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Mac VBA & Excel, auto change image based on a cell

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Hello,

I'm trying to produce a simple excel spreadsheet on my Macbook which automatically changes the image in cell B3 when I change the name in A3.
A3 contains a filename 'pic1' which is saved in a folder on my desktop 'pictures.'
A1 contains =picturelookup(A3,B3,1)

I'm using this code, which I found on the website exceloffthegrid:



I open a blank spreadsheet, enabled developer, right clicked on the sheet1 tab and clicked 'View Code.'
This opened the VBA where I pasted the code see pic above. The file is saved as a macro enabled worksheet xslm file, also on my desktop.

I'm new to VBA and think that I may have missed some very basic steps as the nothing seems to be happening.

Hope you can help,
Dan 

Public Function picturelookup(Value As String, Location As Range, Index As Integer)

Application.Volatile

Dim lookupPicture As Shape
Dim sheetName As String
Dim picTop As Double
Dim picLeft As Double

sheetName = Location.Parent.Name

'Delete current picture with the same Index if exists
For Each lookupPicture In Sheets(sheetName).Shapes
    If lookupPicture.Name = "PictureLookup" & Index Then
        lookupPicture.Delete
    End If
Next lookupPicture

'Get position of cell calling the UDF
picTop = Location.Top
picLeft = Location.Left

'Add the picture in the right location
Set lookupPicture = Sheets(sheetName).Shapes.AddPicture _
("/Users/danielcheetham/Desktop/pictures" & Value & ".png", msoFalse, msoTrue, picLeft, picTop, -1, -1)

'change the picture name
lookupPicture.Name = "PictureLookup" & Index

picturelookup = ""

End Function

Related:

7 replies

Answer 1 / 7

Are you danielcheetham?
Answer 2 / 7

Having some same issue.
Blocked Profile
@David-Are you using the same code cut and paste?
Answer 3 / 7

Do this....

Change the path to the absolute path, and not the relative!

Use:
"C:\Users\"

If your username is not "danielcheetham", you need to got to "C:\Users\" and figure out who you are logged in as!

Understand, this is not even close to portable, and don't try it outside of the machine you built it on!



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Yes, sorry the path should read "/Users/dc/Desktop/pictures" in both cases, which is the absolute path. Working on a MacBook you don't have a C: drive but I am working on the machine that it was built on.
Answer 4 / 7

So, lets assume the code is correct at this point, ok? Please show us in your sheet how you are deploying it. Give us an example of the code in usage on the sheet!
Answer 5 / 7

It works for me... see example:


In the above example I was not certain if the image would stretch to the RANGE, so I put a large range on it. It seems that the range can be a single cell, so deployment of: 

=picturelookup("eagleBadge",E2,1)

will produce the same result as the posted example!
This is all I changed:

("C:\Users\User\Desktop\" & Value & ".png", msoFalse, msoTrue, picLeft, picTop, -1, -1)
--


See example of how to deploy it!


It's kind of fun to do the impossible! -Walter Elias Disney
Answer 6 / 7

Here is another example of taking it just one more step, looking up the PNG value in a cell. The below example shows the same code changing the image based on the value in cell A1.



Please remember, this code only looks for PNG files, and if you are using a JPG, it is wrong. You could always just include the file format in the name, and drop the PNG from the static code, if you need the flexibility! See below!



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Hi ac3mark,

I created a eagleBadge.png in the pictures folder just so we are working off the same sheet.

I tried deploying it in the View Macros button on the Developer tab and got the error message as below


I tried entering it into the spreadsheet cell A1 and nothing happened,


I'm wandering if it is because Mac OS doesn't have the ActiveX controls..? And if so whether the VBA code could be adapted to use Form Controls instead?

...and thanks for getting involved in the troubleshooting
Answer 7 / 7

OK, in the VBA developer explorer, add in a new MODULE and place the code into that module, not on the
worksheet. As so...

If you placed the code onto the sheet itself, it needs to be cut from the sheet in the explorer, and added to the new module.

When you begin a new formula, and you start with "=pictur", does the line predictively finish with picturelookup? If not, then it is not in the correct location (module!). The worksheet should see it as a native formula, and try to predict what you want.
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Just to clarify, I cut the code from the Sheet 1 and pasted it into the new module as below

In cell A1 I then typed =picturelookup and there was no predictive recognition. Am I typing this in the right place?
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That looks right. Have you enabled macros? Save the workbook as a MACRO enabled spreadsheet, and open it back up. If defaults to a flat sheet, and you must select save as....xlsm file format.
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Yep, it is saved as a xlsm file and I've enabled all macros as below

...still nothing
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any thoughts on whether it may be the ActiveX controls?
Blocked Profile
Ok try this. Make a very simple script. Something like....

function ItFired()
msgbox("Hello World")
end function

And call it....with:
In Cell B1 place: =IF(A1="fire",ItFired())

In Cell A1 place "fire", without quotes!


That way we are trying to determine if it is the firing of the code, or the picture stuff!
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