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Flashbar

Version 2.1


Introduction


If you have already purchased this Software, let me take a moment to thank you for being a loyal customer
You are entitled to free lifetime updates for ALL future builds

This documentation is to help you understand the Software and to give you a more meaningful insight into what it can do. Please go through the documentation and read it carefully · Basic to moderate VBA skills will be required

Requirements

You will need the following Excel Version & Prerequisite to use this Software

  1. Excel 2010 onwards (32bit or 64bit)
  2. Basic to moderate VBA skills
  3. Access to the VBOM (a setting in Excel) & Macro's must be enabled
  4. Windows PC · NOT a Mac!

No support is provided for customization or development of this Software






About Flashbar #back to top

Here is a nanoscopic, animated Flashbar for Excel. You can use this animation to inform the user that you have just processed something. As an example, consider after Saving some data giving a quick Flash to the user would be indicative of a successful Save. The Flashbar dynamically creates and destroys a Shape Object, rendering a lovely little Bar across the top of the Worksheet that fades out as the animation ends. It has a subtle use as opposed to a Message Box which requires user interaction. This type of animation is widely used around the Internet as an indicator when loading Pages. In Version 2 I have modelled the look on Google Ad Sense

Flashbar Image

Features include:

  • * Run a full-width Flash or a Progress type of animation to fit the Active Window or an Active Window Pane in a Worksheet
  • * Change the Bar Colour, Bar Height and Bar Width
  • * Change the Bar Position ie. start the Bar at Row 6, Column 3
  • * Tweak the Speed and Fade out settings for the Bar
  • * Adjust the timing for the FlashbarCallback Subroutine





Getting Started #back to top

The download File

Open the 'Flashbar.xlsm' File. Test the 3 examples by pressing each of the Buttons to see what the Flashbar can do. The first Button will run a normal Flashbar animation. The second Button will run a Progressbar style animation and the Third Button will simply run the 'Testbed' Macro. You can press ALT+F11, enter the Code Editor and find the FlashbarTestbed() Subroutine - here you can play with the Flashbar settings

Quick Steps

1. Start a Project from scratch using the Flashbar Workbook that you purchased or Export the Flashbar.BAS UserForm and the Flashbar.cls from the Flashbar Workbook and then Import these Files back into your own Project. The Flashbar is created dynamically and requires no additional Images or Shape Objects. To add the Class from scratch, perform the following. Insert a new Class Module into your Project. Name the Class Flashbar and then Copy & Paste in all of the Code for the Class Module from the Downloaded Flashbar.xlsm Workbook

2. Call the NormalFlashbar() or ProgressFlashbar() Subroutines with your required parameters to run Flashbar - see the examples that come with Flashbar.xlsm

Configuration #back to top

Configuring the Flashbar is straightforward. Here is the Code to Initialise and Render a Red Flashbar animation with a Height of 3 in a Normal bar style, that fits the full width of the Worksheet:

Public Bar As Flashbar

Public Sub NormalFlashbar()

    If BarStep > Step Then Exit Sub

    Set Bar = New Flashbar

    Bar.Colour = rgbRed

    Bar.Height = 3

    Bar.Render

End Sub
                            

And here is the Code to Initialise and Render a Black Flashbar animation with a Height of 3 in a Progress bar style, that fits the full width of the Worksheet:

Public Bar As Flashbar

Public Sub ProgressFlashbar()

    If BarStep > Step Then Exit Sub

    Set Bar = New Flashbar

    Bar.Colour = RGB(0, 0, 0)

    Bar.Height = 3

    Bar.BarType = Progress

    Bar.Render

End Sub
                            

Here is the Code to Initialise and Render a Blue Flashbar animation as featured in Version 2:

Public Bar As Flashbar

Public Sub ProgressFlashbar()

    If BarStep > Step Then Exit Sub

    Set Bar = New Flashbar

    Bar.Colour = rgbBlue

    Bar.Height = 6

    Bar.BarType = Progress

    Bar.Render Row:=7, Tick:=0.03

End Sub
                            

Other Settings #back to top

Other settings include rendering the Flashbar in a Pane if you use the Freeze Panes option in Excel and setting the Bar width, so for example you could display a Flashbar in the second Pane with a width of 60. To make the Flashbar Modal (ie. stop user interaction while the Flashbar is running) you can also set the Modal property to True):

Public Sub ProgressFlashbar()

    Bar.PaneIndex = 2

    Bar.Width = 60

    Bar.Modal = True

 End Sub
                            

In Version 2, I added the ability to start the Bar animation in a specific Row and Column through the Render() Subroutine. I also added the ability to set the Tick time, which is the time between animations for the FlashbarCallback Subroutine. Here are the Settings:

Bar.Render Row:=7, Column:=5, Tick:=0.03
                            

Due to the fact that the Callback Subroutine must reside in a normal Code Module, I have also added some editable settings at the top of the 'mdlFlashbar' Code Module that you can tweak. These include the Step (overall Speed of the Flashbar), the FadeStep (determines how quickly the Fade is applied to the Flashbar), the ProgressStep (used only for the Progress Style to increment the Bar Width as the Bar is rendered) and some Enum Colours to use for the Flashbar Bar Colour. Here are the settings:

' // the one and only Flashbar Class Object
Public Bar As Flashbar

' // used internally [do not edit]
Public BarStep As Integer

' // editable settings
'    Step.  1 is slowest.  default:=1
Private Const Step As Integer = 1

'    FadeStep.  tweak how the Flashbar fades out.  default:=25
Private Const FadeStep As Integer = 25

'    ProgressStep.  used only by a Progress style bar for the bar increment steps.  default:=150
Private Const ProgressStep As Integer = 150

' // Colour Enums
Private Enum RGBLongColour
    ' // default Flashbar Colours
    rgbBlack = 0
    rgbRed = 6184410
    rgbGreen = 4616993
End Enum
                            

Screen Shots #back to top

Red Normal Flashbar Animation

The 'Normal' Flashbar in Red (creates a thin bar that goes from left to right at the top of the Worksheet until it fills up the entire Width, before dissapearing):

Flashbar Normal Image

Blue Progressbar Style Animation

The 'Progress' Flashbar in Blue (creates a bar that builds from left to right in steps at the top of the Worksheet until it fills up the entire Width, before dissapearing):

Flashbar Progress Image

Testbed

A Fast, thin Black Progressbar Style Bar:

Flashbar Thin Black Progress Image




Videos #back to top

Video of the Version 2 Flashbar Animations in action



Video of the Version 1 Flashbar Animations in action - with Gridlines & Headings Toggled On/Off






When running a Flashbar, if someone accidently double-clicks in a Cell the Flashbar doesn't appear again - how do I prevent this from happening?

This no longer occurs in Version 2.1 as I have implemented better Error trapping in the Callback for the Flashbar






Support #back to top

Please remember you have purchased very affordable Software and you have not paid for a full-time Software design agency - I am but one man. Occasionally I may help with small tweaks, but these requests will be put on a much lower priority due to their nature. You have not PAID for Support, Support is 100% optional and I provide it for your convenience, so please be patient, polite and respectful

Support (limited) for my Software includes:

* Responding to questions or problems regarding the Software and its features
* Fixing valid (replicated) bugs and reported issues for the VERSION I HAVE WRITTEN

Software support does not include:

* Customization and installation services
* Support for third party software or ANY kind of development whatsoever

Before seeking support, please...

* Make sure your question is a valid Software Issue and not a customization request
* Make sure you have read through the documentation and any related video guides before asking support on how to accomplish a task
* Make sure to double check the Software FAQs or online documentation
* Ensure that you access to the VBOM is allowed and that Macros can run in Excel
* Make sure to provide 'proof of purchase' and state the name / version of the Software that you are having issues with when requesting support by Email or via Facebook

How to get Support

Contact Mark Kubiszyn on the Email address provided when you purchased the Software, including the Order Number
Contact Kubiszyn.co.uk via our Facebook Page - remember to be patient, if there has been an issue with your download, I will always respond within 48 hours and will Email you the File directly if neccessary or via Messanger. For other issues the response time may be considerably longer and I may choose to respond to specific questions only (as is my right), depending on what has been asked

Version History (Changelog) #back to top

You can find the version history in the Code Module for any Macro-enabled Software or read more information below. The latest Version is always shown first


Changelog

20.04.2019 (Version 2.1) - use Rubberduck for Code Inspections.  Set the BarShape, Shape Name to "Flashbar_temp_bar" each time it is created to prevent incremental Shape numbering.  Implemented a more robust error trap for the Flashbar Callback Subroutine

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23.11.2018 (Version 2) - Added 2 new Colours, rgbBlue & rgbWhite.  Added Optional Row & Column starting points in Render() so that you can begin an animation in Row 5, Column 3 if you wish.  Added an Optional Tick in Render() so that you can control the timing between animations for the FlashbarCallback Subroutine

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25.05.2018 (Version 1) released