Select shapes with same name but different number using VBA

[leojez]

Hello,

I have a button linked to a macro to toggle hide / show around 15 grouped shapes. I can achieve the effect I want by grouping all the shapes together as one group and then using that group name in the code, however, some shapes are set to move and others not move with cells, so it would be better to have all the groups independent of each other.

I tried to get the toggle effect using the group names (each group is named "Instruction1", "Instruction2", "Instruction3:, etc.) by using the wildcard aasterisk "*" as follows:

Sub Toggle_Help_Shapes_Portfolio()
    ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction*").Visible = Not ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction*").Visible
End Sub

to hopefully select any group beginning with "Instruction" and then any number after it, but this doesn't work. Any ideas how to achieve this, please?

Thank you!

 

[My Aswer Is This]

Try this:
Change 3 to your needs:

Sub Toggle_Shapes()
'Modified 5/1/2022  10:13:36 AM  EDT
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Dim i As Long
    For i = 1 To 3
        ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible = Not ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible
    Next
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

 

[leojez]

Works great thanks so much! I wonder if there is a way to make the number any number? For example, on sheet 1 I have shape groups "Instruction1" to ""Instruction14" but on sheet 2 I have only "Instruction1" to "Instruction7". I've got 8 sheets I am applying this macro to, all with a different number of shape groups, so I could make 8 different macros, one for each sheet, but would be nice, if possible, to apply the same macro to each sheet.

 

[My Aswer Is This]

Assuming all the sheets only have shapes named "Instruction & a number.
Try this:

Sub Toggle_Shapes()
'Modified 5/1/2022  10:42:36 AM  EDT
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Dim i As Long
    For i = 1 To ActiveSheet.Shapes.Count
        ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible = Not ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible
    Next
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

 

[leojez]

Assuming all the sheets only have shapes named "Instruction & a number.
Try this:

Sub Toggle_Shapes()
'Modified 5/1/2022  10:42:36 AM  EDT
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Dim i As Long
    For i = 1 To ActiveSheet.Shapes.Count
        ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible = Not ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible
    Next
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

Thanks! Unfortunately, it returns an error:

"Run-time error. The item with the specified name wasn't found"

Debugging highlights the line:

ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible = Not ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible

Here is my code:

Sub Toggle_Help_Shapes()
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Dim i As Long
    For i = 1 To ActiveSheet.Shapes.Count
        ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible = Not ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible
    Next
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

 

[Rick Rothstein]

Does this work...

Sub ToggleInstructionShapes()
  Dim Shp As Variant
  For Each Shp In ActiveSheet.Shapes
    If Shp.Name Like "Instruction*" Then
      Shp.Visible = Not Shp.Visible
    End If
  Next
End Sub

 

[My Aswer Is This]

You may have a shape on the sheet that is not named "Instruction"
Try this:

Sub Toggle_Shapes()
'Modified  5/1/2022  11:04:15 AM  EDT
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Dim i As Long
    For i = 1 To ActiveSheet.Shapes.Count
        If InStr(ActiveSheet.Shapes(i).Name, "Instruction") Then ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible = Not ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible
    Next
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

 

[leojez]

You may have a shape on the sheet that is not named "Instruction"
Try this:

Sub Toggle_Shapes()
'Modified  5/1/2022  11:04:15 AM  EDT
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Dim i As Long
    For i = 1 To ActiveSheet.Shapes.Count
        If InStr(ActiveSheet.Shapes(i).Name, "Instruction") Then ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible = Not ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible
    Next
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

Thanks again! Unfortunately, it still returns an error. You are right, I do have other shapes with different names. I named the ones I want to be toggled on and off "Instruction".

The error is: "The item with the specified name wasn't found". Debugging highlights the following:

ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible = Not ActiveSheet.Shapes("Instruction" & i).Visible

Any more ideas appreciated! Thanks.

 

[leojez]

Does this work...

Sub ToggleInstructionShapes()
  Dim Shp As Variant
  For Each Shp In ActiveSheet.Shapes
    If Shp.Name Like "Instruction*" Then
      Shp.Visible = Not Shp.Visible
    End If
  Next
End Sub

Unfortunately, not

 

[Rick Rothstein]

How did you group the shapes in, say, Instruction1? Describe the procedure you used.