Excel vba from to loop

Single Loop | Double Loop | Triple Loop | Do While Loop

Looping is one of the most powerful programming techniques. A loop in Excel VBA enables you to loop through a range of cells with just a few codes lines.

Single Loop

You can use a single loop to loop through a one-dimensional range of cells.

Place a command button on your worksheet and add the following code lines:

Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

Explanation: The code lines between For and Next will be executed six times. For i = 1, Excel VBA enters the value 100 into the cell at the intersection of row 1 and column 1. When Excel VBA reaches Next i, it increases i with 1 and jumps back to the For statement. For i = 2, Excel VBA enters the value 100 into the cell at the intersection of row 2 and column 1, etc.

Note: it is good practice to always indent (tab) the code between the words For and Next. This makes your code easier to read.

Double Loop

You can use a double loop to loop through a two-dimensional range of cells.

Place a command button on your worksheet and add the following code lines:

Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

Explanation: For i = 1 and j = 1, Excel VBA enters the value 100 into the cell at the intersection of row 1 and column 1. When Excel VBA reaches Next j, it increases j with 1 and jumps back to the For j statement. For i = 1 and j = 2, Excel VBA enters the value 100 into the cell at the intersection of row 1 and column 2. Next, Excel VBA ignores Next j because j only runs from 1 to 2. When Excel VBA reaches Next i, it increases i with 1 and jumps back to the For i statement. For i = 2 and j = 1, Excel VBA enters the value 100 into the cell at the intersection of row 2 and column 1, etc.

Triple Loop

You can use a triple loop to loop through two-dimensional ranges on multiple Excel worksheets.

Place a command button on your worksheet and add the following code lines:

Explanation: The only change made compared to the code for the double loop is that we have added one more loop and added Worksheets(c). in front of Cells to get the two-dimensional range on the first sheet for c = 1, the second sheet for c = 2 and the third sheet for c = 3. Download the Excel file to see this result.

Do While Loop

Besides the For Next loop, there are other loops in Excel VBA. For example, the Do While Loop. Code placed between Do While and Loop will be repeated as long as the part after Do While is true.

1. Place a command button on your worksheet and add the following code lines:

Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

Explanation: as long as i is lower than 6, Excel VBA enters the value 20 into the cell at the intersection of row i and column 1 and increments i by 1. In Excel VBA (and in other programming languages), the symbol ‘=’ means becomes. It does not mean equal. So i = i + 1 means i becomes i + 1. In other words: take the present value of i and add 1 to it. For example, if i = 1, i becomes 1 + 1 = 2. As a result, the value 20 will be placed into column A five times (not six because Excel VBA stops when i equals 6).

2. Enter some numbers in column A.

3. Place a command button on your worksheet and add the following code lines:

Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

Explanation: as long as Cells(i, 1).Value is not empty (<> means not equal to), Excel VBA enters the value into the cell at the intersection of row i and column 2, that is 10 higher than the value in the cell at the intersection of row i and column 1. Excel VBA stops when i equals 7 because Cells(7, 1).Value is empty. This is a great way to loop through any number of rows on a worksheet.

To work effectively in VBA, you must understand Loops.

Loops allow you to repeat a code block a set number of times or repeat a code block on a each object in a set of objects.

First we will show you a few examples to show you what loops are capable of. Then we will teach you everything about loops.

VBA Loop Quick Examples

For Each Loops

For Each Loops loop through every object in a collection, such as every worksheet in workbook or every cell in a range.

Loop Through all Worksheets in Workbook

This code will loop through all worksheets in the workbook, unhiding each sheet:

Sub LoopThroughSheets()
Dim ws As Worksheet
 
    For Each ws In Worksheets
        ws.Visible = True
    Next
 
End Sub

Loop Through All Cells in Range

This code will loop through a range of cells, testing if the cell value is negative, positive, or zero:

Sub If_Loop()
Dim Cell as Range
 
  For Each Cell In Range("A2:A6")
    If Cell.Value > 0 Then
      Cell.Offset(0, 1).Value = "Positive"
    ElseIf Cell.Value < 0 Then
      Cell.Offset(0, 1).Value = "Negative"
    Else
      Cell.Offset(0, 1).Value = "Zero"
     End If
  Next Cell
 
End Sub

For Next Loops

Another type of “For” Loop is the For Next Loop.  The For Next Loop allows you to loop through integers.

This code will loop through integers 1 through 10, displaying each with a message box:

Sub ForLoop()
    Dim i As Integer
    For i = 1 To 10
        MsgBox i
    Next i
End Sub

Do While Loops

Do While Loops will loop while a condition is met. This code will also loop through integers 1 through 10, displaying each with a message box.

Sub DoWhileLoop()
    Dim n As Integer
    n = 1
    Do While n < 11
        MsgBox n
        n = n + 1
    Loop
End Sub

Do Until Loops

Conversely, Do Until Loops will loop until a condition is met. This code does the same thing as the previous two examples.

Sub DoUntilLoop()
    Dim n As Integer
    n = 1
    Do Until n >= 10
        MsgBox n
        n = n + 1
    Loop
End Sub

We will discuss this below, but you need to be extremely careful when creating Do While or Do Until loops so that you don’t create a never ending loop.

VBA Loop Builder

This is a screenshot of the “Loop Builder” from our Premium VBA Add-in: AutoMacro. The Loop Builder allows you to quickly and easily build loops to loop through different objects, or numbers. You can perform actions on each object and/or select only objects that meet certain criteria.

The add-in also contains many other code builders, an extensive VBA code library, and an assortment of coding tools. It’s a must have for any VBA developer.

Now we will cover the different types of loops in depth.

VBA For Next Loop

For Loop Syntax

The For Next Loop allows you to repeat a block of code a specified number of times. The syntax is:

[Dim Counter as Integer]

For Counter = Start to End [Step Value]
    [Do Something]
Next [Counter]

Where the items in brackets are optional.

• [Dim Counter as Long] – Declares the counter variable. Required if Option Explicit is declared at the top of your module.
• Counter – An integer variable used to count
• Start – The start value (Ex. 1)
• End – The end value (Ex. 10)
• [Step Value] – Allows you to count every n integers instead of every 1 integer. You can also go in reverse with a negative value (ex. Step -1)
• [Do Something] – The code that will repeat
• Next [Counter] – Closing statement to the For Next Loop. You can include the Counter or not. However, I strongly recommend including the counter as it makes your code easier to read.

If that’s confusing, don’t worry. We will review some examples:

Count to 10

This code will count to 10 using a For-Next Loop:

Sub ForEach_CountTo10()

Dim n As Integer
For n = 1 To 10
    MsgBox n
Next n

End Sub

For Loop Step

Count to 10 – Only Even Numbers

This code will count to 10 only counting even numbers:

Sub ForEach_CountTo10_Even()

Dim n As Integer
For n = 2 To 10 Step 2
    MsgBox n
Next n

End Sub

Notice we added “Step 2”. This tells the For Loop to “step” through the counter by 2.  We can also use a negative step value to step in reverse:

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For Loop Step – Inverse

Countdown from 10

This code will countdown from 10:

Sub ForEach_Countdown_Inverse()

Dim n As Integer
For n = 10 To 1 Step -1
    MsgBox n
Next n
MsgBox "Lift Off"

End Sub

Delete Rows if Cell is Blank

I’ve most frequently used a negative step For-Loop to loop through ranges of cells, deleting rows that meet certain criteria.  If you loop from the top rows to the bottom rows, as you delete rows you will mess up your counter.

This example will delete rows with blank cells (starting from the bottom row):

Sub ForEach_DeleteRows_BlankCells()

Dim n As Integer
For n = 10 To 1 Step -1
    If Range("a" & n).Value = "" Then
        Range("a" & n).EntireRow.Delete
    End If
Next n

End Sub

Nested For Loop

You can “nest” one For Loop inside another For Loop. We will use Nested For Loops to create a multiplication table:

Sub Nested_ForEach_MultiplicationTable()

Dim row As Integer, col As Integer

For row = 1 To 9
    For col = 1 To 9
        Cells(row + 1, col + 1).Value = row * col
    Next col
Next row

End Sub

Exit For

The Exit For statement allows you to exit a For Next loop immediately.

You would usually use Exit For along with an If Statement, exiting the For Next Loop if a certain condition is met.

For example, you might use a For Loop to find a cell. Once that cell is found, you can exit the loop to speed up your code.

This code will loop through rows 1 to 1000, looking for “error” in column A. If it’s found, the code will select the cell, alert you to the found error, and exit the loop:

Sub ExitFor_Loop()

Dim i As Integer
 
For i = 1 To 1000
    If Range("A" & i).Value = "error" Then
        Range("A" & i).Select
        MsgBox "Error Found"
        Exit For
    End If
Next i

End Sub

Important: In the case of Nested For Loops, Exit For only exits the current For Loop, not all active Loops.

Continue For

VBA does not have the “Continue” command that’s found in Visual Basic. Instead, you will need to use “Exit”.

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VBA For Each Loop

The VBA For Each Loop will loop through all objects in a collection:

• All cells in a range
• All worksheets in a workbook
• All shapes in a worksheet
• All open workbooks

You can also use Nested For Each Loops to:

• All cells in a range on all worksheets
• All shapes on all worksheets
• All sheets in all open workbooks
• and so on…

The syntax is:

For Each Object in Collection
[Do Something]
Next [Object]

Where:

• Object – Variable representing a Range, Worksheet, Workbook, Shape, etc. (ex. rng)
• Collection – Collection of objects (ex. Range(“a1:a10”)
• [Do Something] – Code block to run on each object
• Next [Object] – Closing statement. [Object] is optional, however strongly recommended.

For Each Cell in Range

This code will loop through each cell in a range:

Sub ForEachCell_inRange()

Dim cell As Range

For Each cell In Range("a1:a10")
    cell.Value = cell.Offset(0,1).Value
Next cell

End Sub

For Each Worksheet in Workbook

This code will loop through all worksheets in a workbook, unprotecting each sheet:

Sub ForEachSheet_inWorkbook()

Dim ws As Worksheet

For Each ws In Worksheets
    ws.Unprotect "password"
Next ws

End Sub

For Each Open Workbook

This code will save and close all open workbooks:

Sub ForEachWB_inWorkbooks()

Dim wb As Workbook

For Each wb In Workbooks
    wb.Close SaveChanges:=True
Next wb

End Sub

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For Each Shape in Worksheet

This code will delete all shapes in the active sheet.

Sub ForEachShape()

Dim shp As Shape

For Each shp In ActiveSheet.Shapes
    shp.Delete
Next shp

End Sub

For Each Shape in Each Worksheet in Workbook

You can also nest For Each Loops. Here we will loop through all shapes in all worksheets in the active workbook:

Sub ForEachShape_inAllWorksheets()

Dim shp As Shape, ws As Worksheet

For Each ws In Worksheets
    For Each shp In ws.Shapes
        shp.Delete
    Next shp
Next ws

End Sub

For Each – IF Loop

As we’ve mentioned before, you can use an If statement within a loop, performing actions only if certain criteria is met.

This code will hide all blank rows in a range:

Sub ForEachCell_inRange()

Dim cell As Range

For Each cell In Range("a1:a10")
    If cell.Value = "" Then _
       cell.EntireRow.Hidden = True
Next cell

End Sub

VBA Do While Loop

The VBA Do While and Do Until (see next section) are very similar. They will repeat a loop while (or until) a condition is met.

The Do While Loop will repeat a loop while a condition is met.

Here is the Do While Syntax:

Do While Condition
[Do Something]
Loop

Where:

• Condition – The condition to test
• [Do Something] – The code block to repeat

You can also set up a Do While loop with the Condition at the end of the loop:

Do 
[Do Something]
Loop While Condition

We will demo each one and show how they differ:

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Do While

Here is the Do While loop example we demonstrated previously:

Sub DoWhileLoop()
    Dim n As Integer
    n = 1
    Do While n < 11
        MsgBox n
        n = n + 1
    Loop
End Sub

Loop While

Now let’s run the same procedure, except we will move the condition to the end of the loop:

Sub DoLoopWhile()
    Dim n As Integer
    n = 1
    Do
        MsgBox n
        n = n + 1
    Loop While n < 11
End Sub

VBA Do Until Loop

Do Until Loops will repeat a loop until a certain condition is met. The syntax is essentially the same as the Do While loops:

Do Until Condition
[Do Something]
Loop

and similarly the condition can go at the start or the end of the loop:

Do 
[Do Something]
Loop Until Condition

Do Until

This do Until loop will count to 10, like our previous examples

Sub DoUntilLoop()
    Dim n As Integer
    n = 1
    Do Until n > 10
        MsgBox n
        n = n + 1
    Loop
End Sub

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Loop Until

This Loop Until loop will count to 10:

Sub DoLoopUntil()
    Dim n As Integer
    n = 1
    Do
        MsgBox n
        n = n + 1
    Loop Until n > 10
End Sub

Exit Do Loop

Similar to using Exit For to exit a For Loop, you use the Exit Do command to exit a Do Loop immediately

Exit Do

Here is an example of Exit Do:

Sub ExitDo_Loop()

Dim i As Integer
i = 1 

Do Until i > 1000
    If Range("A" & i).Value = "error" Then
        Range("A" & i).Select
        MsgBox "Error Found"
        Exit Do
    End If
    i = i + 1
Loop

End Sub

End or Break Loop

As we mentioned above, you can use the Exit For or Exit Do to exit loops:

Exit For

Exit Do

However, these commands must be added to your code before you run your loop.

If you are trying to “break” a loop that’s currently running, you can try pressing ESC or CTRL + Pause Break on the keyboard. However, this may not work.  If it doesn’t work, you’ll need to wait for your loop to end or, in the case of an endless loop, use CTRL + ALT + Delete to force close Excel.

This is why I try to avoid Do loops, it’s easier to accidentally create an endless loop forcing you to restart Excel, potentially losing your work.

More Loop Examples

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Loop Through Rows

This will loop through all the rows in a column:

Public Sub LoopThroughRows()
 
Dim cell As Range
 
For Each cell In Range("A:A")
    If cell.value <> "" Then MsgBox cell.address & ": " & cell.Value
Next cell
 
End Sub

Loop Through Columns

This will loop through all columns in a row:

Public Sub LoopThroughColumns()

Dim cell As Range

For Each cell In Range("1:1")
    If cell.Value <> "" Then MsgBox cell.Address & ": " & cell.Value
Next cell

End Sub

Loop Through Files in a Folder

This code will loop through all files in a folder, creating a list:

Sub LoopThroughFiles ()

Dim oFSO As Object
Dim oFolder As Object
Dim oFile As Object
Dim i As Integer

Set oFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

Set oFolder = oFSO.GetFolder("C:Demo)

i = 2

For Each oFile In oFolder.Files
    Range("A" & i).value = oFile.Name
    i = i + 1
Next oFile

End Sub

Loop Through Array

This code will loop through the array ‘arrList’:

For i = LBound(arrList) To UBound(arrList)
    MsgBox arrList(i)
Next i

The LBound function gets the “lower bound” of the array and UBound gets the “upper bound”.

Loops in Access VBA

Most of the examples above will also work in Access VBA. However, in Access, we loop through the Recordset Object rather than the Range Object.

Sub LoopThroughRecords()
   On Error Resume Next
   Dim dbs As Database
   Dim rst As Recordset
   Set dbs = CurrentDb
   Set rst = dbs.OpenRecordset("tblClients", dbOpenDynaset)
   With rst
      .MoveLast
      .MoveFirst
      Do Until .EOF = True
         MsgBox (rst.Fields("ClientName"))
        .MoveNext
     Loop
   End With
   rst.Close
   Set rst = Nothing
   Set dbs = Nothing
End Sub

This post provides a complete guide to the standard VBA For Loop and the VBA For Each Loop.

If you are looking for information about the VBA While and VBA Do Loop then go here.

If you want some quick info about the For loops then check out the Quick Guide table in the section below.

If you are looking for information on a particular topic then check out the Table of Contents below.

“History is about loops and continuums” – Mike Bidlo.
 

Related Links for the VBA For Loop

The Complete Guide to Ranges in Excel VBA.
The Complete Guide to Copying Data in Excel VBA.
VBA Do While Loop.

A Quick Guide to the VBA For Loop

The VBA For Loop Webinar

If you are a member of the website, click on the image below to view the webinar for this post.

(Note: Website members have access to the full webinar archive.)

Introduction to the VBA For Loop

Loops are by far the most powerful component of VBA. They are the rocket fuel of your Macros. They can perform tasks in milliseconds that would take humans hours. They also dramatically reduce the lines of code your applications need.

For Loops have been part of all major programming languages since they were first used with Fortan in 1957.

If you have never used loops before then this post is a great place to start. It provides an in-depth guide to loops, written in plain English without the jargon.

Let’s start with a very important question – what are loops and why do we need them?

What are VBA For Loops?

A loop is simply a way of running the same lines of code a number of times. Obviously running the same code over and over would give the same result.

So what is important to understand is that the lines of code normally contain a variable that changes slightly each time the loop runs.

For example, a loop could write to cell A1, then cell A2, A3 and so on. The slight change each time is the row.

Let’s look at a simple example.

VBA For Loop Example 1

 
The following code  prints the values 1 to 5 in the Immediate Window(Ctrl + G to view).

Debug.Print 1
Debug.Print 2
Debug.Print 3
Debug.Print 4
Debug.Print 5

The Immediate Window

If you have not used the Immediate Window before then this section will get you up to speed quickly.

The function Debug.Print writes values to the Immediate  Window. To view this window select View->Immediate Window from the menu( the shortcut is Ctrl + G)

VBA For Loop Example 2

Now imagine we want to print out the numbers 1 to 20. We would need to add 15 more lines to the example above.

 
However, using a loop we only need to write Debug.Print once.

    For i = 1 To 20
        Debug.Print i
    Next i

 
The output is:

 
If we needed print the numbers 1 to 1000 then we only need to change the 20 to 1000.

Normally when we write code we would use a variable instead of a number like 20 or 1000. This gives you greater flexibility. It allows you to decide the number of times you wish to run the loop when the code is running. The following example explains this.

VBA For Loop Example 3

A common task in Excel is read all the rows with with data. 

 
The way you approach this task is as follows

1. Find the last row with data
2. Store the value in variable
3. Use the variable to determine how many times the loop runs

 
Using a variable in the loop makes your code very flexible. Your will work no matter how many rows there are.

Let’s have a look at an example. Imagine you receive a sheet with a list of fruit types and their daily sales. You want to count the number of Oranges sold and this list will vary in size depending on sales.

 
The following screenshot shows an example of this list

 
We can use the code to count the oranges

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub CountFruit()

    ' Get the last row with text
    Dim LastRow As Long
    LastRow = Sheet1.Cells(Sheet1.Rows.Count, 1).End(xlUp).Row

    Dim i As Long, Total As Long
    ' Use LastRow in loop
    For i = 2 To LastRow
        ' Check if cell has text "Orange"
        If Sheet1.Cells(i, 1).Value = "Oranges" Then
            ' Add value in column B to total
            Total = Total + Sheet1.Cells(i, 2).Value
        End If
    Next i

    ' Print total
    Debug.Print "Total oranges sold was:"; Total

End Sub

 
You can try this code for yourself. Change the number of fruit items and you will see that the code still works fine.

If you were to increase the number fruit items to a large value like 10,000 then you will hardly notice the difference in the time it takes to run – almost instantly.

Loops are super fast. This is what makes them so powerful. Imagine performing a manual task on 10,000 cells. It would take a considerable amount of time.

Advantages of the VBA For Loop

4To conclude this section we will list the major advantages of using loops

• They reduce the lines code you need
• They are flexible
• They are fast

 
In the next sections we will look at the different types of loops and how to use them.

The Standard VBA For Loop

The VBA For loop is the most common loop you will use in Excel VBA. The For Loop is used when you can determine the number of times it will be run. For example, if you want to repeat something twenty times.

YouTube Video For Loop

Check out this YouTube Video of the For Loop:

Get the workbook and code for this video here
 

Format of the Standard VBA For Loop

The Standard VBA For Loop has the following format:

For <variable> = <start value> to <end value>
Next <variable>

The start and end values can be variables. Also the variable after Next is optional but it is useful and it makes it clear which for loop it belongs to.

How a For Loop Works

Let’s look at a simple for loop that prints the numbers 1 to 3

    Dim i As Long
    For i = 1 To 3
        Debug.Print i
    Next i

 
How this code works is as follows

i is set to 1
The value of i(now 1) is printed

 
i is set to 2
The value of i(now 2) is printed

 
i is set to 3
The value of i(now 3) is printed

 
If we did not use a loop then the equivalent code would be

    Dim i As Long
    i = i + 1
    Debug.Print i
    i = i + 1
    Debug.Print i
    i = i + 1
    Debug.Print i

 
The i = i + 1 line is used to add 1 to i and is a common way in programming to update a counter.

Using Step with the VBA For Loop

You can see that i is increased by one each time. This is the default. You can specify this interval using Step keyword.

 
The next example shows you how to do this:

    ' Prints the even numbers i.e. 2,4,6,8 ... 20
    For i = 2 To 20 Step 2
        Debug.Print i
    Next i

 
You can use a negative number with Step which will count in reverse

    ' Prints the even numbers in reverse i.e. 20,18,16,14 ... 2
    For i = 20 To 2 Step -2
        Debug.Print i
    Next i

 
Note: if Step is positive then your starting number must be lower than you ending number. The following loop will not run because the starting number 20 is greater than 10. VBA therefore, thinks it has already reached the target value 10.

    ' Will not run as starting number already greater than 10
    For i = 20 To 10 Step 1
        Debug.Print i
    Next i

 
If Step is negative then the start number must be greater than the end number.

Exit the For Loop

Sometimes you may want to leave the loop earlier if a certain condition occurs. For example if you read bad data.

 
You can use Exit For to automatically leave  the loop as shown in the following code

    For i = 1 To 1000

        ' If cell is blank then exit for
        If Cells(i, 1) = "" Then
            MsgBox "Blank Cell found - Data error"
            Exit For
        End If

    Next i

Using the VBA For Loop with a Collection

The For loop can also be used to read items in a Collection.

 
In the following example, we display the name of all the open workbooks

    Dim i As Long
    For i = 1 To Workbooks.Count
        Debug.Print Workbooks(i).FullName
    Next i

Using Nested For Loops

Sometimes you may want to use a loop within a loop. An example of this would be where you want to print the names of the worksheets of each open workbook.

The first loop would go through each workbook. Each time this loop runs it would use a second loop to go through all the worksheets of that workbook. It is actually much easier to do than it sounds.

 
The following code shows how:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub ListWorksheets()

    Dim i As Long, j As Long
    ' First Loop goes through all workbooks
    For i = 1 To Workbooks.Count

        ' Second loop goes through all the worksheets of workbook(i)
        For j = 1 To Workbooks(i).Worksheets.Count
            Debug.Print Workbooks(i).Name + ":" + Worksheets(j).Name
        Next j

    Next i

End Sub

 
This works as follows:

 
The first loop sets i to 1

 
The second loop then uses the workbook at 1 to go through the worksheets.

 
The first loop sets i to 2

 
The second loop then uses the workbook at 2 to go through the worksheets.

 
and so on

 
It the next section we will use a For Each loop to perform the same task. You will find the For Each version much easier to read.

The VBA For Each Loop

The VBA For Each loop is used to read items from a collection or an array. We can use the For Each loop to access all the open workbooks. This is because Application.Workbooks is a collection of open workbooks.

 
This is a simple example of using the For Each Loop

    Dim wk As Workbook
    For Each wk In Workbooks
        Debug.Print wk.FullName
    Next wk

 Format of the VBA For Each Loop

You can see the format of the VBA for each loop here(See Microsoft For Each Next documentation):
For Each <variable> in <collection>
Next <variable>

To create a For Each loop we need a variable of the same type that the collection holds. In the example here we created a variable of type Workbook.

If the collection has different types of items we can declare the variable as a variant.

VBA contains a collection called Sheets. This is a collection of sheets of type Worksheet(normal) and Chart(when you move a chart to be a full sheet). To go through this collection you would declare the variable as a Variant.

 
The following code uses For Each to print out the name of all the sheets in the current workbook

    Dim sh As Variant
    For Each sh In ThisWorkbook.Sheets
        Debug.Print sh.Name
    Next sh

Order of Items in the For Loop

For Each goes through items in one way only.

For example, if you go through all the worksheets in a workbook it will always go through from left to right. If you go through a range it will start at the lowest cell e.g. Range(“A1:A10”) will return A1,A2,A3 etc.

This means if you want any other order then you need to use the For loop.

 
Both loops in the following example will read the worksheets from left to right:

    ' Both loops read the worksheets from left to right
    Dim wk As Worksheet
    For Each wk In ThisWorkbook.Worksheets
        Debug.Print wk.Name
    Next

    Dim i As Long
    For i = 1 To ThisWorkbook.Worksheets.Count
        Debug.Print ThisWorkbook.Worksheets(i).Name
    Next

 
As you can see the For Each loop is neater to write. However if you want to read the sheets in any other order e.g. right to left then you have to use the for loop:

    ' Reading the worksheets from right to left
    Dim i As Long
    For i = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets.Count To 1 Step -1
        Debug.Print ThisWorkbook.Worksheets(i).Name
    Next

Using the VBA For Each Loop With Arrays

One thing to keep in my is that the For Each loop is that it is read-only when you use it with arrays.

 
The following example demonstrates this:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub UseForEach()

    ' Create array and add three values
    Dim arr() As Variant
    arr = Array("A", "B", "C")

    Dim s As Variant
    For Each s In arr
        ' Changes what s is referring to - not value of array item
        s = "Z"
    Next

    ' Print items to show the array has remained unchanged
    For Each s In arr
        Debug.Print s
    Next

End Sub

 
In the first loop we try to assign s to “Z”. When happens is that s is now referring the string “Z” and no longer to the item in the array.

In the second loop we print out the array and you can see that none of the values have changed.

 
When we use the For Loop we can change the array item. If we change the previous code to use the For Loop you it will change all the array values to “Z”

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub UsingForWithArray()

    ' Create array and add three values
    Dim arr() As Variant
    arr = Array("A", "B", "C")

    Dim i As Long
    For i = LBound(arr) To UBound(arr)
        ' Changes value at position to Z
        arr(i) = "Z"
    Next

    ' Print items to show the array values have change
    For i = LBound(arr) To UBound(arr)
        Debug.Print arr(i)
    Next

End Sub

If your Collection is storing Objects the you can change the items using a For Each loop.

Using Nested For Each Loops

We saw already that you can have a loop inside other loops. Here is the example from above:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub ListWorksheets()

    Dim i As Long, j As Long
    ' First Loop goes through all workbooks
    For i = 1 To Workbooks.Count

        ' Second loop goes through all the worksheets of workbook(i)
        For j = 1 To Workbooks(i).Worksheets.Count
            Debug.Print Workbooks(i).Name + ":" + Worksheets(j).Name
        Next j

    Next i

End Sub

This time we will use the For Each loop to perform the same task:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub ReadAllWorksheets()

    Dim wk As Workbook, sh As Worksheet
    ' Read each workbook
    For Each wk In Workbooks

        ' Read each worksheet in the wk workbook
        For Each sh In wk.Worksheets
            ' Print workbook name and worksheet name
            Debug.Print wk.Name + ": " + sh.Name
        Next sh

    Next wk

End Sub

As you can see this is a neater way of performing this task than using the For Loop:

This code run as follows:

1. Get the first Workbook from the Workbooks collection
2. Go through all the worksheets in this workbook
3. Print the workbook/worksheet details
4. Get the next workbooks in the collection
5. Repeat steps 2 to 3
6. Continue until no more workbooks are left in the collection

How to Loop Through a Range

In Excel VBA, the most common use of a For Loop is to read through a range.

Imagine we have the data set in the screenshot below. Our task is to write code that will read through the data and copy the amounts to the column J. We are only going to copy amounts that are greater than 200,000.

' Read through an Excel Range using the VBA For Loop
' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub ForLoopThroughRange()

    ' Get the worksheet
    Dim sh As Worksheet
    Set sh = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Sheet1")
    
    ' Get the Range
    Dim rg As Range
    Set rg = sh.Range("A1").CurrentRegion
    
    ' Delete existing output
    sh.Range("J1").CurrentRegion.ClearContents
    
    ' Set the first output row
    Dim row As Long
    row = 1
    
    ' Read through all the rows using the For Loop
    Dim i As Long
    For i = 2 To rg.Rows.Count
    
        ' Check if amount is greater than 200000
        If rg.Cells(i, 4).Value > 200000 Then
        
            ' Copy amount to column m
            sh.Cells(row, "J").Value = rg.Cells(i, 4).Value
            
            ' Move to next output row
            row = row + 1
            
        End If
        
    Next i
    
End Sub

 
This is a very basic example of copying data using Excel VBA. If you want a complete guide to copying data using Excel VBA then check out this post

Summary of the VBA For Loops

The Standard VBA For Loop

• The For  loop is slower than the For  Each loop.
• The For loop can go through a selection of items e.g. 5 to 10.
• The For loop can read items in reverse e.g. 10 to 1.
• The For loop is not as neat to write as the For Each Loop especially with nested loops.
• To exit a For loop use Exit For.

The VBA For Each Loop

• The For Each loop is faster than the For loop.
• The For Each loop goes through all items in the collectionarray.
• The For Each loop can go through items in one order only.
• The For Each loop is neater to write than a For Loop especially for nested loops.
• To exit a For Each loop use Exit For.

What’s Next?

Free VBA Tutorial If you are new to VBA or you want to sharpen your existing VBA skills then why not try out the The Ultimate VBA Tutorial.

Related Training: Get full access to the Excel VBA training webinars.

(NOTE: Planning to build or manage a VBA Application? Learn how to build 10 Excel VBA applications from scratch.)

To get the most out of Excel and VBA, you need to know how to use loops efficiently.

In VBA, loops allow you to go through a set of objects/values and analyze it one by one. You can also perform specific tasks for each loop.

Here is a simple example of using VBA loops in Excel.

Suppose you have a dataset and you want to highlight all the cells in even rows. You can use a VBA loop to go through the range and analyze each cell row number. If it turns out to be even, you give it a color, else you leave it as is.

Now this, of course, is very simple of looping in Excel VBA (and you can also do this using conditional formatting).

In real life, you can do a lot more with VBA loops in Excel that can help you automate tasks.

Here are some more practical examples where VBA loops can be useful:

• Looping through a range of cells and analyzing each cell (highlight cells with a specific text in it).
• Looping through all the worksheets and do something with each (such as protect/unprotect it).
• Loop through all the open workbooks (and save each workbook or close all except the active workbook).
• Loop through all the characters in a cell (and extract the numeric part from a string).
• Loop through all the values an array.
• Loop through all the charts/objects (and give a border or change the background color).

Now to best use loops in Excel VBA, you need to know about the different kinds that exist and the correct syntax of each.

In this tutorial, I’ll showcase different types of Excel VBA loops and cover a few examples for each loop

Note: This is going to be a huge tutorial, where I will try and cover each VBA loop in some detail. I recommend you bookmark this page for future reference.

If you’re interested in learning VBA the easy way, check out my Online Excel VBA Training.

For Next Loop

The ‘For Next’ loop allows you to go through a block of code for the specified number of times.

For example, if I ask you to add the integers from 1 to 10 manually, you would add the first two numbers, then add the third number to the result, then add the fourth number to the result, as so on..

Isn’t it?

The same logic is used in the For Next loop in VBA.

You specify how many times you want the loop to run and also specify what you want the code to do each time the loop is run.

Below is the syntax of the For Next loop:

For Counter = Start To End [Step Value]
[Code Block to Execute]
Next [counter]

In the For Next loop, you can use a Counter (or any variable) that will be used to run the loop. This counter allows you to run this loop for a required number of times.

For example, if I want to add the first 10 positive integers, then my Counter value would be from 1 to 10.

Let’s have a look at a few examples to better understand how For Next loop works.

Example 1 – Adding the first 10 positive integers

Below is the code that will add the first 10 positive integers using a For Next loop.

It will then display a message box showing the sum of these numbers.

Sub AddNumbers()
Dim Total As Integer
Dim Count As Integer
Total = 0
For Count = 1 To 10
Total = Total + Count
Next Count
MsgBox Total
End Sub

In this code, the value of Total is set to 0 before getting into the For Next loop.

Once it gets into the loop, it holds the total value after every loop. So after the first loop, when Counter is 1, ‘Total’ value becomes 1, and after the second loop it becomes 3 (1+2), and so on.

And finally, when the loop ends, ‘Total’ variable has the sum of the first 10 positive integers.

A MsgBox then simply displays the result in a message box.

Example 2 – Adding the first 5 Even Positive Integers

To sum the first five even positive integers (i.e, 2,4,6,8, and 10), you need a similar code with a condition to only consider the even numbers and ignore the odd numbers.

Here is a code that will do it:

Sub AddEvenNumbers()
Dim Total As Integer
Dim Count As Integer
Total = 0
For Count = 2 To 10 Step 2
Total = Total + Count
Next Count
MsgBox Total
End Sub

Note that we started the Count value from 2 and also used ‘Step 2‘.

When you use ‘Step 2’, it tells the code to increment the ‘Count’ value by 2 every time the loop is run.

So the Count value starts from 2 and then becomes 4, 6, 8 and 10 as the looping occurs.

NOTE: Another way of doing this could be to run the loop from 1 to 10 and within the loop check whether the number is even or odd. However, using Step, in this case, is a more efficient way as it does not require the loop to run 10 times, but only 5 times.

The Step value can also be negative. In such as case, the Counter starts at a higher value and keeps getting decremented by the specified Step value.

Example 3 – Entering Serial Number in the Selected Cells

You can also use the For Next loop to go through a collection of objects (such as cells or worksheets or workbooks),

Here is an example that quickly enters serial numbers in all the selected cells.

Sub EnterSerialNumber()
Dim Rng As Range
Dim Counter As Integer
Dim RowCount As Integer
Set Rng = Selection
RowCount = Rng.Rows.Count
For Counter = 1 To RowCount
ActiveCell.Offset(Counter - 1, 0).Value = Counter
Next Counter
End Sub

The above code first counts the number of selected rows and then assigns this value to the variable RowCount. We then run the loop from ‘1 to RowCount’.

Also note that since selection can be any number of rows, we have Set the variable Rng to Selection (with the line ‘Set Rng = Selection’). Now we can use the ‘Rng’ variable to refer to the selection in our code.

Example 4 – Protect All Worksheets in the Active Workbook

You can use the ‘For Next’ loop to go through all the worksheets in the active workbook, and protect (or unprotect) each of the worksheets.

Below is the code that will do this:

Sub ProtectWorksheets()
Dim i As Integer
For i = 1 To ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets.Count
Worksheets(i).Protect
Next i
End Sub

The above code counts the number of sheets by using ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets.Count. This tells VBA how many times the loop needs to be run.

In each instance, it refers to the Ith workbook (using Worksheets(i)) and protects it.

You can use this same code to Unprotect worksheets too. Just change the line Worksheets(i).Protect to Worksheets(i).UnProtect.

Nested ‘For Next’ Loops

You can use nested ‘For Next’ loops to get more complex automation done in Excel. A nested ‘For Next’ loop would mean that there is a ‘For Next’ loop within a ‘For Next’ loop.

Let me show you how to use this using an example.

Suppose I have 5 workbooks open in my system and I want to protect all the worksheets in all these workbooks.

Below is the code that will do this:

Sub ProtectWorksheets()
Dim i As Integer
Dim j As Integer
For i = 1 To Workbooks.Count
For j = 1 To Workbooks(i).Worksheets.Count
Workbooks(i).Worksheets(j).Protect
Next j
Next i
End Sub

The above is a nested For Next loop as we have used one For Next loop within another.

‘EXIT For’ Statements in For Next Loops

‘Exit For’ statement allows you to exit the ‘For Next’ loop completely.

You can use it in cases where you want the For Next loop to end when a certain condition is met.

Let’s take an example where you have a set of numbers in Column A and you want to highlight all the negative numbers in red font. In this case, we need to analyze each cell for its value and then change the font color accordingly.

But to make the code more efficient, we can first check if there are any negative values in the list or not. If there are no negative values, we can use the Exit For the statement to simply come out of the code.

Below is the code that does this:

Sub HghlightNegative()
Dim Rng As Range
Set Rng = Range("A1", Range("A1").End(xlDown))
Counter = Rng.Count
For i = 1 To Counter
If WorksheetFunction.Min(Rng) >= 0 Then Exit For
If Rng(i).Value < 0 Then Rng(i).Font.Color = vbRed
Next i
End Sub

When you use the ‘Exit For’ statement within a nested ‘For Next’ loop, it will come out of the loop in which it is executed and go on to execute the next line in the code after the For Next loop.

For example, in the below code, the ‘Exit For’ statement will get you out of the inner loop, but the outer loop would continue to work.

Sub SampleCode()
For i = 1 To 10
For j = 1 to 10
Exit For
Next J
Next i
End Sub

Do While Loop

A ‘Do While’ loop allows you to check for a condition and run the loop while that condition is met (or is TRUE).

There are two types of syntax in the Do While Loop.

Do [While condition]
[Code block to Execute]
Loop

and

Do
[Code block to Execute]
Loop [While condition]

The difference between these two is that in the first, the While condition is checked first before any code block is executed, and in the second case, the code block is executed first and then the While condition is checked.

This means that if the While condition is False is both the cases, the code will still run at least once in the second case (as the ‘While’ condition is checked after the code has been executed once).

Now let’s see some examples of using Do While loops in VBA.

Example 1 – Add First 10 Positive Integers using VBA

Suppose you want to add the first ten positive integers using the Do While loop in VBA.

To do this, you can use the Do While loop until the next number is less than or equal to 10. As soon as the number is greater than 1o, your loop would stop.

Here is the VBA code that will run this Do While loop and the show the result in a message box.

Sub AddFirst10PositiveIntegers()
Dim i As Integer
i = 1
Do While i <= 10
Result = Result + i
i = i + 1
Loop
MsgBox Result
End Sub

The above loop continues to work until the value of ‘i’ becomes 11. As soon as it becomes 11, the loop ends (as the While condition becomes False).

Within the loop, we have used a Result variable that holds the final value Once the loop is completed, a message box shows the value of the ‘Result’ variable.

Example 2 –  Enter Dates For the Current Month

Let’s say you want to enter all the dates of the current month into a worksheet column.

You can do that by using the following Do While loop code:

Sub EnterCurrentMonthDates()
Dim CMDate As Date
Dim i As Integer
i = 0
CMDate = DateSerial(Year(Date), Month(Date), 1)
Do While Month(CMDate) = Month(Date)
Range("A1").Offset(i, 0) = CMDate
i = i + 1
CMDate = CMDate + 1
Loop
End Sub

The above code would enter all the dates in the first column of the worksheet (starting from A1). The loops continue till the Month value of the variable ‘CMDate’ matches that of the current month.

Exit Do Statement

You can use the Exit Do statement to come out of the loop. As soon as the code executes the ‘Exit Do’ line, it comes out of the Do While loop and passes the control to the next line right after the loop.

For example, if you want to enter the first 10 dates only, then you can exit the loop as soon as the first 10 dates are entered.

The below code will do this:

Sub EnterCurrentMonthDates()
Dim CMDate As Date
Dim i As Integer
i = 0
CMDate = DateSerial(Year(Date), Month(Date), 1)
Do While Month(CMDate) = Month(Date)
Range("A1").Offset(i, 0) = CMDate
i = i + 1
If i >= 10 Then Exit Do
CMDate = CMDate + 1
Loop
End Sub

In the above code, the IF statement is used to check if the value of i is greater than 10 or not. As soon as the value of ‘i’ becomes 10, Exit Do statement is executed and the loop ends.

Do Until Loop

‘Do Until’ loops are very much like the ‘Do While’ loops.

In ‘Do While’, the loop runs till the given condition is met, while in ‘Do Until’, it loops until the specified condition is met.

There are two types of syntax in the Do Until Loop.

Do [Until condition]
[Code block to Execute]
Loop

and

Do
[Code block to Execute]
Loop [Until condition]

The difference between these two is that in the first, the Until condition is checked first before any code block is executed, and in the second case, the code block is executed first and then the Until condition is checked.

This means that if the Until condition is TRUE is both cases, the code will still run at least once in the second case (as the ‘Until’ condition is checked after the code has been executed once).

Now let’s see some examples of using Do Until loops in VBA.

Note: All the examples for Do Until are the same as that of Do While. These have been modified to show you how the Do Until loop works.

Example 1 – Add First 10 Positive Integers using VBA

Suppose you want to add the first ten positive integers using the Do Until loop in VBA.

To do this, you need to run the loop until the next number is less than or equal to 10. As soon as the number is greater than 1o, your loop would stop.

Here is the VBA code that will run this loop and show the result in a message box.

Sub AddFirst10PositiveIntegers()
Dim i As Integer
i = 1
Do Until i > 10
Result = Result + i
i = i + 1
Loop
MsgBox Result
End Sub

The above loop continues to work until the value of ‘i’ becomes 11. As soon as it becomes 11, the loop ends (as the ‘Until’ condition becomes True).

Example 2 –  Enter Dates For the Current Month

Let’s say you want to enter all the dates of the current month into a worksheet column.

You can do that by using the following Do Until loop code:

Sub EnterCurrentMonthDates()
Dim CMDate As Date
Dim i As Integer
i = 0
CMDate = DateSerial(Year(Date), Month(Date), 1)
Do Until Month(CMDate) <> Month(Date)
Range("A1").Offset(i, 0) = CMDate
i = i + 1
CMDate = CMDate + 1
Loop
End Sub

The above code would enter all the dates in the first column of the worksheet (starting from A1). The loop continues until the Month of variable CMDate is not equal to that of the current month.

Exit Do Statement

You can use the ‘Exit Do’ statement to come out of the loop.

As soon as the code executes the ‘Exit Do’ line, it comes out of the Do Until loop and passes the control to the next line right after the loop.

For example, if you want to enter the first 10 dates only, then you can exit the loop as soon as the first 10 dates are entered.

The below code will do this:

Sub EnterCurrentMonthDates()
Dim CMDate As Date
Dim i As Integer
i = 0
CMDate = DateSerial(Year(Date), Month(Date), 1)
Do Until Month(CMDate) <> Month(Date)
Range("A1").Offset(i, 0) = CMDate
i = i + 1
If i >= 10 Then Exit Do
CMDate = CMDate + 1
Loop
End Sub

In the above code, as soon as the value of ‘i’ becomes 10, Exit Do statment is executed and the loop ends.

For Each

In VBA, you can loop through a set of collections using the ‘For Each’ loop.

Here are some examples of collections in Excel VBA:

• A collection of all the open Workbooks.
• A collection of all worksheets in a workbook.
• A collection of all the cells in a range of selected cells.
• A collection of all the charts or shapes in the workbook.

Using the ‘For Each’ loop, you can go through each of the objects in a collection and perform some action on it.

For example, you can go through all the worksheets in a workbook and protect these, or you can go through all the cells in the selection and change the formatting.

With the ‘For Each’ loop (also referred to as the ‘For Each-Next’ loop), you don’t need to know how many objects are there in a collection.

‘For Each’ loop would automatically go through each object and perform the specified action. For example, if you want to protect all the worksheets in a workbook, the code would be the same whether you have a workbook with 3 worksheets or 30 worksheets.

Here is the syntax of For Each-Next loop in Excel VBA.

For Each element In collection
[Code Block to Execute]
Next [element]

Now let’s see a couple of examples of using the For Each Loop in Excel.

Example 1 – Go through All the Worksheets in a Workbook (and Protect it)

Suppose you have a workbook where you want to protect all the worksheets.

Below For Each-Next loop can do this easily:

Sub ProtectSheets()
Dim ws As Worksheet
For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
ws.Protect
Next ws
End Sub

In the above code, we have defined ‘ws’ variable as a Worksheet object. This tells VBA that ‘ws’ should be interpreted as a worksheet object in the code.

Now we use the ‘For Each’ statement to go through each ‘ws’ (which is a worksheet object) in the collection of all the worksheets in the active workbook (given by ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets).

Note that unlike other loops where we have tried to protect all the worksheets in a workbook, here we don’t need to worry about how many worksheets are there in the workbook.

We don’t need to count these to run the loop. For Each loop ensures that all the objects are analyzed one by one.

Example 2 – Go through All the Open Workbooks (and Save All)

If you work with multiple workbooks at the same time, it can come in handy to be able to save all these workbooks at once.

Below VBA code can do this for us:

Sub SaveAllWorkbooks()
Dim wb As Workbook
For Each wb In Workbooks
wb.Save
Next wb
End Sub

Note that in this code, you don’t get a prompt that asks you to save the workbook in a specific location (if saving it for the first time).

It saves it in the default folder (it was the ‘Documents’ folder in my case). This code works best when these files are already saved and you’re making changes and you want to save all the workbooks quickly.

Example 3 – Go through All the Cells in a Selection (Highlight negative values)

Using the ‘For Each’ loop, you can loop through all the cells in a specific range or in the selected range.

This can be helpful when you want to analyze each cell and perform an action based on it.

For example, below is the code that will go through all the cells in the selection and change the cell color of the cells with negative values to red.

Sub HighlightNegativeCells()
Dim Cll As Range
For Each Cll In Selection
If Cll.Value < 0 Then
Cll.Interior.Color = vbRed
End If
Next Cll
End Sub

(Note I’ve used Cll as a short variable name for Cell. It’s advisable not to use object names such as Sheets or Range as variable names)

In the above code, the For Each-Next loop goes through the collection of cells in the selection. IF statement is used to identify if the cell value is negative or not. In case it is, the cell is given a red interior color, else it goes to the next cell.

In case you don’t have a selection, and instead want VBA to select all the filled cells in a column, starting from a specific cell (just like we use Control + Shift + Down arrow key to select all filled cells), you can use the below code:

Sub HighlightNegativeCells()
Dim Cll As Range
Dim Rng As Range
Set Rng = Range("A1", Range("A1").End(xlDown))
For Each Cll In Rng
If Cll.Value < 0 Then
Cll.Interior.Color = vbRed
End If
Next Cll
End Sub

In the above example, it doesn’t matter how many filled cells are there. It will start from cell A1 and analyze all the contiguous filled cells in the column.

You also don’t need to have cell A1 selected. You can have any far-off cell selected and when the code runs, it will still consider all the cells in column A (starting from A1) and color the negative cells.

‘Exit For’ Statment

You can use the ‘Exit For’ statement in the For Each-Next loop to come out of the loop. This is usually done in case a specific condition is met.

For example, in Example 3, as we are going through a set of cells, it can be more efficient to check if there are any negative values or not. In case there are no negative values, we can simply exit the loop and save some VBA processing time.

Below is the VBA code that will do this:

Sub HighlightNegativeCells()
Dim Cll As Range
For Each Cll In Selection
If WorksheetFunction.Min(Selection) >= 0 Then Exit For
If Cll.Value < 0 Then
Cll.Interior.Color = vbRed
End If
Next Cll
End Sub

Where to Put the VBA Code

Wondering where the VBA code goes in your Excel workbook?

Excel has a VBA backend called the VBA editor. You need to copy and paste the code in the VB Editor module code window.

Here are the steps to do this:

1. Go to the Developer tab.
2. Click on the Visual Basic option. This will open the VB editor in the backend.
3. In the Project Explorer pane in the VB Editor, right-click on any object for the workbook in which you want to insert the code. If you don’t see the Project Explorer go to the View tab and click on Project Explorer.
4. Go to Insert and click on Module. This will insert a module object for your workbook.
5. Copy and paste the code in the module window.

You May Also Like the Following Excel Tutorials:

• How to record a macro in Excel.
• Creating User-defined functions in Excel.
• Excel VBA Msgbox
• How to Run a Macro in Excel.
• How to Create and Use Add-ins in Excel.
• Excel VBA Events – An Easy (and Complete) Guide.
• How to Sort Data in Excel using VBA (A Step-by-Step Guide).
• 24 Useful Excel Macro Examples for VBA Beginners (Ready-to-use).
• How to Use Excel VBA InStr Function (with practical EXAMPLES).
• Excel Personal Macro Workbook | Save & Use Macros in All Workbooks.
• Using Select Case in Excel VBA.

Loops are used in VBA for repeating a set of statements multiple times. Loops form an essential part of any programming language, and VBA is no exception. There are five different types of loops that can be used in VBA. These are as follows:

• For Loop
• For Each Loop
• Do While Loop
• Do Until Loop
• Wend Loop (obsolete)

In this post, I will explain all these VBA Loops with examples. But before jumping into the topic, let’s understand what a loop is and why it is used.

What is a loop, and what are its uses?

Loop is an instruction that can continually repeat a set of statements until a particular condition is reached.

Loops can serve the following purposes:

• It helps in iterating a set of statements.
• It helps in checking a particular condition multiple times.
• It can also help in developing custom sleep and wait logic in code.

VBA FOR LOOP

For loop is one of the most important and frequently used loop in VBA. For Loop is sometimes also called ‘For Next Loop’.

For Loops allow you to iterate a set of statements for a specified number of times.

Syntax of VBA For Loop

The basic syntax of a VBA For loop or structure of For Loop is as follows:

For loop_ctr = start_num To end_num [step_increment]
'Statements to be executed inside the loop
Next loop_ctr

How does a VBA For Loop Work?

Let’s say we have a simple For Loop in VBA as shown below:

For loop_ctr = 1 To 100
'Statements to be executed inside the loop
Next loop_ctr

• When the program control reaches the statement ‘For loop_ctr = 1 To 100’, it reserves a space for the variable ‘loop_ctr’ in the memory and initializes it to 1.
• After this, it executes the statements inside the For Loop sequentially.
• Finally, the program control reaches the statement ‘Next loop_ctr’, here it increments the variable ‘loop_ctr’ by 1. And the control again goes to the statement ‘For loop_ctr = 1 To 100’, where it checks if the value of ‘loop_ctr’ has reached 100 or not. If the value is less than 100, then it continues the next iteration; otherwise, the loop stops.

Still not clear with the working of a For Loop? No Worries. Let’s try to understand this with the help of a flow diagram.

VBA For Next Loop Flow Diagram

Let’s try to understand the control flow as depicted in the above flow chart:

1. First of all, the FOR statement is executed. This step allows the ‘loop_ctr’ and ‘step_increment’ values to be initialized.
2. After this, the condition is evaluated. If the condition is TRUE, all the statements inside the loop ‘Code Block’ are executed. However, If the condition evaluates to FALSE, then the control flow jumps to the next statement outside the For loop.
3. When the ‘code block’ inside the For Loop executes, the loop starts to get ready for the next iteration and increments the ‘loop_ctr’ value.
4. Finally, the condition is again evaluated with the incremented ‘loop_ctr,’ and the process repeats itself.

Few Simple Examples of For Loop In VBA

Let’s see some simple examples of For Loop in VBA.

Example 1: Use VBA For Loop to print numbers from 1 to 10 in excel.

In this example, we have a range «A1:A10”, and we have to fill this range with numbers from 1-10.
To accomplish this, we can use the below code:

Sub ForLoopPrintNumbers()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
For loop_ctr = 1 To 10
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Offset(loop_ctr - 1, 0).Value = loop_ctr
Next loop_ctr
MsgBox "For Loop Completed!"
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, first of all, we have declared the loop counter ‘loop_ctr’ for our For loop. Next, along with the For statement, we have initialized the ‘loop_ctr’ to 1 and set the ‘end_num’ as 10.

Inside the For Loop body, we have written the code to write the loop_ctr value on the excel sheet in the A column. After this, there is a statement that increments the ‘loop_ctr’ for the next iteration.

Note that since we have not specified an explicit ‘step_increment’ value, so every iteration, the ‘loop_ctr’ will be incremented by 1. The For loop in the above code iterates 10 times and populates the cells in the range A1:A10 with numbers from 1-10 serially.

Example 2: Use For Loop in VBA to find the sum of all the numbers between 1 to 10.

In this example, we will loop through all the numbers between 1 to 10 and sum them. Finally, we will be displaying the sum of the numbers from 1 to 10 on the screen.

To do this we can use the following code:

Sub ForLoopSumNumbers()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim result As Integer
result = 0
For loop_ctr = 1 To 10
result = result + loop_ctr
Next loop_ctr
MsgBox "Sum of numbers from 1-10 is : " & result
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, first of all, we have declared the loop counter ‘loop_ctr’ for our For loop. Next, we have declared another integer variable as ‘result’ for storing the sum of numbers from 1 to 10.

After this, along with the For statement, we have initialized the ‘loop_ctr’ to 1 and set the ‘end_num’ as 10.

Inside the For Loop body, we have added the value of ‘loop_ctr’ along with the result. This means that in the first iteration, the result will be: 1, and in the second iteration, it will be : (1+2) = 3. Similarly, in the third iteration, the value will be: (3 + 3) = 6 and so on.

After the For loop body, there is a statement that increments the ‘loop_ctr’ for the next iteration.

Note that since we have not specified an explicit ‘step_increment’ value, hence with every iteration, the ‘loop_ctr’ will be incremented by 1.

The For loop in the above code iterates 10 times and sums all the numbers from 1 to 10, and finally displays the sum of these numbers in msgbox.

Example 3: Use VBA For Loop to print numbers, all even numbers from 1 to 10.

In this example, we will fill all the even numbers between 1 and 10 into cells A1 to A5.

To do this, we can use the below code:

Sub ForLoopToPrintEvenNumbers()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim cell As Integer
cell = 1
For loop_ctr = 1 To 10
If loop_ctr Mod 2 = 0 Then
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Offset(cell - 1, 0).Value = loop_ctr
cell = cell + 1
End If
Next loop_ctr
MsgBox "For Loop Completed!"
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, first of all, we have declared the loop counter ‘loop_ctr’ for our For loop. After that, we have declared another variable ‘cell’. This variable is initialized with a value of 1.

Next, along with the For statement, we have initialized the ‘loop_ctr’ to 1 and set the ‘end_num’ as 10.

Inside the For Loop body, we have used an IF statement to check if the ‘loop_ctr’ value is even or not.

If the ‘loop_ctr’ value is Even then, we have written a statement to print the value out to the spreadsheet in the A column.

After this, we are incrementing the cell variable by 1. We have used the cell variable in our loop to print the values in the appropriate cell in the A column.

Next, there is a statement that increments the ‘loop_ctr’ for the next iteration.

Note that since we have not specified an explicit ‘step_increment’ value, after every iteration, the ‘loop_ctr’ will be incremented by 1.

The For loop in the above code iterates 10 times and populates the cells in the range A1:A5 with even numbers from 2-10.

Alternate Logic

There is another better way to accomplish the same, let’s see how.

Sub ForLoopToPrintEvenNumbers()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim cell As Integer
cell = 1
For loop_ctr = 2 To 10 Step 2
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Offset(cell - 1, 0).Value = loop_ctr
cell = cell + 1
Next loop_ctr
MsgBox "For Loop Completed!"
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, we have looped through all the numbers between 2 to 10. Instead of the default ‘step_increment’ of 1, we are using an explicit ‘step_increment’ of 2.

In the first iteration of the for loop, the ‘loop_ctr’ value is 2, which is what gets printed in cell A1. In the second iteration, the ‘loop_ctr’ value becomes 4 (earlier value : 2 + step_increment : 2) and this number gets printed on cell A2.

Similarly, in the third iteration, the ‘loop_ctr’ value is 6 (earlier value: 4 + step_increment: 2) and it gets printed on the cell A3 and so on.

Writing a Nested For Loop

There are times when you might need to use a for loop within another for loop; this is called nesting of for loops.

VBA For loops can be nested within one another to perform complex tasks in excel. Let’s understand a nested loop with an example:

Example 4: Print numbers from 1 to 10 in all the worksheets in an excel spreadsheet using a For Loop.

In this example, we need to print numbers from 1 to 10 in all the worksheets in an excel workbook.

To do this, we can make use of the following code:

Sub ForLoopPrintNumbers()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim sheet As Integer
For sheet = 1 To Worksheets.Count
For loop_ctr = 1 To 10
Worksheets(sheet).Range("A1").Offset(loop_ctr - 1, 0).Value = loop_ctr
Next loop_ctr
Next sheet
MsgBox "For Loop Completed!"
End Sub

Explanation:

In this example, there are two For Loops, one inside another. The Outer For Loop iterates over the variable ‘sheet’, and the Inner For Loop iterates over ‘loop_ctr’ that determines the cell position.

Inside the body of the Inner For loop, we have a statement that prints the numbers between 1 to 10 in each worksheet (as per the outer loop).

The outer loop iterates over all the available sheets in the spreadsheet, whereas the inner loop iterates over the A1 to A10 for the current sheet. This makes it possible to print numbers from 1 – 10 in all the available worksheets.

Reverse For Loop in VBA

In all our previous examples, we have only seen those For loops in which the loop counter variable gets incremented from a lower value to a higher value (with each iteration).

But this is not necessary, you can also have a For Loop where the loop counter moves from a higher value to a lower value (with each iteration).

Example 5: Use a Reverse For Loop to print numbers from 1 to 10 in descending order.

Sub ReverseForLoop()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim cell As Integer
cell = 1
For loop_ctr = 10 To 1 Step -1
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Offset(cell - 1, 0).Value = loop_ctr
cell = cell + 1
Next loop_ctr
MsgBox "For Loop Completed!"
End Sub

Explanation:

In this example, the loop starts with the value of ‘loop_ctr’ as 10. And then, with each iteration, the value of the loop counter is decremented by 1 (since the ‘step_increment’ is -1).

Inside the For Loop body, we print the value of the loop counter variable in the active sheet from A1:A10.

Infinite Loop Using a For Loop

An infinite loop is also sometimes called an Endless Loop. An Infinite Loop is a loop whose ending condition (often due to a logic error by the programmer) never becomes true. The loop iterates an infinite number of times or until halted by programmer/user action.

Although in the case of FOR loop, generally due to the clear start and end conditions, it is not easy to make an endless loop by logical mistake. However, there can be cases where you can by mistake reset the loop counter variable inside the loop, thereby making the loop infinite.

Below is an example of an endless for loop:

'Do not run this code
Sub InfiniteForLoop()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim cell As Integer
For loop_ctr = 1 To 10
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Offset(loop_ctr - 1, 0).Value = loop_ctr
loop_ctr = loop_ctr - 1
Next loop_ctr
MsgBox "For Loop Completed!"
End Sub

The statement ‘loop_ctr = loop_ctr – 1’ makes the above VBA loop infinite since it resets the value of the loop_ctr with every iteration, and hence the end condition is never reached.

Tip: It is always good to not make any changes to the loop counter variable value inside the loop body.

How to Break Out or Exit of a For Loop

I believe many of you will wonder, «Why do we need to break a loop during execution»? The answer is simple: Breaking or exiting a loop can sometimes optimize the code and reduce the resource overhead.

To break a For Loop we can use the ‘Exit For’ statement.

Let’s try to see this in action with an example:

Example 6: Use a FOR loop in VBA to find the sum of the first 20 odd numbers between 1 to 100.

In this example, we have to find the first 20 odd numbers from 1 to 100 and then calculate their sum. Below is the code to do this:

Sub SumFirst20OddNumbers()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim odd_number_counter As Integer
Dim sum As Integer
For loop_ctr = 1 To 100
If (loop_ctr Mod 2 <> 0) Then
sum = sum + loop_ctr
odd_number_counter = odd_number_counter + 1
End If
If (odd_number_counter = 20) Then
Exit For
End If
Next loop_ctr
MsgBox "Sum of top 20 odd numbers is : " & sum
End Sub

Explanation:

In this example, we have three variables – ‘loop_ctr’, ‘odd_number_counter’, and ‘sum’. The variable ‘loop_ctr’ is used as a loop counter, the ‘odd_number_counter’ variable holds the count of odd numbers that have been summed (because we only need to sum the first 20 odd numbers), and the ‘sum’ variable holds the sum of the first 20 odd numbers.

Inside the loop, we iterate all the numbers from 1 to 100, one by one (step_increment is 1 as default), and check if the number is odd. If the number is odd, we sum it and increment the ‘odd_number_counter’ by 1.

After the first IF block, another IF condition checks if the ‘odd_number_counter’ variable value is 20. If the value of ‘odd_number_counter’ is 20, then using the ‘Exit For’ statement, we are exiting out of the loop as there is no point in continuing the loop further.

Few Practical Examples of VBA For Loop

Now let’s have a look at some of the practical examples where For Loop can be used:

Example 7: Highlight alternate rows on a spreadsheet using the VBA For Loop.

In this example, we need to highlight alternate rows in a spreadsheet. To do this we can use the below code:

Sub HighlightAlternateRows()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim Max As Integer
Dim clm As Integer
Max = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Rows.Count
clm = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Columns.Count
For loop_ctr = 1 To Max
If loop_ctr Mod 2 = 0 Then
ActiveSheet.Range(Cells(loop_ctr, 1), Cells(loop_ctr, clm)).Interior.ColorIndex = 28
End If
Next loop_ctr
MsgBox "For Loop Completed!"
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, we have started the loop from 1 to the number of rows in our sheet. We are then using the if statement to find the even-numbered rows for highlighting them.

Example 8: Use VBA For Loop Protect all sheets in Workbook.

In this example, we will try to create a VBA macro that loops through all the worksheets in the active workbook and protects all the worksheets.

Below is the code to do this:

Sub ProtectWorksheets()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
For loop_ctr = 1 To ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets.Count
Worksheets(loop_ctr).Protect
Next loop_ctr
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, we are using a VBA for loop and iterating over all the worksheets in the open workbook. Inside the For Loop, we are trying to protect the current instance of the worksheet.

The above code can also be used to unprotect the sheets as well. Just replace the ‘Worksheets(loop_ctr).Protect’ with ‘Worksheets(loop_ctr).UnProtect’.

Example 9: Loop Over an Array of Numbers and Find the Largest and Smallest Numbers from the Array.

In this example, we have an array of numbers, and using a FOR Loop we have to iterate the array and find the smallest and the Largest numbers from the array. Below is the code to do this:

Sub ForLoopWithArrays()
Dim arr() As Variant
arr = Array(10, 12, 8, 19, 21, 5, 16)
Dim min_number As Integer
Dim max_number As Integer
min_number = arr(0)
max_number = arr(0)
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
For loop_ctr = LBound(arr) To UBound(arr)
If arr(loop_ctr) > max_number Then
max_number = arr(loop_ctr)
End If
If arr(loop_ctr) < min_number Then
min_number = arr(loop_ctr)
End If
Next loop_ctr
MsgBox "Largest Number: " & max_number _
& " Smallest Number: " & min_number
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, we have an array of numbers declared as ‘arr’ variable. In addition to that, we have two variables, ‘min_number’ and ‘max_number’, that are used for holding the minimum and maximum numbers from the array.

We initialize both the ‘min_number’ and ‘max_number’ variables to the array’s first element. Next, inside the For loop, we loop through all the array elements and check –

If the current number is greater than the ‘max_number’, then set the ‘max_number’ value equal to the current number. The next condition that we check is – If the current number is less than the ‘min_number’, then set the ‘min_number’ value equal to the current number.

Finally, we are showing the largest and the smallest numbers inside the array with the help of a msgbox.

VBA For Each Loop

For each is a more sophisticated type of For Loop. It can be used for iterating a collection of objects.

Here you don’t have to worry about the loop counter, your job is to simply pass a collection of objects, and the loop itself identifies the objects and iterates them.

Syntax of a VBA For Each Loop

The syntax of For Each Loop resembles closely to For Loop. Below is the syntax:

For Each item In collection_of_items
'Statements to be executed inside the loop
Next item

Here, ‘collection_of_items’ refers to a group of objects that you need to iterate. If you supply a single object to this parameter, it throws a «run-time error 438».

‘item’ specifies the objects inside the ‘collection_of_items’. At any particular instant inside the loop, ‘item’ contains a single object from the ‘collection_of_items’.

How a For Each Loop Works

Let’s say we have a For Each Loop as:

For Each cl In ActiveSheet.Range("A1:A10")
'Statements to be executed inside the loop
Next cl

• When the program control reaches the statement ‘For Each cl In ActiveSheet.Range(«A1:A10»)’ it evaluates the object collection and then initializes the variable ‘cl’ with the first object in the collection, i.e., cell $A$1.
• After this, it executes the statements inside the loop.
• Next, it fetches the second object from the collection and dumps it in the variable ‘cl’. And the process continues till it has fetched all objects from the collection.

Flow Diagram of a For Each Loop In VBA

Let’s try to understand the control flow as depicted in the above flow chart:

1. First of all, the FOR EACH statement is executed and checks if there are any elements in the collection.
2. If there are any elements present in the collection, the ‘item’ variable is initialized to the first element of the collection, and the statements inside the loop ‘Code Block’ is executed. However, If the condition evaluates to FALSE, then the control flow jumps to the next statement outside the For Each loop.
3. When the ‘code block’ inside the For Each Loop executes, the loop starts to get ready for the next iteration. The ‘item’ variable is re-initialized to the next element in the collection, and the loop continues.

Few Simple Examples of VBA For Each Loop

Now let’s move to some simple examples of For Each loop.

Example 1 – Use VBA For Each Loop to display the names of all the Active Worksheets.

In this example, we will use a For Each loop to iterate through all the worksheets in the ActiveWorkbook and display the names of all the sheets using a msg box.

Sub ForEachDisplaySheetNames()
Dim sheetNames As String
For Each sht In ActiveWorkbook.Sheets
sheetNames = sheetNames & vbNewLine & sht.Name
Next sht
MsgBox "The Sheet names are : " & vbNewLine & sheetNames
End Sub

Explanation:

In this example, the For Each loop takes the collection of sheets from ‘ActiveWorkbook.Sheets’ it then iterates the sheets one by one and initializes the ‘sht’ variable with the current sheet instance.

Inside the For Each block, the sheet name for each worksheet is appended to a string, and finally, outside the loop, all the sheet names are displayed using a message box.

Example 2: Use VBA For Each Loop to Sum all the Elements of an Array.

In this example, with the help of a VBA For Each loop, we will be iterating an array of numbers and find the sum of all of its elements. Below is the code to do this:

Sub ForEachSumArrayElements()
Dim arr As Variant
Dim sum As Integer
arr = Array(1, 10, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 27)
For Each element In arr
sum = sum + element
Next element
MsgBox "The Sum is : " & sum
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, we have declared two variables, ‘arr’ and ‘sum’. The ‘arr’ variable is used for storing the array of numbers, and the ‘sum’ variable represents the sum of the array elements.

Inside the For Each loop, we are iterating the array elements one by one, summing them up, and storing the total in the ‘sum’ variable.

Finally, outside the For Each loop, we show the sum of the array elements using a message box.

Example 3: Use VBA For Each Loop to display the names of all the Open Workbooks.

In this example, using a For Each loop, we will loop through all the open workbooks and display their name using a message box.

Below is the code to do this:

Sub ForEachDisplayWorkbookNames()
Dim workBookNames As String
For Each wrkbook In Workbooks
workBookNames = workBookNames & vbNewLine & wrkbook.Name
Next wrkbook
MsgBox "The Workbook names are : " & vbNewLine & workBookNames
End Sub

Explanation:

In this example, the For Each loop takes the collection of workbooks, then iterates the workbooks one by one and initializes the ‘wrkbook’ variable with the current workbook instance.

Inside the For Each block, the workbook name for each workbook is appended to a string, and finally, outside the loop, all the workbook names are displayed using a message box.

Nested VBA For Each Loop

Two For Each loops can be nested within one another to perform complex tasks. Let’s understand For Each nested loop with an example:

Example 4: Display the names of all open workbooks along with their corresponding worksheets.

In this example, we will be iterating through all the open workbooks and then iterate through each workbook’s worksheets and finally display them using a message box.

Below is the code to do this:

Sub ForEachLoopNesting()
Dim result As String
For Each wrkbook In Workbooks
For Each sht In wrkbook.Sheets
result = result & vbNewLine & " Workbook : " & wrkbook.Name & " Worksheet : " & sht.Name
Next sht
Next wrkbook
MsgBox result
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, we have used two For Each loops, one inside another. The outer For Each loop iterates through the workbooks, and the inner For Each loop iterates through the worksheets.

Inside the inner For Each block, a statement concatenates the names of the workbooks and the worksheets and stores them in a variable called ‘result’.

With each iteration, the ‘result’ variable’s new value is appended to the existing value. Finally, the value of the ‘result’ variable is displayed inside a msgbox.

How to Break Out or Exit of a For Each Loop

To break out of a For Each loop, we can use the ‘Exit For’ statement. So, ‘Exit For’ statement can break both a For loop as well as a For Each loop.

Let’s see this with an example:

Example 5: Use VBA For Each Loop to display the names of the first 3 sheets in the active workbook.

In this example, we will loop through the worksheets inside the active workbook and only display the first 3 worksheet names. Below is the code to do this:

Sub ForEachDisplayFirstThreeSheetNames()
Dim sheetNames As String
Dim sheetCounter As Integer
For Each sht In ActiveWorkbook.Sheets
sheetNames = sheetNames & vbNewLine & sht.Name
sheetCounter = sheetCounter + 1
If sheetCounter >= 3 Then
Exit For
End If
Next sht
MsgBox "The Sheet names are : " & vbNewLine & sheetNames
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, we have a For Each loop that iterates over the worksheets inside the active workbook. Inside the loop, we are appending and storing the sheet names within the ‘sheetNames’ variable. Also, we have a ‘sheetCounter’ variable that gets incremented on each iteration.

After that, inside the loop, we also check if the value of the ‘sheetCounter’ variable has reached 3 (because we only want to display 3 sheet names).

If the ‘sheetCounter’ variable’s value has reached 3, we exit the loop using the ‘Exit For’ statement. Finally, we are displaying the value of the ‘sheetNames’ variable using a msgbox.

VBA Do While Loop

VBA Do While is another type of loop that repeatedly executes a set of statements while a condition continues to be True. The loop ends when the condition becomes false.

Syntax of Do While Loop In VBA

Do while loop has two syntaxes in VBA, these are as follows:

Syntax 1:

Do While condition
'Statements to be executed inside the loop
Loop

Or

Syntax 2:

Do
'Statements to be executed inside the loop
Loop While condition

In both the syntaxes, ‘condition’ is used as the loop backbone. On each iteration ‘While’ statement checks if the ‘condition’ evaluates to True or False. If the ‘condition’ is True, then the loop continues; otherwise, the loop terminates.

Before everything else, let’s try to understand the difference between these two syntaxes.

Difference Between the two Do While Syntaxes

As we can see in the first, do-while loop syntax, the ‘condition’ is checked as the first statement. This means if the condition is false, the do-while loop in syntax 1 will not perform any iterations.

Whereas in the second syntax, the ‘condition’ is checked as the last statement inside the loop. This means that even if the condition is false, the do-while loop in syntax 2 will perform at least 1 iteration. Only after that, the condition will be evaluated, and the next iteration will not happen.

So, syntax 2 guarantees to have at least 1 iteration irrespective of the condition being true or false.

Now, let’s try to understand how a do-while loop works.

How Does a Do While Loop Work

Syntax 1 –

Let’s say we have a Do While loop as follows:

Dim loop_ctr as Integer
loop_ctr = 1
Do While loop_ctr < 10
'Statements to be executed inside the loop
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop

• In the first two statements, the variable ‘loop_ctr’ is declared and initialized as 1.
• When the program control reaches the statement «Do While loop_ctr < 10», it checks if the value of the ‘loop_ctr’ is less than 10.
• If the ‘loop_ctr’ value is less than 10, the statements inside the body of the loop get executed sequentially, and finally, the ‘loop_ctr’ is incremented by 1.
• After this, the control again moves to the loop «Do While loop_ctr < 10», and the loop continues till the value of ‘loop_ctr’ becomes equal to 10.
• When the value of ‘loop_ctr’ becomes equal to 10, then the do while condition fails, and the control moves to the next statement after the do-while loop.

Syntax 2 –

Let’s say we have a Do While loop as follows:

Dim loop_ctr as Integer
loop_ctr = 1
Do
'Statements to be executed inside the loop</em>
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop While loop_ctr < 10

• In the first two statements, the variable ‘loop_ctr’ is declared and initialized as 1.
• When the program control reaches the «Do» statement, as there are no checks (like syntax 1), it just comes inside the loop and starts executing the statements inside the loop one by one and increments the ‘loop_ctr’ by 1.
• After executing the statements inside the loop body, it checks if the ‘loop_ctr’ is less than 10. If the ‘loop_ctr’ value is less than 10, another iteration starts.
• If the value of ‘loop_ctr’ becomes equal to 10, then the do while condition fails, and the control moves to the next statement after the do-while loop.

Note: In the second syntax, the Do-While Loop always iterates at-least-once since the condition to be checked is placed at the end of the loop.

Flow Diagram of a Do While Loop In VBA:

Let’s try to understand the control flow as depicted in the above flow chart:

Syntax 1 –

1. In this Do-While syntax, the loop condition is checked along with the Do statement.
2. If the condition is true, then the ‘code block’ inside the do-while loop is executed, and the next iteration begins. Each iteration before beginning checks the loop condition, and the ‘code block’ inside the do-while loop is only executed when the condition evaluates to true.
3. When the loop condition becomes false, then no more loop iterations occur, and the control flow jumps to the next statement outside the Do While loop.

Syntax 2 –

1. In this Do-While syntax, the loop condition is not checked along with the Do statement.
2. Since for the first iteration, no condition is checked. Hence the code block inside the do-while body gets executed.
3. After the first iteration, each subsequent iteration, before beginning, checks the loop condition, and the ‘code block’ inside the do-while loop is only executed when the condition evaluates to true.
4. When the loop condition becomes false, then no more loop iterations occur, and the control flow jumps to the next statement outside the Do While loop.

Few Simple Examples of Do While Loop In VBA

Example 1: Use VBA Do While Loop to print numbers from 1 to 10 in excel.

In this example, we have a range «A1:A10,» and we have to fill this range with numbers from 1-10. To do this we can use the below code:

Sub DoWhileLoopPrintNumbers()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
loop_ctr = 1
Do While loop_ctr <= 10
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Offset(loop_ctr - 1, 0).Value = loop_ctr
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop
MsgBox ("Loop Ends")
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, we have declared and initialized the ‘loop_ctr’ variable for our Do While loop. Next, along with the Do while statement, we have a condition to run the loop till the ‘loop_ctr’ value is less than or equal to 10.

Inside the Do While Loop body, we have written the code to write the ‘loop_ctr’ value on the excel sheet in the A column.

After this, there is a statement that increments the ‘loop_ctr’ for the next iteration.

Example 2: Use Do While Loop in VBA to find the sum of all the numbers between 1 to 20.

In this example, we will loop through all the numbers between 1 to 20 and sum them. Finally, we will be displaying the sum of the numbers from 1 to 20 on the screen.

To do this we can use the following code:

Sub WhileLoopSumNumbers()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim result As Integer
loop_ctr = 1
result = 0
Do While loop_ctr <= 20
result = result + loop_ctr
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop
MsgBox "Sum of numbers from 1-20 is : " & result
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, we have declared the loop counter ‘loop_ctr’ for our Do While loop. Next, we have declared another integer variable as ‘result’ for storing the sum of numbers from 1 to 20.

After this, along with the Do while statement, we have a condition to run the loop till the ‘loop_ctr’ value is less than or equal to 20.

Inside the Do While Loop body, we have added the value of ‘loop_ctr’ along with the result. This means that in the first iteration, the result’s value will be: 1, and in the second iteration, it will be : (1+2) = 3. Similarly, in the third iteration, the value will be: (3 + 3) = 6 and so on.

After this, there is a statement that increments the ‘loop_ctr’ for the next iteration.

The Do While loop in the above code iterates 20 times, sums all the numbers from 1 to 20, and finally displays the sum of these numbers in msgbox.

Example 3: Show the unique behavior of Do While Loop (In Syntax 2) to execute at-least-once even if the condition to be checked is False.

Sub DoWhileLoopTest()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
loop_ctr = 100
Do
MsgBox "Loop Counter : " & loop_ctr
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop While loop_ctr <= 10
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above example, we have initialized the ‘loop_ctr’ as 100 and inside the loop condition we are checking ‘loop_ctr < 10’. This means the loop is only designed to iterate when the value of ‘loop_ctr’ is less than 10. But you will notice that despite the condition this do-while loop executes once.

The reason for this is: because according to syntax 2 of the Do While loop, there is no way to check conditions at the beginning of the loop. You can only check conditions at the end of the loop.

Note: We can fix this issue by simply using the Do While loop in Syntax 1 as shown:

Sub DoWhileLoopTest()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
loop_ctr = 100
Do While loop_ctr <= 10
MsgBox "Loop Counter : " & loop_ctr
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop
End Sub

Writing a Nested Do While Loop

Similar to other loops, nesting is very much possible in Do While Loops. Let’s understand nested Do While loops this with an example.

Example 4: Print numbers from 1 to 10 in all the worksheets in an excel spreadsheet using a Do While Loop.

In this example, we need to print numbers from 1 to 10 in all the worksheets in an excel workbook using a do-while loop. To do this, we can make use of the following code:

Sub NestedDoWhileLoop()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim sheet As Integer
sheet = 1
Do While sheet <= Worksheets.Count
loop_ctr = 1
Do While loop_ctr <= 10
Worksheets(sheet).Range("A1").Offset(loop_ctr - 1, 0).Value = loop_ctr
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop
sheet = sheet + 1
Loop
MsgBox "Nested While Loop Completed!"
End Sub

Explanation:

In this example, there are two Do While Loops, one inside another. The Outer Do While Loop iterates over the variable ‘sheet’ and iterates till the value of the ‘sheet’ variable is less than or equal to ‘Worksheets.Count’ (i.e., the total count of worksheets in a workbook).

Inner Do While Loop iterates over the variable ‘loop_ctr’ and iterates till the value of ‘loop_ctr’ is less than or equal to 10. This helps us to print the numbers in a sequence.

Inside the body of the Inner Do While loop, we have a statement that prints the numbers between 1 to 10 in each worksheet (as per the outer loop).

The outer loop iterates over all the available worksheets sheets in the spreadsheet, whereas the inner loop iterates over the numbers from 1 to 10 for the current sheet.

This makes it possible to print numbers from 1 – 10 in all the available worksheets.

Infinite Loop Using a Do While Loop

Unlike a For Loop, a Do While Loop does not have a clear ‘start’, ‘end’ or ‘step_increments’, so it is very easy to make logical errors resulting in an infinite or an endless loop. Below is an example of a Do While endless loop:

'Do not run this code
Sub InfiniteDoWhileLoop()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
loop_ctr = 1
Do While loop_ctr <= 10
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Offset(loop_ctr - 1, 0).Value = loop_ctr
Loop
MsgBox ("Loop Ends")
End Sub

In the above code, we have simply missed the line to increment the loop counter i.e. ‘loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1’ and this has made the loop infinite because the value of ‘loop_ctr’ will always be 1 (since it is never incremented) and hence the loop condition ‘While loop_ctr <= 10’ will always evaluate to true.

Tip: It is always a good idea to use a For Each or For Next loop over a Do While or Do Until loop (whenever possible).

How to Break Out or Exit of a Do While Loop

To break out of a Do While loop, we can use the ‘Exit Do’ statement. As soon as the VBA engine executes the ‘Exit Do’ statement, it exits the loop and takes the control to the next statement after the Do while loop.

Let’s see this with an example:

Example 5: Use a Do While loop in VBA to find the sum of the first 15 odd numbers between 1 to 100.

In this example, we have to find the first 15 odd numbers from 1 to 100 and then calculate their sum. Below is the code to do this:

Sub SumFirst15OddNumbers()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim odd_number_counter As Integer
Dim sum As Integer
loop_ctr = 1
Do While loop_ctr <= 100
If (loop_ctr Mod 2 <> 0) Then
sum = sum + loop_ctr
odd_number_counter = odd_number_counter + 1
End If
If (odd_number_counter = 15) Then
Exit Do
End If
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop
MsgBox "Sum of top 15 odd numbers is : " & sum
End Sub

Explanation:

In this example, we have three variables – ‘loop_ctr’, ‘odd_number_counter’, and ‘sum’. ‘loop_ctr’ is the loop counter variable, ‘odd_number_counter’ variable holds the count of odd numbers that have been summed and the ‘sum’ variable holds the sum of the first 15 odd numbers.

Inside the Do While loop, we loop through all the numbers from 1 to 100, one by one, and check if the number is odd. If the number is odd, we sum it and increment the ‘odd_number_counter’ by 1.

After the first IF block, another IF condition checks if the ‘odd_number_counter’ variable value is 15. If the value of ‘odd_number_counter’ is 15, then using the ‘Exit Do’ statement, we are breaking the loop as there is no point in continuing the loop further.

Finally, we are displaying the value of the ‘sum’ variable using a msgbox.

VBA Do Until Loop

Do Until loop is very similar to Do While loop; the only difference between them is that –

• A ‘do-while’ loop iterates as long as a certain condition is true.
• On the other hand, a ‘do-until’ loop iterates until a condition is no longer true.

Let’s try to understand this difference in simple terms:

For Instance: If we want to write a Do Loop that iterates from 1 to 10, with while keyword, the condition would be ‘Do While loop_ctr <= 10’ and with until keyword, the same condition can be written as ‘Do Until loop_ctr > 10’.

Which means:

• Until – repeat Until the count is greater than ten
• While – repeat While the count is less than or equal to ten

With these examples, you can clearly see – using Until and While is just the opposite way of writing the same condition.

Now, let’s have a look at the syntax of Do Until Loop.

Syntax of Do Until Loop In VBA

Similar to Do While loop, Do Until also has two syntaxes:

Syntax 1 –

Do Until condition
'Statements to be executed inside the loop
Loop

Or

Syntax 2 –

Do
'Statements to be executed inside the loop
Loop Until condition

Here, ‘condition’ is used as the loop backbone, the same as in the case of Do While Loop. On each iteration, Until statement checks, if the ‘condition’ evaluates to True or False. If the ‘condition’ is False, then the loop continues. Otherwise, the loop ends.

Now, let’s try to understand the difference between these two syntaxes.

Difference Between the two Do Until Syntaxes

As we can see in the first do until loop syntax, the ‘condition’ is checked as the first statement. This means if the condition is true, the do-until loop in syntax 1 will not perform any iterations.

Whereas in the second syntax, the ‘condition’ is checked as the last statement inside the loop. This means that even if the condition is true, the do-until loop in syntax 2 will perform at least 1 iteration. Only after that, the condition will be evaluated, and the next iteration will not happen.

So, syntax 2 guarantees to have at least 1 iteration irrespective of the condition being true or false.

How a Do Until Loop Works

Syntax 1 –

Let’s say we have a Do Until loop as follows:

Dim loop_ctr As Integer
loop_ctr = 1
Do Until loop_ctr > 10
'Statements to be executed inside the loop
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop

• In the first two statements, a variable ‘loop_ctr’ is declared and initialized as 1.
• When the program control reaches the statement «Do Until loop_ctr > 10», it checks if the value of the ‘loop_ctr’ is greater than 10.
• If the ‘loop_ctr’ value is less than or equal to 10, the statements inside the body of the loop get executed sequentially, and finally, the ‘loop_ctr’ is incremented by 1.
• After this, the control again moves to check the condition «Do Until loop_ctr > 10», and the loop continues till the value of ‘loop_ctr’ is less than or equal to 10.

Syntax 2 –

Dim loop_ctr As Integer
loop_ctr = 1
Do
'Statements to be executed inside the loop
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop Until loop_ctr > 10

• In the first two statements, a variable ‘loop_ctr’ is declared and initialized as 1.
• When the program control reaches the statement Do, it simply moves to the next statement as the Do statement doesn’t force the program to check any condition.
• After this, in the following statement, a variable ‘loop_ctr’ is incremented by 1.
• Next, ‘Loop Until loop_ctr > 10’ statement checks if the value of ‘loop_ctr’ is greater than 10 or not. If it is less than or equal to 10, then the program control again jumps to the Do statement, but if the value of ‘loop_ctr’ is greater than 10, it terminates the loop and the program control moves to the next statement.

Note: Syntax 2 of Do Until Loop always iterates at-least-once since the condition that is to be checked is placed at the end of the loop.

Flow Diagram of a Do Until Loop In VBA

Let’s try to understand the control flow as depicted in the above flow chart:

Syntax 1 –

1. In this Do-Until syntax, the loop condition is checked along with the Do statement.
2. If the condition is false, then the ‘code block’ inside the do-until loop is executed, and the next iteration begins. Each iteration before beginning checks the loop condition, and the ‘code block’ inside the do-until loop is only executed when the condition evaluates to false.
3. When the loop condition becomes true, then no more loop iterations occur, and the control flow jumps to the next statement outside the Do Until loop.

Syntax 2 –

1. In this Do-Until syntax, the loop condition is not checked along with the Do statement.
2. Since for the first iteration, no condition is checked. Hence the code block inside the do-until body gets executed.
3. After the first iteration, each subsequent iteration, before beginning, checks the loop condition, and the ‘code block’ inside the do-until loop is only executed when the condition evaluates to false.
4. When the loop condition becomes true, then no more loop iterations occur, and the control flow jumps to the next statement outside the Do Until loop.

Few Simple Examples of Do Until Loop In VBA

Example 1: Print numbers from 1 to 10 in excel using a VBA Do Until Loop.

In this example, we have a range «A1:A10,» and we have to fill this range with numbers from 1-10. To do this we can use the below code:

Sub DoUntilLoopPrintNumbers()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
loop_ctr = 1
Do Until loop_ctr < 10
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Offset(loop_ctr - 1, 0).Value = loop_ctr
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop
MsgBox ("Loop Ends")
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, first of all, we have declared and initialized the ‘loop_ctr’ variable for our Do Until loop. Next, along with the Do until statement, we have a condition to run the loop till ‘loop_ctr’ value is greater than 10.

Inside the Do Until Loop body, we have written the code to write the ‘loop_ctr’ value on the excel sheet in the A column.

After this, there is a statement that increments the ‘loop_ctr’ for the next iteration. As soon as the value of the ‘loop_ctr’ variable becomes greater than 10, the loop ends.

Example 2: Use Do Until Loop in VBA to find the sum of all the numbers between 1 to 20.

In this example, using a do until loop, we will iterate all the numbers between 1 to 20 and sum them. Finally, we will be displaying the sum of the numbers from 1 to 20 on the screen. To do this we can use the following code:

Sub DoUntilLoopSumNumbers()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim result As Integer
loop_ctr = 1
result = 0
Do Until loop_ctr > 20
result = result + loop_ctr
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop
MsgBox "Sum of numbers from 1-20 is : " & result
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, we have declared the loop counter ‘loop_ctr’ for our Do Until loop. Next, we have declared another integer variable as ‘result’ for storing the sum of numbers from 1 to 20.

After this, along with the Do Until statement, we have a condition to run the loop until the ‘loop_ctr’ becomes greater than 20.

Inside the Do Until Loop body, we have added the value of ‘loop_ctr’ along with the result. This means in the first iteration, the value of the result will be: 1, and in the second iteration, it will be : (1+2) = 3; similarly, in the third iteration, the value will be: (3 + 3) = 6 and so on.

After this, there is a statement that increments the ‘loop_ctr’ for the next iteration.

The Do Until loop in the above code iterates 20 times and sums all the numbers from 1 to 20, and finally displays the sum of these numbers in msgbox.

Example 3: Show the unique behavior of Do Until Loop (In Syntax 2) to execute at-least-once even if the condition to be checked is True.

Sub DoUntilLoopTest()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
loop_ctr = 100
Do
MsgBox "Loop Counter : " & loop_ctr
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop Until loop_ctr > 10
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above example, we have initialized the ‘loop_ctr’ as 100 and inside the loop condition we are checking ‘loop_ctr > 10’. This means the loop is only designed to iterate when the value of ‘loop_ctr’ is less than 10. But you will notice that despite the condition this do-until loop executes once.

The reason for this is: because according to syntax 2 of the Do Until loop, there is no way to check conditions at the beginning of the loop. The condition can only be checked at the end of the loop.

Note: We can fix this issue by simply using the Do Until loop in Syntax 1 as shown:

Sub DoUntilLoopTest()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
loop_ctr = 100
Do Until loop_ctr > 10
MsgBox "Loop Counter : " & loop_ctr
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop
End Sub

Writing a Nested Do Until Loop

Similar to other loops nesting is very much possible in Do Until Loop. Let’s see how to write a nested Do Until loop:

Example 4: Print numbers from 1 to 5 in all the worksheets in an excel spreadsheet using a Do Until Loop.

In this example, we need to print numbers from 1 to 5 in all the worksheets in an excel workbook using a do until loop. To do this, we can make use of the following code:

Sub NestedDoUntilLoop()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim sheet As Integer
sheet = 1
Do Until sheet > Worksheets.Count
loop_ctr = 1
Do Until loop_ctr > 5
Worksheets(sheet).Range("A1").Offset(loop_ctr - 1, 0).Value = loop_ctr
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop
sheet = sheet + 1
Loop
MsgBox "Nested Do Until Loop Completed!"
End Sub

Explanation:

In this example, there are two Do Until Loops, one inside another. The Outer Do Until Loop iterates over the variable ‘sheet’ and iterates until the value of the ‘sheet’ variable becomes greater than ‘Worksheets.Count’ (i.e., the total count of worksheets in a workbook).

Inner Do Until Loop iterates over the variable ‘loop_ctr’ and iterates until the value of ‘loop_ctr’ becomes greater than 5. This helps us to print the numbers in a sequence.

Inside the body of the Inner Do Until loop, we have a statement that prints the numbers between 1 to 5 in each worksheet (as per the outer loop).

The outer loop iterates over all the available worksheets in the spreadsheet, whereas the inner loop iterates over the numbers from 1 to 5 for the current sheet.

This makes it possible to print numbers from 1 – 5 in all the available worksheets.

Infinite Loop Using a Do Until Loop

Syntactically, Do Until Loop is very different from a For Loop since it does not provide a clear ‘start’, ‘end’ or ‘step_increments’, so it is very easy to make logical errors resulting in an infinite or an endless loop.

Below is an example of a Do Until endless loop:

'Do not run this code
Sub InfiniteDoUntilLoop()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
loop_ctr = 1
Do Until loop_ctr > 10
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Offset(loop_ctr - 1, 0).Value = loop_ctr
Loop
MsgBox ("Loop Ends")
End Sub

In the above code, we have simply missed the line to increment the loop counter i.e. ‘loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1’ and this has made the loop infinite because the value of ‘loop_ctr’ will always be 1 (since it is never incremented) and hence the loop condition ‘Until loop_ctr > 10’ will always evaluate to false.

Tip: It is always a good idea to use a For Each or For Next loop over a Do While or Do Until loop (whenever possible).

How to Break Out or Exit of a Do Until Loop

Similar to a Do While Loop, a Do Until loop can also be exited using an ‘Exit Do’ statement. As soon as the VBA engine executes the ‘Exit Do’ statement, it exits the loop and takes control to the next statement after the Do Until loop.

Let’s see this with an example:

Example 5: Use a Do Until loop in VBA to find the sum of the first 20 even numbers between 1 to 100.

In this example, we must find the first 20 even numbers from 1 to 100 and then calculate their sum.

Below is the code to do this:

Sub SumFirst20EvenNumbers()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
Dim even_number_counter As Integer
Dim sum As Integer
loop_ctr = 1
Do Until loop_ctr < 100
If (loop_ctr Mod 2 = 0) Then
sum = sum + loop_ctr
even_number_counter = even_number_counter + 1
End If
If (even_number_counter = 20) Then
Exit Do
End If
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Loop
MsgBox "Sum of top 20 even numbers is : " & sum
End Sub

Explanation:

In this example, we have three variables – ‘loop_ctr’, ‘even_number_counter’, and ‘sum’. ‘loop_ctr’ is the loop counter variable, ‘even_number_counter’ variable holds the count of even numbers that have been summed (because we only need to sum the first 20 even numbers) and ‘sum’ variable holds the sum of the first 20 even numbers.

Inside the Do Until loop, we loop through all the numbers from 1 to 100, one by one, and check if the number is even. If the number is even, we sum it and increment the ‘even_number_counter’ by 1.

After the first IF block, another IF condition checks if the ‘even_number_counter’ variable value is 20. If the value of ‘even_number_counter’ is 20, then using the ‘Exit Do’ statement, we break the loop as there is no point in running the loop further.

While Wend Loop In VBA (Obsolete)

While Wend loop was added in VBA just to make it backward compatible, Microsoft recommends using Do While Loop in place of While Wend Loop.

While Wend Loop is not as structured and flexible like a Do While Loop, it also doesn’t support the idea of prematurely exiting out of the loop.

Tip: If you are learning loops in VBA, then you can skip this topic. However, if you are dealing with a legacy code with While Wend statements, I would recommend you change them and start using the Do while loops instead.

Syntax of While Wend Loops

The syntax of While Wend Loop is as follows:

While condition
'Statements to be executed inside the loop
Wend

‘condition’ is used as the loop backbone. On each iteration, the While statement checks if the ‘condition’ evaluates to True or False. If the ‘condition’ is True, then the loop continues; otherwise, the loop terminates.

Example: Write a While Wend loop to print numbers from 1 to 10.

To do this, we can write the below code:

Sub WhileWendExample()
Dim loop_ctr As Integer
loop_ctr = 1
While loop_ctr <= 10
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Offset(loop_ctr - 1, 0).Value = loop_ctr
loop_ctr = loop_ctr + 1
Wend
MsgBox "Loop Ends!"
End Sub

Explanation:

In the above code, first of all, we are declaring and initializing a loop counter variable ‘loop_ctr’ as 1. Next, there is a While statement along with the condition ‘While loop_ctr <= 10’.

This means that we need to iterate until the value of the ‘loop_ctr’ variable is less than or equal to 10. After this, we are printing the value of ‘loop_ctr’ in the active worksheet and then incrementing the loop counter. When the Wend statement is encountered, the next iteration starts.

The loop in the above example iterates 10 times, and after that, the value of ‘loop_ctr’ becomes 11, and hence the loop condition becomes false, and the control moves to the statement after the while when loop.

Finally, a message’ Loop Ends!’ is presented on the screen to notify the user that the loop has ended.

How To Write VBA Code In Excel

VBA code can be added to a spreadsheet using the Visual Basic Editor. To open the Visual Basic Editor in Excel, follow the below steps:

• If you are on Windows, press the keys (ALT + F11). If you are on MAC, press the keys (Opt + F11). This will open the Visual Basic Editor.

• After the Visual Basic Editor is opened. Go to «Insert» and click the «Module» option as shown in the image. This will insert a module object for your workbook.

• Now you can copy-paste the above codes in the module and run them using the execute button as shown.

Debugging Tips

• Use the F5 key to run the code.
• Use the F9 key to insert or remove a breakpoint.
• Use the F8 key to ‘step-into’ or run the code line by line. It can be used to debug the code and execute it line by line.

So, this was all about VBA Loops. Do let us know in case you have any queries related to the topic.

The art of Excel VBA programming is in the manipulation of properties of objects of Excel. The more skillfully you can play with these objects and properties, the more powerful the macros you can build.

The number one object in Excel you have to process is by far the Range object. In this article, I am going to walk you through the critical skills to loop through ranges in Excel worksheets.

Loop through cells in a range

The main skill to loop through a range is with FOR-NEXT loops.  There are two FOR-NEXT loop conventions, which are both very useful when we loop through ranges. I would highly recommend to learn both skills.

Method 1: with a range variable

In the Range object, there are many Cell objects. We can therefore think of a Range as a group of Cells. We can effectively use the “For Each element In group” convention of the For-Next statement to loop through every Cell inside a Range.

The macro LoopCells1 loops through every cell in Range “A1:C5” and applies a sequential counter into the content of each cell.

Sub LoopCells1()
Dim cell As Range
Dim counter As Integer

'loop through each cell object element within a range
For Each cell In Range("A1:C5").Cells
    counter = counter + 1	'denotes the nth cell
    cell.Value = counter
Next
End Sub

The result after running the macro looks like this:

Method 2: with a numeric variable

Most VBA users are more confident with the For-Next loop convention of:

For counter = start To end

This convention can also be used to loop through cells within a range. The macro “LoopCells2” demonstrates how to loop through each cell in range A1:C5 by referring to the index number of cells. The loop begins with the index number of 1 to the upper bound which is the total number of cells in the range.

Sub LoopCells2()
Dim c As Long
Dim counter As Integer

'loop through each cell within a range by calling the index number of the cells
For c = 1 To Range("A1:C5").Cells.Count
    'put the index number into cell
    Range("A1:C5").Cells(c).Value = c 
Next
End Sub

The result after running the macro “LoopCells2” looks identical to the result of the previous macro “LoopCells1”.

Important note on numeric variable type

One limitation of this method is with the upper limit of the numeric variable being declared and used in the For-Next loop. There are a few points you need to bear in mind:

• Avoid declaring an Integer typing variable for this purpose because the number of cells in a worksheet is far more than 32,767.
• Declare a Long variable instead, so that the loop can process up to 2,147,483,648 cells, which serves most cases.
• Declaring a Double variable type won’t solve the limitation.
• In case your process exceeded the limit of even a long variable, you will have to restructure your For-Next loop to use the “For Each element In group” convention.

But even with such limitations, this is still a very useful method. It’s often used because, in most situations, the limits of the variable type won’t be reached.

Note on order of cells being processed

When using either of the two methods above, the cells in the range are being processed in the same sequence: from left to right, then from top to bottom. The picture below visualizes such sequence:

If you want the cells to be processed in a different order, you need to learn other strategies which will be explained in the next few sections.

Loop through rows or columns in a range

Sometimes we want to loop through each row in a range (from top to bottom). Similar to looping through cells, we can do it with both conventions of the For-Next statement, either with a range object variable or a numeric variable.

Method 1: with a range variable

Sub LoopRows1()
Dim r As Range
Dim MyString As String

'Loop through each row, and apply a yellow colow fill
For Each r In Range("A1:C5").Rows
    r.Interior.ColorIndex = 6
Next
End Sub

To loop through columns, we just need to change the first line of the For-Next loop to go through the columns instead. In the example below, we want to loop through each column in range A1:C5, and change the column heading to Proper Case (first letter of each word in capital).

Sub LoopColumn1()
Dim c As Range
Dim MyString As String

'Loop through each column and set first cell to Proper Case
For Each c In Range("A1:C5").Columns
    c.Cells(1).Value = StrConv(c.Cells(1).Value, vbProperCase)
Next
End Sub

Method 2: with a numeric variable

In this example, we want to loop through every column in a data table. (See picture of our sample data below.) If a column contains numeric data, we set the NumberFormat to 2 decimal places.

'apply 0.00 number format to columns with numeric values
Sub FormatNumericColumns()
Dim c As Integer
Dim MyString As String

With Range("A1").CurrentRegion
For c = 1 To .Columns.Count
    'test 2nd cell of column for numeric value
    If IsNumeric(.Columns(c).Cells(2).Value) Then
        .Columns(c).NumberFormat = "0.00"
    End If
Next
End Sub

The result of the macro looks like the image below. The number format of the last 3 columns with numeric data has been set to 2 decimal places.

(The dates in the first column are not considered by the VBA IsNumeric function as numeric. Please read my other article all about IsNumeric for more detail on this topic.)

Advanced strategies

Deleting columns (or rows)

Here we want to write a macro to delete the three columns with headings with the word “delete” (the yellow columns). We can tackle this problem with a For-Next loop we learned in the sections above.

First Attempt:

We can try to loop through each column with the “For Each element In group” convention. The macro below looks simple and straight-forward enough, looping through each column (element) within the group of columns in range A1:C5.

Sub DeleteColmns1()
Dim c As Range
Dim x As Integer
    With Range("A1:E5")
        For Each c In .Columns
            If c.Cells(1).Value = "delete" Then
                c.Delete
            End If
        Next
    End With
End Sub

The result of the macro looks like the picture below. The macro has failed to delete all the three columns.

Reminder: When looping through a range, if you want to apply structural change to the range, NEVER use  the “For Each element In group” convention because it may create unexpected results. In some cases, (e.g. insert columns), it will even cause an infinite loop and your Excel may be frozen and you’ll have to force quit Excel and lose your unsaved work.

Second Attempt:

Now, how about using the “For counter = start To end” convention?

Sub DeleteColmns2()
Dim tmp As Integer
Dim x As Integer
    With Range("A1:E5")
        For x = 1 To .Columns.Count
            If .Columns(x).Cells(1).Value = "delete" Then
                .Columns(x).Delete
            End If
        Next
    End With
End Sub

The result looks identical to that of the previous macro:

If we looked at the result more carefully, we noticed that the original 2nd and 4th column were deleted, but the original 3rd column was not. This was because when the 2nd column was deleted (when x=2), the 3rd column has become the 2nd column which has been skipped when the For-Next loop proceed to process x = 3.

Solution:

So, how do we tackle this problem? The answer is with the For-Next statement convention of “For counter = end To start step -1″, which processes the range from back to front (from the last column backward to the first column).

Sub DeleteColumnFinal()
Dim x As Integer
    With Range("A1").CurrentRegion
        For x = .Columns.Count To 1 Step -1
            If .Columns(x).Cells(1).Value = "delete" Then
                .Columns(x).Delete
            End If
        Next
    End With
End Sub

Loop though every n-th row in a range

We have a data table, and we want to apply a yellow shading (fill) to the odd number rows. And we don’t want to shade the first row which contains the field headings.

Solution 1:

We can use the “For counter = start To end” convention to tackle this problem. We can loop through each row beginning from the 2nd row (which bypassed the field headings). If the row number is odd, we apply a yellow color.

'Shade alternate (even) rows of data
Sub ShadeRows1()
Dim r As Long
With Range("A1").CurrentRegion
    For r = 1 To .Rows.Count
        If r / 2 = Int(r / 2) Then 'even rows
            .Rows(r).Interior.ColorIndex = 6
        End If
    Next
End With
End Sub

To enhance the macro to shade every n-th row, simply change the 2 in line 5 to n. For example:

If r / 3 = Int(r / 3) Then 'every 3 rows

Solution 2:

We can also use the “For counter =  start to end step 2” convention. In the macro “ShadeRows2”, the loop begins from the 2nd row and then the 4th row, then 6th row, etc.

'Shade alternate (odd) rows of data from the 3rd row
Sub ShadeRows2()
Dim r As Long
With Range("A1").CurrentRegion
    'begin from 2nd and shade every other row
    For r = 2 To .Rows.Count Step 2
        .Rows(r).Interior.ColorIndex = 6
    Next
End With
End Sub

To enhance the macro to shade every 3rd row, simple change the 2 in line 5 to 3. For example:

For r = 3 To .Rows.Count Step 3

Conclusion

We have gone through in detail the different approaches to loop through a range in VBA, including the pitfalls and a couple of special scenarios. These techniques can also be applied in combination or with other VBA techniques to achieve more powerful automation with worksheet ranges in your macros.