How Do I Run VBA in AutoCAD?

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Are you looking to enhance your AutoCAD experience by running VBA macros? VBA, or Visual Basic for Applications, is a powerful programming language that allows you to automate tasks and customize AutoCAD to suit your specific needs.

In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of running VBA macros in AutoCAD. Let’s get started!

Enabling the VBA Environment

Before you can run VBA macros in AutoCAD, you need to ensure that the VBA environment is enabled. By default, AutoCAD does not enable the VBA environment, so you will need to enable it manually. Here’s how:

  1. Open the Options dialog box: To do this, click on the Application menu (the big ‘A’ icon in the top left corner of the AutoCAD window), then click on Options.
  2. Navigate to the Files tab: In the Options dialog box, click on Files.
  3. Enable VBA: Under the Support File Search Path section, click on the “+” button. This will open another dialog box.
  4. Add support file search path: In the Add Support File Search Path dialog box, navigate to your AutoCAD installation folder and select “Support”. Then click on Add.
  5. Confirm changes: Click on OK in both dialog boxes to confirm and close them.

Loading a VBA Project

In order to run VBA macros in AutoCAD, you need to load a VBA project. A VBA project is a collection of macros and code modules that you can run within AutoCAD. Here’s how you can load a VBA project:

  1. Open the Visual Basic Editor: To do this, click on the Visual Basic button in the Developer tab of the Ribbon or type VBAIDE in the AutoCAD command line.
  2. Create or open a VBA project: In the Visual Basic Editor, you can either create a new VBA project by selecting Insert and then choosing Module, or open an existing VBA project by clicking on File, then selecting Open Project..
  3. Write or import your VBA code: Once you have created or opened a VBA project, you can write your own VBA code or import existing code modules.
  4. Saving the VBA Project: After writing or importing your code, save the VBA project by clicking on File, then selecting Save [Project Name].

Running a VBA Macro

You are now ready to run your VBA macro in AutoCAD. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Type ‘VBARUN’ in the command line:
    • Note: If you have assigned your macro to a toolbar button or menu item, you can also click on that to run it.
  2. Select your macro:
    • Note: If you have multiple macros in your VBA project, a dialog box will appear prompting you to select the macro you want to run.
  3. Run the macro: Once you have selected your macro, click on Run to execute it.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have now learned how to run VBA macros in AutoCAD.

By enabling the VBA environment, loading a VBA project, and running your macros, you can automate tasks and customize AutoCAD to improve your productivity. As you become more comfortable with VBA, you can explore its full potential and create even more powerful macros. Happy coding!