VBA support in AutoCAD 2011

Issue

You want to know if AutoCAD® 2011 still supports Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).

Solution

Autodesk has begun the transition of VB customization from VBA to .NET technology. This transition will occur over a few years. During this time, Autodesk will provide documentation and other assistance to help our customers and developers migrate from VBA to this new automation technology. Starting with AutoCAD 2010, VBA is no longer part of the default AutoCAD installation and must be downloaded and installed separately. If you utilize VBA macros in your work environment, they will no longer work unless the VBA module is installed on your system.

When you run a command that requires VBA, a message dialog box will be displayed stating that VBA is no longer installed with AutoCAD and directing you to a website where you can download the VBA module. Autodesk is making the VBA module available for download at the following location:

http://www.autodesk.com/vba-download

VBA components posted on this website will be available for all languages that AutoCAD and industry-specific versions of AutoCAD support.

To deploy the VBA download in an enterprise environment, you must download and extract the VBA Enabler and then run the following script:

' <script_begin>----------------------------------------------------------------
' Scripted installation for VBA Enabler
option explicit
 
' define variables
dim shell
dim productType
dim strInstallLevel
dim strSourcePath
 
' Script initialization
Set shell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
 
productType = "BonusPack"
strInstallLevel=5      ' 5 installs everything, 3 installs typical
'
' Source to install from (e.g. Z:\install\Autodesk\ AcVbaInstallerInstall \CDROM1)
strSourcePath = "C:\Autodesk\AutoCAD_2010_VBA_Enabler_Install_Image\CDROM1"
'
RunStandaloneInstall()
Wscript.quit()
 
'
Function RunStandaloneInstall
   shell.run DefaultCommand(),2,1
end function
'
Function DefaultCommand
   dim retString
' /q for silent install ' /c [key] override parameters for the key
   retString = """" & strSourcePath & "\setup.exe " & """" & " /t /q /c " & productType & ": "
   retString = retString & "InstallLevel=" & strInstallLevel 
   DefaultCommand = retString
end function
'
 
' </script_end>----------------------------------------------------------------

Autodesk is evaluating how long VBA will be present in Autodesk products in the future. Though available for the AutoCAD 2011-based products, it may or may not be available in future releases. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that VB developers develop all new code using VB .NET.