Get in Excel current value in focused cell

Question

I'm developing an Excel add-in. I need to get the value from A1 cell, so I use this code

value = workbook.Worksheets[1].Range["A1:A1"].Value2;

This works great but if :
- Previous Cell value is "1"
- User types "2" but does not press Enter or Tab
- User activates ribbon pressing it's button

Value2 got from this code sample is "1" (previous value) not "2" (current value shown in cell but not validated). This is wrong in my situation, I need "2".
How can I fix this?

I tried forcing selection of another cell

 Application.ActiveCell.Offset[1, 0].Select();

or

 Application.ActiveSheet.Range["A2"].Select();

but no way.. "2" value is lost.

I also tried getting value from text area in toolbar ("2" is shown there) but don't know hoe to do!

The user is able to click on a button in your add-in in Edit Mode? — Siddharth Rout, Feb 05 '14 at 17:36
What is Edit Mode? User can click a butto in Add-in in any moment, also if he's editing a cell. — Emanuele Greco, Feb 05 '14 at 17:37
Edit Mode is similar to pressing `F2` in Excel Cell. In such a case most of the button become inactive — Siddharth Rout, Feb 05 '14 at 17:38
Yes there is by trapping the keys. [HERE](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11153995/is-there-any-event-that-fires-when-keys-are-pressed-when-editing-a-cell) is an example — Siddharth Rout, Feb 05 '14 at 17:41
This is part of the work.. I can trap keypress but how can I trap confirm on a cell? It can be done via TAB, Enter or Mouse key.. — Emanuele Greco, Feb 05 '14 at 17:45
Use `application.Interactive` to check if Excel is in Edit mode or not. `True` means the user is not in Edit mode. If it is `False` then pop a message to the user to finish editing and try again. It cannot get more simpler than this... — Siddharth Rout, Feb 05 '14 at 17:46
Ok, I'll try this.. whi don't you post an answer instead of a comment? I'll vote you — Emanuele Greco, Feb 05 '14 at 17:47
It is not about points. I was not sure you want that suggestion as an answer as it doesn't specifically answer the question :p — Siddharth Rout, Feb 05 '14 at 17:48
Interactive works.. but doesn't solve my problem: Interactive is always true, if user is editing a cell, but also if he presses Enter and focus is on another cell! — Emanuele Greco, Feb 05 '14 at 17:52
Just thought of one more alternative... When then user presses the button, simulate the `Enter` key via code and then read the value :D — Siddharth Rout, Feb 05 '14 at 18:03
I suppose is the same as Range["A2"].Select ... Recording a macro and typing Enter caused a Range Select !! — Emanuele Greco, Feb 05 '14 at 18:04
No it is not. If the cell is in edit mode then it will discard what ever is typed. — Siddharth Rout, Feb 05 '14 at 18:05
I'll do this way: if focus is on A1 I advise the user to put it out if (Globals.ThisAddIn.Application.ActiveCell.Address=="$A$1") ... — Emanuele Greco, Feb 05 '14 at 18:05
Ise i can. I just tried Enter emulation: SendKeys.Send("{Enter}") but no way.. still old value in A1 — Emanuele Greco, Feb 05 '14 at 18:09
let us [continue this discussion in chat](http://chat.stackoverflow.com/rooms/46869/discussion-between-siddharth-rout-and-emanuele-greco) — Siddharth Rout, Feb 05 '14 at 18:11

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:56

When Excel in in Edit Mode (Similar to pressing F2 in an Excel's cell), most of the buttons on the ribbon and the VBA Editor become inaccessible.

Having said that, Can VBA code run in Edit mode? Yes, it can as shown in THIS link

To answer your question, You will have to use API's to trap the key and then find out what the current value of the cell is. Trust me, it is not worth the pain.

Simple Alternative:

Use ExcelApp.Interactive to check for Excel's Edit mode. And if the Excel is in Edit mode then inform user to exit the cell and try again. Did a quick check on the web and found a similar example HERE See the section The correct solution for all Excel versions, 2000 – 2010

This code is in vb.net but can be easily converted to C#

Function IsEditing() As Boolean
    If ExcelApp.Interactive = False Then Return False
    Try
        ExcelApp.Interactive = False
        ExcelApp.Interactive = True
    Catch
        Return True
    End Try
    Return False
End Function

C# Code from Chat

bool IsEditing()
{
    if (Globals.ThisAddIn.Application.Interactive == false)
        return false;
        try
        {
            Globals.ThisAddIn.Application.Interactive = false;
            Globals.ThisAddIn.Application.Interactive = true;
            }
                catch (Exception e)
            {
            return true;
        }
    return false;
}

Get in Excel current value in focused cell

1 Answers1