I have found that most of the time, the reccomended fix is to add (on error resume next) before setting the shape, as I get an error saying it does not exist.

NO!

The recommended way to handle runtime errors is not to shove them under the carpet and continue execution as if nothing happened - which is exactly what On Error Resume Next does.

The simplest way to avoid runtime errors is to check for error conditions, and avoid executing code that results in 100% failure rate, like trying to run a method on an object reference that's Nothing:

For i = 1 To (a certain number)    Set shp = f_overview.Shapes("btn_" & i)    If Not shp Is Nothing Then shp.DeleteNext

In cases where you can't check for error conditions and must handle errors, the recommended way is to handle them:

Private Sub DoSomething()    On Error GoTo CleanFail    '...code...CleanExit:    'cleanup code here    Exit SubCleanFail:    If Err.Number = 9 Then 'subscript out of range        Err.Clear        Resume Next    Else        MsgBox Err.Description        Resume CleanExit    End IfEnd Sub

There is nothing WRONG in using OERN (On Error Resume Next) provided you understand what you are doing and how it is going to affect your code.

In your case it is perfectly normal to use OERN

Dim shp As ShapeFor i = 1 To (a certain number)    On Error Resume Next    Set shp = f_overview.Shapes("btn_" & i)    shp.Delete    On Error GoTo 0Next

At the same time ensure that you don't do something like

On Error Resume Next<Your Entire Procedure>On Error GoTo 0

This will suppress ALL errors. Use proper error handling as shown by Matt

Edit:

Here is another beautiful example on how to use OERN This function checks if a particular worksheet exists or not.

Function DoesWSExist(wsName As String) As Boolean    Dim ws As Worksheet    On Error Resume Next    Set ws = ThisWorkbook.Sheets(wsName)    On Error GoTo 0    If Not ws Is Nothing Then DoesWSExist = TrueEnd Function

If you wish you can also loop through all the sheets to check is the sheet exists or not!

Instead of trying to blindly delete shapes and skipping errors, why not run through the list of known shapes and delete them. Then you don't have to worry about an On Error Resume Next which often ends up being abused.

Sub Test(TheSheet As Worksheet)Dim Shp as ShapeFor Each Shp in TheSheet.Shapes  If left(Shp.Name, 4) = "btn_" Then    Shp.Delete  End ifNextEnd Sub

If you want to delete all shapes, remove the If statement. If you want to delete a number of differently named shapes, modify the If statement appropriately.