With

Terminate:
    Exit Sub

End Sub

The following Subs are in the UserForm Code

Option Explicit

Private WithEvents objForm As clsCtlColor

'*********************************************************************************************************************
'*Subs for managing the BackColor of comboxes and TextBoxes depending on focus.***************************************
'*********************************************************************************************************************


'initializes the Userform with the clsCtlColor class
Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
Set objForm = New clsCtlColor
End Sub

'Changes the BackColor of the Active Control when the form is activated.
Private Sub UserForm_Activate()
If TypeName(ActiveControl) = "ComboBox" Or _
    TypeName(ActiveControl) = "TextBox" Then
    ActiveControl.BackColor = &H99FF33
End If
objForm.CheckActiveCtrl Me
End Sub

'Changes the BackColor of the Active Control when it gets the focus.
Private Sub objForm_GetFocus()
ActiveControl.BackColor = &H99FF33
End Sub

'Changes the BackColor back to white when the control loses focus.
Private Sub objForm_LostFocus(ByVal strCtrl As String)
Me.Controls(strCtrl).BackColor = &HFFFFFF
End Sub

'Clears the objForm when the form is closed.
Private Sub UserForm_QueryClose(Cancel As Integer, CloseMode As Integer)
Set objForm = Nothing
End Sub

In the Class Module the is an On Error Statement that terminates the Sub when an error occurs. However, I commented it out and still, I see no compile errors. So, I can only conclude it is a runtime issue.

Any help would be much appreciated.

UPDATE:

If I use these two subs on a TextBox I get the effect I'm looking for:

Private Sub TextBox1_Enter()
TextBox1.BackColor = RGB(153, 255, 51)
End Sub

Private Sub TextBox1_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
TextBox1.BackColor = RGB(255, 255, 255)
End Sub

What I hate about this is that my UserForm has over one hundred TextBoxes and I would need to write these two subs for each TextBox - so like 200++ Subs!

I am still trying to get the above more general approach to work.
One thing I noticed is that if I change the RGB values in the two subs above to Hex values, they no longer work. I tried changing the hex color values in the more general approach to RGB but it made no difference.

Yet Another Update:

It was pointed out that I had a typo in the class LostFucus. I changed that in two places to LostFocus. However, the code still does not work. Then the question was whether or not my code is in the userform module. It is. Then I tried an experiment. I created a new Workbook and imported the code into a brand new class and userform. I added three textboxes. Abracadabra! It worked! However, it does not work in the form I want it to work in. I have scoured the properties for the form itself and the text boxes and I can see nothing different between my form and the dummy form.

This must be something very simple I am over looking!

Upvotes: 0

Views: 12882

Answers (1)

user6095724
user6095724

Reputation:

After a great deal of head scratching and screaming at my poor monitor I finally found the solution but as of now, I am totally disappointed in Microsoft for the weirdness of working with UserForms. Here is what fixed the problem:

I had not yet set the tab order!

I realized the tab order had my form opening with the first tab stop being set for a TextBox in a MultiPage on my form. I set the tab order so that the first TextBox is active on the UserForm and everything works with the coloring on the main body of the form.

Here is where the weirdness begins, in my opinion.

When the last TextBox on the main body of the form is reached and tab is pressed, the multi-page itself is selected. Only after you hit tab a second time is the first TextBox within the MultiPage selected and then the colors are not applied as they are in the main body of the form at all. The same scenario holds true for Frames as well. Also, there does not appear to be a good way to simply tab from the end of page 1 to the beginning of page 2.

It's very disappointing to me because I would have thought that this is not the way it is. I ASSUMED I could set up 1000 TextBoxes, use the Frames and the Multipage to organize things (SO I COULD MAINTAIN THE WINDOW AT ONE SIZE AND NOT HAVE TO SCROLL THE FORM UP AND DOWN) and then set a tab order that would navigate ALL of the TextBoxes regardless of what organizing container they are in. I assumed it would be this way because it MAKES SENSE! I want to click into the first TextBox and simply never touch my mouse until the form is completely filled out. Otherwise, there really is no point in this effort of making a UserForm! I could point and click around in the spreadsheet without the hassle of designing a form and writing code!

What a bummer!

I suppose I can "make it so!" by writing a bunch of code to jump the selection from container to container...MICROSOFT - It should not be this wonky and stupid!

Upvotes: 1

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