Delaying in a Macro

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 16, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016


7

Chris is developing an Excel macro that displays a series of items to the user. He would like to introduce a delay in the macro of, say, one second between each piece of information he displays, and he wonders if there is an easy way to add such a delay.

There are a few ways you can introduce a delay into your macro. The traditional way is to use the Wait method, which is used with the Application object. You use it to introduce a one-second delay in this manner:

Application.Wait (Now() + TimeValue("0:00:01"))

Note that the parameter required by the Wait method is the time at which you want your macro to resume running. In other words, it is the "wait until" time. That is why the above example uses the current time (from the Now function) incremented by a single second.

If you prefer to not use the Wait method (for whatever reason), you can also just use a loop to bide your time:

Dim WaitTime As Date

WaitTime = Now() + TimeValue("0:00:01")
Do While Now < WaitTime
Loop

A variant on this approach relies on the Timer function, which returns the number of seconds since midnight:

Dim Endpoint as Single

Endpoint = Timer + 1
Do While Timer < Endpoint
Loop

When using a loop in this manner, it probably won't be a big issue if you are delaying for only a second. If you need to delay for a longer time, you'll probably want to place the DoEvents function into the loop:

Dim Endpoint as Single

Endpoint = Timer + 1
Do While Timer < Endpoint
    DoEvents
Loop

The reason is simple—if you don't, then Excel won't respond to any other events while in the loop. This can make it seem like your system has frozen or hung while waiting.

If you need more granularity on your delays (down to the millisecond range), you may want to rely on the Sleep function, which is part of the Windows API. (It is not a part of VBA.) In order to use it, you'll need to include a declaration at the beginning of your module, in the declarations area, before any procedures:

#If VBA7 And Win64 Then
    Public Declare PtrSafe Sub Sleep Lib "kernel32"(ByVal dwMilliseconds As Long)
#Else
    Public Declare Sub Sleep Lib "kernel32"(ByVal dwMilliseconds As Long)
#End If

Then, within your macro you can use the Sleep function in this manner:

Sleep(1000)

This pauses the system for 1000 milliseconds, which is 1 second.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (5134) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Generating Random Testing Data

Need to test your formulas? Then you need some testing data that you can use to see if the formulas function as you ...

Discover More

Extracting URLs from Hyperlinked Images

When copying information from the Internet to an Excel workbook, you may want to get rid of graphics but keep any ...

Discover More

Using the Format Painter with Editing Restrictions in Place

Word allows you to apply protection to your documents that can affect which tools users can access. If you want to exempt ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Macro Runs Slowly, but Steps Quickly

When you have a macro that processes a huge amount of data, it can seem like it takes forever to finish up. These ...

Discover More

Aborting a Macro and Retaining Control

If you need to exit a macro before it is finished running, you can do it using a brute force method, or you can build in ...

Discover More

Creating and Naming a Worksheet Using a Macro

You can use macros to make your common Excel tasks easier and faster. For instance, if you routinely need to create new ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 4 + 0?

2022-01-23 17:09:15

Daryl D

We can use Excel.Application.Wait in Access if you reference Microsoft Excel 16.0 Object Library .
See sub below:

Sub AppWait()
'must first reference Microsoft Excel 16.0 Object Library
Dim s As String: s = "hello"
Excel.Application.Wait (Now() + TimeValue("0:00:05"))
MsgBox s
End Sub


2022-01-23 17:04:47

Daryl D

We can use Excel.Application.Wait if you reference Microsoft Excel 16.0 Object Library .
See sub below:

Sub AppWait()
'must first reference Microsoft Excel 16.0 Object Library
Dim s As String: s = "hello"
Excel.Application.Wait (Now() + TimeValue("0:00:05"))
MsgBox s
End Sub


2022-01-20 14:36:18

J. Woolley

@Chester Hood
I don't believe either Word or Access supports Application.Wait, but the other methods should work. Word and Excel (but not Access) support Application.OnTime, which provides another approach. Access supports Form.OnTimer. For an example using Application.OnTime, see
https://excelribbon.tips.net/T008192_Forcing_a_Workbook_to_Close_after_Inactivity.html


2022-01-19 17:03:31

Chester Hood

Will the VBA suggestions work in Word and Access?


2022-01-19 05:26:24

Super_James

I have one question. Disregarding "Sleep", aren't the other methods problematic when the delay is for one second?
I haven't tried it, but I could see where the delay may range from 1.99 seconds to .01 seconds. I'm I missing something.

The range thing wouldn't be as big a deal if the necessary delay were eight seconds, for example.


2017-12-25 06:20:20

Willy Vanhaelen

For current use you don't need the granularity down to miliseconds, you can use this macro for which you don't need to declare API functions:

Sub Sleep(s As Integer)
Application.Wait Now + TimeSerial(0, 0, s)
End Sub

You use it this way for a 5 seconds delay
call Sleep( 5) or simply Sleep 5
Or even for a half second:
Sleep 0.5


2017-12-23 09:30:37

jean-pierre degroote (aka JP Ronse)

Hi Allen,

Useful tips but all have the disadvantage that they stop/delay the execution of the macro where it can be a requirement that some further code need to be executed.

See discussion: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_excel-mso_winother-mso_2007/vba-macros/7d4f6b0d-0a59-4810-a09c-23d8cbb24a8e


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.