Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Maximum Length Limit for a Macro.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 26, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365
Vasant has written a very long macro in Excel—over 1,400 lines. When he tries to run the macro, Excel refuses to run it and says that it is too long.
Excel apparently has a limit on VBA code such that you cannot have more than 64K of compiled code in a single procedure. The solution to this problem is to chop up your long macro into shorter procedures. For instance, you might divide your monster macro into, say, a dozen smaller macros. You can make the smaller macros Private instead of Public (so they don't show up in the Macros list in Excel), and then call them sequentially from a "controller" macro.
When you separate your code into individual procedures, make sure that each separate procedure has all loops and logic self-contained. Also make sure that any variables used in more than one procedure are declared as global variables so they are accessible by all the procedures.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10449) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Maximum Length Limit for a Macro.
Program Successfully in Excel! John Walkenbach's name is synonymous with excellence in deciphering complex technical topics. With this comprehensive guide, "Mr. Spreadsheet" shows how to maximize your Excel experience using professional spreadsheet application development tips from his own personal bookshelf. Check out Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA today!
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2021-01-25 05:16:42
Gisel Avaleazar
I have a code, which is generated by a script, which is about 10000 lines. I can generate code for VBA, PHP, JavaScript, etc. It runs fine everywhere except Excel.. VBA no problem in LibreOffice for instance.
2020-10-13 09:59:32
David Gray
Another excellent resource is Excel 2013: Power Programming with VBA, by John Walkenbach, ISBN 978-1-118-49039-6, especially chapters 6-9.
2020-10-11 11:25:43
David Gray
One significant advantage of coding your macros in the modular fashion described in this tip is that they are easier to debug for many reasons. Of these, the most significant is that you can divide and conquer by debugging each private routine separately. The easiest way to do this is by temporarily marking it as Public, then writing code that calls it in the Immediate Window. Another way to accomplish this is by writing a one-statement test routine, which lives in the module, and can be marked as Public as needed for testing, then marked as Private to hide it. Whether you call the test routine from the Immediate Window or put the cursor inside it and hit F5, the macro under test can call Debug.Print to write messages in the Immediate Window. These messages can either display intermediate values or be breadcrumbs that document the actual flow of execution.
Another significant advantage of modular coding is that each macro has fewer variables in scope. Not only is this fewer moving parts for you to monitor and manage, but it decreases the risk of accidentally changing a variable that was intended for the sole use of another part of the overall program.
Another side effect of breaking big code into modules is that you can reuse code. When the overall routine needs to do the same thing at several points in its process, it can call a subroutine, which can remain private. Moreover, by passing arguments (parameters) into the subroutine, it can use different data each time it is called.
Finally, breaking a big procedure into smaller chunks simplifies the code, making it easier to get your head around what the routine is doing.
2020-09-26 08:19:34
Alex Blakenburg
Whoa 1,400 lines in one Sub. The author of the macro might want to read Robert Martin's book Clean Code (he also has quite a few youtube videos)
I can't find an equivalent book using VBA in the examples but the principles are the same.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here:
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