Microsoft KB Archive/155051

= XL97: "Can't Enter Break Mode" Stepping Through a Macro =

Article ID: 155051

Article Last Modified on 10/11/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q155051



SYMPTOMS
When you step through a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro, the following message may appear:

Can't enter break mode at this time

If you click Continue, you can continue stepping through the macro.



CAUSE
This behavior occurs when both of the following conditions are true:
 * You programmatically add an ActiveX control to a worksheet.

-and-
 * You step through the macro.

NOTE: If you click Continue, Microsoft Excel inserts an ActiveX control, and you can continue stepping through the macro.



WORKAROUND
To work around this problem when troubleshooting a macro that adds an ActiveX control, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Use another troubleshooting technique
For example, use a Debug.Print statement or a watch expression.

Method 2: Programmatically add a non-ActiveX control to the worksheet
Programmatically add a non-ActiveX control to the worksheet instead of an ActiveX control. You can find Non-ActiveX controls on the Forms toolbar.

Microsoft Excel 97 provides non-ActiveX controls for compatibility with earlier versions of Microsoft Excel.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.



MORE INFORMATION
In Microsoft Excel 97, you can add an ActiveX control to a worksheet to make a custom application. The ActiveX controls that you can add to a worksheet appear on the Control Toolbox toolbar. To display the Control Toolbox toolbar, point to Toolbars on the View menu, and then click Control Toolbox.

Although many of the ActiveX controls are similar in form and function to the controls on the Forms toolbar, the ActiveX controls are also available in UserForms in the Visual Basic Editor.

