Check Reference to ADODB in Workbook_Open

[JPL]

Hi,

I have an Excel workbook that reads data from an Access database and copies
it into spreadsheet tables. That works fine on my PC, but there is a
problem for anyone who has a different version of MDAC installed on their
PC. In this case, it fails immediately (i.e. before any of my code is
executed) with the awful error message "Compile error in hidden module".

A check to find the item (ADODB in this case) in
Application.VBE.ActiveVBProject.References works correctly for all OK
references, but is irrelevant if the reference is not OK because the
exception occurs before the code is called, and "Compile error in hidden
module" is reported anyway.

The check is in my Sub CheckRefs, which is called directly from
Workbook_Open; like Workbook_Open, the sub is in ThisWorkbook.

A similar check in Word - to ensure that the global template AddIn has been
installed - works correctly provided that direct references to routines in
the global template are avoided within routines in ThisDocument, i.e.
Document_New, Document_Open, etc. The exception can therefore be controlled
in Word.

Is Workbook_Open the earliest event on which I can hang the code? The
documentation on MSDN says this occurs before Auto_Open.

Is there any technique by which references in Excel may be checked before
the exception for the missing reference is raised?

Regards,
JPL

 

[Bob Phillips]

Use late binding.

Dim oConn as Object
or
Dim oRS as Object

with

Set oConn = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
or
Set oRS = CreateObject("ADODB.Recordset")


--

HTH

RP
(remove nothere from the email address if mailing direct)

 

[JPL]

Bob,

Thanks very much. That has done the trick.

I was aware of the concept of late binding but had not realised the full
implications and so had not used it before, and certainly had not twigged
its relevance here.

Regards,
JPL

 

[Bob Phillips]

Yeah, it is very useful in these multi-version environments.

--

HTH

RP
(remove nothere from the email address if mailing direct)

 

[JPL]

I spoke too soon...

The technique worked fine for the connection and recordset objects,
but I think I need to do the same with the references check itself (?)

The check involves stepping through the refs:

For Each refItem In ActiveWorkbook.VBProject.References

This works OK on a PC with all the refs. intact:

Dim refItem As Reference

But this fails at runtime with Error Message 429 - "ActiveX component can't
create object"

Dim refItem As Object
Set refItem = CreateObject("VBIDE.Reference")

Do I have the wrong top-level object (VBIDE), or is this just the wrong way
to process a Reference, or what? Any help would be appreciated.

JPL

 

[Bob Phillips]

With late binding, why bother with the references check?

--

HTH

RP
(remove nothere from the email address if mailing direct)

 

[JPL]

Because there appears to be a version dependence on MDAC (although it may be
an artefact of the previous early binding - I do not have a suitable PC for
testing this until I return to the office on Monday) and I would like to
check the version up front rather than wait for it to go wrong.

JPL

 

[JPL]

I had the opportunity to check today on a PC that generates the exception,
and the change to late binding does not solve the problem - it merely moves
the exception from the time when the spreadsheet is opened to the time when
the CreateObject call is executed. I'm still not sure why On Error ... does
not catch it.

JPL

 

[Bob Phillips]

Post the code and let us try it

--

HTH

RP
(remove nothere from the email address if mailing direct)