Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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 August 27, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016


1

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:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11806) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Printing Multiple Worksheets on a Single Page

Got a bunch of worksheets and you want to save paper by printing multiple worksheets on a single piece of paper? There ...

Discover More

Disabling the Insert Key

Tap the Insert key and you can start overwriting information already in a cell. If you don't want to do this, one way to ...

Discover More

Determining the Day of the Month

When writing macros, you may need to know which day of the month a particular date represents. Here's how to use the Day ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Creating a Function Inventory for a Workbook

Your worksheets are very often made up of formulas and these formulas are made up of functions. If you ever want to ...

Discover More

Removing a Macro from a Shortcut Key

When you assign a macro to a shortcut key, you make it easy to run the macro without ever removing your hands from the ...

Discover More

Adding Buttons to Your Worksheet

You can easily add a button to your worksheet that will allow you to run various macros. This tip shows how easy it is.

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 8 - 2?

2016-01-09 08:38:17

Petros

A similar error may happen if your early bound macros are referencing a library that is present in your PC, but it is not the version used by the original developer. You may also experience 'system' or 'automation' error messages.

A workaround is to clean VBA's internal cache. Read more:

http://www.spreadsheet1.com/vba-project-code-cleaner-for-access-excel-powerpoint-word.html


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.