Excel Custom Navigation: Excel VBA for Beginners

Excel Custom Navigation: Excel VBA for Beginners


INTRODUCTION

What is an Excel custom navigation system? Switching between sheets, unless using keyboard shortcuts, means moving the mouse pointer all the way to the bottom of the screen. With multiple sheets and workbooks, this can be onerous – is there a better way?

Click here to download the Excel files from the series

Video 1 – INTRODUCTION




Watch Chris describe what the Excel custom navigation system is, why it helps, and how to create it.

The Excel custom navigation system is a neat alternative. It positions navigation buttons at the top of the worksheet, not at the bottom, facilitating smooth navigation. It also creates a distinctive visual effect, similar to a ‘cockpit’ or car dashboard, which gives the spreadsheet a professional look.

But, from the learning perspective, there is something more important. Building a custom navigation systems presents an opportunity to learn new coding techniques. Clearly, we do no want to have to create and position all the buttons manually! So, what coding techniques will allow us to do it quickly, precisely and minimise stress?

The Excel custom navigation system video series takes you through the main steps. We explore how to create multiple buttons, how to position them, how to trigger the right code, and how to copy them across sheets. Some of the code is quite intricate – you can see Chris get into a coding tangle, and work his way out!

Video 2 – Create a shape and duplicate it using VBA




Video 3 – Use VBA to position shapes