VBE_Extras with John Mallinson

Imagine writing VBA code as efficiently as using modern development environments like Visual Studio—without leaving the familiar VBA Editor.

In this enlightening DevCon Vienna presentation, John Mallinson introduces VBE_Extras, a powerful add-in for the Visual Basic Editor that dramatically enhances the coding experience across Microsoft Office applications, including Access. This comprehensive tool adds 77 productivity-boosting functions to the standard VBE, addressing many long-standing limitations of the default editor. From intelligent code navigation to automated refactoring, VBE_Extras transforms the native VBA development environment into something much closer to contemporary IDEs.

Whether you're managing complex Access applications or simply tired of the VBE's limitations, this presentation reveals how VBE_Extras can significantly streamline your coding workflow and help you produce more robust, maintainable VBA solutions.

What is VBE_Extras?

• An add-in for the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) that works across Excel, Word, Access, PowerPoint, and classic Outlook
• Adds 77 productivity-enhancing commands to the standard VBE
• Available with a 60-day free trial, with some features remaining free forever
• Licensed for approximately €50/year or €130/3 years, with one license covering all applications and devices

How It's Different from MZ-Tools

• While there's some overlapping functionality, the majority of VBE_Extras features are unique
• Focuses on modern IDE capabilities rather than classic code management
• Designed as a lightweight add-in that doesn't create lag in the VBE

Core Functionality

Declarations and References Engine

• List all declarations in a procedure, module, or project
• Jump directly to declarations from references
• Identify all references to any declaration
• Intelligent parsing that understands scope and context (not just text search)
• Works with all VBA declaration types: variables, procedures, properties, classes, etc.

Smart Highlighting

• Visually highlight declarations and all associated references
• Context-aware highlighting that understands VBA code structure
• Highlights matching parentheses and quotation marks
• Differentiates between VBA keywords and user declarations

Advanced Navigation

• Maintains a complete history of cursor positions
• Navigate backward and forward through positions
• Jump directly to previous edit points
• "Sub to Run" feature lets you execute code from anywhere without navigating

Powerful Refactoring

• Rename declarations with intelligent reference updating
• Add properties for class module fields
• Create factory methods for classes
• Extract constants from literal values
• Automatically add Option Explicit and define undeclared variables
• Move code lines up or down

Additional Capabilities

Code Formatting

• Indent code with customizable settings
• Add or remove line numbers for procedures, modules, or projects
• Comment and uncomment code blocks

Improved IntelliSense

• Enhanced "Show All Members" dialog with filtering and additional information
• Context-sensitive member lists
• "Special Binding" feature providing IntelliSense for late-bound objects

UI Enhancements

• Full-screen code editing mode
• Project references dialog with search functionality
• Track recently added references

Project Management

• Compare modules and projects
• Version control integration
• Module backup and restore
• Clean up "junk code" that accumulates during development

Conclusion

John Mallinson's VBE_Extras addresses many long-standing limitations of the standard Visual Basic Editor, bringing modern IDE capabilities to the VBA development environment. The tool's intelligent code parsing, robust refactoring commands, and navigation enhancements can significantly improve productivity for Access developers. While only a portion of the 77 available commands were demonstrated in the presentation, it's clear that VBE_Extras offers substantial improvements over the native VBE experience and could be a valuable addition to any serious VBA developer's toolkit.

Access to Recordings

This presentation was part of Access DevCon Vienna, a paid online conference for Microsoft Access developers. The full recording and other conference materials are exclusively available to registered attendees of the conference.

If you attended Access DevCon Vienna, you should have received (or will soon receive) an email from the conference organizers with a link to the videos.

Consider Attending Future Conferences

The quality and depth of content from Access DevCon Vienna demonstrates the value of professional development conferences focused on Microsoft Access. Consider attending future conferences to:

• Learn advanced techniques directly from expert presenters
• Gain access to exclusive content not available elsewhere
• Ask questions of expert presenters and other attendees
• Stay current with the latest Access development trends and best practices

For information about upcoming Access DevCon Vienna conferences, visit donkarl.com.

Related Links

The VBA Help | Create better VBA in less time with the help of VBE_Extras

VBE_Extras helps you create better VBA code in less time. It is designed to make coding with VBA quicker, simpler and less bug-prone. New functionality added to the VBE (Visual Basic Editor) includes: view all / jump-to declarations and references; refactor code including renaming; identify tasks/TODOs; set a ‘Sub to run’; cursor position history; auto-clear or scroll the Immediate window; full-screen; themes (to apply fonts and colours) ... and much more. Try VBE_Extras today, for free!

The VBA Help

Acknowledgements

• Initial draft generated by Claude-3.7-Sonnet