Issues with MS Office VBA code execution after opening Blender 2.8 for first time #56171

New Issue

Jon Rowe · 2018-07-31T12:41:50+02:00

Jon Rowe commented

2018-07-31 12:41:50 +02:00

System Information
Win 7 Pro 64 Bit
Nvidia Quadro M6000 24GB

Blender Version
2.80 Alpha
Date: 2018-07-23 17:14
Hash: b466c09c30

Short description of error
After closing Blender 2.8 from very first look, suddenly all my macros and VBA code is running extremely slowly in various existing Excel files and Access databases.
I'm not talking about just a noticable lag, all my macros are pretty much useless. Processes that were previously taking milliseconds to execute are now taking anywhere from 20 seconds to over a minute rendering them useless effectively. Some of the VBA code does not even work.
I am almost certain it has something to do with Blender as I was working on these files immediately before and then immediately after taking a peek at Blender 2.8

Exact steps for others to reproduce the error
Opened Blender 2.8 just to have a look. Previous 2 or 3 attempts to open it over recent days failed (kept shutting down during the loading process). This time for some reason it opened successfully. Proceeded to open the 2.8 sample file temple.blend, then opened the sample file tree_creature.blend. I had one of my MS Excel files open at the same time in the background. This is an .xlsm file as it contains VBA code (macros). Moved around the creature scene for a short while then closed Blender 2.8 down. Noticed my machine sounding like it was working hard even for some time after closing Blender 2.8. Immediately noticed the change in the VBA code execution speed when resuming work on my Excel file.

Have re-installed Office 365 to no avail. Tested some simple VBA code in a brand new file and it worked as expected (very fast) at first but then after copying the same test into my existing file to compare speed and then re-running the code again in the new file the new file is now exhibiting the same super slow speed.
This is my test VBA code:

Sub TestSpeed()

  Dim i As Integer
  Dim ws As Worksheet
  
  Set ws = ActiveSheet
  
  For i = 1 To 10
      ws.Range("A" & i).Value = "Text " & i
  Next i

End Sub

Was virtually instant (as you'd expect) on first try. Took nearly 8 seconds with issue. I can see each cell being populated about 1 second apart. This is super basic code and should be executing in a matter of a few milliseconds.

Could you please offer some suggestions as to what the issue could be and how I might fix this?

I'm desperate as I rely on VBA code for so many facets of my business and this is devastating. To my horror my computer says I do not have any system restore points otherwise I would just do that.

**System Information** Win 7 Pro 64 Bit Nvidia Quadro M6000 24GB **Blender Version** 2.80 Alpha Date: 2018-07-23 17:14 Hash: b466c09c305 **Short description of error** After closing Blender 2.8 from very first look, suddenly all my macros and VBA code is running extremely slowly in various existing Excel files and Access databases. I'm not talking about just a noticable lag, all my macros are pretty much useless. Processes that were previously taking milliseconds to execute are now taking anywhere from 20 seconds to over a minute rendering them useless effectively. Some of the VBA code does not even work. I am almost certain it has something to do with Blender as I was working on these files immediately before and then immediately after taking a peek at Blender 2.8 **Exact steps for others to reproduce the error** Opened Blender 2.8 just to have a look. Previous 2 or 3 attempts to open it over recent days failed (kept shutting down during the loading process). This time for some reason it opened successfully. Proceeded to open the 2.8 sample file temple.blend, then opened the sample file tree_creature.blend. I had one of my MS Excel files open at the same time in the background. This is an .xlsm file as it contains VBA code (macros). Moved around the creature scene for a short while then closed Blender 2.8 down. Noticed my machine sounding like it was working hard even for some time after closing Blender 2.8. Immediately noticed the change in the VBA code execution speed when resuming work on my Excel file. Have re-installed Office 365 to no avail. Tested some simple VBA code in a brand new file and it worked as expected (very fast) at first but then after copying the same test into my existing file to compare speed and then re-running the code again in the new file the new file is now exhibiting the same super slow speed. This is my test VBA code: Sub TestSpeed() ``` Dim i As Integer Dim ws As Worksheet Set ws = ActiveSheet For i = 1 To 10 ws.Range("A" & i).Value = "Text " & i Next i ``` End Sub Was virtually instant (as you'd expect) on first try. Took nearly 8 seconds with issue. I can see each cell being populated about 1 second apart. This is super basic code and should be executing in a matter of a few milliseconds. Could you please offer some suggestions as to what the issue could be and how I might fix this? I'm desperate as I rely on VBA code for so many facets of my business and this is devastating. To my horror my computer says I do not have any system restore points otherwise I would just do that.

Jon Rowe commented

2018-07-31 12:41:50 +02:00

Added subscriber: @JonathanRowe-1

Brecht Van Lommel commented

2018-07-31 13:06:05 +02:00

Added subscriber: @brecht

Brecht Van Lommel commented

2018-07-31 13:06:05 +02:00

It's is extremely unlikely that this would be caused by Blender, the timing is most likely just a coincidence. At best there is a bug in Windows / Graphics Driver / MS Office or some hardware problem that has been triggered by running Blender, but even this seems unlikely. It's not really possible for us to do anything here from the Blender side.

I suggest to verify if this Excel file actually runs quickly on another computer, to make absolute sure it's not some change in there that caused it. Or maybe you accidentally enabled some slow debugging or screen/file updates while the script runs in Excel.

It's is extremely unlikely that this would be caused by Blender, the timing is most likely just a coincidence. At best there is a bug in Windows / Graphics Driver / MS Office or some hardware problem that has been triggered by running Blender, but even this seems unlikely. It's not really possible for us to do anything here from the Blender side. I suggest to verify if this Excel file actually runs quickly on another computer, to make absolute sure it's not some change in there that caused it. Or maybe you accidentally enabled some slow debugging or screen/file updates while the script runs in Excel.

Dan Pool commented

2018-07-31 23:51:08 +02:00

Added subscriber: @DanPool

Dan Pool commented

2018-07-31 23:51:08 +02:00

No problems on my computer. I use Blender 2.8 and Excel VBA extensively here. I have some extremely complex spreadsheets that do 3d Kriging. If there was a slowdown like you're describing, those would take hours. I ran your test script and the column filled in almost instantly. I can't think of anything that would slow down a simple macro like this, though. It's very strange.

Jon Rowe commented

2018-08-01 07:40:15 +02:00

Thank you both for your input.
After some testing, it seems to be confined to just the one Excel file. But the strange thing is any other Excel file opened at the same time as the affected file exhibits this slow macro execution behaviour too until the affected file is closed. Then the other files perform at normal speeds again. The affected file also runs slowly on other computers too.
The affected file was open during my very first (and only) quick ‘play’ with the new Blender 2.8 and it was running macros at the expected speed just prior – perhaps a coincidence, I guess I may never find out. Just thought it was worth mentioning to you good people.
Frustrating though as this file is the culmination of many hours work.

Thank you both for your input. After some testing, it seems to be confined to just the one Excel file. But the strange thing is any other Excel file opened at the same time as the affected file exhibits this slow macro execution behaviour too until the affected file is closed. Then the other files perform at normal speeds again. The affected file also runs slowly on other computers too. The affected file was open during my very first (and only) quick ‘play’ with the new Blender 2.8 and it was running macros at the expected speed just prior – perhaps a coincidence, I guess I may never find out. Just thought it was worth mentioning to you good people. Frustrating though as this file is the culmination of many hours work.

Brecht Van Lommel commented

2018-08-01 10:31:56 +02:00

Changed status from 'Open' to: 'Archived'

Brecht Van Lommel closed this issue

2018-08-01 10:31:56 +02:00

Brecht Van Lommel self-assigned this 2018-08-01 10:31:56 +02:00

Sign in to join this conversation.

No Label

Download

What's New

Blender Studio

Manual

Developers Blog

Documentation

Benchmark

Blender Conference

Development Fund

One-time Donations

Issues with MS Office VBA code execution after opening Blender 2.8 for first time #56171