Introduction

Introducing Retro Dialog for Excel

Interactive, Draggable, Modal or Modeless 3D Retro Dialog Box to use in Excel (32bit or 64bit, Version 16) · Build Beautiful, Modern UserForms for Excel

Retro Dialog is a Retro style Dialog image that is loaded into a UserForm. The Titlebar and Borders of the UserForm are removed and the Transparency key is used to turn White areas of the image transparent. It is sized to '400px x '267px' and has an Icon, an interactive Close Cross and two interactive Buttons. Optional Titlebar and Message Labels allow you to specify a Title and / or a Message to the user. One of the examples uses a large Blue Pointer for the Mouse Cursor. The Dialog can be closed either by the Close Cross, Buttons or the Escape Key {ESC}. My Software gives you the Code and method to download your own Vector Images and change them into sleek, Dialogs that you can 'Popup' to users. Retro Dialog use my minified Extensibility Class for Excel (redacted from my UserForm-Extensibility Class) to make some aspects of interactivity easier like adding a Hand Cursor to a Close Cross or allowing a UserForm or parts of a UserForm to be transparent and / or dragged by the Mouse. All of the Credits for Images are in the Download File together with links for Purchasing Vectors (where I have used Pro licenses myself) to enable you to develop this Software further should you so wish

You are purchasing Retro Dialog v1 which includes various examples of the same Dialog, the Extensibility Class, one-size '.BMP' Images and '.PNG' transparent Close Cross and Icons. You also get all of the designs in Blank format so you can add your own Logo/Icon/Brand images. More importantly, you get a method using my Code to download and create your very own alternative Retro Dialoges should you want to

A Retro Dialog with 2 Buttons and a Close Cross

A Retro Dialog with 2 Buttons and a Close Cross

A Retro Dialog with 2 Buttons and a Close Cross showing an alternative Large Blue Pointer/Cursor that can be used

If you love Retro Dialog, you may also like any of the following Software. Boho MP3 Player uses my UserForm Extensibility Software as the interface for all of its dialogs

DialogBox · LogoBox · Speech Bubbles · Info Bubble · Warning Msg · Info Msg · Question Msg · Error Msg · Userform Extensibility · Boho MP3 Player · Mint UserForm · Slate UserForm · Lightbox UserForm · Dark UI · Blue UI · Carbon UI · UserFOrm UI · BoX · Flat UI · UserForm Slider Buttons

Prerequisites

Microsoft Excel 2016 Version 16 (32bit or 64bit) · designed for Office 365 Windows 11
Basic to moderate Excel Skills and some basic VBA skills
Windows PC · NOT a Mac!
No support is provided for customization of this Software

Features

Self.RemoveCaptionBordersAndSetTransparency - remove the Caption, Borders from a UserForm and sets the Transparency so that you can use a .BMP and make the White parts transparent in Excel
Self.AllowDrag - creates a draggable UI Interface, move the UserForm (or other Controls on the UserForm) around with the Mouse
Use with both Modal or Modeless UserForms
Use the Escape Key {ESC} to exit
Interactive Close Cross - changes colour when the Mouse rolls over it and shows the Hand Cursor via the Extensibility Class
Title and main Message as Label Controls - Change the Text, Text Size, Weight and Colour of your RetroDialog Title and Message
Isolated, extracted and manipulated Small .GIF that can be loaded directly into a UserForm
Three folders, 'icon', 'affinity' and 'transparent images' containing all of the rendered images used in this Software
Irregular UserForm with their Captions or Titlebars removed and containing images using a special Transparency Colour, ie. White, RGB(255, 255, 255), to hide parts that should be transparent
A lovely Shaded 3D Border with the missing part set to White, RGB(255, 255, 255) so that the Transparency Key can be used to make them transparent when loaded into a UserForm
Looks great on any Colour Background in the Excel Workbook
Font used is Tahoma, so it will travel with your Workbook

Credits

Retro Dialog by shmakova_creative695 purchased under a Vecteezy Pro license. You can view and purchase the file here. Single isolated image used as the Blank Interface and loaded as a GIF directly into the UserForm. Close Cross and Buttons saved as PNG and loaded using my ImageTransparency.xlsm Software. Cursor loaded directly into the UserForm MouseIcon member. Please note: the original Vector is NOT included with this Software, only modified 'lower' resolution parts are used for loading into an Excel UserForm and its Controls

Retro Background for Excel bycarterart, downloaded under a Free License (one-size, reduced to a much 'lower' resolution image and embedded directly into the Excel Zip archive File, not for backward dissasembly). Please note: regardless of the license, no attempt should be made to extract this image. You can view and purchase the file here

Extensibility Class, UserForm Enabler for Interactivity by Mark Kubiszyn redacted from UserForm Extensibility for Excel

Retro Dialog displayed ontop of a regular Excel Worksheet. Retro Dialog Looks great on any Colour Background in the Excel Workbook. Here I have used Code to hide the second Button and change the Titlebar and Message Text

Retro Dialog displayed ontop of a regular Excel Worksheet. Retro Dialog Looks great on any Colour Background in the Excel Workbook. Here I have used Code to hide the second Button and change the Titlebar and Message Text

Installation

Right-click and extract the contents of the File RetroDialog.zip. Original Affinity images are stored in the 'affinity' Folder, Icons are stored in the 'icon' Folder, Transparent .GIF/.PNG are stored in the 'transparent images' Folder. Open RetroDialog.xlsm and test the Examples

To use Retro Dialog in your own Projects open RetroDialog.xlsm and your own Macro-enabled Project. Then open the VBE (Visual Basic Editor) and drag the Extensibility Class and any of the UserForms into your Project. Add and configure any of the Example Code in the Examples Code Module to use each Retro Dialog

Take some time to examine how Retro Dialog works and read the 'Usage' Section in this online documentation before you begin to create your own Retro Dialogs for Excel or before turning to Support

Usage

How to use Retro Dialog

What are RetroDialogs and How to Use them in Projects
RetroDialogs are Irregular UserForms with their Captions or Titlebars removed and containing a single small images using a special Transparency Colour, ie. White, RGB(255, 255, 255), to hide parts that should be transparent. They can be used as a Modal Dialog or a Modeless Dialog depending on your requirements. They can be dismissed via the Escape '{ESC}' Key, Buttons or the Close Cross. To use Retro Dialog in your own Projects open RetroDialog.xlsm and your own Macro-enabled Project. Then open the VBE (Visual Basic Editor) and drag the Extensibility Class and any of the UserForms into your Project. Add and configure any of the Example Code in the Examples Code Module to use each Retro Dialog

RetroDialog, Example1: Demonstration of the main Retro Dialog Interface
The first example demonstrates the Retro Dialog interface. It asks the Question we all want to know! "Are you a robot?". You can answer "Yes" or "No" with both Buttons simply closing the UserForm. You can also close the UserForm via the Close Cross or the Escape {ESC} Key

To display the first RetroDialog UserForm in your own Excel Workbook simply use Code like this in any standard Code Module:

Public Sub Example1()
   With RetroDialog1
      If .Visible = True Then Exit Sub
      .Title.Caption = "Answer the question"
      .Message.Caption = "Are you a robot?"
      .Show 0
   End With
End Sub

The first example demonstrate the Retro Dialog interface. It asks the Question we all want to know! 'Are you a robot?'. You can answer 'Yes' or 'No' with both Buttons simply closing the UserForm. You can also close the UserForm via the Close Cross or the Escape {ESC} Key

RetroDialog, Example2: Demonstration of a variation on the main Retro Dialog Interface
Here I hide the second Button using Code and change the Titlebar and Message Text to make a Success statement and notify the user that a change has been made:

Here I hide the second Button using Code and change the Titlebar and Message Text

RetroDialog, Example3: Demonstration of a variation on the main Retro Dialog Interface using a Large Blue Mouse Pointer
In Example 3 I demonstrate a Retro Dialog with 2 Buttons and a Close Cross showing an alternative Large Blue Mouse Pointer/Cursor that can be used with the UserForm or indeed any Image Control or Label on a UserForm if required:

Extensibility Class
The Extensibility Class is required for RetroDialog to remove the Caption and Borders from a UserForm. It also allows the White colour to become transparent so that you can use irregular Window Sizes for the UserForm via a '.GIF' (or '.BMP' image). It allows a number of simple ways to extend your UserForms, for example to make them (or any Control) draggable use the following Code:

Option Explicit

Private Self As New Extensibility

' UserForm
Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
   Set Self.Assign = Me
End Sub

Private Sub UserForm_MouseDown(ByVal Button As Integer, ByVal Shift As Integer, ByVal X As Single, ByVal Y As Single)
   Self.AllowDrag
End Sub

To show a hand Cursor use the following Code:

Option Explicit

Private Self As New Extensibility

' UserForm
Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
   Set Self.Assign = Me
End Sub

Private Sub Close_Cross_Active_MouseMove(ByVal Button As Integer, ByVal Shift As Integer, ByVal X As Single, ByVal Y As Single)
   Self.AddCursor IDC_HAND
End Sub

To remove the Caption, Borders and allow Transparency of White (a Long Colour Code) use the following Code:

Option Explicit

Private Self As New Extensibility

' UserForm
Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
   Set Self.Assign = Me
   Self.RemoveCaptionBordersAndSetTransparency 16777215  
End Sub

Modal or Modeless?
To change a RetroDialog from a Modeless UserForm to a Modal UserFrom simply change the zero (0) after the Code '.Show' to a 1 like this:

Public Sub Example1()
   With RetroDialog1
      If .Visible = True Then Exit Sub
      .Title.Caption = "Answer the question"
      .Message.Caption = "Are you a robot?"
      .Show 1
   End With
End Sub

Image Processes - The Retro Dialog Method
The Retro Dialog uses images loaded directly into the UserForm for the main Dialog interface. The bare-bones interface image is first taken from the Vector and then exported out as a '.GIF' file. This preserves any transparency used by the image. From here the GIF image is then loaded directly into a UserForm via the Picture member. The background Colour used for the UserForm is White, the same Colour used by the Code to hide parts of the image that are transparent. Other images like the Close Cross and Buttons use the method shown below entitled 'Image Processes - Loading in a Transparent PNG to a UserForm or Control'. The Cursor used is taken from the original Vector file, exported out as a transparent PNG and then using Photoshop, I save it again, but this time as an Icon with the .ICO File Type using a Plugin called 'ICOFormat64.8bi'. Using this Plugin with Photoshop allows you to easily create Cursors for use in Excel

Image Processes - Loading in a Bitmap to a UserForm or Control
An easy way of getting an image into a UserForm or one of its Controls is to load a transparent '.GIF' or '.BMP' (Bitmap) image directly. Use the 'Picture' member to Browse and load the File. You can create a transparent 'GIF' directly from an art package such as Affinity Designer. To create a Bitmap you can use Photoshop to take any Transparent Image saved as a '.PNG' and convert it by using 'Save As' into a Bitmap, choose Format 'BMP (*.BMP;*.RLE;*.DIB)', File Format 'Windows' and Depth '24 Bit'. Where you need to have the Background Colour a different Colour from standard White '255, 255, 255' for your Bitmap, because for example you are using White as the Transparent Colour, which would cause holes in your image, then use the Paint Bucket Tool, selecting an alternative Colour by entering the RGB Values ie. '254, 254, 254' together with settings, Opacity '100%', Tolerance '30' and tick the Anti Alias checkbox

Image Processes - Loading in a Transparent PNG to a UserForm or Control
A trick I use all of the time is to use my Free ImageTransparency.xlsm Software to load in a Transparent '.PNG' File into a UserForm or one of its Controls - you can download this free here. This technique allows you to load any PNG and then Paste it into the Picture member of the UserForm or Control. You MUST set the background Colour 'BackColor' of the UserForm or Control in the single UserForm within the ImageTransparency.xlsm File first and this should be a VB Hex Colour - use a great Tool like 'InstantEyeDropper' to do this, it's free and can be downloaded from here. Now press the 'Copy to Clipboard' Button in the ImageTransparency.xlsm Software to Browse and load in the PNG File. Switch to Excel and Paste into the Picture member. The PNG image will now be added to the UserForm or Control and the Transparent Colour will be replaced by the VB Hex Colour that you used for the BackColor of the UserFrom or Control

Image Processes - Another Method to Load an Image into a Control
You can load in a transparent 'PNG' image into Affinity and add a Layer that is a Rectangle and set it to the background Colour you want it to have once it is loaded ie. White for the transparency. Export out that image as a '.PNG' image again. Now load it into Photoshop and Save it as a '.BMP' image. Finally load this Bitmap directly into any Image Control and it will sit ontop of the background and appear to blend in perfectly

Screen Shots

A Retro Dialog with 2 Buttons and a Close Cross

A Retro Dialog with 2 Buttons and a Close Cross showing an alternative Large Blue Pointer/Cursor that can be used

A Retro Dialog displayed ontop of a regular Excel Worksheet. Retro Dialog Looks great on any Colour Background in the Excel Workbook. Here I have used Code to hide the second Button and change the Titlebar and Message Text

Retro Dialog displayed ontop of a regular Excel Worksheet. Here I have used Code to hide the second Button and change the Titlebar and Message Text

Retro Dialog Looks great on any Colour Background in the Excel Workbook

FAQ

* There are currently no FAQ for RetroDialog

Retro Dialog Videos

This is a video of the RetroDialog Software. Music is 'Hallow's Beach - Quincas Moreira'. View this video on YouTube

Support

Support is 100% optional and I provide it for your convenience, so please be patient, polite and respectful

Support for my Software

Responding to questions or problems regarding the Software and its features
Fixing valid (replicated) bugs and reported issues for the VERSION I HAVE WRITTEN

Software support does not include

Customization and installation services
Support for third party software or ANY kind of development whatsoever

Before seeking support

Make sure your question is a valid Software Issue and not a customization request
Make sure you have read through the FAQ's, online documentation and any related video guides before asking support on how to accomplish a task
Ensure that you access to the VBOM is allowed and that Macros can run in Excel
Make sure to provide 'proof of purchase' and state the name / version of the Software that you are having issues with when requesting support by Email or via Facebook

How to get Support

Contact Mark Kubiszyn on the Email address provided when you purchased the Software, including the Order Number
Remember to be patient, if there has been an issue with your download, Mark will always respond within 48 hours and will Email you the File directly if neccessary. For other issues the response time may be considerably longer and I may choose to respond to specific questions only (as is my right), depending on what has been asked

Future Builds

* No ideas as yet!

Bug Fixes

* There are currently no bugs identified for RetroDialog

Credits

Retro Dialog by shmakova_creative695 purchased under a Vecteezy Pro license. You can view and purchase the file here. Single isolated image used as the Blank Interface and loaded as a GIF directly into the UserForm. Close Cross and Buttons saved as PNG and loaded using my ImageTransparency.xlsm Software. Cursor loaded directly into the UserForm MouseIcon member. Please note: the original Vector is NOT included with this Software, only modified 'lower' resolution parts are used for loading into an Excel UserForm and its Controls

Retro Background for Excel bycarterart, downloaded under a Free License (one-size, reduced to a much 'lower' resolution image and embedded directly into the Excel Zip archive File, not for backward dissasembly). Please note: regardless of the license, no attempt should be made to extract this image. You can view and purchase the file here

Extensibility Class, UserForm Enabler for Interactivity by Mark Kubiszyn redacted from UserForm Extensibility for Excel

Changelog

Read more information on the status of each release below. The latest Version including a description of any changes is shown first


16.03.2023 - (Version 1)

General release of RetroDialog