Pointer Is an Hourglass When You Display a Message Box

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language that is being demonstrated and with the tools that are used to create and to debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific requirements.

Example Macro

The following macro displays a message box:

   Sub ShowMessageBox()
       MsgBox "This is a message box."
   End Sub
				

To see the change in behavior, run the macro in Microsoft Excel 5.0 or 7.0, and Microsoft Excel 97.

When you run the macro in Microsoft Excel 5.0 or 7.0, the pointer appears as a normal arrow pointer without regard to where you position it on the screen.

In Microsoft Excel 97, the pointer appears as a normal arrow pointer only when you position it inside the message box. Otherwise, it appears as an hourglass. When you click OK, the pointer behaves normally again.

Pointer Behavior

To properly reflect the fact that other macro processing halts temporarily, Microsoft Excel 97 changes the pointer to an hourglass. The pointer appears as an hourglass when the following conditions are true:

• A message box is displayed on the screen. -and-
  
  
• You do not position the pointer inside the message box. -and-
  
  
• You position the pointer inside the Microsoft Excel 97 window. -and-
  
  
• You did not run the macro from within the Visual Basic Editor or by clicking a toolbar button.

If you position the pointer inside the message box, the pointer is changed back into the normal arrow pointer. When you click OK, the pointer behaves normally.