Not long ago, Microsoft had an update to Excel that broke a lot of ActiveX Control Boxes.  If you are having this problem, Microsoft has a fix and a support article.

Excel Cannot Insert Object ActiveX – Microsoft Support Document: http://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3025036

Several solutions are offered in the article.  Te main solution is to ensure all parameter types are VBA friendly. Delete TEMP *.exd file if necessary.

Pros and Cons of ActiveX

• Pros:
  • More robust than form controls
  • More flexible
  • Multiple Event Handlers
• Cons:
  • Font can get bigger and move
  • Workbooks can get corrupted

Kevin mentions that he avoids them like the plague.  Jordan mentions that they are a leftover from Visual Basic 6.0 and that they don’t play nicely with Excel

ActiveX Best Practices

Kevin Jones tends not to use Controls on a spreadsheet other than Command Buttons.

• Command Buttons should be Form Controls
• Drop Down Menus should be done via validation
• Combo Boxes, Radio Buttons, Check Boxes are best placed on User Forms.

This is more aesthetically pleasing and they are much easier to manage and maintain.