Excel vba cell with formula

In this lesson you can learn how to add a formula to a cell using vba. There are several ways to insert formulas to cells automatically. We can use properties like Formula, Value and FormulaR1C1 of the Range object. This post explains five different ways to add formulas to cells.

We use formulas to calculate various things in Excel. Sometimes you may need to enter the same formula to hundreds or thousands of rows or columns only changing the row numbers or columns. For an example let’s consider this sample Excel sheet.

In this Excel sheet I have added a very simple formula to the D2 cell.

=B2+C2

So what if we want to add similar formulas for all the rows in column D. So the D3 cell will have the formula as =B3+C3 and D4 will have the formula as =B4+D4 and so on. Luckily we don’t need to type the formulas manually in all rows. There is a much easier way to do this. First select the cell containing the formula. Then take the cursor to the bottom right corner of the cell. Mouse pointer will change to a + sign. Then left click and drag the mouse until the end of the rows.

However if you want to add the same formula again and again for lots of Excel sheets then you can use a VBA macro to speed up the process. First let’s look at how to add a formula to one cell using vba.

How to add formula to cell using VBA

Lets see how we can enter above simple formula(=B2+C2) to cell D2 using VBA

In this method we are going to use the Formula property of the Range object.

We can also use the Value property of the Range object to add a formula to a cell.

Next method is to use the FormulaR1C1 property of the Range object. There are few different ways to use FormulaR1C1 property. We can use absolute reference, relative reference or use both types of references inside the same formula.

In the absolute reference method cells are referred to using numbers. Excel sheets have numbers for each row. So you should think similarly for columns. So column A is number 1. Column B is number 2 etc. Then when writing the formula use R before the row number and C before the column number. So the cell A1 is referred to by R1C1. A2 is referred to by R2C1. B3 is referred to by R3C2 etc.

This is how you can use the absolute reference.

If you use the absolute reference, the formula will be added like this.

If you use the manual drag method explained above to fill down other rows, then the same formula will be copied to all the rows.

In Majority cases this is not how you want to fill down the formula. However this won’t happen in the relative method. In the relative method, cells are given numbers relative to the cell where the formula is entered. You should use negative numbers when referring to the cells in upward direction or left. Also the numbers should be placed within the square brackets. And you can omit [0] when referring to cells on the same row or column. So you can use RC[-2] instead of R[0]C[-2]. The macro recorder also generates relative reference type code, if you enter a formula to a cell while enabling the macro recorder.

Below example shows how to put formula =B2+C2 in D2 cell using relative reference method.

Now use the drag method to fill down all the rows.

You can see that the formulas are changed according to the row numbers.

Also you can use both relative and absolute references in the same formula. Here is a typical example where you need a formula with both reference types.

We can add the formula to calculate Total Amount like this.

In this formula we have a absolute reference after the * symbol. So when we fill down the formula using the drag method that part will remain the same for all the rows. Hence we will get correct results for all the rows.

Add formula to cell and fill down using VBA

So now you’ve learnt various methods to add a formula to a cell. Next let’s look at how to fill down the other rows with the added formula using VBA.

Assume we have to calculate cell D2 value using =B2+C2 formula and fill down up to 1000 rows. First let’s see how we can modify the first method to do this. Let’s name this subroutine as “AddFormula_Method1_1000Rows”

Then we need an additional variable for the For Next statement

Dim WS As Worksheet
Dim i As Integer

Next, assign the worksheet to WS variable

Set WS = Worksheets(«Sheet1»)

Now we can add the For Next statement like this.

For i = 2 To 1000
     WS.Range(«D» & i).Formula = «=B» & i & «+C» & i
Next i

Here I have used «D» & i instead of D2 and «=B» & i & «+C» & i instead of «=B2+C2». So the formula keeps changing like =B3+C3, =B4+C4, =B5+C5 etc. when iterated through the For Next loop.

Below is the full code of the subroutine.

So that’s how you can use VBA to add formulas to cells with variables.

Next example shows how to modify the absolute reference type of FormulaR1C1 method to add formulas upto 1000 rows.

You don’t need to do any change to the formula section when modifying the relative reference type of the FormulaR1C1 method.

Use similar techniques to modify other two types of subroutines to add formulas for multiple rows. Now you know how to add formulas to cells with a variable. Next let’s look at how to add formulas with some inbuilt functions using VBA.

How to add sum formula to a cell using VBA

Suppose we want the total of column D in the D16 cell. So this is the formula we need to create.

=SUM(D2:D15)

Now let’s see how to add this using VBA. Let’s name this subroutine as SumFormula.

First let’s declare a few variables.

Dim WS As Worksheet
Dim StartingRow As Long
Dim EndingRow As Long

Assign the worksheet to the variable.

Set WS = Worksheets(«Sheet3»)

Assign the starting row and the ending row to relevant variables.

StartingRow = 2
EndingRow = 1

Then the final step is to create the formula with the above variables.

WS.Range(«D16»).Formula = «=SUM(D» & StartingRow & «:D» & EndingRow & «)»

Below is the full code to add the Sum formula using VBA.

How to add If Formula to a cell using VBA

If function is a very popular inbuilt worksheet function available in Microsoft Excel. This function has 3 arguments. Two of them are optional.

Now let’s see how to add a If formula to a cell using VBA. Here is a typical example where we need a simple If function.

This is the results of students on an examination. Here we have names of students in column A and their marks in column B. Students should get “Pass” if he/she has marks equal or higher than 40. If marks are less than 40 then Excel should show the “Fail” in column C. We can simply obtain this result by adding an If function to column C. Below is the function we need in the C2 cell.

=IF(B2>=40,»Pass»,»Fail»)

Now let’s look at how to add this If Formula to a C2 cell using VBA. Once you know how to add it then you can use the For Next statement to fill the rest of the rows like we did above. We discussed a few different ways to add formulas to a range object using VBA. For this particular example I’m going to use the Formula property of the Range object.

So now let’s see how we can develop this macro. Let’s name this subroutine as “AddIfFormula”

However we can’t simply add this If formula using the Formula property like we did before. Because this If formula has quotes inside it. So if we try to add the formula to the cell with quotes, then we get a syntax error.

Add formula to cell with quotes

There are two ways to add the formula to a cell with quotes.

Add vlookup formula to cell using VBA

Finally I will show you how to add a vlookup formula to a cell using VBA. So I created a very simple example where we can use a Vlookup function. Assume we have this section in the Sheet5 of the same workbook.

So here when we change the name of the student in the C2 cell, his/her pass or fail status should automatically be shown in the C3 cell. If the original data(data we used in the above “If formula” example) is listed in the Sheet4 then we can write a Vlookup formula for the C3 cell like this.

=VLOOKUP(Sheet5!C2,Sheet4!A2:C200,3,FALSE)

We can use the Formula property of the Range object to add this Vlookup formula to the C3 using VBA.

This tutorial will teach you how to create cell formulas using VBA.

Formulas in VBA

Using VBA, you can write formulas directly to Ranges or Cells in Excel. It looks like this:

Sub Formula_Example()

    'Assign a hard-coded formula to a single cell
    Range("b3").Formula = "=b1+b2"
    
    'Assign a flexible formula to a range of cells
    Range("d1:d100").FormulaR1C1 = "=RC2+RC3"

End Sub

There are two Range properties you will need to know:

• .Formula – Creates an exact formula (hard-coded cell references). Good for adding a formula to a single cell.
• .FormulaR1C1 – Creates a flexible formula. Good for adding formulas to a range of cells where cell references should change.

For simple formulas, it’s fine to use the .Formula Property.  However, for everything else, we recommend using the Macro Recorder…

Macro Recorder and Cell Formulas

The Macro Recorder is our go-to tool for writing cell formulas with VBA.  You can simply:

• Start recording
• Type the formula (with relative / absolute references as needed) into the cell & press enter
• Stop recording
• Open VBA and review the formula, adapting as needed and copying+pasting the code where needed.

I find it’s much easier to enter a formula into a cell than to type the corresponding formula in VBA.

Notice a couple of things:

• The Macro Recorder will always use the .FormulaR1C1 property
• The Macro Recorder recognizes Absolute vs. Relative Cell References

VBA FormulaR1C1 Property

The FormulaR1C1 property uses R1C1-style cell referencing (as opposed to the standard A1-style you are accustomed to seeing in Excel).

Here are some examples:

Sub FormulaR1C1_Examples()

    'Reference D5 (Absolute)
    '=$D$5
    Range("a1").FormulaR1C1 = "=R5C4"
    
    'Reference D5 (Relative) from cell A1
    '=D5
    Range("a1").FormulaR1C1 = "=R[4]C[3]"
    
    'Reference D5 (Absolute Row, Relative Column) from cell A1
    '=D$5
    Range("a1").FormulaR1C1 = "=R5C[3]"
    
    'Reference D5 (Relative Row, Absolute Column) from cell A1
    '=$D5
    Range("a1").FormulaR1C1 = "=R[4]C4"

End Sub

Notice that the R1C1-style cell referencing allows you to set absolute or relative references.

Absolute References

In standard A1 notation an absolute reference looks like this: “=$C$2”.  In R1C1 notation it looks like this: “=R2C3”.

To create an Absolute cell reference using R1C1-style type:

• R + Row number
• C + Column number

Example:  R2C3 would represent cell $C$2 (C is the 3rd column).

    'Reference D5 (Absolute)
    '=$D$5
    Range("a1").FormulaR1C1 = "=R5C4"

Relative References

Relative cell references are cell references that “move” when the formula is moved.

In standard A1 notation they look like this: “=C2”. In R1C1 notation, you use brackets [] to offset the cell reference from the current cell.

Example: Entering formula “=R[1]C[1]” in cell B3 would reference cell D4 (the cell 1 row below and 1 column to the right of the formula cell).

Use negative numbers to reference cells above or to the left of the current cell.

    'Reference D5 (Relative) from cell A1
    '=D5
    Range("a1").FormulaR1C1 = "=R[4]C[3]"

Mixed References

Cell references can be partially relative and partially absolute.  Example:

    'Reference D5 (Relative Row, Absolute Column) from cell A1
    '=$D5
    Range("a1").FormulaR1C1 = "=R[4]C4"

VBA Formula Property

When setting formulas with the .Formula Property you will always use A1-style notation.  You enter the formula just like you would in an Excel cell, except surrounded by quotations:

    'Assign a hard-coded formula to a single cell
    Range("b3").Formula = "=b1+b2"

VBA Formula Tips

Formula With Variable

When working with Formulas in VBA, it’s very common to want to use variables within the cell formulas.  To use variables, you use & to combine the variables with the rest of the formula string. Example:

Sub Formula_Variable()
    Dim colNum As Long
    colNum = 4

    Range("a1").FormulaR1C1 = "=R1C" & colNum & "+R2C" & colNum

End Sub

VBA Programming | Code Generator does work for you!

Formula Quotations

If you need to add a quotation (“) within a formula, enter the quotation twice (“”):

Sub Macro2()
    Range("B3").FormulaR1C1 = "=TEXT(RC[-1],""mm/dd/yyyy"")"
End Sub

A single quotation (“) signifies to VBA the end of a string of text. Whereas a double quotation (“”) is treated like a quotation within the string of text.

Similarly, use 3 quotation marks (“””) to surround a string with a quotation mark (“)

MsgBox """Use 3 to surround a string with quotes"""
' This will print <"Use 3 to surround a string with quotes"> immediate window

Assign Cell Formula to String Variable

We can read the formula in a given cell or range and assign it to a string variable:

'Assign Cell Formula to Variable
Dim strFormula as String
strFormula = Range("B1").Formula

Different Ways to Add Formulas to a Cell

Here are a few more examples for how to assign a formula to a cell:

1. Directly Assign Formula
2. Define a String Variable Containing the Formula
3. Use Variables to Create Formula

Sub MoreFormulaExamples ()
' Alternate ways to add SUM formula
' to cell B1
'
  Dim strFormula as String
  Dim cell as Range
  dim fromRow as long, toRow as long

  Set cell = Range("B1")

  ' Directly assigning a String
  cell.Formula = "=SUM(A1:A10)"

  ' Storing string to a variable
  ' and assigning to "Formula" property
  strFormula = "=SUM(A1:A10)"
  cell.Formula = strFormula

  ' Using variables to build a string 
  ' and assigning it to "Formula" property
  fromRow = 1
  toRow   = 10
  strFormula = "=SUM(A" & fromValue & ":A" & toValue & ")
  cell.Formula = strFormula
End Sub

Refresh Formulas

As a reminder, to refresh formulas, you can use the Calculate command:

Calculate

To refresh single formula, range, or entire worksheet use .Calculate instead:

Sheets("Sheet1").Range("a1:a10").Calculate

Bottom line: Learn 3 tips for writing and creating formulas in your VBA macros with this article and video.

Skill level: Intermediate

Video Tutorial

Download the File

Download the Excel file to follow along with the video.

Automate Formula Writing

Writing formulas can be one of the most time consuming parts of your weekly or monthly Excel task.  If you’re working on automating that process with a macro, then you can have VBA write the formula and input it into the cells for you.

Writing formulas in VBA can be a bit tricky at first, so here are 3 tips to help save time and make the process easier.

Tip #1: The Formula Property

The Formula property is a member of the Range object in VBA.  We can use it to set/create a formula for a single cell or range of cells.

There are a few requirements for the value of the formula that we set with the Formula property:

1. The formula is a string of text that is wrapped in quotation marks.  The value of the formula must start and end in quotation marks.
2. The formula string must start with an equal sign = after the first quotation mark.

Here is a simple example of a formula in a macro.

Sub Formula_Property()

  'Formula is a string of text wrapped in quotation marks
  'Starts with an = sign
  Range("B10").Formula = "=SUM(B4:B9)"

End Sub

The Formula property can also be used to read an existing formula in a cell.

Tip #2: Use the Macro Recorder

When your formulas are more complex or contain special characters, they can be more challenging to write in VBA.  Fortunately we can use the macro recorder to create the code for us.

Here are the steps to creating the formula property code with the macro recorder.

1. Turn on the macro recorder (Developer tab > Record Macro)
2. Type your formula or edit an existing formula.
3. Press Enter to enter the formula.
4. The code is created in the macro.

If your formula contains quotation marks or ampersand symbols, the macro recorder will account for this.  It creates all the sub-strings and wraps everything in quotes properly. Here is an example.

Sub Macro10()
'Use the macro recorder to create code for complex formulas with
'special characters and relative references

  ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "=""Total Sales: "" & TEXT(R[-5]C,""$#,###"")"
    
End Sub

Tip #3: R1C1 Style Formula Notation

If you use the macro recorder for formulas, you will notices that it creates code with the FormulaR1C1 property.

R1C1 style notation allows us to create both relative (A1), absolute ($A$1), and mixed ($A1, A$1) references in our macro code.

R1C1 stands for Rows and Columns.

Relative References

For relative references we specify the number of rows and columns we want to offset from the cell that the formula is in.  The number of rows and columns are referenced in square brackets.

The following would create a reference to a cell that is 3 rows above and 2 rows to the right of the cell that contains the formula.

R[-3]C[2]

Negative numbers go up rows and columns to the left.

Positive numbers go down rows and columns to the right.

Absolute References

We can also use R1C1 notation for absolute references.  This would typically look like $A$2.

For absolute references we do NOT use the square brackets.  The following would create a direct reference to cell $A$2, row 2 column 1

R2C1

Mixed References

with mixed references we add the square brackets for either the row or column reference, and no brackets for the other reference.  The following formula in cell B2 would create this reference to A$2, where the row is absolute and the column is relative.

R2C[-1]

When creating mixed references, the relative row or column number will depend on what cell the formula is in.

It’s easiest to just use the macro recorder to figure these out.

FormulaR1C1 Property versus Formula Property

The FormulaR1C1 property reads the R1C1 notation and creates the proper references in the cells.  If you use the regular Formula property with R1C1 notation, then VBA will attempt to put those letters in the formula, and it will likely result in a formula error.

Therefore, use the Formula property when your code contains cell references ($A$1), the FormulaR1C1 property when you need relative references that are applied to multiple cells or dependent on where the formula is entered.

If your spreadsheet changes based on conditions outside your control, like new columns or rows of data are imported from the data source, then relative references and R1C1 style notation will probably be best.

I hope those tips help.  Please leave a comment below with questions or suggestions.