Sleeper: "Single Step" window

[mvidas]

http://www.hastalavidas.com/Single%20Step.jpg

This window popped up yesterday on me after leaving page setup, and ended up forcing me to close excel from the task manager. Has anyone ever encountered this before?

Some input from on http://www.experts-exchange.com/Q_21282554.html if that helps anyone

Matt

[Zack Barresse]

Yes. It looks like a Solver error whilst in VBA. Anytime I've ever seen it anyway.

Solver uses a lot of the old Excel4Macros and such, like GET.CELL/GET.DOCUMENT type of functions. I've had problems with such also. If you step into it, should only be like 2 steps and then it will quit. I never had it crash my Excel before though.

[mvidas]

It was strange because I just used page setup, and there was no code running at the time. The module was actually blank (as I had deleted the code that was in there about 5 minutes before).
I just checked and I don't even have the solver add-in installed in excel or the reference checked in vba
That gives me some more information with which to look up though, thanks Zack!

[Zack Barresse]

Hmm, that is strange then. No Excel4Macros? Another add-in maybe?

[mvidas]

No excel4macros, and the only addin that I have installed that I didn't create (I have 4 of my own) is funcres. Granted, that has older macros in it, but I don't know why it would suddenly do that after exiting page setup.
Using solver as a search term I still couldn't find any reference to this window anywhere. I have a feeling its gonna be a mysterious fluke that'll never happen to me again

[mvidas]

Its back!

All I did this time was print preview. Print preview opened, I closed it, then this Single Step dialog was back.

None of the buttons do anything, I'm going to have to force close excel to get rid of it (I can see vba but no code can be edited/entered/run/etc). Too bad I have 16 open unsaved workbooks! Oh well, less than 5 minutes of work was done to each of them, so not a huge deal.

Whoa
I need to get this written down in case this ever happens again. I read my thread on EE about it (see link above) where I mentioned at one point I could navigate the cells with the arrow keys. I tried to get this to happen again, and couldn't. BUT - then I pressed F2 (I think), and excel went into Edit mode. The dialog was still there, and I couldnt type anything into a cell, but after pressing escape or enter I was able to navigate around the sheet (navigating in that sheet was all I could do - couldnt change sheets or any data). Since I could also see in the VBA editor window, without actually being able to type anything, I had an idea. From excel (when I could navigate around the cells), I pressed alt-f8, selected the only macro in my personal.xls file (a dummy macro I made last night), and pressed Step Into. I changed the macro to loop through all open workbooks, save them and close them. Well I had forgotten to put a clause in there like 'If wb.name <> thisworkbook.name' to prevent personal.xls from being closed, but after running the macro the dialog was gone!

I hope this dialog happens again, so I can see if the above works again or was just a fluke. But in any case, I didn't have to force-close excel!

Since vbax has a bigger membership list than it did 11 months ago when I first got this issue, I'll ask again. Anyone know what causes this whole thing?

Matt

[XL-Dennis]

Anyone know what causes this whole thing?


No, although I've seen the same window on a customer's pc in the late 90's using Excel 97. After an update to SP-2 it never occured again.

I guess that You can spend a considerable amount of time and still don't have a clue why it happen...

Kind regards,
Dennis

[Marcster]

Hi Matt,
I've seen that dialog before, I think (maybe I'm wrong, as
I haven't got access to Excel 2002 till I get home)
it's the "Formula Evaluator" dialog.
It's new in Excel 2002.
For more info:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289245/en-us
Although I don't know why it appears after you print-preview etc...

Or maybe I'm completly wrong... :confused:

Marcster.

[XL-Dennis]

Marcster,

The windows Matt refer to is an old Excel4 macro's form ;)

FYI - This is how the Formula Evaluator looks like in Excel 2003


Kind regards,
Dennis

[Marcster]

Thanks Dennis,
Thought I was wrong.
It was the buttons Step Into, Step Over etc that made me
think that.

Marcster.

[XL-Dennis]

Marcster - No problemas and season greetings to You :)

Kind regards,
Dennis

[mvidas]

You definately weren't the only one to think that, Marcster, very similar indeed.

FWIW I'm using Excel 2000 SR-1, thats not gonna change any time soon. But for the amount I use excel on this computer, and the fact that its been 10 months since I've seen the window, its only a slight nuisance. Hopefully the next time it comes up I can narrow it down a little more, and I'm even more hopeful that I can remove it again next time without having to force close! Maybe this will help someone else with the same issue too

Keeping this unsolved until I understand it a little more, weird issue nonetheless!

Thanks guys