Compatibility ends with Visual Basic version 6 VBA is not compatible with VB.NET. Despite its resemblance to many old BASIC dialects (particularly Microsoft BASIC, from which it is indirectly derived), VBA is not compatible with any of them except Microsoft Visual Basic, where source-code of VBA Modules and Classes can be directly imported, and which shares the same library and virtual machine. The intermediate code is then executed by a virtual machine (hosted by the hosting application). xls) independent of the document streams. 6.1 Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA)Ĭode written in VBA is compiled to a proprietary intermediate language called P-code (packed code), which is stored by the hosting applications ( Access, Excel, Word, PowerPoint)) as a separate stream in structured storage files (e.g.4 Named variables and user-defined functions.It has the ability to use (but not create) ( ActiveX/COM) DLLs, and later versions add support for class modules. VBA is functionally rich and flexible but it does have some important limitations, such as restricted support for function pointers which are used as callback functions in the Windows API. The VBA IDE is reached from within an Office document by pressing the key sequence F11. For example, it is used to automatically create a Word report from Excel data, in turn automatically collected by Excel from polled observation sensors. It can, however, be used to control one application from another using OLE Automation. VBA can also be used to create import and export filters for various file formats, such as ODF.Īs its name suggests, VBA is closely related to Visual Basic and uses the Visual Basic Runtime, but can normally only run code within a host application rather than as a standalone application.

It supersedes and expands on the capabilities of earlier application-specific macro programming languages such as Word's WordBasic, and can be used to control many aspects of the host application, including manipulating user interface features, such as menus and toolbars, and working with custom user forms or dialog boxes. It was also built into Office applications up to version 2004 for Apple's Mac OS X, other Microsoft applications such as Microsoft MapPoint and Microsoft Visio as well as being at least partially implemented in some other applications such as AutoCAD, WordPerfect and ArcGIS. VBA enables developers to build user defined functions, automate processes, and access Win32 and other low level functionality through DLLs.

Visual Basic for Applications ( VBA) is an implementation of Microsoft's event-driven programming language Visual Basic 6, and associated integrated development environment (IDE), which is built into most Microsoft Office applications.

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