Question

Being self taught I have not learned everything there is to know about Excel VBA. Hell lets be honest, I know some basics, but not as much as I probably should, so this question although probably a generic basic question, probably should be known by someone who knows VBA, but in the case of I learn what I need to move forward… so I need an explanation.

When do you need to define a Sub or Function? Why do you need to define a Sub or Function? What is the purpose of defining a Sub or Function?

I only ask, because of this:

Option Explicit

Sub OpenOrderReportExport()

    Dim wsJL As Worksheet   'Jobs List
    Dim wsPOT As Worksheet  'PO Tracking
    Dim wsTNO As Worksheet  'Tel-Nexx OOR
    Dim wbBK2 As Workbook   'New Workbook
    Dim wsWS1 As Worksheet  'Sheet1
    Dim wsWS2 As Worksheet  'Sheet2
    Dim wsWS3 As Worksheet  'Sheet3


    Set wsJL = Sheets("Jobs List")      'Jobs List
    Set wsPOT = Sheets("PO Tracking")   'PO Tracking
    Set wsTNO = Sheets("Tel-Nexx OOR")  'Tel-Nexx OOR
    Set wbBK2 = Workbook("Book2")       'New Workbook
    Set wsWS1 = Sheets("Sheet1")        'Sheet1
    Set wsWS2 = Sheets("Sheet2")        'Sheet2
    Set wsWS3 = Sheets("Sheet3")        'Sheet3

        Application.ScreenUpdating = False    ' Prevents screen refreshing.
        CurrentFile = ThisWorkbook.FullName
        NewFileType = "Excel Files 2007 (*.xlsx)"
        NewFile = Application.GetSaveAsFilename(InitialFileName:="Open Order Log - " & Format(Date, "dd-mm-yyyy") & ".txt", fileFilter:=NewFileType)

End Sub

Why does this sub need to be defined? I am putting it as a standard module, and working on setting it up so that once a button is pushed I will be able to move a few pages over to a new workbook, delete the blank ones, and go from there with a save function that you tell it where to save.

I have a long way to go, but I wanted to test out the save function, and go from there, because to me that is going to be the hardest thing.

So without solving my entire conundrum, I would like to know why something like this needs to be defined? And how it needs to be defined… if someone could give an answer it be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

You are misunderstanding the problem.

The following line of code is incorrect. It does not create a new workbook like you think it does. The function Workbook does not exist – when you try to run/compile the VBA editor complains that the function does not exist.

Set wbBK2 = Workbook("Book2")       'New Workbook

Change it to

set wbBK2 = Workbooks.add

and it will create a new workbook and save a reference in wbBK2. Alternatively you could reference an open workbook by adding an “s” to Workbook if you are not trying to make a new one:

Set wbBK2 = Workbooks("Book2")       'New Workbook

You also will need to dimension these variables as strings eventually:

    Dim CurrentFile as String        
    Dim NewFileType as String
    Dim NewFile as String

    CurrentFile = ThisWorkbook.FullName
    NewFileType = "Excel Files 2007 (*.xlsx)"
    NewFile = Application.GetSaveAsFilename(InitialFileName:="Open Order Log - " & Format(Date, "dd-mm-yyyy") & ".txt", fileFilter:=NewFileType)

---

Another note, too – when you use

Set wsWS1 = Sheets("Sheet1")        'Sheet1
Set wsWS2 = Sheets("Sheet2")        'Sheet2
Set wsWS3 = Sheets("Sheet3")        'Sheet3

You probably want to change this to reference the sheets in the other workbook

Set wsWS1 = wbBK2.Sheets("Sheet1")        'Sheet1
Set wsWS2 = wbBK2.Sheets("Sheet2")        'Sheet2
Set wsWS3 = wbBK2.Sheets("Sheet3")        'Sheet3

as it will be quite helpful to maintain the right references to these sheets, even if you add additional workbooks.