Excel vba code list

Macro codes can save you a ton of time.

You can automate small as well as heavy tasks with VBA codes.

And do you know?

With the help of macros…

…you can break all the limitations of Excel which you think Excel has.

And today, I have listed some of the useful codes examples to help you become more productive in your day to day work.

You can use these codes even if you haven’t used VBA before that.

But here’s the first thing to know:

What is a Macro Code?

In Excel, macro code is a programming code which is written in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) language.

The idea behind using a macro code is to automate an action which you perform manually in Excel, otherwise.

For example, you can use a code to print only a particular range of cells just with a single click instead of selecting the range -> File Tab -> Print -> Print Select -> OK Button.

How to use a Macro Code in Excel

Before you use these codes, make sure you have your developer tab on your Excel ribbon to access VB editor. Once you activate developer tab you can use below steps to paste a VBA code into VB editor.

List of Top 100 macro Examples (CODES) for VBA beginners

I have added all the codes into specific categories so that you can find your favorite codes quickly. Just read the title and click on it to get the code.

note

  • This is my Ultimate VBA Library which I update on monthly basis with new codes and Don’t forget to check the VBA Examples Sectionꜜ at the end of this list.
  • VBA is one of the Advanced Excel Skills.
  • To manage all of these codes make sure to read about Personal Macro Workbook to use these codes in all the workbooks.
  • I have tested all of these codes in different versions of Excel (2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019). If you found any error in any of these codes, make sure to share with me.

Basic Codes

These VBA codes will help you to perform some basic tasks in a flash which you frequently do in your spreadsheets.

1. Add Serial Numbers

Sub AddSerialNumbers()
Dim i As Integer
On Error GoTo Last
i = InputBox("Enter Value", "Enter Serial Numbers")
For i = 1 To i
ActiveCell.Value = i
ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Activate
Next i
Last:Exit Sub
End Sub

This macro code will help you to automatically add serial numbers in your Excel sheet which can be helpful for you if you work with large data.

To use this code you need to select the cell from where you want to start the serial numbers and when you run this it shows you a message box where you need to enter the highest number for the serial numbers and click OK. And once you click OK, it simply runs a loop and add a list of serial numbers to the cells downward.

2. Insert Multiple Columns

Sub InsertMultipleColumns()
Dim i As Integer
Dim j As Integer
ActiveCell.EntireColumn.Select
On Error GoTo Last
i = InputBox("Enter number of columns to insert", "Insert Columns")
For j = 1 To i
Selection.Insert Shift:=xlToRight, CopyOrigin:=xlFormatFromRightorAbove
Next j
Last: Exit Sub
End Sub

This code helps you to enter multiple columns in a single click. When you run this code it asks you the number columns you want to add and when you click OK, it adds entered number of columns after the selected cell. If you want to add columns before the selected cell, replace the xlToRight to xlToLeft in the code.

3. Insert Multiple Rows

Sub InsertMultipleRows()
Dim i As Integer
Dim j As Integer
ActiveCell.EntireRow.Select
On Error GoTo Last
i = InputBox("Enter number of columns to insert", "Insert Columns")
For j = 1 To i
Selection.Insert Shift:=xlToDown, CopyOrigin:=xlFormatFromRightorAbove
Next j
Last: Exit Sub
End Sub

With this code, you can enter multiple rows in the worksheet. When you run this code, you can enter the number of rows to insert and make sure to select the cell from where you want to insert the new rows. If you want to add rows before the selected cell, replace the xlToDown to xlToUp in the code.

4. Auto Fit Columns

Sub AutoFitColumns()
Cells.Select
Cells.EntireColumn.AutoFit
End Sub

This code quickly auto fits all the columns in your worksheet. So when you run this code, it will select all the cells in your worksheet and instantly auto-fit all the columns.

5. Auto Fit Rows

Sub AutoFitRows()
Cells.Select
Cells.EntireRow.AutoFit
End Sub

You can use this code to auto-fit all the rows in a worksheet. When you run this code it will select all the cells in your worksheet and instantly auto-fit all the row.

6. Remove Text Wrap

Sub RemoveTextWrap()
Range("A1").WrapText = False
End Sub

This code will help you to remove text wrap from the entire worksheet with a single click. It will first select all the columns and then remove text wrap and auto fit all the rows and columns. There’s also a shortcut that you can use (Alt + H +‌W) for but if you add this code to Quick Access Toolbar it’s convenient than a keyboard shortcut.

7. Unmerge Cells

Sub UnmergeCells()
Selection.UnMerge
End Sub

This code simply uses the unmerge options which you have on the HOME‌ tab. The benefit of using this code is you can add it to the QAT and unmerge all the cell in the selection. And if you want to un-merge a specific range you can define that range in the code by replacing the word selection.

8. Open Calculator

Sub OpenCalculator()
Application.ActivateMicrosoftApp Index:=0
End Sub

In Windows, there is a specific calculator and by using this macro code you can open that calculator directly from Excel. As I mentioned that it’s for windows and if you run this code in the MAC version of VBA you’ll get an error.

9. Add Header/Footer Date

Sub DateInHeader()
With ActiveSheet.PageSetup
.LeftHeader = ""
.CenterHeader = "&D"
.RightHeader = ""
.LeftFooter = ""
.CenterFooter = ""
.RightFooter = ""
End With
End Sub

This macro adds a date to the header when you run it. It simply uses the tag «&D» for adding the date. You can also change it to the footer or change the side by replacing the «» with the date tag. And if you want to add a specific date instead of the current date you can replace the «&D» tag with that date from the code.

10. Custom Header/Footer

Sub CustomHeader()
Dim myText As String
myText = InputBox("Enter your text here", "Enter Text")
With ActiveSheet.PageSetup
.LeftHeader = ""
.CenterHeader = myText
.RightHeader = ""
.LeftFooter = ""
.CenterFooter = ""
.RightFooter = ""
End With
End Sub

When you run this code, it shows an input box that asks you to enter the text which you want to add as a header, and once you enter it click OK.

If you see this closely you have six different lines of code to choose the place for the header or footer. Let’s say if you want to add left-footer instead of center header simply replace the “myText” to that line of the code by replacing the «» from there.

Formatting Codes

These VBA codes will help you to format cells and ranges using some specific criteria and conditions.

11. Highlight Duplicates from Selection

Sub HighlightDuplicateValues()
Dim myRange As Range
Dim myCell As Range
Set myRange = Selection
For Each myCell In myRange
If WorksheetFunction.CountIf(myRange, myCell.Value) > 1 Then
myCell.Interior.ColorIndex = 36
End If
Next myCell
End Sub

This macro will check each cell of your selection and highlight the duplicate values.  You can also change the color from the code.

12. Highlight the Active Row and Column

Private Sub Worksheet_BeforeDoubleClick(ByVal Target As Range, Cancel As Boolean)
Dim strRange As String
strRange = Target.Cells.Address & "," & _
Target.Cells.EntireColumn.Address & "," & _
Target.Cells.EntireRow.Address
Range(strRange).Select
End Sub

I really love to use this macro code whenever I have to analyze a data table. Here are the quick steps to apply this code.

  1. Open VBE (ALT + F11).
  2. Go to Project Explorer (Ctrl + R, If hidden).
  3. Select your workbook & double click on the name of a particular worksheet in which you want to activate the macro.
  4. Paste the code into it and select the “BeforeDoubleClick” from event drop down menu.
  5. Close VBE and you are done.

Remember that, by applying this macro you will not able to edit the cell by double click.

13. Highlight Top 10 Values

Sub TopTen()
Selection.FormatConditions.AddTop10
Selection.FormatConditions(Selection.FormatConditions.Count).S
tFirstPriority
With Selection.FormatConditions(1)
.TopBottom = xlTop10Top
.Rank = 10
.Percent = False
End With
With Selection.FormatConditions(1).Font
.Color = -16752384
.TintAndShade = 0
End With
With Selection.FormatConditions(1).Interior
.PatternColorIndex = xlAutomatic
.Color = 13561798
.TintAndShade = 0
End With
Selection.FormatConditions(1).StopIfTrue = False
End Sub

Just select a range and run this macro and it will highlight top 10 values with the green color.

14. Highlight Named Ranges

Sub HighlightRanges()
Dim RangeName As Name
Dim HighlightRange As Range
On Error Resume Next
For Each RangeName In ActiveWorkbook.Names
Set HighlightRange = RangeName.RefersToRange
HighlightRange.Interior.ColorIndex = 36
Next RangeName
End Sub

If you are not sure about how many named ranges you have in your worksheet then you can use this code to highlight all of them.

15. Highlight Greater than Values

Sub HighlightGreaterThanValues()
Dim i As Integer
i = InputBox("Enter Greater Than Value", "Enter Value")
Selection.FormatConditions.Delete
Selection.FormatConditions.Add Type:=xlCellValue, _
Operator:=xlGreater, Formula1:=i
Selection.FormatConditions(Selection.FormatConditions.Count).S
tFirstPriority
With Selection.FormatConditions(1)
.Font.Color = RGB(0, 0, 0)
.Interior.Color = RGB(31, 218, 154)
End With
End Sub

Once you run this code it will ask you for the value from which you want to highlight all greater values.

16. Highlight Lower Than Values

Sub HighlightLowerThanValues()
Dim i As Integer
i = InputBox("Enter Lower Than Value", "Enter Value")
Selection.FormatConditions.Delete
Selection.FormatConditions.Add _
Type:=xlCellValue, _
Operator:=xlLower, _
Formula1:=i
Selection.FormatConditions(Selection.FormatConditions.Count).S
tFirstPriority
With Selection.FormatConditions(1)
.Font.Color = RGB(0, 0, 0)
.Interior.Color = RGB(217, 83, 79)
End With
End Sub

Once you run this code it will ask you for the value from which you want to highlight all lower values.

17. Highlight Negative Numbers

Sub highlightNegativeNumbers()
Dim Rng As Range
For Each Rng In Selection
If WorksheetFunction.IsNumber(Rng) Then
If Rng.Value < 0 Then
Rng.Font.Color= -16776961
End If
End If
Next
End Sub

Select a range of cells and run this code. It will check each cell from the range and highlight all cells the where you have a negative number.

18. Highlight Specific Text

Sub highlightValue()
Dim myStr As String
Dim myRg As range
Dim myTxt As String
Dim myCell As range
Dim myChar As String
Dim I As Long
Dim J As Long
On Error Resume Next
If ActiveWindow.RangeSelection.Count > 1 Then
myTxt = ActiveWindow.RangeSelection.AddressLocal
Else
myTxt = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.AddressLocal
End If
LInput: Set myRg = _
Application.InputBox _
("please select the data range:", "Selection Required", myTxt, , , , , 8)
If myRg Is Nothing Then
Exit Sub
If myRg.Areas.Count > 1 Then
MsgBox "not support multiple columns"
GoTo LInput
End If
If myRg.Columns.Count <> 2 Then
MsgBox "the selected range can only contain two columns "
GoTo LInput
End If
For I = 0 To myRg.Rows.Count - 1
myStr = myRg.range("B1").Offset(I, 0).Value
With myRg.range("A1").Offset(I, 0)
.Font.ColorIndex = 1
For J = 1 To Len(.Text)
Mid(.Text, J, Len(myStr)) = myStrThen
.Characters(J, Len(myStr)).Font.ColorIndex = 3
Next
End With
Next I
End Sub

Suppose you have a large data set and you want to check for a particular value. For this, you can use this code. When you run it, you will get an input box to enter the value to search for.

19. Highlight Cells with Comments

Sub highlightCommentCells()
Selection.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeComments).Select
Selection.Style= "Note"
End Sub

To highlight all the cells with comments use this macro.

20. Highlight Alternate Rows in the Selection

Sub highlightAlternateRows()
Dim rng As Range
For Each rng In Selection.Rows
If rng.Row Mod 2 = 1 Then
rng.Style = "20% -Accent1"
rng.Value = rng ^ (1 / 3)
Else
End If
Next rng
End Sub

By highlighting alternate rows you can make your data easily readable, and for this, you can use below VBA code. It will simply highlight every alternate row in selected range.

21. Highlight Cells with Misspelled Words

Sub HighlightMisspelledCells()
Dim rng As Range
For Each rng In ActiveSheet.UsedRange
If Not Application.CheckSpelling(word:=rng.Text) Then
rng.Style = "Bad"
End If
Next rng
End Sub

If you find hard to check all the cells for spelling error then this code is for you. It will check each cell from the selection and highlight the cell where is a misspelled word.

22. Highlight Cells With Error in the Entire Worksheet

Sub highlightErrors()
Dim rng As Range
Dim i As Integer
For Each rng In ActiveSheet.UsedRange
If WorksheetFunction.IsError(rng) Then
i = i + 1
rng.Style = "bad"
End If
Next rng
MsgBox _
"There are total " & i _
& " error(s) in this worksheet."
End Sub

To highlight and count all the cells in which you have an error, this code will help you. Just run this code and it will return a message with the number error cells and highlight all the cells.

23. Highlight Cells with a Specific Text in Worksheet

Sub highlightSpecificValues()
Dim rng As range
Dim i As Integer
Dim c As Variant
c = InputBox("Enter Value To Highlight")
For Each rng In ActiveSheet.UsedRange
If rng = c Then
rng.Style = "Note"
i = i + 1
End If
Next rng
MsgBox "There are total " & i & " " & c & " in this worksheet."
End Sub

This code will help you to count the cells which have a specific value which you will mention and after that highlight all those cells.

24. Highlight all the Blank Cells Invisible Space

Sub blankWithSpace()
Dim rng As Range
For Each rng In ActiveSheet.UsedRange
If rng.Value = " " Then
rng.Style = "Note"
End If
Next rng
End Sub

Sometimes there are some cells which are blank but they have a single space and due to this, it’s really hard to identify them. This code will check all the cell in the worksheet and highlight all the cells which have a single space.

25. Highlight Max Value In The Range

Sub highlightMaxValue()
Dim rng As Range
For Each rng In Selection
If rng = WorksheetFunction.Max(Selection) Then
rng.Style = "Good"
End If
Next rng
End Sub

It will check all the selected cells and highlight the cell with the maximum value.

26. Highlight Min Value In The Range

Sub Highlight_Min_Value()

Dim rng As Range

For Each rng In Selection
	If rng = WorksheetFunction.Min(Selection) Then
		rng.Style = "Good"
	End If
Next rng

End Sub

It will check all the selected cells and highlight the cell with the Minimum value.

27. Highlight Unique Values

Sub highlightUniqueValues()
Dim rng As Range
Set rng = Selection
rng.FormatConditions.Delete
Dim uv As UniqueValues
Set uv = rng.FormatConditions.AddUniqueValues
uv.DupeUnique = xlUnique
uv.Interior.Color = vbGreen
End Sub

This codes will highlight all the cells from the selection which has a unique value.

28. Highlight Difference in Columns

Sub columnDifference()
Range("H7:H8,I7:I8").Select
Selection.ColumnDifferences(ActiveCell).Select
Selection.Style= "Bad"
End Sub

Using this code you can highlight the difference between two columns (corresponding cells).

29. Highlight Difference in Rows

Sub rowDifference()
Range("H7:H8,I7:I8").Select
Selection.RowDifferences(ActiveCell).Select
Selection.Style= "Bad"
End Sub

And by using this code you can highlight difference between two row (corresponding cells).

Printing Codes

These macro codes will help you to automate some printing tasks which can further save you a ton of time. 

30. Print Comments

Sub printComments()
With ActiveSheet.PageSetup
.printComments = xlPrintSheetEnd
End With
End Sub

Use this macro to activate settings to print cell comments in the end of the page. Let’s say you have 10 pages to print, after using this code you will get all the comments on 11th last page.

31. Print Narrow Margin

Sub printNarrowMargin()
With ActiveSheet.PageSetup
.LeftMargin = Application
.InchesToPoints (0.25)
.RightMargin = Application.InchesToPoints(0.25)
.TopMargin = Application.InchesToPoints(0.75)
.BottomMargin = Application.InchesToPoints(0.75)
.HeaderMargin = Application.InchesToPoints(0.3)
.FooterMargin = Application.InchesToPoints(0.3)
End With
ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut _
Copies:=1, _
Collate:=True, _
IgnorePrintAreas:=False
End Sub

Use this VBA code to take a print with a narrow margin. When you run this macro it will automatically change margins to narrow.

32. Print Selection

Sub printSelection()
Selection.PrintOut Copies:=1, Collate:=True
End Sub

This code will help you print selected range. You don’t need to go to printing options and set printing range. Just select a range and run this code.

33. Print Custom Pages

Sub printCustomSelection()
Dim startpage As Integer
Dim endpage As Integer
startpage = _
InputBox("Please Enter Start Page number.", "Enter Value")
If Not WorksheetFunction.IsNumber(startpage) Then
MsgBox _
"Invalid Start Page number. Please try again.", "Error"
Exit Sub
End If
endpage = _
InputBox("Please Enter End Page number.", "Enter Value")
If Not WorksheetFunction.IsNumber(endpage) Then
MsgBox _
"Invalid End Page number. Please try again.", "Error"
Exit Sub
End If
Selection.PrintOut From:=startpage, _
To:=endpage, Copies:=1, Collate:=True
End Sub

Instead of using the setting from print options you can use this code to print custom page range. Let’s say you want to print pages from 5 to 10. You just need to run this VBA code and enter start page and end page.

Worksheet Codes

These macro codes will help you to control and manage worksheets in an easy way and save your a lot of time.

34. Hide all but the Active Worksheet

Sub HideWorksheet()
Dim ws As Worksheet
For Each ws In ThisWorkbook.Worksheets
If ws.Name <> ThisWorkbook.ActiveSheet.Name Then
ws.Visible = xlSheetHidden
End If
Next ws
End Sub

Now, let’s say if you want to hide all the worksheets in your workbook other than the active worksheet. This macro code will do this for you.

35. Unhide all Hidden Worksheets

Sub UnhideAllWorksheet()
Dim ws As Worksheet
For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
ws.Visible = xlSheetVisible
Next ws
End Sub

And if you want to un-hide all the worksheets which you have hide with previous code, here is the code for that.

36. Delete all but the Active Worksheet

Sub DeleteWorksheets()
Dim ws As Worksheet
For Each ws In ThisWorkbook.Worksheets
If ws.name <> ThisWorkbook.ActiveSheet.name Then
Application.DisplayAlerts = False
ws.Delete
Application.DisplayAlerts = True
End If
Next ws
End Sub

If you want to delete all the worksheets other than the active sheet, this macro is useful for you. When you run this macro it will compare the name of the active worksheet with other worksheets and then delete them.

37. Protect all Worksheets Instantly

Sub ProtectAllWorskeets()
Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim ps As String
ps = InputBox("Enter a Password.", vbOKCancel)
For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
ws.Protect Password:=ps
Next ws
End Sub

If you want to protect your all worksheets in one go here is a code for you. When you run this macro, you will get an input box to enter a password. Once you enter your password, click OK. And make sure to take care about CAPS.

38. Resize All Charts in a Worksheet

Sub Resize_Charts()
Dim i As Integer
For i = 1 To ActiveSheet.ChartObjects.Count
With ActiveSheet.ChartObjects(i)
.Width = 300
.Height = 200
End With
Next i
End Sub

Make all chart same in size. This macro code will help you to make all the charts of the same size. You can change the height and width of charts by changing it in macro code.

39. Insert Multiple Worksheets

Sub InsertMultipleSheets()
Dim i As Integer
i = _
InputBox("Enter number of sheets to insert.", _
"Enter Multiple Sheets")
Sheets.Add After:=ActiveSheet, Count:=i
End Sub

You can use this code if you want to add multiple worksheets in your workbook in a single shot. When you run this macro code you will get an input box to enter the total number of sheets you want to enter.

40. Protect Worksheet

Sub ProtectWS()
ActiveSheet.Protect "mypassword", True, True
End Sub

If you want to protect your worksheet you can use this macro code. All you have to do just mention your password in the code.

41. Un-Protect Worksheet

Sub UnprotectWS()
ActiveSheet.Unprotect "mypassword"
End Sub

If you want to unprotect your worksheet you can use this macro code. All you have to do just mention your password which you have used while protecting your worksheet.

42. Sort Worksheets

Sub SortWorksheets()
Dim i As Integer
Dim j As Integer
Dim iAnswer As VbMsgBoxResult
iAnswer = MsgBox("Sort Sheets in Ascending Order?" & Chr(10) _
& "Clicking No will sort in Descending Order", _
vbYesNoCancel + vbQuestion + vbDefaultButton1, "Sort Worksheets")
For i = 1 To Sheets.Count
For j = 1 To Sheets.Count - 1
If iAnswer = vbYes Then
If UCase$(Sheets(j).Name) > UCase$(Sheets(j + 1).Name) Then
Sheets(j).Move After:=Sheets(j + 1)
End If
ElseIf iAnswer = vbNo Then
If UCase$(Sheets(j).Name) < UCase$(Sheets(j + 1).Name) Then Sheets(j).Move After:=Sheets(j + 1)
End If
End If
Next j
Next i
End Sub

This code will help you to sort worksheets in your workbook according to their name.

43. Protect all the Cells With Formulas

Sub lockCellsWithFormulas()
With ActiveSheet
.Unprotect
.Cells.Locked = False
.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeFormulas).Locked = True
.Protect AllowDeletingRows:=True
End With
End Sub

To protect cell with formula with a single click you can use this code.

44. Delete all Blank Worksheets

Sub deleteBlankWorksheets()
Dim Ws As Worksheet
On Error Resume Next
Application.ScreenUpdating= False
Application.DisplayAlerts= False
For Each Ws In Application.Worksheets
If Application.WorksheetFunction.CountA(Ws.UsedRange) = 0 Then
Ws.Delete
End If
Next
Application.ScreenUpdating= True
Application.DisplayAlerts= True
End Sub

Run this code and it will check all the worksheets in the active workbook and delete if a worksheet is blank.

45. Unhide all Rows and Columns

Sub UnhideRowsColumns()
Columns.EntireColumn.Hidden = False
Rows.EntireRow.Hidden = False
End Sub

Instead of unhiding rows and columns on by one manually you can use this code to do this in a single go.

46. Save Each Worksheet as a Single PDF

Sub SaveWorkshetAsPDF()
Dimws As Worksheet
For Each ws In Worksheets
ws.ExportAsFixedFormat _
xlTypePDF, _
"ENTER-FOLDER-NAME-HERE" & _
ws.Name & ".pdf"
Next ws
End Sub

This code will simply save all the worksheets in a separate PDF file. You just need to change the folder name from the code.

47. Disable Page Breaks

Sub DisablePageBreaks()
Dim wb As Workbook
Dim wks As Worksheet
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
For Each wb In Application.Workbooks
For Each Sht In wb.Worksheets
Sht.DisplayPageBreaks = False
Next Sht
Next wb
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

To disable page breaks use this code. It will simply disable page breaks from all the open workbooks.

Workbook Codes

These codes will help you to perform workbook level tasks in an easy way and with minimum efforts. 

48. Create a Backup of a Current Workbook

Sub FileBackUp()
ThisWorkbook.SaveCopyAs Filename:=ThisWorkbook.Path & _
"" & Format(Date, "mm-dd-yy") & " " & _
ThisWorkbook.name
End Sub

This is one of the most useful macros which can help you to save a backup file of your current workbook.

It will save a backup file in the same directory where your current file is saved and it will also add the current date with the name of the file.

49. Close all Workbooks at Once

Sub CloseAllWorkbooks()
Dim wbs As Workbook
For Each wbs In Workbooks
wbs.Close SaveChanges:=True
Next wb
End Sub

Use this macro code to close all open workbooks. This macro code will first check all the workbooks one by one and close them. If any of the worksheets is not saved, you’ll get a message to save it.

50. Copy Active Worksheet into a New Workbook

Sub CopyWorksheetToNewWorkbook()
ThisWorkbook.ActiveSheet.Copy _
Before:=Workbooks.Add.Worksheets(1)
End Sub

Let’s say if you want to copy your active worksheet in a new workbook, just run this macro code and it will do the same for you. It’s a super time saver.

51. Active Workbook in an Email

Sub Send_Mail()
Dim OutApp As Object
Dim OutMail As Object
Set OutApp = CreateObject("Outlook.Application")
Set OutMail = OutApp.CreateItem(0)
With OutMail
.to = "Sales@FrontLinePaper.com"
.Subject = "Growth Report"
.Body = "Hello Team, Please find attached Growth Report."
.Attachments.Add ActiveWorkbook.FullName
.display
End With
Set OutMail = Nothing
Set OutApp = Nothing
End Sub

Use this macro code to quickly send your active workbook in an e-mail. You can change the subject, email, and body text in code and if you want to send this mail directly, use «.Send» instead of «.Display».

52. Add Workbook to a Mail Attachment

Sub OpenWorkbookAsAttachment()
Application.Dialogs(xlDialogSendMail).Show
End Sub

Once you run this macro it will open your default mail client and attached active workbook with it as an attachment.

53. Welcome Message

Sub auto_open()
MsgBox _
"Welcome To ExcelChamps & Thanks for downloading this file."
End Sub

You can use auto_open to perform a task on opening a file and all you have to do just name your macro «auto_open».

54. Closing Message

Sub auto_close()
MsgBox "Bye Bye! Don't forget to check other cool stuff on
excelchamps.com"
End Sub

You can use close_open to perform a task on opening a file and all you have to do just name your macro «close_open».

55. Count Open Unsaved Workbooks

Sub VisibleWorkbooks()
Dim book As Workbook
Dim i As Integer
For Each book In Workbooks
If book.Saved = False Then
i = i + 1
End If
Next book
MsgBox i
End Sub

Let’s you have 5-10 open workbooks, you can use this code to get the number of workbooks which are not saved yet.

Pivot Table Codes

These codes will help you to manage and make some changes in pivot tables in a flash.

56. Hide Pivot Table Subtotals

Sub HideSubtotals()
Dim pt As PivotTable
Dim pf As PivotField
On Error Resume Next
Set pt = ActiveSheet.PivotTables(ActiveCell.PivotTable.Name)
If pt Is Nothing Then
MsgBox "You must place your cursor inside of a PivotTable."
Exit Sub
End If
For Each pf In pt.PivotFields
pf.Subtotals(1) = True
pf.Subtotals(1) = False
Next pf
End Sub

If you want to hide all the subtotals, just run this code. First of all, make sure to select a cell from your pivot table and then run this macro.

57. Refresh All Pivot Tables

Sub vba_referesh_all_pivots()
Dim pt As PivotTable
For Each pt In ActiveWorkbook.PivotTables
pt.RefreshTable
Next pt
End Sub

A super quick method to refresh all pivot tables. Just run this code and all of your pivot tables in your workbook will be refresh in a single shot.

58. Create a Pivot Table

Follow this step by step guide to create a pivot table using VBA.

59. Auto Update Pivot Table Range

Sub UpdatePivotTableRange()
Dim Data_Sheet As Worksheet
Dim Pivot_Sheet As Worksheet
Dim StartPoint As Range
Dim DataRange As Range
Dim PivotName As String
Dim NewRange As String
Dim LastCol As Long
Dim lastRow As Long
'Set Pivot Table & Source Worksheet
Set Data_Sheet = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("PivotTableData3")
Set Pivot_Sheet = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Pivot3")
'Enter in Pivot Table Name
PivotName = "PivotTable2"
'Defining Staring Point & Dynamic Range
Data_Sheet.Activate
Set StartPoint = Data_Sheet.Range("A1")
LastCol = StartPoint.End(xlToRight).Column
DownCell = StartPoint.End(xlDown).Row
Set DataRange = Data_Sheet.Range(StartPoint, Cells(DownCell, LastCol))
NewRange = Data_Sheet.Name & "!" & DataRange.Address(ReferenceStyle:=xlR1C1)
'Change Pivot Table Data Source Range Address
Pivot_Sheet.PivotTables(PivotName). _
ChangePivotCache ActiveWorkbook. _
PivotCaches.Create(SourceType:=xlDatabase, SourceData:=NewRange)
'Ensure Pivot Table is Refreshed
Pivot_Sheet.PivotTables(PivotName).RefreshTable
'Complete Message
Pivot_Sheet.Activate
MsgBox "Your Pivot Table is now updated."
End Sub

If you are not using Excel tables then you can use this code to update pivot table range.

60. Disable/Enable Get Pivot Data

Sub activateGetPivotData()
Application.GenerateGetPivotData = True
End Sub
Sub deactivateGetPivotData()
Application.GenerateGetPivotData = False
End Sub

To disable/enable GetPivotData function you need to use Excel option. But with this code you can do it in a single click.

Charts Codes

Use these VBA codes to manage charts in Excel and save your lot of time. 

61. Change Chart Type

Sub ChangeChartType()
ActiveChart.ChartType = xlColumnClustered
End Sub

This code will help you to convert chart type without using chart options from the tab. All you have to do just specify to which type you want to convert.

Below code will convert selected chart to a clustered column chart. There are different codes for different types, you can find all those types from here.

62. Paste Chart as an Image

Sub ConvertChartToPicture()
ActiveChart.ChartArea.Copy
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Select
ActiveSheet.Pictures.Paste.Select
End Sub

This code will help you to convert your chart into an image. You just need to select your chart and run this code.

63. Add Chart Title

Sub AddChartTitle()
Dim i As Variant
i = InputBox("Please enter your chart title", "Chart Title")
On Error GoTo Last
ActiveChart.SetElement (msoElementChartTitleAboveChart)
ActiveChart.ChartTitle.Text = i
Last:
Exit Sub
End Sub

First of all, you need to select your chart and the run this code. You will get an input box to enter chart title.

Advanced Codes

Some of the codes which you can use to preform advanced task in your spreadsheets.

64. Save Selected Range as a PDF

Sub HideSubtotals()
Dim pt As PivotTable
Dim pf As PivotField
On Error Resume Next
Set pt = ActiveSheet.PivotTables(ActiveCell.PivotTable.name)
If pt Is Nothing Then
MsgBox "You must place your cursor inside of a PivotTable."
Exit Sub
End If
For Each pf In pt.PivotFields
pf.Subtotals(1) = True
pf.Subtotals(1) = False
Next pf
End Sub

If you want to hide all the subtotals, just run this code. First of all, make sure to select a cell from your pivot table and then run this macro.

65. Create a Table of Content

Sub TableofContent()
Dim i As Long
On Error Resume Next
Application.DisplayAlerts = False
Worksheets("Table of Content").Delete
Application.DisplayAlerts = True
On Error GoTo 0
ThisWorkbook.Sheets.Add Before:=ThisWorkbook.Worksheets(1)
ActiveSheet.Name = "Table of Content"
For i = 1 To Sheets.Count
With ActiveSheet
.Hyperlinks.Add _
Anchor:=ActiveSheet.Cells(i, 1), _
Address:="", _
SubAddress:="'" & Sheets(i).Name & "'!A1", _
ScreenTip:=Sheets(i).Name, _
TextToDisplay:=Sheets(i).Name
End With
Next i
End Sub

Let’s say you have more than 100 worksheets in your workbook and it’s hard to navigate now.

Don’t worry this macro code will rescue everything. When you run this code it will create a new worksheet and create a index of worksheets with a hyperlink to them.

66. Convert Range into an Image

Sub PasteAsPicture()
Application.CutCopyMode = False
Selection.Copy
ActiveSheet.Pictures.Paste.Select
End Sub

Paste selected range as an image. You just have to select the range and once you run this code it will automatically insert a picture for that range.

67. Insert a Linked Picture

Sub LinkedPicture()
Selection.Copy
ActiveSheet.Pictures.Paste(Link:=True).Select
End Sub

This VBA code will convert your selected range into a linked picture and you can use that image anywhere you want.

68. Use Text to Speech

Sub Speak()
Selection.Speak
End Sub

Just select a range and run this code. Excel will speak all the text what you have in that range, cell by cell.

69. Activate Data Entry Form

Sub DataForm()
ActiveSheet.ShowDataForm
End Sub

There is a default data entry form which you can use for data entry.

70. Use Goal Seek

Sub GoalSeekVBA()
Dim Target As Long
On Error GoTo Errorhandler
Target = InputBox("Enter the required value", "Enter Value")
Worksheets("Goal_Seek").Activate
With ActiveSheet.Range("C7")
.GoalSeek_ Goal:=Target, _
ChangingCell:=Range("C2")
End With
Exit Sub
Errorhandler: MsgBox ("Sorry, value is not valid.")
End Sub

Goal Seek can be super helpful for you to solve complex problems. Learn more about goal seek from here before you use this code.

71. VBA Code to Search on Google

Sub SearchWindow32()
Dim chromePath As String
Dim search_string As String
Dim query As String
query = InputBox("Enter here your search here", "Google Search")
search_string = query
search_string = Replace(search_string, " ", "+")
'Uncomment the following line for Windows 64 versions and comment out Windows 32 versions'
'chromePath = "C:Program FilesGoogleChromeApplicationchrome.exe"
'Uncomment the following line for Windows 32 versions and comment out Windows 64 versions
'chromePath = "C:Program Files (x86)GoogleChromeApplicationchrome.exe"
Shell (chromePath & " -url http://google.com/#q=" & search_string)
End Sub

Formula Codes

These codes will help you to calculate or get results which often you do with worksheet functions and formulas.

72. Convert all Formulas into Values

Sub convertToValues()
Dim MyRange As Range
Dim MyCell As Range
Select Case _
MsgBox("You Can't Undo This Action. " _
& "Save Workbook First?", vbYesNoCancel, _
"Alert")
Case Is = vbYes
ThisWorkbook.Save
Case Is = vbCancel
Exit Sub
End Select
Set MyRange = Selection
For Each MyCell In MyRange
If MyCell.HasFormula Then
MyCell.Formula = MyCell.Value
End If
Next MyCell
End Sub

Simply convert formulas into values. When you run this macro it will quickly change the formulas into absolute values.

73. Remove Spaces from Selected Cells

Sub RemoveSpaces()
Dim myRange As Range
Dim myCell As Range
Select Case MsgBox("You Can't Undo This Action. " _
& "Save Workbook First?", _
vbYesNoCancel, "Alert")
Case Is = vbYesThisWorkbook.Save
Case Is = vbCancel
Exit Sub
End Select
Set myRange = Selection
For Each myCell In myRange
If Not IsEmpty(myCell) Then
myCell = Trim(myCell)
End If
Next myCell
End Sub

One of the most useful macros from this list. It will check your selection and then remove all the extra spaces from that.

74. Remove Characters from a String

Public Function removeFirstC(rng As String, cnt As Long)
removeFirstC = Right(rng, Len(rng) - cnt)
End Function

Simply remove characters from the starting of a text string. All you need is to refer to a cell or insert a text into the function and number of characters to remove from the text string.

It has two arguments «rng» for the text string and «cnt» for the count of characters to remove. For Example: If you want to remove first characters from a cell, you need to enter 1 in cnt.

75. Add Insert Degree Symbol in Excel

Sub degreeSymbol( )
Dim rng As Range
For Each rng In Selection
rng.Select
If ActiveCell <> "" Then
If IsNumeric(ActiveCell.Value) Then
ActiveCell.Value = ActiveCell.Value & "°"
End If
End If
Next
End Sub

Let’s say you have a list of numbers in a column and you want to add degree symbol with all of them.

76. Reverse Text

Public Function rvrse(ByVal cell As Range) As String
rvrse = VBA.strReverse(cell.Value)
End Function

All you have to do just enter «rvrse» function in a cell and refer to the cell in which you have text which you want to reverse.

77. Activate R1C1 Reference Style

Sub ActivateR1C1()
If Application.ReferenceStyle = xlA1 Then
Application.ReferenceStyle = xlR1C1
Else
Application.ReferenceStyle = xlR1C1
End If
End Sub

This macro code will help you to activate R1C1 reference style without using Excel options.

78. Activate A1 Reference Style

Sub ActivateA1()
If Application.ReferenceStyle = xlR1C1 Then
Application.ReferenceStyle = xlA1
Else
Application.ReferenceStyle = xlA1
End If
End Sub

This macro code will help you to activate A1 reference style without using Excel options.

79. Insert Time Range

Sub TimeStamp()
Dim i As Integer
For i = 1 To 24
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = i & ":00"
ActiveCell.NumberFormat = "[$-409]h:mm AM/PM;@"
ActiveCell.Offset(RowOffset:=1, ColumnOffset:=0).Select
Next i
End Sub

With this code, you can insert a time range in sequence from 00:00 to 23:00.

80. Convert Date into Day

Sub date2day()
Dim tempCell As Range
Selection.Value = Selection.Value
For Each tempCell In Selection
If IsDate(tempCell) = True Then
With tempCell
.Value = Day(tempCell)
.NumberFormat = "0"
End With
End If
Next tempCell
End Sub

If you have dates in your worksheet and you want to convert all those dates into days then this code is for you. Simply select the range of cells and run this macro.

81. Convert Date into Year

Sub date2year()
Dim tempCell As Range
Selection.Value = Selection.Value
For Each tempCell In Selection
If IsDate(tempCell) = True Then
With tempCell
.Value = Year(tempCell)
.NumberFormat = "0"
End With
End If
Next tempCell
End Sub

This code will convert dates into years.

82. Remove Time from Date

Sub removeTime()
Dim Rng As Range
For Each Rng In Selection
If IsDate(Rng) = True Then
Rng.Value = VBA.Int(Rng.Value)
End If
Next
Selection.NumberFormat = "dd-mmm-yy"
End Sub

If you have time with the date and you want to remove it then you can use this code.

83. Remove Date from Date and Time

Sub removeDate()
Dim Rng As Range
For Each Rng In Selection
If IsDate(Rng) = True Then
Rng.Value = Rng.Value - VBA.Fix(Rng.Value)
End If
NextSelection.NumberFormat = "hh:mm:ss am/pm"
End Sub

It will return only time from a date and time value.

84. Convert to Upper Case

Sub convertUpperCase()
Dim Rng As Range
For Each Rng In Selection
If Application.WorksheetFunction.IsText(Rng) Then
Rng.Value = UCase(Rng)
End If
Next
End Sub

Select the cells and run this code. It will check each and every cell of selected range and then convert it into upper case text.

85. Convert to Lower Case

Sub convertLowerCase()
Dim Rng As Range
For Each Rng In Selection
If Application.WorksheetFunction.IsText(Rng) Then
Rng.Value= LCase(Rng)
End If
Next
End Sub

This code will help you to convert selected text into lower case text. Just select a range of cells where you have text and run this code. If a cell has a number or any value other than text that value will remain same.

86. Convert to Proper Case

Sub convertProperCase()
Dim Rng As Range
For Each Rng In Selection
If WorksheetFunction.IsText(Rng) Then
Rng.Value = WorksheetFunction.Proper(Rng.Value)
End If
Next
End Sub

And this code will convert selected text into the proper case where you have the first letter in capital and rest in small.

87. Convert to Sentence Case

Sub convertTextCase()
Dim Rng As Range
For Each Rng In Selection
If WorksheetFunction.IsText(Rng) Then
Rng.Value = UCase(Left(Rng, 1)) & LCase(Right(Rng, Len(Rng) - 1))
End If
Next Rng
End Sub

In text case, you have the first letter of the first word in capital and rest all in words in small for a single sentence and this code will help you convert normal text into sentence case.

88. Remove a Character from Selection

Sub removeChar()
Dim Rng As Range
Dim rc As String
rc = InputBox("Character(s) to Replace", "Enter Value")
For Each Rng In Selection
Selection.Replace What:=rc, Replacement:=""
Next
End Sub

To remove a particular character from a selected cell you can use this code. It will show you an input box to enter the character you want to remove.

89. Word Count from Entire Worksheet

Sub Word_Count_Worksheet()
Dim WordCnt As Long
Dim rng As Range
Dim S As String
Dim N As Long
For Each rng In ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Cells
S = Application.WorksheetFunction.Trim(rng.Text)
N = 0
If S <> vbNullString Then
N = Len(S) - Len(Replace(S, " ", "")) + 1
End If
WordCnt = WordCnt + N
Next rng
MsgBox "There are total " _
& Format(WordCnt, "#,##0") & _
" words in the active worksheet"
End Sub

It can help you to count all the words from a worksheet.

90. Remove the Apostrophe from a Number

Sub removeApostrophes()
Selection.Value = Selection.Value
End Sub

If you have numeric data where you have an apostrophe before each number, you run this code to remove it.

91. Remove Decimals from Numbers

Sub removeDecimals()
Dim lnumber As Double
Dim lResult As Long
Dim rng As Range
For Each rng In Selection
rng.Value = Int(rng)
rng.NumberFormat = "0"
Next rng
End Sub

This code will simply help you to remove all the decimals from the numbers from the selected range.

92. Multiply all the Values by a Number

Sub addNumber()
Dim rng As Range
Dim i As Integer
i = InputBox("Enter number to multiple", "Input Required")
For Each rng In Selection
If WorksheetFunction.IsNumber(rng) Then
rng.Value = rng + i
Else
End If
Next rng
End Sub

Let’s you have a list of numbers and you want to multiply all the number with a particular. To use this code: Select that range of cells and run this code. It will first ask you for the number with whom you want to multiple and then instantly multiply all the numbers with it.

93. Add a Number in all the Numbers

Sub addNumber()
Dim rng As Range
Dim i As Integer
i = InputBox("Enter number to multiple", "Input Required")
For Each rng In Selection
If WorksheetFunction.IsNumber(rng) Then
rng.Value = rng + i
Else
End If
Next rng
End Sub

Just like multiplying you can also add a number into a set of numbers.

94. Calculate the Square Root

Sub getSquareRoot()
Dim rng As Range
Dim i As Integer
For Each rng In Selection
If WorksheetFunction.IsNumber(rng) Then
rng.Value = Sqr(rng)
Else
End If
Next rng
End Sub

To calculate square root without applying a formula you can use this code. It will simply check all the selected cells and convert numbers to their square root.

95. Calculate the Cube Root

Sub getCubeRoot()
Dim rng As Range
Dimi As Integer
For Each rng In Selection
If WorksheetFunction.IsNumber(rng) Then
rng.Value = rng ^ (1 / 3)
Else
End If
Nextrng
End Sub

To calculate cube root without applying a formula you can use this code. It will simply check all the selected cells and convert numbers to their cube root.

96. Add A-Z Alphabets in a Range

Sub addsAlphabets1()
Dim i As Integer
For i = 65 To 90
ActiveCell.Value = Chr(i)
ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Select
Next i
End Sub
Sub addsAlphabets2()
Dim i As Integer
For i = 97 To 122
ActiveCell.Value = Chr(i)
ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Select
Next i
End Sub

Just like serial numbers you can also insert alphabets in your worksheet. Beloware the code which you can use.

97. Convert Roman Numbers into Arabic Numbers

Sub convertToNumbers()
Dim rng As Range
Selection.Value = Selection.Value
For Each rng In Selection
If Not WorksheetFunction.IsNonText(rng) Then
rng.Value = WorksheetFunction.Arabic(rng)
End If
Next rng
End Sub

Sometimes it’s really hard to understand Roman numbers as serial numbers. This code will help you to convert roman numbers into Arabic numbers.

98. Remove Negative Signs

Sub removeNegativeSign()
Dim rng As Range
Selection.Value = Selection.Value
For Each rng In Selection
If WorksheetFunction.IsNumber(rng) Then
rng.Value = Abs(rng)
End If
Next rng

This code will simply check all the cell in the selection and convert all the negative numbers into positive. Just select a range and run this code.

99. Replace Blank Cells with Zeros

Sub replaceBlankWithZero()
Dim rng As Range
Selection.Value = Selection.Value
For Each rng In Selection
If rng = "" Or rng = " " Then
rng.Value = "0"
Else
End If
Next rng
End Sub

For data where you have blank cells, you can use the below code to add zeros in all those cells. It makes easier to use those cells in further calculations.

More Codes

100. More VBA Examples and Tutorials

  • User Defined Function [UDF] in Excel using VBA
  • VBA Interview Questions
  • Add a Comment in a VBA Code (Macro)
  • Add a Line Break in a VBA Code (Single Line into Several Lines)
  • Add a New Line (Carriage Return) in a String in VBA
  • Personal Macro Workbook (personal.xlsb)
  • Record a Macro in Excel
  • VBA Exit Sub Statement
  • VBA Immediate Window (Debug.Print)
  • VBA Module
  • VBA MSGBOX
  • VBA Objects
  • VBA With Statement
  • Count Rows using VBA
  • Excel VBA Font (Color, Size, Type, and Bold)
  • Excel VBA Hide and Unhide a Column or a Row
  • Excel VBA Range – Working with Range and Cells in VBA
  • Apply Borders on a Cell using VBA in Excel
  • Find Last Row, Column, and Cell using VBA in Excel
  • Insert a Row using VBA in Excel
  • Merge Cells in Excel using a VBA Code
  • Select a Range/Cell using VBA in Excel
  • How to SELECT ALL the Cells in a Worksheet using a VBA Code
  • use ActiveCell in VBA in Excel
  • How to use Special Cells Method in VBA in Excel
  • How to use UsedRange Property in VBA in Excel
  • VBA AutoFit (Rows, Column, or the Entire Worksheet)
  • VBA ClearContents (from a Cell, Range, or Entire Worksheet)
  • VBA Copy Range to Another Sheet + Workbook
  • VBA Enter Value in a Cell (Set, Get and Change)
  • VBA Insert Column (Single and Multiple)
  • VBA Named Range
  • VBA Range Offset
  • VBA Sort Range | (Descending, Multiple Columns, Sort Orientation
  • VBA Wrap Text (Cell, Range, and Entire Worksheet)
  • How to CLEAR an Entire Sheet using VBA in Excel
  • How to Copy and Move a Sheet in Excel using VBA
  • How to COUNT Sheets using VBA in Excel
  • How to DELETE a SHEET using VBA in Excel
  • How to Hide & Unhide a Sheet using VBA in Excel
  • How to PROTECT and UNPROTECT a Sheet using VBA in Excel
  • RENAME a Sheet using VBA
  • Write a VBA Code to Create a New Sheet
  • VBA Worksheet Object
  • Activate a Sheet using VBA
  • Copy an Excel File (Workbook)
  • VBA Activate Workbook (Excel File)
  • VBA Close Workbook (Excel File)
  • VBA Combine Workbooks (Excel Files)
  • VBA Create New Workbook (Excel File)
  • VBA Delete Workbook (Excel File)
  • VBA Open Workbook (Excel File)
  • VBA Protect/Unprotect Workbook (Excel File)
  • VBA Rename Workbook (Excel File)
  • VBA Save Workbook (Excel File)
  • VBA ThisWorkbook (Current Excel File)
  • VBA Workbook 
  • Declare Global Variable (Public) in VBA
  • Range or a Cell as a Variable in VBA
  • Option Explicit Statement in VBA
  • Variable in a Message Box
  • VBA Constants
  • VBA Dim Statement
  • VBA Variables (Declare, Data Types, and Scope)
  • VBA Add New Value to the Array
  • VBA Array
  • VBA Array Length (Size)
  • VBA Array with Strings
  • VBA Clear Array (Erase)
  • VBA Dynamic Array
  • VBA Loop Through an Array
  • VBA Multi-Dimensional Array
  • VBA Range to an Array
  • VBA Search for a Value in an Array
  • VBA Sort Array
  • How to Average Values in Excel using VBA
  • Get Today’s Date and Current Time using VBA
  • Sum Values in Excel using VBA
  • Match Function in VBA
  • MOD in VBA
  • Random Number
  • VBA Calculate (Cell, Range, Row, & Workbook)
  • VBA Concatenate
  • VBA Worksheet Function (Use Excel Functions in a Macro)
  • How to Check IF a Sheet Exists using VBA in Excel
  • VBA Check IF a Cell is Empty + Multiple Cells
  • VBA Check IF a Workbook Exists in a Folder (Excel File)
  • VBA Check IF a Workbook is Open (Excel File)
  • VBA Exit IF
  • VBA IF – IF Then Else Statement
  • VBA IF And (Test Multiple Conditions)
  • VBA IF Not
  • VBA IF OR (Test Multiple Conditions)
  • VBA Nested IF
  • VBA SELECT CASE Statement (Test Multiple Conditions)
  • VBA Automation Error (Error 440)
  • VBA Error 400
  • VBA ERROR Handling
  • VBA Invalid Procedure Call Or Argument Error (Error 5)
  • VBA Object Doesn’t Support this Property or Method Error (Error 438)
  • VBA Object Required Error (Error 424)
  • VBA Out of Memory Error (Error 7)
  • VBA Overflow Error (Error 6)
  • VBA Runtime Error (Error 1004)
  • VBA Subscript Out of Range Runtime Error (Error 9)
  • VBA Type Mismatch Error (Error 13)
  • Excel VBA Do While Loop and (Do Loop While)
  • How to Loop Through All the Sheets using VBA
  • Loop Through a Range using VBA
  • VBA FOR LOOP
  • VBA GoTo Statement
  • Input Box in VBA
  • VBA Create and Write to a Text File
  • VBA ScreenUpdating
  • VBA Status Bar
  • VBA Wait and Sleep

About the Author

puneet one point one

Puneet is using Excel since his college days. He helped thousands of people to understand the power of the spreadsheets and learn Microsoft Excel. You can find him online, tweeting about Excel, on a running track, or sometimes hiking up a mountain.

Return to VBA Code Examples

In this Article

  • VBA Cheat Sheet PDF (Free Download)
  • VBA Cheat Sheets
    • Sheets
    • Cells & Ranges
    • Rows
    • Columns
    • Workbooks
    • Settings
    • Errors
    • Files
    • Arrays
    • Collections
    • Dictionaries
  • AutoMacro – The Ultimate VBA Add-in

.

VBA Cheat Sheet PDF (Free Download)

Download our free Excel VBA Cheat Sheet PDF for quick reference!

vba cheatsheet pdf


VBA Cheat Sheets

Reference this page for lists of all common VBA Commands & Syntax. You will find many basic commands (ex. insert a sheet) and some advanced syntax (ex. working with arrays).

Tips:

Use CTRL + F to search this page.

Bookmark this page (CTRL + D on Chrome)!

Sheets

Activate by Tab Name

Sheets(“Input”).Activate

Activate by VBA Code Name

Sheet1.Activate

Activate by Index Position

Sheets(1).Activate

Next Sheet

ActiveSheet.Next.Activate

Get ActiveSheet

MsgBox ActiveSheet.Name

Select Sheet

Sheets(“Input”).Select

Set to Variable

Dim ws as Worksheet
Set ws = ActiveSheet

Name / Rename

ActiveSheet.Name = “NewName”

Add Sheet and Name

Sheets.Add.Name = “NewSheet”

Add Sheet to Variable

Dim ws As Worksheet
Set ws = Sheets.Add

Copy Sheet

Sheets(“Sheet1”).Copy Before:=Sheets(“Sheet2”)

Hide Sheet

Sheets(“Sheet1”).visible = False
or
Sheets(“Sheet1”).visible = xlSheetHidden

Unhide Sheet

Sheets(“Sheet1”).Visible = True
or
Sheets(“Sheet1”).Visible = xlSheetVisible

Very Hide Sheet

Sheets(“Sheet1”).Visible = xlSheetVeryHidden

Delete Sheet

Sheets(“Sheet1”).Delete

Clear Sheet

Sheets(“Sheet1”).Cells.Clear

Unprotect (No Password)

Sheets(“Sheet1”).Unprotect

Unprotect (Password)

Sheets(“Sheet1”).Unprotect “Password”

Protect (No Password)

Sheets(“Sheet1”).Protect

Protect (Password)

Sheets(“Sheet1”).Protect “Password”

Protect but Allow VBA Access

Sheets(“Sheet1”).Protect UserInterfaceOnly:=True

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Cells & Ranges

Activate Cell

Range(“B3”).Activate
Cells(3,2).Activate

Select Range

Range(“a1:a3”).Select
Range(Range(“a1”), Range(“a3”)).Select
Range(Cells(1, 1), Cells(3, 1)).Select

Resize

Range(“B3”).Resize(2, 2).Select

Offset

Range(“B3”).Offset(2, 2).Select

Copy

Range(“A1:B3”).Copy Range(“D1”)

Cut

Range(“A1:B3”).Cut Range(“D1”)

Delete

Range(“A1:B3”).Delete
Range(“A1:B3”).Delete shift:=xlShiftToLeft

Clear

Range(“A1:A3”).Clear
Range(“A1:A3”).ClearContents
Range(“A1:A3”).ClearFormat

Count

Range(“A1:A3”).Count

Set to Variable

Dim rng as Range
Set rng = Range(“A1”)

Merge/UnMerge

Range(“A1:A3”).Merge
Range(“A1:A3”).UnMerge

Loop Through Cellls

Dim cell As Range

For Each cell In Range(“A1:C3”)
MsgBox cell.Value
Next cell

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Rows

Activate

Rows(1).Activate
Rows(“1:1”).Activate
Range(“a1”).EntireRow.Activate

Height / Width

Range(“A1”).EntireRow.RowHeight = 30

Delete

Range(“A1”).EntireRow.Delete

Count

Range(“A1”).Rows.Count

Insert

Range(“A1”).EntireRow.Insert

Last

dim lRow as long
lRow = Cells(Rows.Count, 1).End(xlUp).Row

Copy

Range(“1:1”).Copy Range(“5:5”)

Insert

Range(“1:1”).Copy
Range(“5:5”).Insert

Return to Top

Columns

Activate

Columns(1).Activate
Columns(“a:a”).Activate
Range(“a1”).EntireColumn.Activate

Height / Width

Range(“A1”).EntireColumn.ColumnWidth = 30

Delete

Range(“A1”).EntireColumn.Delete

Count

Range(“A1”).Columns.Count

Insert

Range(“A1”).EntireColumn.Insert

Last

dim lCol as long
lCol = Cells(1, Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column

Copy

Range(“A:A”).Copy Range(“E:E”)

Insert

Range(“A:A”).Copy
Range(“E:E”).Insert

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VBA Coding Made Easy

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Workbooks

Activate

Workbooks(“Book1”).Activate

Activate First Opened

Workbooks(1).Activate

Activate Last Opened

Workbooks(Workbooks.Count).Activate

Get ActivateWorkbook

MsgBox ActiveWorkbook.Name

Get ThisWorkbook (containing VBA Code)

MsgBox ThisWorkbook.Name

Add to Variable

Dim wb As Workbook
Set wb = Workbooks.Add

Open

Workbooks.Open(“C:example.xlsm”)

Open to Variable

Dim wb As Workbook
Set wb = Workbooks.Open(“C:example.xlsm”)

Close

Workbooks(“Book1”).Close SaveChanges:=False
Workbooks(“Book1”).Close SaveChanges:=True

Save

Workbooks(“Book1”).Save

Save As

Workbooks(“Book1”).SaveAs strFileName

Protect/Unprotect

Workbooks(1).Protect “password”
Workbooks(1).Unprotect “password”

Set to Variable

Dim wb as Workbook
Set wb = Workbooks(“Book1”)

Loop Through All Workbook in Workbooks

Dim wb As Workbook

For Each wb In Workbooks
MsgBox wb.Name
Next wb

Check Exists

If Dir(“C:Book1.xlsx”) = “” Then
MsgBox “File does not exist.”
EndIf

Copy Closed

FileCopy “C:file1.xlsx”,”C:file2.xlsx”

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Settings

Screen Updating

Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Application.ScreenUpdating = True

Display Alerts

Application.DisplayAlerts = False
Application.DisplayAlerts = True

Events

Application.EnableEvents = False
Application.EnableEvents = True

Enable Cancel Key

Application.EnableCancelKey = xlDisabled
Application.EnableCancelKey = xlInterrupt

Text Compare – Ignore Case

Option Compare Text

Require Variable Declaration

Option Explicit

Automatic Calculations

Application.Calculation = xlManual
Application.Calculation = xlAutomatic

Background Error Checking

Application.ErrorCheckingOptions.BackgroundChecking = False
Application.ErrorCheckingOptions.BackgroundChecking = True

Display Formula Bar

Application.DisplayFormulaBar = False
Application.DisplayFormulaBar = True

Freeze Panes

ActiveWindow.FreezePanes = False
ActiveWindow.FreezePanes = True

Full Screen View

Application.DisplayFullScreen = False
Application.DisplayFullScreen = True

PageBreak Preview

ActiveWindow.View = xlPageBreakPreview
ActiveWindow.View = xlNormalView

Display Scroll Bars

With ActiveWindow
.DisplayHorizontalScrollBar = False
.DisplayVerticalScrollBar = False
End WithWith ActiveWindow
.DisplayHorizontalScrollBar = True
.DisplayVerticalScrollBar = True
End With

Display Status Bar

Application.DisplayStatusBar = False
Application.DisplayStatusBar = True

Status Bar Contents

Application.StatusBar = “I’m working Now!!!”
Application.StatusBar = False

Display Workbook Tabs

ActiveWindow.DisplayWorkbookTabs = False
ActiveWindow.DisplayWorkbookTabs = True

UserName

Application.UserName = “AutomateExcel.com”

App Caption

Application.Caption = “AutomateExcel Model”

Zoom

ActiveWindow.Zoom = 80

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Errors

On Error – Stop code and display error

On Error Goto 0

On Error – Skip error and continue running

On Error Resume Next

On Error – Go to a line of code [Label]

On Error Goto [Label]

Clears (Resets) Error

On Error GoTo1

Show Error number

MsgBox Err.Number

Show Description of error

MsgBox Err.Description

Function to generate own error

Err.Raise

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Files

Copy File

FileCopy “C:testtest_old.xlsx”, “C:testtest_new.xlsx”

Delete File

Kill “C:testexample.xlsx”

Make Folder

MkDir “C:test”

Delete All Files From Folder

Kill “C:test” & “*.*”

Delete Folder

Kill “C:test” & “*.*”
RmDir “C:test”

Current Directory

strPath = CurDir()

ThisWorkbook Path

strPath = ThisWorkbook.Path

Loop Through All Files in Folder

strFile = Dir(“C:test” & “*”)

Do While Len(strFile) > 0
Debug.Print strFile
strFile = Dir
Loop

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Arrays

Create

Dim arr(1 To 3) As Variant
arr(1) = “one”
arr(2) = “two”
arr(3) = “three”

Create From Excel

Dim arr(1 To 3) As Variant
Dim cell As Range, i As Integer
i = LBound(arr)
For
Each cell In Range(“A1:A3”)
i = i + 1
arr(i) = cell.value
Next cell

Read All Items

Dim i as Long
For i = LBound(arr) To UBound(arr)
MsgBox arr(i)
Next i

Array to String

Dim sName As String
sName = Join(arr, “:”)

Increase Size

ReDim Preserve arr(0 To 100)

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Collections

Create

Dim coll As New Collection
coll.Add “one”
coll.Add “two”

Create From Excel

Dim coll As New Collection
Dim cell As Range
For
Each cell In Range(“A1:A2”)
coll.Add cell.value
Next cell

Add Item

coll.Add “Value”

Add Item Before

coll.Add “Value”, Before:=1

Add Item After

coll.Add “Value”, After:=1

Read Item

MsgBox coll (1)

Read All Items

Dim item As Variant
For Each item In coll
MsgBox item
Next item

Remove Item

coll.Remove (1)

Remove All Items

Set coll = New Collection

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Dictionaries

Required Reference

Tools > References > Microsoft Scripting Runtime

Create

Dim dict As New Scripting.Dictionary
dict.Add “”
dict.Add “”

Create From Excel

Dim dict As New Scripting.Dictionary
Dim cell As Range
Dim key As Integer
For
Each cell In Range(“A1:A10”)
key = key + 1
dict.Add key, cell.value
Next cell

Add Item

dict.Add “Key”, “Value”

Change Value

dict(“Key”) = “Value”

Get Value

MsgBox dict(“Key”)

Check For Value

If dict.Exists(“Key”) Then
MsgBox “Exists”
End If

Remove Item

dict.Remove (“Key”)

Remove All Items

dict.RemoveAll

Loop Through Items

Dim key As Variant
For Each key In dict.Keys
MsgBox key, dict(key)
Next key

Make Key Case Sensitive

dict.CompareMode = vbBinaryCompare

Make Key Case Insensitive

dict.CompareMode = vbTextCompare

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Памятка для начинающих по коду VBA Excel. Краткий справочник по часто используемым выражениям при написании программного кода.

Краткий справочник (памятка) позволяет быстро найти нужное выражение (оператор, функцию, метод) для копирования и вставки в код VBA Excel при написании программы.

Обращение к ячейке

Способы обращения к диапазону в виде одной ячейки на примере ячейки B5 на активном листе:

Range(«B5»)

[B5]

Cells(5, 2)

Cells(5, «B»)

Обращение к ячейке на неактивном листе активной книги:

Worksheets(«Имя листа»).Range(«B5») = 123

Обращение к ячейке в неактивной книге:

Workbooks(«Книга2.xlsm»).Worksheets(«Имя листа»).Range(«B5») = 123

Обращение к ячейке в неактивной текущей книге с исполняемым кодом:

ThisWorkbook.Worksheets(«Имя листа»).Range(«B5») = 123

"Имя листа" — это имя на ярлыке листа, которое в проводнике проекта VBA отображается в скобках.

Обращение к диапазону

Способы обращения к диапазону на активном листе:

‘смежный диапазон

Range(«B5:E10»)

[B5:E10]

Range(Cells(5, 2), Cells(10, 5))

Range(Cells(5, «B»), Cells(10, «E»))

‘несмежный диапазон

Range(«B5:E10, G2:I7, D12:F17»)

Application.Union([B5:E10], [G2:I7], [D12:F17])

С помощью метода Application.Union можно объединить в несмежный диапазон и выражения типа Range(Cells(5, 2), Cells(10, 5)).

Способы обращения к диапазону на неактивном листе и в неактивной книге те же, что и для диапазона в виде одной ячейки (смотрите выше).

Обмен значениями

Ячейка-переменная-ячейка

Диапазон-массив-диапазон

Dim arr

arr = Range(«A1:E5»)

Range(«A7:E11») = arr

Аналог Ctrl+стрелка

Аналог сочетания клавиш Ctrl+стрелка — свойство End объекта Range:

Dim myRange As Range, a As String

Set myRange = Range(«D10»).End(xlDown | xlToLeft | xlToRight | xlUp)

a = Range(«D10»).End(xlDown | xlToLeft | xlToRight | xlUp).Address

В качестве аргумента свойства End оставляем одну константу в зависимости от нужного направления.

Последняя строка таблицы

Варианты определения номера последней строки таблицы:

Dim n as Long

n = Range(«A1»).CurrentRegion.Rows.Count

n = Range(«A1»).End(xlDown).Row

n = Cells(Rows.Count, «A»).End(xlUp).Row

Шаблоны для копирования

Краткий справочник по циклам и другим блокам кода. Копируйте шаблоны из памятки для начинающих и вставляйте их в свой код VBA Excel. Используйте свои переменные, условия и операторы.

Оператор With

With объект

    операторы

End With

Функция IIf

IIf(условие, если True, если False)

Оператор If…Then…Else

Однострочная конструкция:

If условие Then операторы

Многострочная конструкция полная:

If условие Then

    операторы

ElseIf условие Then

    операторы

Else

    операторы

End If

Многострочная конструкция неполная:

If условие Then

    операторы

Else

    операторы

End If

Оператор Select Case

Select Case выражение

    Case условие 1

        операторы 1

    Case условие 2

        операторы 2

    Case условие n

        операторы n

    Case Else

        операторы

End Select

Цикл For… Next

Полная конструкция:

Dim i As Long

For i = 1 To 20 Step 1

    операторы

Exit For

    операторы

Next

Неполная конструкция:

Dim i As Long

For i = 1 To 20

    операторы

Next

Цикл For Each… Next

Полная конструкция:

For Each элемент In группа

    операторы

Exit For

    операторы

Next

Неполная конструкция:

For Each элемент In группа

    операторы

Next

Цикл Do While… Loop

Условие до операторов:

Do While условие

    операторы

Exit Do

    операторы

Loop

Условие после операторов:

Do

    операторы

Exit Do

    операторы

Loop While условие

Цикл Do Until… Loop

Условие до операторов:

Do Until условие

    операторы

Exit Do

    операторы

Loop

Условие после операторов:

Do

    операторы

Exit Do

    операторы

Loop Until условие

Цикл While… Wend

While условие

    операторы

Wend

Отключение обновлений экрана

Отключение обновлений экрана позволяет ускорить длинную процедуру и скрыть мельтешение (мерцание) экрана во время ее выполнения:

Application.ScreenUpdating = False

    операторы

Application.ScreenUpdating = True

Отмена оповещений и сообщений

Отмена оповещений и сообщений в ходе выполнения процедуры:

Application.DisplayAlerts = False

    операторы

Application.DisplayAlerts = True

Например, при закрытии книги Excel из кода VBA без сохранения не будет появляться диалоговое окно с предложением сохранить книгу перед закрытием.

InputBox и MsgBox

Dim a As String

a = InputBox(«Напишите что-нибудь:»)

MsgBox a

Скрыть лист

‘Скрыть лист

Sheets(«Лист1»).Visible = False

‘Отобразить лист

Sheets(«Лист1»).Visible = True

Защита листа

‘Защитить лист

Worksheets(«Лист1»).Protect

‘Снять защиту листа

Worksheets(«Лист1»).Unprotect

Пользовательская форма

Памятка по работе с формой:

‘Загрузить (открыть) форму в модальном окне

UserForm1.Show

‘Загрузить (открыть) форму в немодальном окне

UserForm1.Show 0

‘Скрыть форму

UserForm1.Hide

Me.Hide

‘Показать скрытую форму

UserForm1.Show

‘Выгрузить (закрыть) форму

Unload UserForm1

Unload Me

Немодальное окно можно скрыть и закрыть как из модуля формы, так и из других модулей. Модальное окно можно скрыть и закрыть только из модуля формы. Ключевое слово Me используется только в модуле формы.

Удаление строк и столбцов

‘Удалить строку №9

Cells(9, 4).EntireRow.Delete

‘Удалить столбец №4

Cells(9, 4).EntireColumn.Delete

Открыть папку или файл

Открыть папку из кода VBA Excel или любой файл по его расширению в программе по умолчанию для просмотра:

‘Открыть папку

ThisWorkbook.FollowHyperlink («C:Тестовая»)

‘Открыть файл

ThisWorkbook.FollowHyperlink («C:ТестоваяДокумент1.docx»)

Закрыть все книги

Закрыть все книги Excel без сохранения изменений, кроме текущей книги с кодом:

Dim myWB As Workbook

For Each myWB In Workbooks

    If Not myWB Is ThisWorkbook Then myWB.Close False

Next

Чтобы закрыть все книги с сохранением изменений, необходимо заменить False на True.


Вы можете сохранить краткий справочник для начинающих программировать в VBA Excel в свою социальную сеть, чтобы эта памятка всегда была под рукой.


With macros, we can automate Excel and save time; big tasks or small tasks, it doesn’t matter.  All that matters is that we’ve become more efficient.

In this post, I share 30 of the most useful VBA codes for Excel that you can use today.

If you’ve never used VBA before, that’s fine.  Part 1 contains instructions of how to use the codes and part 2 contains the code sample themselves.

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PART ONE: How to use VBA Macros

What is VBA?

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the programming language created by Microsoft to control parts of their applications. Most things which you can do with the mouse or keyboard in the Microsoft Office suite, you can also do using VBA. For example, in Excel, you can create a chart; you can also create a chart using VBA, it is just another method of achieving the same thing.

Advantages of using VBA

Since VBA code can do the same things as we could with the mouse or keyboard, why bother to use VBA at all?

Saves time:

VBA code will operate at the speed your computer will allow, which is still significantly faster than you can operate. For example, if you have to open 10 workbooks, print the documents, then close the workbook, it might take you 2 minutes with a mouse and keyboard, but with VBA it could take seconds.

Reduces errors:

Do you ever click the wrong icons or type the wrong words? Me too, but VBA doesn’t. It will do the same task over and over again, without making any errors. Don’t get me wrong, you still have to program the VBA code correctly. If you tell it to do the wrong things 10 times, then it will. But if we can get it right, then it can remove the errors created by human interaction.

Completes repetitive actions without complaining:

Have you ever had to carry out the same action many times? Maybe creating 100 charts, or printing 100 documents, or changing the heading on 100 spreadsheets. That’s not fun, nobody wants to do that. But VBA is more than happy to do it for you. It can do the same thing in a repetitive way (without complaining). In fact, repetitive tasks is one of the things VBA does best.

Integration with other applications:

You can use VBA in Word, Access, Excel, Outlook and many other programs, including Windows itself. But it doesn’t end there, you can use VBA in Excel to control Word and PowerPoint, without even needing to open those applications.

What is programming?

Programming is simply writing words in a way which a computer can understand. However, computers are not particularly flexible, so we have to be very specific about what we want the computer to do, and how we tell it to do it. The skill of programming is learning how to convey the request to the computer as clearly, as simply and as efficiently as possible.

What is the difference between a Macro and VBA?

This is a common question which can be confusing. Put simply, VBA is the language used to write a macro – just in the same way as a paragraph might be written using the English language.

The terms ‘macro’ and ‘VBA’ are often used interchangeably.

The golden rule of learning VBA

If you are still learning to write VBA, there is one thing which will help you. While it may be common practice, to copy and paste code, it will not help you to learn VBA quickly. Here is the one rule I am going to ask you to stick to… type out the code yourself.

Why am I asking you to do this? Because it will help you learn the VBA language much faster.

Let’s get started

Now you know what VBA is, why you should use it, and the golden rule, so there is only one thing left to do… let’s get started!


Setting up Excel

Before you can get stuck in with using the code in this post, you must first have Excel set up correctly. This involves:

  1. Ensuring the correct macro security settings have been applied
  2. Enabling the Developer ribbon.

Macro security settings

Macros can be used for malicious purposes, such as installing a virus, recording key-strokes, etc. This can be blocked with the security settings. However, if the settings are set too high, you cannot run any macros, or too low, you will not be protected. Neither of these is a good option.

Let’s apply suitable settings which will give you the power to decide when to allow macros or not.

  1. In Excel, click File > Options
  2.  In the Excel Options dialog box, click Trust Centre > Trust Centre Settings…Excel Options - Trust Centre
  3. In the Trust Centre dialog box, click Macro Settings > Disable all macros with notification.
    Macro Settings - Disable all macros with notification
  4. Click OK to close the Trust Centre, then OK again to close the Excel Options.

Workbooks containing macros will now be automatically disabled until you click the Enable Content button at the top of the screen.

Enable the Developer ribbon

The Developer ribbon is the place where all the VBA tools are kept. It is unlikely that this is already enabled, unless you or your IT department have already done so.

Look at the top of your Excel Window if you see the word ‘Developer’ in the menu options, then you are ready to go. You can skip straight ahead to the next part. However, if the ‘Developer’ ribbon is not there, just follow these instructions.

  1. In Excel, click File > Options
  2. In the Excel Options dialog box, click Customize Ribbon
  3. Ensure the Developer option is checked
    Enable Developer Ribbon
  4. Click OK to close the Excel Options

The Developer ribbon should now be visible at the top of the Excel window.

File format for macro enabled files

To save a workbook containing a macro, the standard .xlsx format will not work.
Saving xlsx with a macro error

Generally, the .xlsm (Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook) file format should be used for workbooks containing macros. However .xlam (Excel Add-in), .xlsb (Excel Binary Workbook) and .xltx (Excel Macro-Enabled Template) are scenario specific formats which can also contain macros.

The legacy .xls and .xla file formats can both contain macros. They were superseded in 2007, and should now be avoided.

The basic rule is… if you don’t know, go for .xlsm.

Personal macro workbook

If we want macros to be reusable for many workbooks, often the best place to save them is in the personal macro workbook.

A personal macro workbook is a hidden file which opens whenever the Excel application opens.

How to create a personal macro workbook?

A personal macro workbook does not exist by default; we have to create it. There are many ways to do this, but the easiest is to let Excel do it for us.

  1. In the ribbon, click Developer > Record Macro.
    Developer Ribbon - Record Macro
  2. In the Record Macro dialog box, select Personal Macro Workbook from the drop-down list.
    Create Personal Macro Workbook - from Record Macro dialog
  3. Click OK.
  4. Do anything in Excel, such as typing your name into cell A1.
  5. Click Developer > Stop Recording
    Developer Ribbon - Stop Recording
  6. Close all the open workbooks in Excel, this will force the personal macro workbook to be saved. A warning message will appear, click Save.
    Save Personal Macro Workbook

In the next part, we will learn how to use the Visual Basic Editor, which gives us access to the personal macro workbook.


Using the Visual Basic Editor

The Visual Basic Editor (or VBE as it can be known) is the place where we enter or edit VBA code. The Visual Basic Editor is found within the Developer Ribbon

In Excel, click Developer > Visual Basic to open the VBE.

Alternatively, you could use the keyboard; press ALT+F11 (the + indicates that you should hold down the ALT key, press F11, then release the ALT key), which toggles between the Excel window and the VBE.

The Visual Basic Editor Window

The Visual Basic Editor contains four main sections.
Parts of VBE

Within the top left of the VBE, we will see a list of items which can contain VBA code (known as the project window)

Double-clicking any sheet name, workbook or module, will open the code window associated with that item. VBA code is entered into the code window.

Unless you have specific reasons, the best option is to enter the macro into a module. To create a module, click Insert > Module within the VBE.


Running a macro

There are many ways to run VBA code. This section is not exhaustive, but is intended to provide an overview of the most common methods.

Running a macro from within Visual Basic Editor

When testing VBA code, it is common to execute that code from the VBE.

Click anywhere within the code, between the Sub and End Sub lines, choose one of the following options:

  1. Click Run > Run Sub/UserForm from the menu at the top of the VBE
  2. Using the keyboard, you can press ALT+F5
  3. Click the play button at the top of the VBE
    Run macro from VBE

The code you entered will be executed.

Running a macro from within Excel

Once the code has been tested and in working order, it is common to execute it directly within Excel. There are lots of options for this too (including events, or user defined functions), however the three most common methods I will show you are:

Run from the Macro window

  1. Click View > Macros or Developer > Macros
    Developer Ribbon - Macros
  2. Select the macro from the list and click Run.
    Macro Window - Select Run

Create a custom ribbon

Having macros always available in the ribbon is a great time saver. Therefore, learning how to customize the ribbon is useful.

  1. In Excel, click File > Options
  2. In the Excel Options dialog box, click Customize Ribbon
  3. Click New Tab to create a new ribbon tab, then click New Group to create a section within the new tab.
  4. In the Choose commands from drop-down, select Macros. Select your macro and click
    Add >> to move the macro it into your new group.
  5. Use the Rename… button to give the tab, group or macro a more useful name.
    Customize Ribbon - to run macro
  6. Click OK to close the window.
  7. The new ribbon menu will appear containing your macro. Click the button to run the macro.
    Insert button for macro

Create a button/shape on a worksheet

Macros can be executed using buttons or shapes on the worksheet.

  1. To create a button, click Developer > Insert > Form Control > Button
  2. Draw a shape on the worksheet to show the location and size of the button
  3. The Assign Macro dialog will appear, select the macro and click OK.
    Assign Macro to button
  4. The button will appear. Clicking the button will run the macro
    Button to run a macro
  5. Right-click on the button to change the description

To assign a different macro, right-click on the button and select Assign Macro… from the menu.
Right-click Assign Macro

Alternatively, a macro can be assigned to a shape. After creating a shape, right-click on it and select Assign Macro… from the menu, then follow the same process as for a button.


Hide all selected sheets

What does it do?

Hides all the selected sheets.

VBA code

Sub HideAllSelectedSheets()

'Create variable to hold worksheets
Dim ws As Worksheet

'Ignore error if trying to hide the last worksheet
On Error Resume Next

'Loop through each worksheet in the active workbook
For Each ws In ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets

    'Hide each sheet
    ws.Visible = xlSheetHidden

Next ws

'Allow errors to appear
On Error GoTo 0

End Sub

Notes:

Excel requires at least one active worksheet. If all the visible sheets are selected, to avoid an error, the VBA code will not hide the last sheet.

For other examples of hiding worksheets check out these posts:

  • Macro to hide all sheets except one
  • Hide all sheets except one with Office Scripts

Unhide all sheets

What does it do?

Makes all worksheets visible.

VBA code

Sub UnhideAllWorksheets()

'Create variable to hold worksheets
Dim ws As Worksheet

'Loop through each worksheet in the active workbook
For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets

    'Unhide each sheet
    ws.Visible = xlSheetVisible

Next ws

End Sub

Protect all selected worksheets

What does it do?

Protects all the selected worksheets with a password determined by the user.

VBA code

Sub ProtectSelectedWorksheets()

Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim sheetArray As Variant
Dim myPassword As Variant

'Set the password
myPassword = Application.InputBox(prompt:="Enter password", _
    Title:="Password", Type:=2)

'The User clicked Cancel
If myPassword = False Then Exit Sub

'Capture the selected sheets
Set sheetArray = ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets

'Loop through each worksheet in the active workbook
For Each ws In sheetArray

    On Error Resume Next

    'Select the worksheet
    ws.Select

    'Protect each worksheet
    ws.Protect Password:=myPassword

    On Error GoTo 0

Next ws

sheetArray.Select

End Sub

Unprotect all worksheets

What does it do?

Unprotects all worksheets with a password determined by the user.

VBA code

Sub UnprotectAllWorksheets()

'Create a variable to hold worksheets
Dim ws As Worksheet

'Create a variable to hold the password
Dim myPassword As Variant

'Set the password
myPassword = Application.InputBox(prompt:="Enter password", _
    Title:="Password", Type:=2)

'The User clicked Cancel
If myPassword = False Then Exit Sub

'Loop through each worksheet in the active workbook
For Each ws In ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets

    'Protect each worksheet
    ws.Unprotect Password:=myPassword

Next ws

End Sub

Lock cells containing formulas

What does it do?

Password protects a single worksheet with cells containing formulas locked, all other cells are unlocked.

VBA code

Sub LockOnlyCellsWithFormulas()

'Create a variable to hold the password
Dim myPassword As Variant

'If more than one worksheet selected exit the macro
If ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.Count > 1 Then

    'Display error message and exit macro
    MsgBox "Select one worksheet and try again"
    Exit Sub

End If

'Set the password
myPassword = Application.InputBox(prompt:="Enter password", _
    Title:="Password", Type:=2)

'The User clicked Cancel
If myPassword = False Then Exit Sub

'All the following to apply to active sheet
With ActiveSheet

    'Ignore errors caused by incorrect passwords
    On Error Resume Next

    'Unprotect the active sheet
    .Unprotect Password:=myPassword

    'If error occured then exit macro
    If Err.Number <> 0 Then

        'Display message then exit
        MsgBox "Incorrect password"
        Exit Sub

    End If

    'Turn error checking back on
    On Error GoTo 0

    'Remove lock setting from all cells
    .Cells.Locked = False

    'Add lock setting to all cells
    .Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeFormulas).Locked = True

    'Protect the active sheet
    .Protect Password:=myPassword

    End With

End Sub

Hide formulas when protected

What does it do?

When the active sheet is protected, formulas will not be visible in the formula bar. Uses a predefined password of mypassword.

VBA code

Sub HideFormulasWhenProtected()

'Create a variable to hold the password
Dim myPassword As String

'Set the password
myPassword = "myPassword"

'All the following to apply to active sheet
With ActiveSheet

    'Unprotect the active sheet
    .Unprotect Password:=myPassword

    'Hide formulas in all cells
    .Cells.FormulaHidden = True

    'Protect the active sheet
    .Protect Password:=myPassword

End With

End Sub

Save time stamped backup file

What does it do?

Save a backup copy of the workbook with a time stamp.

VBA code

Sub SaveTimeStampedBackup()

'Create variable to hold the new file path
Dim saveAsName As String

'Set the file path
saveAsName = ActiveWorkbook.Path & "" & _
Format(Now, "yymmdd-hhmmss") & " " & ActiveWorkbook.Name

'Save the workbook
ActiveWorkbook.SaveCopyAs Filename:=saveAsName

End Sub

Prepare workbook for saving

What does it do?

The macro will, for each worksheet:

  • Close all group outlining
  • Set the view to the normal view
  • Remove gridlines
  • Hide all row numbers and column numbers
  • Select cell A1

The first sheet is selected.

After running the macro, every worksheet in the workbook will be in a tidy state for the next use.

VBA code

Sub PrepareWorkbookForSaving()

'Declare the worksheet variable
Dim ws As Worksheet

'Loop through each worksheet in the active workbook
For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets

    'Activate each sheet
    ws.Activate

    'Close all of groups
    ws.Outline.ShowLevels RowLevels:=1, ColumnLevels:=1

    'Set the view settings to normal
    ActiveWindow.View = xlNormalView

    'Remove the gridlines
    ActiveWindow.DisplayGridlines = False

    'Remove the headings on each of the worksheets
    ActiveWindow.DisplayHeadings = False

    'Get worksheet to display top left
    ws.Cells(1, 1).Select
Next ws

'Find the first visible worksheet and select it
For Each ws In Worksheets

    If ws.Visible = xlSheetVisible Then

        'Select the first visible worksheet
        ws.Select

        'Once the first visible worksheet is found exit the sub
        Exit For

    End If

Next ws

End Sub

Convert merged cells to center across

What does it do?

Changes all single row merged cells into center across formatting.

VBA code

Sub ConvertMergedCellsToCenterAcross()

Dim c As Range
Dim mergedRange As Range

'Loop through all cells in Used range
For Each c In ActiveSheet.UsedRange

    'If merged and single row
    If c.MergeCells = True And c.MergeArea.Rows.Count = 1 Then

        'Set variable for the merged range
        Set mergedRange = c.MergeArea

        'Unmerge the cell and apply Centre Across Selection
        mergedRange.UnMerge
        mergedRange.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenterAcrossSelection

    End If

Next

End Sub

Fit selection to screen

What does it do?

Zoom the screen on the selected cells.

VBA code

Sub FitSelectionToScreen()

'To zoom to a specific area, then select the cells
Range("A1:I15").Select

'Zoom to selection
ActiveWindow.Zoom = True

'Select first cell on worksheet
Range("A1").Select

End Sub

Flip number signage on selected cells

What does it do?

Flips the number signage of all numeric values in the selected cells

VBA code

Sub FlipNumberSignage()

'Create variable to hold cells in the worksheet
Dim c As Range

'Loop through each cell in selection
For Each c In Selection

    'Test if the cell contents is a number
    If IsNumeric(c) Then

        'Convert signage for each cell
        c.Value = -c.Value

    End If

Next c

End Sub

Clear all data cells

What does it do?

Clears all cells in the selection which are constants (i.e. not formulas).

VBA code

Sub ClearAllDataCellsInSelection()

'Clear all hardcoded values in the selected range
Selection.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeConstants).ClearContents

End Sub

Add prefix to each cell in selection

What does it do?

Adds a prefix to each cell in the selected cells (excludes formulas and blanks).

VBA code

Sub AddPrefix()

Dim c As Range
Dim prefixValue As Variant

'Display inputbox to collect prefix text
prefixValue = Application.InputBox(Prompt:="Enter prefix:", _
    Title:="Prefix", Type:=2)

'The User clicked Cancel
If prefixValue = False Then Exit Sub

For Each c In Selection

    'Add prefix where cell is not a formula or blank
    If Not c.HasFormula And c.Value <> "" Then

        c.Value = prefixValue & c.Value

    End If

Next

End Sub

Add suffix to each cell in selection

What does it do?

Adds a suffix to each value in the selected cells (excludes formulas and blanks).

VBA code

Sub AddSuffix()

Dim c As Range
Dim suffixValue As Variant

'Display inputbox to collect prefix text
suffixValue = Application.InputBox(Prompt:="Enter Suffix:", _
    Title:="Suffix", Type:=2)

'The User clicked Cancel
If suffixValue = False Then Exit Sub

    'Loop through each cellin selection
    For Each c In Selection

        'Add Suffix where cell is not a formula or blank
        If Not c.HasFormula And c.Value <> "" Then

            c.Value = c.Value & suffixValue

        End If

Next

End Sub

Reverse row order

What does it do?

Reverses the order of all rows of data in the selection.

VBA code

Sub ReverseRows()

'Create variables
Dim rng As Range
Dim rngArray As Variant
Dim tempRng As Variant
Dim i As Long
Dim j As Long
Dim k As Long

'Record the selected range and it's contents
Set rng = Selection
rngArray = rng.Formula

'Loop through all cells and create a temporary array
For j = 1 To UBound(rngArray, 2)
    k = UBound(rngArray, 1)
    For i = 1 To UBound(rngArray, 1) / 2
        tempRng = rngArray(i, j)
        rngArray(i, j) = rngArray(k, j)
        rngArray(k, j) = tempRng
        k = k - 1
    Next
Next

'Apply the array
rng.Formula = rngArray

End Sub

Reverse column order

What does it do?

Reverses the order of all column data in the selection.

VBA code

Sub ReverseColumns()

'Create variables
Dim rng As Range
Dim rngArray As Variant
Dim tempRng As Variant
Dim i As Long
Dim j As Long
Dim k As Long

'Record the selected range and it's contents
Set rng = Selection
rngArray = rng.Formula

'Loop through all cells and create a temporary array
For i = 1 To UBound(rngArray, 1)
    k = UBound(rngArray, 2)
    For j = 1 To UBound(rngArray, 2) / 2
        tempRng = rngArray(i, j)
        rngArray(i, j) = rngArray(i, k)
        rngArray(i, k) = tempRng
        k = k - 1
    Next
Next

'Apply the array
rng.Formula = rngArray

End Sub

Transpose selection

What does it do?

Transposes the selected cells with a single click.

VBA code

Sub TransposeSelection()

'Create variables
Dim rng As Range
Dim rngArray As Variant
Dim i As Long
Dim j As Long
Dim overflowRng As Range
Dim msgAns As Long

'Record the selected range and it's contents
Set rng = Selection
rngArray = rng.Formula

'Test the range and identify if any cells will be overwritten
If rng.Rows.Count > rng.Columns.Count Then

    Set overflowRng = rng.Cells(1, 1). _
        Offset(0, rng.Columns.Count). _
        Resize(rng.Columns.Count, _
        rng.Rows.Count - rng.Columns.Count)

ElseIf rng.Rows.Count < rng.Columns.Count Then

    Set overflowRng = rng.Cells(1, 1).Offset(rng.Rows.Count, 0). _
        Resize(rng.Columns.Count - rng.Rows.Count, rng.Rows.Count)

End If

If rng.Rows.Count <> rng.Columns.Count Then

    If Application.WorksheetFunction.CountA(overflowRng) > 0 Then

        msgAns = MsgBox("Worksheet data in " & overflowRng.Address & _
            " will be overwritten." & vbNewLine & _
            "Do you wish to continue?", vbYesNo)

    If msgAns = vbNo Then Exit Sub

    End If

End If

'Clear the rnage
rng.Clear

'Reapply the cells in transposted position
For i = 1 To UBound(rngArray, 1)

    For j = 1 To UBound(rngArray, 2)

        rng.Cells(1, 1).Offset(j - 1, i - 1) = rngArray(i, j)

    Next

Next

End Sub

Create red box around selected areas

What does it do?

Draws a rectangle shape to fit around the selected cells.

VBA code

Sub AddRedBox()

Dim redBox As Shape
Dim selectedAreas As Range
Dim i As Integer
Dim tempShape As Shape

'Loop through each selected area in active sheet
For Each selectedAreas In Selection.Areas

    'Create a rectangle
    Set redBox = ActiveSheet.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeRectangle, _
        selectedAreas.Left, selectedAreas.Top, _
        selectedAreas.Width, selectedAreas.Height)

    'Change attributes of shape created
    redBox.Line.ForeColor.RGB = RGB(255, 0, 0)
    redBox.Line.Weight = 2
    redBox.Fill.Visible = msoFalse

    'Loop to find a unique shape name
    Do
        i = i + 1
        Set tempShape = Nothing

        On Error Resume Next
        Set tempShape = ActiveSheet.Shapes("RedBox_" & i)
        On Error GoTo 0

    Loop Until tempShape Is Nothing

    'Rename the shape
    redBox.Name = "RedBox_" & i

Next

End Sub

Delete all red boxes on active sheet

What does it do?

Having created the red boxes in the macro above. This code removes all the red boxes on the active sheet with a single click.

VBA code

Sub DeleteRedBox()

Dim shp As Shape

'Loop through each shape on active sheet
For Each shp In ActiveSheet.Shapes

    'Find shapes with a name starting with "RedBox_"
    If Left(shp.Name, 7) = "RedBox_" Then

        'Delete the shape
        shp.Delete

    End If

Next shp

End Sub

Save selected chart as an image

What does it do?

Saves the selected chart as a picture to the file location contained in the macro.

VBA code

Sub ExportSingleChartAsImage()

'Create a variable to hold the path and name of image
Dim imagePath As String
Dim cht As Chart

imagePath = "C:UsersmarksDocumentsmyImage.png"
Set cht = ActiveChart

'Export the chart
cht.Export (imagePath)

End Sub

Resize all charts to same as active chart

What does it do?

Select the chart with the dimensions you wish to use, then run the macro. All the charts will resize to the same dimensions.

VBA code

Sub ResizeAllCharts()

'Create variables to hold chart dimensions
Dim chtHeight As Long
Dim chtWidth As Long

'Create variable to loop through chart objects
Dim chtObj As ChartObject

'Get the size of the first selected chart
chtHeight = ActiveChart.Parent.Height
chtWidth = ActiveChart.Parent.Width

For Each chtObj In ActiveSheet.ChartObjects

    chtObj.Height = chtHeight
    chtObj.Width = chtWidth

Next chtObj

End Sub

Refresh all Pivot Tables in workbook

What does it do?

Refresh all the Pivot Tables in the active workbook.

VBA code

Sub RefreshAllPivotTables()

'Refresh all pivot tables
ActiveWorkbook.RefreshAll

End Sub

Turn off auto fit columns on all Pivot Tables

What does it do?

By default, PivotTables resize columns to fit the contents. This macro changes the setting for every PivotTable in the active workbook, so that column widths set by the user are maintained.

VBA code

Sub TurnOffAutofitColumns()

'Create a variable to hold worksheets
Dim ws As Worksheet

'Create a variable to hold pivot tables
Dim pvt As PivotTable

'Loop through each sheet in the activeworkbook
For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets

    'Loop through each pivot table in the worksheet
    For Each pvt In ws.PivotTables

        'Turn off auto fit columns on PivotTable
        pvt.HasAutoFormat = False

    Next pvt

Next ws

End Sub

Get color code from cell fill color

What does it do?

Returns the RGB and Hex for the active cell’s fill color.

VBA code

Sub GetColorCodeFromCellFill()

'Create variables hold the color data
Dim fillColor As Long
Dim R As Integer
Dim G As Integer
Dim B As Integer
Dim Hex As String

'Get the fill color
fillColor = ActiveCell.Interior.Color

'Convert fill color to RGB
R = (fillColor Mod 256)
G = (fillColor  256) Mod 256
B = (fillColor  65536) Mod 256

'Convert fill color to Hex
Hex = "#" & Application.WorksheetFunction.Dec2Hex(fillColor)

'Display fill color codes
MsgBox "Color codes for active cell" & vbNewLine & _
    "R:" & R & ", G:" & G & ", B:" & B & vbNewLine & _
    "Hex: " & Hex, Title:="Color Codes"

End Sub

Create a table of contents

What does it do?

Creates or refreshes a hyperlinked table of contents on a worksheet called “TOC”, which is placed at the start of a workbook.

VBA code

Sub CreateTableOfContents()

Dim i As Long
Dim TOCName As String

'Name of the Table of contents
TOCName = "TOC"

'Delete the existing Table of Contents sheet if it exists
On Error Resume Next
Application.DisplayAlerts = False
ActiveWorkbook.Sheets(TOCName).Delete
Application.DisplayAlerts = True
On Error GoTo 0

'Create a new worksheet
ActiveWorkbook.Sheets.Add before:=ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets(1)
ActiveSheet.Name = TOCName

'Loop through the worksheets
For i = 1 To Sheets.Count

    'Create the table of contents
    ActiveSheet.Hyperlinks.Add _
        Anchor:=ActiveSheet.Cells(i, 1), _
        Address:="", _
        SubAddress:="'" & Sheets(i).Name & "'!A1", _
        ScreenTip:=Sheets(i).Name, _
        TextToDisplay:=Sheets(i).Name

Next i

End Sub

Excel to speak the cell contents

What does it do?

Excel speaks back the contents of the selected cells

VBA code

Sub SpeakCellContents()

'Speak the selected cells
Selection.Speak

End Sub

Fix the range of cells which can be scrolled

What does it do?

Fixes the scroll range to the selected cell range. It prevents a user from scrolling into other parts of the worksheet.

If a single cell is selected, the scroll range is reset.

VBA code

Sub FixScrollRange()

If Selection.Cells.Count = 1 Then

    'If one cell selected, then reset
    ActiveSheet.ScrollArea = ""

Else

    'Set the scroll area to the selected cells
    ActiveSheet.ScrollArea = Selection.Address

End If

End Sub

Invert the sheet selection

What does it do?

Select some worksheet tabs, then run the macro to reverse the selection.

VBA code

Sub InvertSheetSelection()

'Create variable to hold list of selected worksheet
Dim selectedList As String

'Create variable to hold worksheets
Dim ws As Worksheet

'Create variable to switch after the first sheet selected
Dim firstSheet As Boolean

'Convert selected sheest to a text string
For Each ws In ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets
    selectedList = selectedList & ws.Name & "[|]"
Next ws

'Set the toggle of first sheet
firstSheet = True

'Loop through each worksheet in the active workbook
For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Sheets

    'Check if the worksheet was not previously selected
    If InStr(selectedList, ws.Name & "[|]") = 0 Then

        'Check the worksheet is visible
        If ws.Visible = xlSheetVisible Then

            'Select the sheet
            ws.Select firstSheet

            'First worksheet has been found, toggle to false
            firstSheet = False

        End If

    End If

Next ws

End Sub

Assign a macro to a shortcut key

What does it do?

Assigns a macro to a shortcut key.

VBA code

Sub AssignMacroToShortcut()

'+ = Ctrl
'^ = Shift
'{T} = the shortcut letter

Application.OnKey "+^{T}", "nameOfMacro"

'Reset shortcut to default - repeat without the name of the macro
'Application.OnKey "+%{T}"

End Sub

Apply single accounting underline to selection

What does it do?

Single accounting underline is a formatting style which is not available in the ribbon. The macro below applies single accounting underline to the selected cells.

VBA code

Sub SingleAccountingUnderline()

'Apply single accounting underline to selected cells
Selection.Font.Underline = xlUnderlineStyleSingleAccounting

End Sub

Headshot Round

About the author

Hey, I’m Mark, and I run Excel Off The Grid.

My parents tell me that at the age of 7 I declared I was going to become a qualified accountant. I was either psychic or had no imagination, as that is exactly what happened. However, it wasn’t until I was 35 that my journey really began.

In 2015, I started a new job, for which I was regularly working after 10pm. As a result, I rarely saw my children during the week. So, I started searching for the secrets to automating Excel. I discovered that by building a small number of simple tools, I could combine them together in different ways to automate nearly all my regular tasks. This meant I could work less hours (and I got pay raises!). Today, I teach these techniques to other professionals in our training program so they too can spend less time at work (and more time with their children and doing the things they love).


Do you need help adapting this post to your needs?

I’m guessing the examples in this post don’t exactly match your situation. We all use Excel differently, so it’s impossible to write a post that will meet everybody’s needs. By taking the time to understand the techniques and principles in this post (and elsewhere on this site), you should be able to adapt it to your needs.

But, if you’re still struggling you should:

  1. Read other blogs, or watch YouTube videos on the same topic. You will benefit much more by discovering your own solutions.
  2. Ask the ‘Excel Ninja’ in your office. It’s amazing what things other people know.
  3. Ask a question in a forum like Mr Excel, or the Microsoft Answers Community. Remember, the people on these forums are generally giving their time for free. So take care to craft your question, make sure it’s clear and concise.  List all the things you’ve tried, and provide screenshots, code segments and example workbooks.
  4. Use Excel Rescue, who are my consultancy partner. They help by providing solutions to smaller Excel problems.

What next?
Don’t go yet, there is plenty more to learn on Excel Off The Grid.  Check out the latest posts:

Excel macro codes can be used to automate regular Excel tasks and prevent you from performing them manually. This results in time saved and more reliable work.

This VBA code library is a list of useful VBA codes for Excel that you can start using immediately.

These codes are perfect for beginners who have not used Excel VBA before, or are just starting out.

Let us first describe what a macro code is and how you can start using them. Then we will get to the exciting part and explore the Excel macro examples in this list.

Learn the best Excel shortcuts!

Download our printable shortcut cheatsheet for PC and Mac

What is macro code?

Macro code refers to the VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) code for the macro.

You can create macros in Excel by either recording the steps you want it to perform (the VBA is written for you), or by writing the VBA yourself.

Writing this VBA or macro code yourself gives you far greater control over your macro.

The VBA code can be simple, and perform a basic formatting step or freeze panes. Or it could do something greater such as export all sheets of a workbook as a separate PDF.

This VBA code library provides a list of macro codes for you to copy and paste to get started.

This saves you from having to create them yourself, but is also a great way to begin learning VBA.

Show the Developer tab

To use the VBA codes, you will need access to the Developer tab.

If you do not have the Developer tab on your Ribbon, follow these steps to enable it.

  1. Click File > Options.
  2. Select the Customize Ribbon category and then check the box for the Developer tab.

Developer Tab - VBA Code Library

  1. Click Ok.

How to use the macro code

Using the macro codes require just a simple copy and paste. However, you need to ensure that you paste them to the correct place.

  1. Click Developer > Visual Basic, or press Alt + F11.

VBA Code Library - Visual Basic EditorThe Visual Basic Editor opens. The Project Explorer window is shown on the left. It lists the open workbooks and other projects.

  1. Click within the workbook where you want to insert the VBA code, click Insert > Module.

VBA Code Library - Insert Module

  1. Copy and paste the code from this article into the code window.

VBA Code Library - Code Window

The macro will then be available to run in the Macros window.

  1. Click Developer > Macros. Select the macro from the list and click Run.

VBA Code Library - Macros WindowIn this VBA code library, there is a category named Events. These macros will not be stored in modules, but in the object where the event occurs.

This will be explained when we present the code. The majority of the macros in this list are stored in modules and follow the procedure explained above.

Adding a button to trigger your macros

Although it is possible to run the macro from the macros window. Assigning the macro to a button that you can click, will make it easier to run your macros.

You can insert buttons on the Quick Access Toolbar (where the Save and Undo buttons reside), the Ribbon, or onto a worksheet.

The approach you take depends on what the macro does, and when you want to run it.

For this example, we will show you how to add a button to the Quick Access Toolbar to run your macros.

  1. Click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar arrow and click More Commands.

VBA Code Library - Customize

  1. Click the Popular Commands list arrow and select Macros. Select the macro you want and click Add.

VBA Code Library - Add Macro Button

  1. Click the Modify button to change the image and the display name of the button.

VBA Code Library - Modify ButtonThe button will appear on the Quick Access Toolbar and will run your macro when clicked.

The display name is shown as you position your mouse over the button.

VBA Code Library - Macro Button

Excel VBA code examples

The macro code examples in this list have been split into categories to make it easier to find those that you are interested in using.


Common Excel tasks

  • AutoFit column widths
  • Copy and paste
  • Clear all hyperlinks on a sheet
  • Format cells with formulas
  • Convert formulas to values

Worksheet codes

  • Unhide all columns
  • Protect a worksheet
  • Loop through all the worksheets of a workbook

Workbook codes

  • Unhide all worksheets
  • Protect a workbook
  • Opening and closing a workbook
  • Email the active workbook with Outlook

Files and folders

  • Export each worksheet as a single PDF
  • Export the active sheet as a PDF
  • Export multiple sheets to a single PDF
  • Loop through all the files of a folder
  • Selecting a file with a FileDialog

Useful Excel features

  • Sorting columns
  • Filter your data
  • Create a chart

Events

  • Go to a specific worksheet on Open
  • Perform an action on Cell Change

A recap!


Common Excel tasks

These VBA codes will perform common Excel tasks quickly.

AutoFit column widths

This code will automatically fit the column widths for all the columns of the worksheet. 

Sub AutofitAllColumns()

Cells.EntireColumn.AutoFit

End Sub

This code will automatically fit the widths of specific columns on a worksheet. In this example, it is columns D and F.

Sub AutofitSpecificColumns()

Range("D:D,F:F").EntireColumn.AutoFit

End Sub

Copy and paste

Copy and paste is one of the most common actions in Excel. It can be written with just one line of VBA code.

The following code copies range A1:B6 into A1 of another worksheet.

Sub CopyAndPaste()

Range("A1:B6").Copy Worksheets("Sheet2").Range("A1")

End Sub

You may not have a specific range to paste the content into. Often you are trying to append the copied data to the bottom of another list.

This code copies the used range around cell A2 and pastes it to the first empty cell at the bottom of column A on a sheet named Archive.

Sub CopyAndPaste()

Range("A2").CurrentRegion.Copy Worksheets("Archive").Range("A1").End(xlDown).Offset(1, 0)

End Sub

Finally, you may want to use some of the paste special options available in Excel. To access these in VBA, we will separate the copy and paste operation into two statements.

This code uses the PasteSpecial method to paste the values only.

Sub CopyAndPasteValues()

Range("A1:B6").Copy
Worksheets("Sheet2").Range("A1").PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteValues

End Sub

Clear all hyperlinks on a sheet

The following macro code will clear all the hyperlinks on a worksheet.

Sub ClearHyperlinks()

ActiveSheet.Hyperlinks.Delete

End Sub

Format cells with formulas

Formatting cells that contain formulas makes them easy to identify on a worksheet. This macro code will format the formula cells with a yellow fill color (ColorIndex = 6).

It declares a range variable named rng and uses it to loop through each cell that contains a formula.

Sub FormatFormulas()

Dim rng As Range

For Each rng In Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeFormulas)

rng.Interior.ColorIndex = 6

Next rng

End Sub

Convert formulas to values

Another common action with formulas is to convert them into values. This VBA code will do this for all formulas on the worksheet.

Sub ConvertFormulastoValues()

Dim rng As Range

For Each rng In Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeFormulas)

rng.Formula = rng.Value

Next rng

End Sub

Worksheet codes

These codes will perform some typical worksheet tasks.

Unhide all columns

Hiding columns is great for reducing worksheet clutter and protecting data. This macro code will unhide all the hidden columns with the click of a button.

Sub UnhideAllColumns()

Columns.EntireColumn.Hidden = False

End Sub

Protect a worksheet

The following code will protect the active sheet.

Sub ProtectWS()

ActiveSheet.Protect

End Sub

You may want to take this further and assign a password or specify actions to be allowed. This macros code assigns the password Excel and allows the inserting of rows only.

If you know worksheet protection well, you will know that there are various actions that you can allow or prevent. And we can do this with our VBA code.

Sub ProtectWS()

ActiveSheet.Protect Password:=”Excel”, AllowInsertingRows:=True

End Sub

A common reason to protect a worksheet is to save your formulas from accidental damage. This code will protect only cells on a worksheet that contains formulas.

It begins by unprotecting the sheet and unlocking all cells. It then locks those containing formulas before applying protection.

Sub ProtectFormulas()

With ActiveSheet

.Unprotect
.Cells.Locked = False
.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeFormulas).Locked = True
.Protect

End With

End Sub

Loop through all the worksheets of a workbook

It is simple to set up a loop to perform an action to all the worksheets of a workbook. You can insert any action you require.

In this example, we protect the worksheets. Replace the line ws.Protect with the actions that you require. Use the variable ws when referencing the worksheet.

Sub LoopAllSheets()

Dim ws As Worksheet

For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
ws.Protect
Next ws

End Sub

Workbook codes

The following codes will perform some common workbook tasks.

Unhide all worksheets

In Excel, you can only unhide one worksheet at a time. So, this code will unhide all the worksheets with one click.

Sub UnhideAllWorksheets()

Dim ws As Worksheet

For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
ws.Visible = xlSheetVisible
Next ws

End Sub

Protect a workbook

The following code will protect a workbook to prevent structure changes. It sets a password, but this is optional and can be excluded.

Sub ProtectWorkbook()

ThisWorkbook.Protect Password:="Excel"

End Sub

Opening and closing a workbook

The following code follows a procedure to copy data from the currently active workbook to a workbook named North.

It assigns the active workbook to a variable, then opens the North workbook to copy data from range A1:C250 into it. This workbook is then saved and closed.

There are many techniques to reference workbooks and a few are demonstrated in this small code.

Sub OpenCloseWorkbooks()

Dim wbk As Workbook
Set wbk = ActiveWorkbook

Workbooks.Open "C:UsersAdminOneDriveDesktopSalesNorth.xlsx"
wbk.Sheets("Sheet1").Range("A1:C250").Copy Destination:=Range("A1")

ActiveWorkbook.Close SaveChanges:=True

End Sub

Email the active workbook with Outlook

The following VBA code creates a new email in Microsoft Outlook with the recipient’s email, subject line, and the body text all populated. The active workbook is added as an attachment.

The email is displayed so that the email can be checked and changes made before sending. Change .display to .send to email the attached workbook with one click.

Sub AttachToEmail()

Dim OutApp As Object
Dim OutMail As Object
Set OutApp = CreateObject("Outlook.Application")
Set OutMail = OutApp.CreateItem(0)

With OutMail
.to = "admin@computergaga.com"
.Subject = "A Fabulous Spreadsheet"
.Body = "Hello, I hope you enjoy the fabulous spreadsheet that is attached to this email."
.Attachments.Add ActiveWorkbook.FullName
.display
End With

Set OutMail = Nothing
Set OutApp = Nothing

End Sub

Files and folders

Using VBA to automate working with files and folders during a process is very helpful.

Export each worksheet as a single PDF

This code exports all the worksheets as a separate PDF. The sheet name is used as the PDF file name, and they are saved to the folder that is assigned to the FolderPath variable. Simply change this path to what you need.

Sub ExportAsPDF()

Dim FolderPath As String
Dim ws As Worksheet

FolderPath = "C:UsersComputergagaDesktopSales"

For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets

ws.ExportAsFixedFormat Type:=xlTypePDF, Filename:=FolderPath & "" &
ws.Name, openafterpublish:=False

Next

MsgBox "All PDF's have been successfully exported."

End Sub

Export the active sheet as a PDF

If you only need to export the active worksheet, then only the following few lines of code are required.

Sub ExportAsPDF()

FolderPath = "C:UsersComputergagaDesktopSales"

ActiveSheet.ExportAsFixedFormat Type:=xlTypePDF, Filename:=FolderPath & "" &
Activesheet.Name, openafterpublish:=False

End Sub

Export multiple sheets to a single PDF

You may want to export the worksheets into a single PDF. This code exports the worksheets named London and Berlin into one PDF file.

The sheets are referenced by their name in this example, but you can also reference them using their index number. For example, Sheets(Array(3, 6)).Select

Sub ExportAsPDF()

Dim FolderPath As String

FolderPath = "C:UsersTrainee1DesktopPDFs"

Sheets(Array("London", "Berlin")).Select
ActiveSheet.ExportAsFixedFormat Type:=xlTypePDF, Filename:=FolderPath & "Sales", openafterpublish:=False, ignoreprintareas:=False   

MsgBox "All PDF's have been successfully exported."

End Sub

Loop through all the files of a folder

The following VBA code will loop through each file in a folder, the Sales folder on the desktop.

Each file is opened, the number 20 entered into cell A1 of Sheet1 then saved and closed. This is a simple operation, but this code can be replaced with whatever actions you want to perform on each file in the folder.

The Dir function is used for this process. The first instance of Dir is when the file path is provided. It grabs the filename of the first file in the folder.

It is then used again at the end of the loop to grab the name of the next file.

Sub LoopAllFiles()

Dim fileName As Variant
fileName = Dir("C:UsersadminOneDriveDesktopSales")

Do While fileName <> ""    

    Workbooks.Open fileName
    Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1").Value = 20
    ActiveWorkbook.Close savechanges:=True    

    fileName = Dir

Loop

End Sub

You can loop through specific files only by using wildcards. The code below can be used to replace the first instance of the Dir function and loop through .xlsx files only.

fileName = Dir("C:UsersadminOneDriveDesktopSales*.xlsx")

Selecting a file with a FileDialog

When interacting with files, the FileDialogs in Excel VBA are very useful. They are an environment that the user is instantly familiar with.

There are FileDialogs for the file open, save, picker, and a folder picker. In this example, the open dialog is used. This is known as msoFileDialogOpen.

Now, this is a little misleading, because the dialog will not actually open the file. It only provides the environment to locate and select it easily. You can then do whatever actions you want to it.

In this VBA code, different properties of the FileDialog are manipulated so it is used with the With construct.

The selected workbook is opened and the number 20 written into cell A1. Once again a sample action that you can replace with whatever you want.

Sub UsingFileDialog()

Dim Filename As String

With Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogOpen)
.AllowMultiSelect = False
.Title = "Select a workbook to use"
.Show
Filename = .SelectedItems(1)
End With

Workbooks.Open Filename
Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1").Value = 20
ActiveWorkbook.Close SaveChanges:=True

MsgBox "Workbook updated"

End Sub

Useful Excel features

These VBA codes will simplify the use of some of the most useful features of Excel.

Sorting columns

The following code sorts range A1:K250 by a single column. It assumes that the range has headers in the first row.

The Key1 argument specifies the column to sort by. In this example, the argument is set to C1, so the range is sorted by column C in descending order.

Sub SortSingleColumn()

Range("A1:K250").Sort Key1:=Range("C1"), Order1:=xlDescending

End Sub

In the following macro code, the defined name of Sales is used as the range to sort by. The defined name does not include the headers.

This time the range is sorted by column B in ascending order.

Sub SortSingleColumn()

Range("Sales").Sort Key1:=Range("B1"), Order1:=xlAscending

End Sub

Extra Key and Order arguments can be added to sort by multiple columns.

In this example, the defined name Sales was used as the range. The range is sorted by column D first in ascending order, and then by column J in descending order.

Sub SortMultipleColumns()

Range("Sales").Sort Key1:=Range("D1"), Order1:=xlAscending, Key2:=Range("J1"), Order2:=xlDescending

End Sub

Finally, if your data is formatted as a table, the following VBA code can be used.

In this example, the table is named Sales and the table is sorted by the Country field in ascending order.

Sub SortTable()

With ActiveSheet.ListObjects("Sales").Sort
   .SortFields.Clear
   .SortFields.Add Key:=Range("Sales[Country]"), Order:=xlAscending
   .Apply
End With

End Sub

Filter your data

The following macro code can be used to turn on the AutoFilter feature. It applies to the active worksheet and uses the current region for range A1.

Sub TurnFilterOn()

Range("A1").AutoFilter

End Sub

To turn the AutoFilter feature off, you can use this code.

Sub TurnFilterOff()

ActiveSheet.AutoFilterMode = False

End Sub

In this example, a filter is applied to column D  (Field:=4) to show the records for Denmark only.

Sub FilterByText()

Range("A1").AutoFilter Field:=4, Criteria1:="Denmark"

End Sub

To filter by more than one text value, the xlOr operator can be used. Here, the data is filtered to show the rows for Denmark and the UK.

Sub FilterByText()

Range("A1").AutoFilter Field:=4, Criteria1:="Denmark", Operator:=xlOr, Criteria2:="UK"

End Sub

There are plenty of operators available for use such as xlFilterIcon and xlTop10Items.

VBA Code Library - Filter Arguments

To filter with numbers, ensure you enter the logical operators into the criteria string. The code below filters column H to only show rows where the number is greater than 5 and less than 20.

Sub FilterByNumber()

Range("A1").AutoFilter Field:=8, Criteria1:=">5", Operator:=xlAnd, Criteria2:="<20"

End Sub

The following example filters the list by multiple columns. It filters column D for Denmark only and column H for numbers greater than 5 and less than 20.

Sub FilterByTwoColumns()

With Range("A1")

.AutoFilter Field:=4, Criteria1:="Denmark"
.AutoFilter Field:=8, Criteria1:=">5", Operator:=xlAnd, Criteria2:="<20"

End With

End Sub

To clear any applied filters and show all data, use the following code. This code checks if any filters have been applied first, and if so, clears them to show all the data. 

Sub ClearFilters()

If ActiveSheet.FilterMode = True Then

ActiveSheet.ShowAllData

End If

End Sub

The AutoFilter is not the only filter in Excel. Learn how to use the Advanced Filter with VBA in Excel.

Create a chart

You can use Excel VBA to create charts at the click of a button.

This VBA code will create a column chart (default chart type) from range C3:D8. It uses the chart object variable, so parameters are set for the chart area size and position. Data is then set for the chart.

Sub CreateChart()

Dim MChart As ChartObject

Set MyChart = ActiveSheet.ChartObjects.Add(Top:=50, Left:=100, Width:=450, Height:=250)
MyChart.Chart.SetSourceData Range("C3:D8")

End Sub

You may want to use a different type of chart, so this code will change the chart to a line chart. A list of all chart types will appear as you type.

Sub ChangeChartType()

Dim MyChart As Chart
Set MyChart = ActiveSheet.ChartObjects(1).Chart

MyChart.Chart.ChartType = xlLine

End Sub

Finally, you might want to add or remove chart elements. This code adds a chart title and also data labels.

When using the SetElement method, a list of chart elements will appear. It is important that you choose one to work with your type of chart. The msoElementDataLabelOutSideEnd used in this example works with column charts, but not line charts so it would produce an error.

Sub EditChartElements()

Dim MyChart As Chart
Set MyChart = ActiveSheet.ChartObjects(1).Chart

MyChart.HasTitle = True
MyChart.ChartTitle.Text = "Product Sales"
MyChart.SetElement msoElementDataLabelOutSideEnd

End Sub

The code here is a start guide to give you the foundation to work off of. It is sure to require some minor editing to work for your spreadsheets.

Events

These macro codes are run when events are triggered as someone uses Excel. These events can include changing cell values, opening Excel workbooks, and changing sheet tabs.

They do not require the user to consciously click a button to run the macro. They occur naturally as and when the specified event happens.

Go to a specific worksheet on Open

This VBA code example will occur automatically when the Excel workbook is opened. For this to happen, we need to use the Workbook Open procedure.

  1. In the Visual Basic Editor, double click the workbook object from the Project Explorer window that you want to use the code with.

VBA Code Library - This Workbook

  1. Select Workbook from the Object list.
  2. Select Open from the Procedure list.
  3. Paste the required code in the procedure which is shown in the Code window.

VBA Code Library - Workbook Open EventFor this code to be activated when the workbook is opened, do not edit the procedure name.

You can use any code you want here. In this example, you are automatically taken to a sheet named Table of Contents and cell A2.

Private Sub Workbook_Open()

Worksheets("Table of Contents").Select
Range("A2").Select

End Sub

There are many other workbook events including BeforeSave, NewSheet, and SheetActivate. These events can be very useful when automating processes such as validating data entry, setting print settings and so on.

Perform an action on Cell Change

The Change event is found on the Worksheet object. It is very useful as it is triggered when a cell value is changed.

To create the Worksheet_Change procedure:

  1. Double click the worksheet you want to use in the Project Explorer window to open its code window.
  2. Select Worksheet from the Object list, Change from the Procedure list and the procedure will appear in the Code window.

VBA Code Library - Worksheet ChangeIn this code, the changed cell is tested with an If statement to check if the changed cell was in column 5, and if the result of the change was the value Yes.

The variable Target is provided by the worksheet change event. This is the changed cell.

If these conditions are met, the row contents are copied to the bottom of the list on sheet 2 and the cell fill changes to a yellow color.

The Application.EnableEvents statement is used as best practice because the procedures actions can trigger another change event whilst this one is still running.

In this example, it is unnecessary but I wanted to provide it with the code to protect the actions you set from producing errors.

Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)

If Target.Column = 5 And Target = "Yes" Then

Application.EnableEvents = False
Target.EntireRow.Copy Worksheets("Sheet2").Range("A1").End(xlDown).Offset(1, 0)
Target.Interior.ColorIndex = 6

End If

Application.EnableEvents = True

End Sub

What next?

These VBA codes are a great time-saver, but it is just the beginning.

You should learn Excel VBA to really take advantage of its potential in improving your Excel productivity.

Enroll in our Excel Macros and VBA course to start your journey today.

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