Excel – How to create a calendar input in VBA Excel

excelvba

Problem Statement

In VBA, three main kinds of date time controls can be used provided certain ocxs have been registered using administrator rights. These are VB6 controls and are not native to VBA environment. To install the Montview Control and Datetime Picker, we need to set a reference to Microsoft MonthView Control 6.0 (SP4) which can only be accessed by elevated registration of mscomct2.ocx. Similarly for mscal.ocx and mscomctl.ocx. Having said that, the deprecated mscal.ocx may or may not work on Windows 10.

Depending on your Windows and Office versions (32 bit or 64 bit), it can be really painful to register these ocxs.

The Monthview Control, Datetime Picker and the deprecated Calendar control look like below.

So what problem can I face if I include these in my applicaiton?

If you include them in your project and distribute them to your friends, neighbours, clients etc the application may or may not work depending on whether they have those ocx installed.

And hence it is highly advisable NOT to use them in your project

What alternative(s) do I have?

This calendar, using Userform and Worksheet, was suggested earlier and is incredibly basic.

When I saw the Windows 10 calendar which popped up when I clicked on the date and time from the system tray, I could not help but wonder if we can replicate that in VBA.

This post is about how to create a calendar widget which is not dependant on any ocx or 32bit/64bit and can be freely distributed with your project.

This is what the calendar looks like in Windows 10:

and this is how you interact with it:

Best Answer

The sample file (added at the end of the post) has a Userform, Module and a Class Module. To incorporate this into your project, simply export the Userform, Module and the Class Module from the sample file and import it into your project.

Class Module Code

In the Class Module (Let's call it CalendarClass) paste this code

Public WithEvents CommandButtonEvents As MSForms.CommandButton

'~~> Unload the form when the user presses Escape
Private Sub CommandButtonEvents_KeyPress(ByVal KeyAscii As MSForms.ReturnInteger)
    If Not f Is Nothing Then If KeyAscii = 27 Then Unload f
End Sub

'~~> This section delas with showing/displaying controls
'~~> and updating different labels
Private Sub CommandButtonEvents_Click()
    f.Label6.Caption = CommandButtonEvents.Tag

    If Left(CommandButtonEvents.Name, 1) = "Y" Then
        If Len(Trim(CommandButtonEvents.Caption)) <> 0 Then
            CurYear = Val(CommandButtonEvents.Caption)                
            With f
                .HideAllControls
                .ShowMonthControls

                .Label4.Caption = CurYear
                .Label5.Caption = 2

                .CommandButton1.Visible = False
                .CommandButton2.Visible = False
            End With
        End If
    ElseIf Left(CommandButtonEvents.Name, 1) = "M" Then
        Select Case UCase(CommandButtonEvents.Caption)
            Case "JAN": CurMonth = 1
            Case "FEB": CurMonth = 2
            Case "MAR": CurMonth = 3
            Case "APR": CurMonth = 4
            Case "MAY": CurMonth = 5
            Case "JUN": CurMonth = 6
            Case "JUL": CurMonth = 7
            Case "AUG": CurMonth = 8
            Case "SEP": CurMonth = 9
            Case "OCT": CurMonth = 10
            Case "NOV": CurMonth = 11
            Case "DEC": CurMonth = 12
        End Select

        f.HideAllControls
        f.ShowSpecificMonth
    End If
End Sub

Module Code

In the Module (Let's call it CalendarModule) paste this code

Option Explicit

Public Const GWL_STYLE = -16
Public Const WS_CAPTION = &HC00000

#If VBA7 Then
    #If Win64 Then
        Public Declare PtrSafe Function GetWindowLongPtr Lib "user32" Alias _
        "GetWindowLongPtrA" (ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, ByVal nIndex As Long) As LongPtr

        Public Declare PtrSafe Function SetWindowLongPtr Lib "user32" Alias _
        "SetWindowLongPtrA" (ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, ByVal nIndex As Long, _
        ByVal dwNewLong As LongPtr) As LongPtr
    #Else
        Public Declare PtrSafe Function GetWindowLongPtr Lib "user32" Alias _
        "GetWindowLongA" (ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, ByVal nIndex As Long) As LongPtr

        Private Declare Function SetWindowLongPtr Lib "user32" Alias _
        "SetWindowLongA" (ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, ByVal nIndex As Long, _
        ByVal dwNewLong As LongPtr) As LongPtr
    #End If

    Public Declare PtrSafe Function DrawMenuBar Lib "user32" _
    (ByVal hwnd As LongPtr) As LongPtr

    Private Declare PtrSafe Function FindWindow Lib "user32" Alias _
    "FindWindowA" (ByVal lpClassName As String, _
    ByVal lpWindowName As String) As LongPtr

    Private Declare PtrSafe Function SetTimer Lib "user32" _
    (ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, ByVal nIDEvent As LongPtr, _
    ByVal uElapse As LongPtr, ByVal lpTimerFunc As LongPtr) As LongPtr

    Public Declare PtrSafe Function KillTimer Lib "user32" _
    (ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, ByVal nIDEvent As LongPtr) As LongPtr

    Public TimerID As LongPtr

    Dim lngWindow As LongPtr, lFrmHdl As LongPtr
#Else

    Public Declare Function GetWindowLong _
    Lib "user32" Alias "GetWindowLongA" ( _
    ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal nIndex As Long) As Long

    Public Declare Function SetWindowLong _
    Lib "user32" Alias "SetWindowLongA" ( _
    ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal nIndex As Long, _
    ByVal dwNewLong As Long) As Long

    Public Declare Function DrawMenuBar _
    Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As Long) As Long

    Public Declare Function FindWindowA _
    Lib "user32" (ByVal lpClassName As String, _
    ByVal lpWindowName As String) As Long

    Public Declare Function SetTimer Lib "user32" ( _
    ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal nIDEvent As Long, _
    ByVal uElapse As Long, ByVal lpTimerFunc As Long) As Long

    Public Declare Function KillTimer Lib "user32" ( _
    ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal nIDEvent As Long) As Long

    Public TimerID As Long
    Dim lngWindow As Long, lFrmHdl As Long
#End If

Public TimerSeconds As Single, tim As Boolean
Public CurMonth As Integer, CurYear As Integer
Public frmYr As Integer, ToYr As Integer

Public f As frmCalendar

Enum CalendarThemes
    Venom = 0
    MartianRed = 1
    ArcticBlue = 2
    Greyscale = 3
End Enum

Sub Launch()
    Set f = frmCalendar

    With f
        .Caltheme = Greyscale
        .LongDateFormat = "dddd dd. mmmm yyyy" '"dddd mmmm dd, yyyy" etc
        .ShortDateFormat = "dd/mm/yyyy"  '"mm/dd/yyyy" or "d/m/y" etc
        .Show
    End With
End Sub

'~~> Hide the title bar of the userform
Sub HideTitleBar(frm As Object)
    #If VBA7 Then
        Dim lngWindow As LongPtr, lFrmHdl As LongPtr
        lFrmHdl = FindWindow(vbNullString, frm.Caption)
        lngWindow = GetWindowLongPtr(lFrmHdl, GWL_STYLE)
        lngWindow = lngWindow And (Not WS_CAPTION)
        Call SetWindowLongPtr(lFrmHdl, GWL_STYLE, lngWindow)
        Call DrawMenuBar(lFrmHdl)
    #Else
        Dim lngWindow As Long, lFrmHdl As Long
        lFrmHdl = FindWindow(vbNullString, frm.Caption)
        lngWindow = GetWindowLong(lFrmHdl, GWL_STYLE)
        lngWindow = lngWindow And (Not WS_CAPTION)
        Call SetWindowLong(lFrmHdl, GWL_STYLE, lngWindow)
        Call DrawMenuBar(lFrmHdl)
    #End If
End Sub

'~~> Start Timer
Sub StartTimer()
    '~~ Set the timer for 1 second
    TimerSeconds = 1
    TimerID = SetTimer(0&, 0&, TimerSeconds * 1000&, AddressOf TimerProc)
End Sub

'~~> End Timer
Sub EndTimer()
    On Error Resume Next
    KillTimer 0&, TimerID
End Sub

'~~> Update Time
#If VBA7 And Win64 Then ' 64 bit Excel under 64-bit windows  ' Use LongLong and LongPtr
    Public Sub TimerProc(ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, ByVal uMsg As LongLong, _
    ByVal nIDEvent As LongPtr, ByVal dwTimer As LongLong)
        frmCalendar.Label1.Caption = Split(Format(Time, "h:mm:ss AM/PM"))(0)
        frmCalendar.Label2.Caption = Split(Format(Time, "h:mm:ss AM/PM"))(1)
    End Sub
#ElseIf VBA7 Then ' 64 bit Excel in all environments
    Public Sub TimerProc(ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, ByVal uMsg As Long, _
    ByVal nIDEvent As LongPtr, ByVal dwTimer As Long)
        frmCalendar.Label1.Caption = Split(Format(Time, "h:mm:ss AM/PM"))(0)
        frmCalendar.Label2.Caption = Split(Format(Time, "h:mm:ss AM/PM"))(1)
    End Sub
#Else ' 32 bit Excel
    Public Sub TimerProc(ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal uMsg As Long, _
    ByVal nIDEvent As Long, ByVal dwTimer As Long)
        frmCalendar.Label1.Caption = Split(Format(Time, "h:mm:ss AM/PM"))(0)
        frmCalendar.Label2.Caption = Split(Format(Time, "h:mm:ss AM/PM"))(1)
    End Sub
#End If

'~~> Improvement suggested by T.M (https://stackoverflow.com/users/6460297/t-m)
'(1) Get weekday name
Function wday(ByVal wd&, ByVal lang As String) As String
    ' Purpose: get weekday in "DDD" format
    wday = Application.Text(DateSerial(6, 1, wd), cPattern(lang) & "ddd")    ' the first day in year 1906 starts with a Sunday
End Function

'~~> Improvement suggested by T.M (https://stackoverflow.com/users/6460297/t-m)
'(2) Get month name
Function mon(ByVal mo&, ByVal lang As String) As String
    ' Example call: mon(12, "1031") or mon(12, "de")
    mon = Application.Text(DateSerial(6, mo, 1), cPattern(lang) & "mmm")
End Function

'~~> Improvement suggested by T.M (https://stackoverflow.com/users/6460297/t-m)
'(3) International patterns
Function cPattern(ByVal ctry As String) As String
    ' Purpose: return country code pattern for above functions mon() and wday()
    ' Codes: see https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd318693(VS.85).aspx
    ctry = LCase(Trim(ctry))
    Select Case ctry
        Case "1033", "en-us": cPattern = "[$-409]" ' English (US)
        Case "1031", "de": cPattern = "[$-C07]" ' German
        Case "1034", "es": cPattern = "[$-C0A]" ' Spanish
        Case "1036", "fr": cPattern = "[$-80C]" ' French
        Case "1040", "it": cPattern = "[$-410]" ' Italian
        ' more ...
    End Select
End Function

Userform Code

The Userform (Let's call it frmCalendar) code is too big to be posted here. Please refer to the sample file.

Screenshot

Themes

Highlights

No need to register any dll/ocx.
Easily distributable. It is FREE.
No Administratior Rights required to use this.
You can select a skin for the calendar widget. One can choose from 4 themes Venom, MartianRed, ArticBlue and GreyScale.
Choose Language to see Month/Day name. Support for 4 languages.
Specify Long and Short date formats

Sample File

Sample File

Acknowlegements @Pᴇʜ, @chrisneilsen and @T.M. for suggesting improvements.

What's New:

Bugs reported by @RobinAipperspach and @Jose fixed

How it works

I will try my best to explain how it works - please excuse my English.

The VBE will call a system function to create the password dialog box.
If user enters the right password and click OK, this function returns 1. If user enters the wrong password or click Cancel, this function returns 0.
After the dialog box is closed, the VBE checks the returned value of the system function
if this value is 1, the VBE will "think" that the password is right, hence the locked VBA project will be opened.
The code below swaps the memory of the original function used to display the password dialog with a user defined function that will always return 1 when being called.

Using the code

Please backup your files first!

Open the file(s) that contain your locked VBA Projects

Create a new xlsm file and store this code in Module1

code credited to Siwtom (nick name), a Vietnamese developer

Option Explicit

Private Const PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE = &H40

Private Declare Sub MoveMemory Lib "kernel32" Alias "RtlMoveMemory" _
        (Destination As Long, Source As Long, ByVal Length As Long)

Private Declare Function VirtualProtect Lib "kernel32" (lpAddress As Long, _
        ByVal dwSize As Long, ByVal flNewProtect As Long, lpflOldProtect As Long) As Long

Private Declare Function GetModuleHandleA Lib "kernel32" (ByVal lpModuleName As String) As Long

Private Declare Function GetProcAddress Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hModule As Long, _
        ByVal lpProcName As String) As Long

Private Declare Function DialogBoxParam Lib "user32" Alias "DialogBoxParamA" (ByVal hInstance As Long, _
        ByVal pTemplateName As Long, ByVal hWndParent As Long, _
        ByVal lpDialogFunc As Long, ByVal dwInitParam As Long) As Integer

Dim HookBytes(0 To 5) As Byte
Dim OriginBytes(0 To 5) As Byte
Dim pFunc As Long
Dim Flag As Boolean

Private Function GetPtr(ByVal Value As Long) As Long
    GetPtr = Value
End Function

Public Sub RecoverBytes()
    If Flag Then MoveMemory ByVal pFunc, ByVal VarPtr(OriginBytes(0)), 6
End Sub

Public Function Hook() As Boolean
    Dim TmpBytes(0 To 5) As Byte
    Dim p As Long
    Dim OriginProtect As Long

    Hook = False

    pFunc = GetProcAddress(GetModuleHandleA("user32.dll"), "DialogBoxParamA")


    If VirtualProtect(ByVal pFunc, 6, PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE, OriginProtect) <> 0 Then

        MoveMemory ByVal VarPtr(TmpBytes(0)), ByVal pFunc, 6
        If TmpBytes(0) <> &H68 Then

            MoveMemory ByVal VarPtr(OriginBytes(0)), ByVal pFunc, 6

            p = GetPtr(AddressOf MyDialogBoxParam)

            HookBytes(0) = &H68
            MoveMemory ByVal VarPtr(HookBytes(1)), ByVal VarPtr(p), 4
            HookBytes(5) = &HC3

            MoveMemory ByVal pFunc, ByVal VarPtr(HookBytes(0)), 6
            Flag = True
            Hook = True
        End If
    End If
End Function

Private Function MyDialogBoxParam(ByVal hInstance As Long, _
        ByVal pTemplateName As Long, ByVal hWndParent As Long, _
        ByVal lpDialogFunc As Long, ByVal dwInitParam As Long) As Integer
    If pTemplateName = 4070 Then
        MyDialogBoxParam = 1
    Else
        RecoverBytes
        MyDialogBoxParam = DialogBoxParam(hInstance, pTemplateName, _
                           hWndParent, lpDialogFunc, dwInitParam)
        Hook
    End If
End Function

Paste this code under the above code in Module1 and run it

Sub unprotected()
    If Hook Then
        MsgBox "VBA Project is unprotected!", vbInformation, "*****"
    End If
End Sub

Come back to your VBA Projects and enjoy.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

C# – How to create an Excel (.XLS and .XLSX) file in C# without installing Microsoft Office

Excel – way to crack the password on an Excel VBA Project

How it works

Using the code

Related Topic