Abstract

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” [Arthur C. Clarke]

My former colleague Jon T. created the smallest reasonable class module I have seen so far: SystemState provides an easy way to save and to restore system state variables like Calculation, ScreenUpdating and others.

To speed up your code you normally write at the beginning of a VBA macro

Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual
Application.ScreenUpdating = False

and at the end of a macro

Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
Application.ScreenUpdating = True

With the class module SystemState you just write at the start

Dim state As SystemState
Set state = New SystemState
'Remember: You cannot abbreviate this to "Dim state as New SystemState"!

and at the end

Set state = Nothing 'Not even necessary - will be done automatically

Variables

You can control the following system state variables:

Variable States Comment / Speed up with …
Calculation xlCalculationAutomatic, xlCalculationManual, xlCalculationSemiautomatic Decides whether a recalculation is done after each change to any cell. Set to xlCalculationManual
Cursor xlDefault, xlBeam, xlNorthwestArrow, xlWait This is just Information. Set to xlWait (hourglass) if you like - but only after having tested your code thoroughly - it is quite annoying to start debugging with an hourglass cursor
DisplayAlerts True, False If your macro knows what to do it is quite annoying if the system asks you whether you want to overwrite an existing file, for example. Set to False to switch alerts off
EnableAnimations True, False From Excel version 2016 onwards you can choose whether to use Excel’s screen animations or not
EnableEvents True, False Set to False to prevent event procedures from being run
Interactive True, False If set to False all keyboard inputs will be blocked. Dangerous
PrintCommunication True, False Choose whether or not to alter page setup settings without needing to wait for the printer to respond
ScreenUpdating True, False Set to False to prevent screen from updating during run
StatusBar False, “Any user information you like” Text will show up at status bar (bottom line). Cleared if set to False

Appendix – Class SystemState Code

Please put below code not into a normal module but into a class module and name it SystemState:

Please read my Disclaimer.

Option Explicit

'
'This class has been developed by my former colleague Jon T.
'I adapted it to newer Excel versions. Any errors are mine for sure.
'Source (EN): https://www.sulprobil.de/systemstate_en/
'Source (DE): https://www.berndplumhoff.de/systemstate_de/
'(C) (P) by Jon T., Bernd Plumhoff 3-Nov-2024 PB V1.5
'
'The class is called SystemState.
'It can of course be used in nested subroutines.
'
'This module provides a simple way to save and restore key excel
'system state variables that are commonly changed to speed up VBA code
'during long execution sequences.
'
'
'Usage:
'    Save() is called automatically on creation and Restore() on destruction
'    To create a new instance:
'        Dim state as SystemState
'        Set state = New SystemState
'    Warning:
'        "Dim state as New SystemState" does NOT create a new instance
'
'
'    Those wanting to do complicated things can use extended API:
'
'    To save state:
'       Call state.Save()
'
'    To restore state and in cleanup code: (can be safely called multiple times)
'       Call state.Restore()
'
'    To restore Excel to its default state (may upset other applications)
'       Call state.SetDefaults()
'       Call state.Restore()
'
'    To clear a saved state (stops it being restored)
'       Call state.Clear()
'
Private Type m_SystemState
  Calculation As XlCalculation
  Cursor As XlMousePointer
  DisplayAlerts As Boolean
  EnableAnimations As Boolean   'From Excel 2016 onwards
  EnableEvents As Boolean
  Interactive As Boolean
  PrintCommunication As Boolean 'From Excel 2010 onwards
  ScreenUpdating As Boolean
  StatusBar As Variant
  m_saved As Boolean
End Type

'
'Instance local copy of m_State?
'
Private m_State As m_SystemState

'
'Reset a saved system state to application defaults
'Warning: restoring a reset state may upset other applications
'
Public Sub SetDefaults()
  m_State.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
  m_State.Cursor = xlDefault
  m_State.DisplayAlerts = True
  m_State.EnableAnimations = True
  m_State.EnableEvents = True
  m_State.Interactive = True
  On Error Resume Next 'In case no printer is installed
  m_State.PrintCommunication = True
  On Error GoTo 0
  m_State.ScreenUpdating = True
  m_State.StatusBar = False
  m_State.m_saved = True 'Effectively we saved a default state
End Sub

'
'Clear a saved system state (stop restore)
'
Public Sub Clear()
    m_State.m_saved = False
End Sub

'
'Save system state
'
Public Sub Save(Optional SetFavouriteParams As Boolean = False)
  If Not m_State.m_saved Then
    m_State.Calculation = Application.Calculation
    m_State.Cursor = Application.Cursor
    m_State.DisplayAlerts = Application.DisplayAlerts
    m_State.EnableAnimations = Application.EnableAnimations
    m_State.EnableEvents = Application.EnableEvents
    m_State.Interactive = Application.Interactive
    On Error Resume Next 'In case no printer is installed
    m_State.PrintCommunication = Application.PrintCommunication
    On Error GoTo 0
    m_State.ScreenUpdating = Application.ScreenUpdating
    m_State.StatusBar = Application.StatusBar
    m_State.m_saved = True
  End If
  If SetFavouriteParams Then
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual
    Application.DisplayAlerts = False
    Application.EnableAnimations = False
    Application.EnableEvents = False
    On Error Resume Next 'In case no printer is installed
    Application.PrintCommunication = False
    On Error GoTo 0
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
    Application.StatusBar = False
  End If
End Sub

'
'Restore system state
'
Public Sub Restore()
  If m_State.m_saved Then
    'We check now before setting Calculation because setting
    'Calculation will clear cut/copy buffer
    If Application.Calculation <> m_State.Calculation Then
      Application.Calculation = m_State.Calculation
    End If
    Application.Cursor = m_State.Cursor
    Application.DisplayAlerts = m_State.DisplayAlerts
    Application.EnableAnimations = m_State.EnableAnimations
    Application.EnableEvents = m_State.EnableEvents
    Application.Interactive = m_State.Interactive
    On Error Resume Next 'In case no printer is installed
    Application.PrintCommunication = m_State.PrintCommunication
    On Error GoTo 0
    Application.ScreenUpdating = m_State.ScreenUpdating
    If m_State.StatusBar = "FALSE" Then
      Application.StatusBar = False
    Else
      Application.StatusBar = m_State.StatusBar
    End If
  End If
End Sub
 
'
'By default save when we are created
'
Private Sub Class_Initialize()
  Call Save(SetFavouriteParams:=True)
End Sub
 
'
'By default restore when we are destroyed
'
Private Sub Class_Terminate()
  Call Restore
End Sub

Download

Please read my Disclaimer.

systemstate.xlsm [26 KB Excel file, open and use at your own risk]