XL2000: SetFocus Property on TextBox Does Not Work as Expected

When you use the SetFocus method to set the focus to a text box on a user form, the text box does not receive the focus.

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

• You use the SetFocus method on a TextBox control.
  
  -and-
• You use the SetFocus method in the same subroutine as the Show method for the user form.

For example, your subroutine contains macro code similar to the following:

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language that is being demonstrated and with the tools that are used to create and to debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific requirements. To automatically move the focus to a TextBox control when the form appears, place the SetFocus method in the Activate event procedure of the user form. The following sample code demonstrates how to to this:

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1/SR-1a.

You can use the SetFocus method of a control to move the focus to that object on the user form. However, in order to move the focus to a TextBox control, you must run the SetFocus method in the Activate event of the user form.