Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: Offering Options in a Macro.

Offering Options in a Macro

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated August 31, 2013)

1

If you are just starting out developing macros, you may be looking for a simple way to offer a set of choices to a user, and then take an action based on the user's response. This is a relatively simple task, if you use the InputBox function along with a Select Case structure. The first task is to set up your InputBox so it displays the information to the user. For example, let's say you have five options and you want the user to select one option from those five. You can use the following code to put together five options, each on their own line: 
Prompt = "1. This is your first choice" + vbCrLf
Prompt = Prompt + "2. This is your second choice" + vbCrLf
Prompt = Prompt + "3. This is your third choice" + vbCrLf
Prompt = Prompt + "4. This is your fourth choice" + vbCrLf
Prompt = Prompt + "5. This is your fifth choice"
You can now use the Prompt string when you invoke the InputBox function in your macro. You then translate what the user responds with into a number that represents their choice from your five options. The code to do this is as follows: 
UserResp = InputBox(Prompt, "The Big Question")
UR = Val(UserResp)
In this example, the response from the InputBox function is assigned to the UserResp variable, which should be a string. The UR variable, which is a numeric, is then set based on the value of the string. (The Val function returns the value in a string.) The only thing left to do is to take an action based on which number was chosen, 1 through 5. You can use the Select Case structure to do this. The full subroutine could appear as follows: 
Sub Macro1()
    Dim Prompt As String
    Dim UserResp As String
    Dim UR As Single

    Prompt = "1. This is your first choice" + vbCrLf
    Prompt = Prompt + "2. This is your second choice" + vbCrLf
    Prompt = Prompt + "3. This is your third choice" + vbCrLf
    Prompt = Prompt + "4. This is your fourth choice" + vbCrLf
    Prompt = Prompt + "5. This is your fifth choice"
    UR = 0
    While UR < 1 Or UR > 5
        UserResp = InputBox(Prompt, "The Big Question")
        UR = Val(UserResp)
    Wend
    Select Case UR
        Case 1
            'Do stuff for choice 1 here
        Case 2
            'Do stuff for choice 2 here
        Case 3
            'Do stuff for choice 3 here
        Case 4
            'Do stuff for choice 4 here
        Case 5
            'Do stuff for choice 5 here
    End Select
End Sub
Notice that this example uses a While ... Wend loop around the InputBox function. This is done to make sure that the user enters a number between 1 and 5. If the value entered is outside that range, then the user is simply asked again.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11059) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Offering Options in a Macro.

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

Keep with Previous

Word allows you to format a paragraph so that it is on the same page as whatever paragraph follows it. You may want, however, ...

Discover More

Creating Custom AutoText Categories

Want to categorize your AutoText entries? You can easily do so using the techniques described in this tip.

Discover More

Checking the Size of Apps

Need to know how much disk space is consumed by the small applications (apps) installed on your system? Windows makes it ...

Discover More

Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Counting Commas in a Selection

If you have a range of cells in which you want to count all the commas, there are several ways you can derive the figure you ...

Discover More

Setting Row Height in a Macro

Macros can be used to change the formatting of your worksheet, if desired. One change you might want to make is to the height ...

Discover More

Converting Numbers to Strings

When creating macros, it is often necessary to change from one type of data to another. Here's how you can change from a ...

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.

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

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}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. 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 eight minus 8?

2017-05-01 23:26:15

Troy

Thanks Allen,
I am a long-time Excel user but never jumped into VBA much after having lots of errors that I couldn't debug some years ago. I have some basic macros for saving files and copying and refreshing different pivots, but I now want to make a user form for some employees to enter some order data. This would have a couple dependencies and options. Is there a way to practice this feature or to get a template to use.

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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2017 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.