Knowledge Base

XL98: #VALUE! Appears When Function Is Recalculated

Article ID: 178435

Article Last Modified on 6/17/2005

APPLIES TO

This article was previously published under Q178435

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, cells that contain formulas that refer to user-defined functions may return a #VALUE! error after you run a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro or perform any action that causes the worksheet that contains the formulas to be recalculated.

Also, if a Visual Basic subroutine is running when the formulas are recalculated, the subroutine may stop without warning.

CAUSE

These problems may occur if an error occurs in a user-defined function while the worksheet is recalculated.

For an example of this problem, see the "More Information" section of this article.

WORKAROUND

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. To work around this problem, press COMMAND+SHIFT+F9 to force the values to be recalculated. When you do this, any formulas that refer to user-defined functions are recalculated correctly.

To prevent this problem from occurring, add error-handling code to your user-defined function, as in the following example: 
   Function MyFunction(CellRange As Object) As String
       On Error GoTo ErrorHandler                       'new line
       If CellRange.Interior.Pattern = xlNone Then
           MyFunction = "yes"
       Else
           MyFunction = "no"
       End If
       Exit Function                                    'new line
   ErrorHandler:                                        'new line
       MyFunction = "error"                             'new line
   End Function
In this user-defined function, the line "On Error GoTo ErrorHandler" causes the function to continue if an error occurs. In this case, the error- handling code causes the function to return a value of "error", instead of "yes" or "no" or #VALUE!. After the formulas return "error", press COMMAND+SHIFT+F9 to recalculate the worksheet.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, if a user-defined function returns an error value, the formula that called the user-defined function and any other formulas that call the same user-defined function may fail to be recalculated properly. When this happens, the formulas may return a #VALUE! error.

Also, if the user-defined function returns an error value, any running Visual Basic subroutine that caused the recalculation to occur may stop. This may cause problems if the subroutine is running unattended.

To see examples of these problems, follow these steps:
  1. In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, create a new workbook.
  2. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Visual Basic Editor. On the Insert menu, click Module.
  3. Type the following code into the new module: 
          Function MyFunction(CellRange As Object) As String

          ' This line will fail when you delete a row from the worksheet.
          If CellRange.Interior.Pattern = xlNone Then
              MyFunction = "yes"
          Else
              MyFunction = "no"
          End If
      End Function

      Sub TestDelete()
          Rows(2).Delete    ' Deleting a row forces recalculation.
          MsgBox "Delete succeeded."
      End Sub
  4. On the File menu, click "Close and Return to Microsoft Excel."
  5. Select cells A10:A12 in the worksheet. Type the following formula: 
          =MyFunction(C10)
    and press CTRL+RETURN.

    All three cells (A10, A11, A12) display the value "yes".
  6. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros. Select TestDelete, and then click Run.

    Note that the three cells (A9, A10, A11) display the #VALUE! error value. Note also that the message box in the TestDelete subroutine is not displayed.
  7. Press COMMAND+SHIFT+F9.

    The three formulas are recalculated correctly.
If you use the MyFunction function in the "Workaround" section of this article, the formulas do not return a #VALUE! error value when you run the TestDelete subroutine, and the message box in TestDelete is displayed correctly. However, you still must press COMMAND+SHIFT+F9 to force the formulas to display the correct value, which is "yes".

Additional query words: XL98

Keywords: kbprb KB178435


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