In earlier versions of Excel I have always done my designs without being in a
"mode". What is Design Mode and when would I use it?

Design Mode is a feature in Excel that allows you to edit and customize the controls and objects on a worksheet. When you activate Design Mode, you can add, delete, or modify form controls, ActiveX controls, and other objects on your worksheet.

To activate Design Mode, you can follow these steps:

1. Click on the Developer tab in the Excel ribbon. If you don't see the Developer tab, you may need to enable it in Excel Options.
2. In the Controls group, click on the Design Mode button. This will activate Design Mode and allow you to edit the controls and objects on your worksheet.

When you are in Design Mode, you can select and modify various controls and objects on your worksheet. For example, you can resize a button, change the font size of a label, or add a new form control to your worksheet.

Design Mode is particularly useful when you are creating custom forms or user interfaces in Excel. By using form controls and ActiveX controls, you can create interactive worksheets that allow users to input data, make selections, and perform calculations.

In summary, Design Mode is a powerful feature in Excel that allows you to customize and edit the controls and objects on your worksheet. It is particularly useful when you are creating custom forms or user interfaces in Excel.

Excel 2002 , I dont understand your questiion about design mode, I just open
excel and use it as is, is there some kind of desing mode I need to switch it
to?

"JakeA" wrote:

In earlier versions of Excel I have always done my designs without being in a
"mode". What is Design Mode and when would I use it?

xl97 added the control toolbox toolbar--activex controls. The controls on this
toolbar look very much like some of the controls on the Forms toolbar (probably
what you used before???), but behave differently.

This control toolbox toolbar has a design mode icon on it. You can click on
that icon to go into design mode. This allows you to design your worksheet by
adding controls from that same toolbar. It makes so you can move things around
and change stuff -- captions and other properties.

When you're done, you click that design mode icon once more and you're out of
design mode (and essentially in "run" mode).

This is just a guess...

You may have been using the control toolbox toolbar controls instead of your
usual Forms toolbar controls. If you're happy with the Forms toolbar controls,
then use them.

JakeA wrote:

In earlier versions of Excel I have always done my designs without being in a
"mode". What is Design Mode and when would I use it?

--

Dave Peterson

Design mode is used when you want to add VBA code, like command buttons, text
boxes, option buttons, etc...

"JakeA" wrote:

In earlier versions of Excel I have always done my designs without being in a
"mode". What is Design Mode and when would I use it?

Got it! thanks Richard. I had always used the Forms toolbar.

"Richard" wrote:

Design mode is used when you want to add VBA code, like command buttons, text
boxes, option buttons, etc...

"JakeA" wrote:

In earlier versions of Excel I have always done my designs without being in a
"mode". What is Design Mode and when would I use it?

Got it! thanks Dave. I had always used the Forms toolbar.

"Dave Peterson" wrote:

xl97 added the control toolbox toolbar--activex controls. The controls on this
toolbar look very much like some of the controls on the Forms toolbar (probably
what you used before???), but behave differently.

This control toolbox toolbar has a design mode icon on it. You can click on
that icon to go into design mode. This allows you to design your worksheet by
adding controls from that same toolbar. It makes so you can move things around
and change stuff -- captions and other properties.

When you're done, you click that design mode icon once more and you're out of
design mode (and essentially in "run" mode).

This is just a guess...

You may have been using the control toolbox toolbar controls instead of your
usual Forms toolbar controls. If you're happy with the Forms toolbar controls,
then use them.

JakeA wrote:

In earlier versions of Excel I have always done my designs without being in a
"mode". What is Design Mode and when would I use it?

--

Dave Peterson