Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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: Item Not Available in Library.

Item Not Available in Library

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 24, 2023)

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Ravi has placed some VBA controls and code in a worksheet. When he shares the workbook with other users and they open it, the functions don't work and report an error "item not available in library." Ravi is wondering how he can get rid of this error.

The first thing to check is whether your macros are actually in the workbook you are sharing with others. Open it on your system, go to the Visual Basic Editor, and make sure that the macros are in the project associated with the workbook being shared. If not, you will want to move the macros to the workbook.

A more likely cause of this problem, however, is that your macros are referencing a function or feature that is in a module that you have access to but that the other people do not. An easy way to check this out is to go to their system (if possible) and open the workbook. Then go to the Visual Basic Editor and choose Tools | References. Go through the list of available modules and see if there are any that are prefaced with the word "missing." These are modules that are required for your macros, but are missing on the current system.

If you find missing modules, or perhaps modules that the user needs to reference in VBA in order to use your macros, then it might be best to rewrite your macros so that they don't use those modules. This may be easier said than done, but it may (again) be the easiest, cleanest way to let others use your macros.

Note:

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ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11806) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Item Not Available in Library.

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. ...

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What is 3 + 7?

2023-06-24 10:23:54

J. Woolley

Consider packaging your macros with their Tools | References as an Excel Add-in; however, each user will need to install your add-in.
See https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox/


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