Cat On A Spreadsheet

Cat On A Spreadsheet

Building Custom Ribbon Interfaces for Your Excel Add-Ins

Creating an Excel Add-In is powerful, but adding a custom Ribbon interface elevates it from “macro collection” to a polished, app-like tool that users can easily access and navigate.

 

This post will guide you through:

  • What Ribbon customisation is

  • Building a basic custom Ribbon tab

  • Linking buttons to your VBA procedures

 

Why Customise the Ribbon?

 

✅ Centralises your tools under a dedicated tab

✅ Improves usability and adoption within your team

✅ Makes your solutions look professional and intentional

 

Approach: Using CustomUI XML

 

Excel’s Ribbon is defined by XML. To customise it in an Add-In:

  • Save your file as .xlsm or .xlam

  • Use Custom UI Editor (a free tool) to insert Ribbon XML

 

Download Custom UI Editor

Download Custom UI Editor for Microsoft Office from trusted VBA resources. Install it before proceeding.

 

Example: Creating a Custom Ribbon with a Button

 

1. Build Your Macro in VBA

 

For example, a simple greeting macro:

Sub ShowWelcome()
MsgBox "Welcome to our custom Add-In!", vbInformation
End Sub

 

2. Open Your Add-In in Custom UI Editor

 

  • Right-click your .xlam or .xlsm file > Open with Custom UI Editor

 

3. Insert XML for Your Ribbon

 

Paste the following XML:

 

<customUI xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2009/07/customui">

     <ribbon>

          <tabs>

               <tab id="MyToolsTab" label="My Tools">

                    <group id="UtilitiesGroup" label="Utilities">

                         <button id="WelcomeButton" label="Welcome" size="large" onAction="ShowWelcome" imageMso="HappyFace"/>

                    </group>

               </tab>

          </tabs>

     </ribbon>

</customUI>

 

 

 

Key XML Elements:

  • <tab> creates a new tab on the Ribbon

  • <group> creates a grouping inside the tab

  • <button> creates a clickable button, linked to your VBA procedure via onAction

 

4. Save Your XML Changes

 

Click Save in Custom UI Editor.

 

5. Close and Reopen Excel

 

Enable your Add-In. You will now see a “My Tools” tab with a “Welcome” button that runs your macro.

 

Enhancements and Tips

 

✅ Icons: Use built-in Office icons via imageMso attribute (e.g. "HappyFace", "Save", "Paste").

✅ Multiple Groups: Organise tools by functionality under different <group> tags.

✅ Callbacks: Ensure your VBA subroutine matches the onAction name exactly.

 

Troubleshooting

 

  • If the button does nothing, confirm macro security settings and that your subroutine is public.

  • If the tab doesn’t appear, validate your XML syntax in Custom UI Editor.

 

Best Practices

 

✔️ Use clear labels for tabs and buttons

✔️ Group related tools logically for intuitive navigation

✔️ Maintain a versioned changelog within your Add-In for team awareness

 

Sub ParseLine(ByVal LineText As String, ByVal RowNum As Long)
Dim TimeStamp As String
Dim LogLevel As String
Dim Message As String
Dim StartPos As Long
Dim EndPos As Long

' Extract timestamp (between [ and ])
StartPos = InStr(1, LineText, "[") + 1
EndPos = InStr(1, LineText, "]") - 1
TimeStamp = Mid(LineText, StartPos, EndPos - StartPos + 1)

' Extract log level (after ] and before :)
StartPos = InStr(1, LineText, "]") + 2
EndPos = InStr(1, LineText, ":") - 1
LogLevel = Mid(LineText, StartPos, EndPos - StartPos + 1)

' Extract message (after the colon)
Message = Mid(LineText, InStr(1, LineText, ":") + 2)

' Output to Excel
With ThisWorkbook.Sheets(1)
     .Cells(RowNum, 1).Value = TimeStamp
     .Cells(RowNum, 2).Value = LogLevel
     .Cells(RowNum, 3).Value = Message
End With
End Sub

 

🧼 Step 3: Setup Headers (Optional)

 

You might want to add headers for clarity:

With ThisWorkbook.Sheets(1)
     .Range("A1").Value = "Timestamp"
     .Range("B1").Value = "Log Level"
     .Range("C1").Value = "Message"
End With
End Sub

 

You can call this sub before running ParseLogFile.

 

⚠️ Bonus: Handling Irregular Lines

 

Some logs may have missing or malformed entries. Use error handling:

On Error Resume Next
' ... parsing logic ...
If Err.Number <> 0 Then
     Message = "PARSE ERROR: " & LineText
     Err.Clear
End If
On Error GoTo 0

 

🧠 Why Use VBA for This?

 

While tools like Python are more common for text processing, VBA offers:

  • Native integration with Excel

  • Immediate visualization and manipulation of parsed data

  • A great option for non-developers working in Excel-driven environments

 

🔚 Final Thoughts

 

VBA is more than just forms and macros—it’s a lightweight data processing engine built right into Excel. With a bit of string manipulation and file handling, you can turn chaotic log files into structured, actionable data in minutes.

 

Want to go further? Try:

  • Parsing multi-line log entries

  • Highlighting rows with ERROR or WARN

  • Exporting results as a CSV or Excel table

14 July 2025

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Cat On A Spreadsheet

Cat On A Spreadsheet