Excel vba if cell not in range

In Microsoft Excel, we can determine if a Cell is within a Range with IF Function, however, when it comes to identify the same via VBA code then we need to use if statement. Below is the VBA code and process which you need to paste in the code module of your file.

1. Open Excel
2. Press ALT + F11
3. The VBA Editor will open.
4. Click anywhere in the Project Window.
5. Click on Insert
6. Click on Module

7. In the Code Window, Copy and Paste the below mentioned Code

Function InRange(Range1 As Range, Range2 As Range) As Boolean
‘ returns True if Range1 is within Range2
Dim InterSectRange As Range
Set InterSectRange = Application.InterSect(Range1, Range2)
InRange = Not InterSectRange Is Nothing
Set InterSectRange = Nothing
End FunctionSub TestInRange()
If InRange(ActiveCell, Range(«A1:D100»)) Then
‘ code to handle that the active cell is within the right range
MsgBox «Active Cell In Range!»»»
Else
‘ code to handle that the active cell is not within the right range
MsgBox «Active Cell NOT In Range!»»»
End If
End Sub

8. Once this is pasted, go to the Excel file
9. Select cell A1
10. Click on the VIEW Tab on the ribbon
11. Click on Macros
12. Click on View Macros
13. Shortcut Key to View Macros is ALT + F8
14. A Window will popup

15. Select the Macro
16. Here the Macro is named as “TestInRange”
17. Select the Macro “TestInRange”
18. Click on Run
19. As this cell is in Range you will get a Popup which says “Active Cell In Range!”

20. Click OK to close the Box

Now we will select Cell G9 which is not in Range

1. Select cell G9
2. Click on the VIEW Tab on the ribbon
3. Click on Macros
4. Click on View Macros
5. Shortcut Key to View Macros is ALT + F8
6. A Window will popup

7. Select the Macro
8. Here the Macro is named as “TestInRange”
9. Select Macro “TestInRange”
10. Click on Run
11. As this cell is not in Range you will get a Popup which says “Active Cell NOT In Range!”

12. Click OK to close the Box

This is how we can determine whether a Cell is within a Range or not using VBA.

VBA that checks if a cell is in a range, named range, or any kind of range, in Excel.

Sections:

Check if Cell is in a Range Macro

Check if Cell is in a Named Range

Notes

Check if Cell is in a Range Macro

Sub CellinRange()

'######################################'
'#########   TeachExcel.com   #########'
'######################################'

'Tests if a Cell is within a specific range.

Dim testRange As Range
Dim myRange As Range

'Set the range
Set testRange = Range("B3:D6")

'Get the cell or range that the user selected
Set myRange = Selection

'Check if the selection is inside the range.
If Intersect(testRange, myRange) Is Nothing Then
    'Selection is NOT inside the range.

    MsgBox "Selection is outside the test range."

Else
    'Selection IS inside the range.

    MsgBox "Selection is inside the test range."

End If

End Sub

How to Use the Macro

B3:D6 change this to the range that you want to check to see if the cell is within it.

Selection keep this the same to use the currently selected cell or range from the user or change it to a regular hard-coded range reference like Range(«A1») or whatever range you want.

‘Selection is NOT inside the range. under this line, put the code that you want to run when the cell is not within the range.

‘Selection IS inside the range. under this line, put the code that you want to run when the cell is within the range.

How Does the Macro Know if the Cell is in the Range?

Intersect(testRange, myRange) this checks if the range within the myRange variable overlaps or intersects with the range in the testRange variable. This function, the Intersect function, will return a range object where the two ranges overlap, or, if they don’t overlap, it will return nothing.

As such, we can use the IF statement to check if nothing was returned or not and we do that using Is Nothing after the Intersect function. The Is Nothing is what checks if the Intersect function returned nothing or not, which evaluates to TRUE or FALSE, which is then used by the IF statement to complete its logic and run.

This is how we get the full first line of the IF statement, and this is where all the magic happens:

If Intersect(testRange, myRange) Is Nothing Then

The rest of the IF statement is just a regular IF statement in VBA, with a section of code that runs if the cell is within the range and one that runs when the cell is outside of the range.

Check if Cell is in a Named Range

This is almost exactly the same as the previous macro except that we need to change the range reference from B3:D6 to the name of the named range; that’s it.

It could look like this:

Sub CellinRange()

'######################################'
'#########   TeachExcel.com   #########'
'######################################'

'Tests if a Cell is within a specific range.

Dim testRange As Range
Dim myRange As Range

'Set the range
Set testRange = Range("MyNamedRange")

'Get the cell or range that the user selected
Set myRange = Selection

'Check if the selection is inside the range.
If Intersect(testRange, myRange) Is Nothing Then
    'Selection is NOT inside the range.

    MsgBox "Selection is outside the test range."

Else
    'Selection IS inside the range.

    MsgBox "Selection is inside the test range."

End If

End Sub

For a more detailed expanation of how this macro works, look to the section above.

Notes

If the user makes a selection of multiple cells or a range, and any of those cells are within the test range, this macro will run the code for when the selection is inside the range.

Testing if a range is within a range simply uses the Intersect function in Excel VBA; however, due to how it works, it can seem confusing since we have to check if it Is Nothing or not. But, once you get used to writing this and seeing this in IF statements, it’s really not that difficult, just remember that, in this instance, you will want to pair the use of Intersect with Is Nothing and everything else should follow quite easily.

Download the sample file to get the macro in Excel.

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EXPLANATION

This tutorial shows how to test if a range does not contain a specific value and return a specified value if the formula tests true or false, by using an Excel formula and VBA.

This tutorial provides one Excel method that can be applied to test if a range does not contain a specific value and return a specified value by using an Excel IF and COUNTIF functions. In this example, if the Excel COUNTIF function returns a value of 0, meaning the range does not have cells with a value of 505, the test is TRUE and the formula will return a «Not in Range» value. Alternatively, if the Excel COUNTIF function returns a value of greater than 0, meaning the range has cells with a value of 505, the test is FALSE and the formula will return a «In Range» value.

This tutorial provides one VBA method that can be applied to test if a range does not contain a specific value and return a specified value and return a specified value.

FORMULA
=IF(COUNTIF(range, value)=0, value_if_true, value_if_false)

ARGUMENTS
range: The range of cells you want to count from.
value: he value that is used to determine which of the cells should be counted, from a specified range, if the cells’ value is equal to this value.
value_if_true: Value to be returned if the range does not contains the specific value.
value_if_false: Value to be returned if the range contains the specific value.

	Подскажите как при помощи VBA определить наличие пустой ячейки (не заполненной = «»  в диапазоне (например А1:С300) или ячейки с значением = 0 ?

Юрий М Модератор Сообщений: 60570 Регистрация: 14.09.2012 Контакты см. в профиле	Нашли, дальше что? Перебрать диапазон/массив и при нахождении пустой/нулевой выйти из цикла с сообщением.

Антон Пользователь Сообщений: 617 Регистрация: 01.01.1970	#3 28.01.2014 01:20:21 посредством перебора каждого значения массива и сравнением ) Код 'перебираем строки For i=1 to 300 'перебираем столбцы For y=1 to 3 If cells(i,y).Value="" then Msgbox("пустая ячейка") Exit for End if If cells(i,y).Value=0 then Msgbox("нуль.")   Exit for End if     Next y   Next i Изменено: Антон — 28.01.2014 01:25:02

	Да, если такие ячейки имеются вывести сообщение и прекратить дальнейшее выполнение макроса, если таких ячеек нет продолжить выполнение макроса.

Юрий М Модератор Сообщений: 60570 Регистрация: 14.09.2012 Контакты см. в профиле	#5 28.01.2014 01:28:51 Код Sub Test() Dim Rng As Range, rCell As Range     Set Rng = Range("A1:C300")     For Each rCell In Rng         If IsEmpty(rCell) Or rCell = 0 Then             MsgBox "Найдено в ячейке " & rCell.Address(0, 0), 64, "Для сведения"             Exit For         End If     Next End Sub

Юрий М Модератор Сообщений: 60570 Регистрация: 14.09.2012 Контакты см. в профиле	#7 28.01.2014 02:01:36 Без цикла, но и без адресов: Код Sub Test2() Dim Rng As Range     Set Rng = Range("A1:C300")     x = Application.WorksheetFunction.CountA(Rng)     y = Application.WorksheetFunction.CountIf(Rng, 0)     If Rng.Cells.Count <> x Then MsgBox "Есть пустые."     If y > 0 Then MsgBox "Есть нули." End Sub

KuklP Пользователь Сообщений: 14868 Регистрация: 21.12.2012 E-mail и реквизиты в профиле.	Я сам — дурнее всякого примера! …

Max.il Пользователь Сообщений: 64 Регистрация: 05.12.2018	Юрий М, Юрий, добрый вечер. Развивая тему, если нужно проверить несколько ячеек, к примеру А3, Т16 и Т22, если они пустые — залить эту ячейку красным цветом. Если в ней есть что-то , пропустить. Если во всех ячейках есть данные, то просто прекратить выполнение макроса без вывода сообщения. Спасибо

Юрий М Модератор Сообщений: 60570 Регистрация: 14.09.2012 Контакты см. в профиле

Max.il Пользователь Сообщений: 64 Регистрация: 05.12.2018	Юрий М,Нет, т.к. проверка должна осуществляться после макроса.

Юрий М Модератор Сообщений: 60570 Регистрация: 14.09.2012 Контакты см. в профиле	УФ сработает и после макроса. А макрос написать не смогу: нет у меня файла, где имеются перечисленные Вами ячейки )) Вы бы уточнили: три ячейки — это только для примера? А по факту? И как макрос должен понять, какие именно ячейки проверять? Где-то есть список этих ячеек?

Юрий М Модератор Сообщений: 60570 Регистрация: 14.09.2012 Контакты см. в профиле	#13 27.05.2019 23:32:23 Нет ответа… Код Dim rCell As Range     For Each rCell In Range("A3, T16, T22")         If rCell = "" Then             rCell.Interior.ColorIndex = 3         Else             rCell.Interior.ColorIndex = xlNone         End If     Next

RAN Пользователь Сообщений: 7091 Регистрация: 21.12.2012	#14 27.05.2019 23:39:10 Цитата Max.il написал: к примеру Код Sub qq()     Dim r As Range     Set r = [a1:c3]     On Error Resume Next     r.SpecialCells(4).Interior.ColorIndex = 3 End Sub

Max.il Пользователь Сообщений: 64 Регистрация: 05.12.2018	RAN,  Юрий М, Мужчины, спасибо, что помогаете . Искренняя благодарность.

Николай Китаев Пользователь Сообщений: 2 Регистрация: 01.01.1970

#16 17.12.2021 13:26:01 Цитата написал: Подскажите как при помощи VBA определить наличие пустой ячейки Такая конструкция не работает: If cells(i,y).Value=»» then…. А так — должно работать: If IsEmpty(cells(i,y).Value) = True Then ……., где К — переменная содержащая или несодержащая значение, или переменная, содержащая адрес ячейки Cell, которую проверяем. Изменено: Николай Китаев — 17.12.2021 14:07:17

Jack Famous Пользователь Сообщений: 10846 Регистрация: 07.11.2014 OS: Win 8.1 Корп. x64 | Excel 2016 x64: | Browser: Chrome	Николай Китаев, с момента создания темы прошло почти 8 лет, а ТС был последний раз почти 2 года назад — в курсе?   Во всех делах очень полезно периодически ставить знак вопроса к тому, что вы с давних пор считали не требующим доказательств (Бертран Рассел) ►Благодарности сюда◄

	Ничего страшного. Можно считать, что памятка для себя. Тем более проверка вида cells(i,y).Value=»» не работает.

БМВ Модератор Сообщений: 21376 Регистрация: 28.12.2016 Excel 2013, 2016	#19 17.12.2021 14:19:40 Цитата Николай Китаев написал: Тем более проверка вида cells(i,y).Value=»» не работает. докажите. По вопросам из тем форума, личку не читаю.

Jack Famous Пользователь Сообщений: 10846 Регистрация: 07.11.2014 OS: Win 8.1 Корп. x64 | Excel 2016 x64: | Browser: Chrome

Если вас что-то не устраивает, то не нужно поднимать со дна старую тему, тем более, что спросить автора не получится — создайте свою и там всё подробно опишите и/или спросите И тут гляньте: VBA. UDF. Функция для проверки значения на строку нулевой длины «=»»» Во всех делах очень полезно периодически ставить знак вопроса к тому, что вы с давних пор считали не требующим доказательств (Бертран Рассел) ►Благодарности сюда◄

vikttur Пользователь Сообщений: 47199 Регистрация: 15.09.2012	#21 17.12.2021 23:29:31 Цитата Николай Китаев написал: If IsEmpty(cells(i,y).Value) = True Then ……., где К — переменная И где К? )

Home / VBA / VBA Check IF a Cell is Empty + Multiple Cells

To check if a cell is empty you can use VBA’s ISEMPTY function. In this function, you need to use the range object to specify the cell that you want to check, and it returns true if that cell is empty, otherwise false. You can use a message box or use a cell to get the result.

1. Start with the function name “IsEmpty”.
2. Specify the cell that you want to check.
3. Use a message box or a cell to get the result value.
4. In the end, run the code.

MsgBox IsEmpty(Range("A1"))

Check IF Multiple Cells Empty

If you want to check and count the empty cells from a range when you need to loop through each cell in the range.

Sub vba_check_empty_cells()

Dim i As Long
Dim c As Long
Dim myRange As Range
Dim myCell As Range

Set myRange = Range("A1:A10")

For Each myCell In myRange
    c = c + 1   
    If IsEmpty(myCell) Then
        i = i + 1
    End If   
Next myCell   

MsgBox _
"There are total " & i & " empty cell(s) out of " & c & "."

End Sub

The above code loops through each cell in the range A1:A10 and check each cell one by one using the ISEMPTY function if it’s empty or not.

And for each empty cell it takes a count, and in the end, shows a message box with the total number of cells and empty cells out of that.

Use the following code if you want to highlight empty cells as well.

Dim i As Long
Dim c As Long
Dim myRange As Range
Dim myCell As Range

Set myRange = Range("A1:A10")

For Each myCell In myRange '
    c = c + 1
    If IsEmpty(myCell) Then
        myCell.Interior.Color = RGB(255, 87, 87)
        i = i + 1
    End If
Next myCell

MsgBox _
"There are total " & i & " empty cell(s) out of " & c & "."

More Tutorials

• Count Rows using VBA in Excel
• Excel VBA Font (Color, Size, Type, and Bold)
• Excel VBA Hide and Unhide a Column or a Row
• Excel VBA Range – Working with Range and Cells in VBA
• Apply Borders on a Cell using VBA in Excel
• Find Last Row, Column, and Cell using VBA in Excel
• Insert a Row using VBA in Excel
• Merge Cells in Excel using a VBA Code
• Select a Range/Cell using VBA in Excel
• SELECT ALL the Cells in a Worksheet using a VBA Code
• ActiveCell in VBA in Excel
• Special Cells Method in VBA in Excel
• UsedRange Property in VBA in Excel

• VBA AutoFit (Rows, Column, or the Entire Worksheet)
• VBA ClearContents (from a Cell, Range, or Entire Worksheet)
• VBA Copy Range to Another Sheet + Workbook
• VBA Enter Value in a Cell (Set, Get and Change)
• VBA Insert Column (Single and Multiple)
• VBA Named Range | (Static + from Selection + Dynamic)
• VBA Range Offset
• VBA Sort Range | (Descending, Multiple Columns, Sort Orientation
• VBA Wrap Text (Cell, Range, and Entire Worksheet)

⇠ Back to What is VBA in Excel

Helpful Links – Developer Tab – Visual Basic Editor – Run a Macro – Personal Macro Workbook – Excel Macro Recorder – VBA Interview Questions – VBA Codes

We can use VBA to check if a cell is blank and run the remaining statements. Sometimes, we need to determine and make sure a particular range is not empty before proceeding to the next statements. This example will help you to know how to check if a cell or a range is blank or not using Excel VBA. This can be used in Excel 2003,2007,2010,2013.

VBA code to check if a cell is blank – Syntax

Here is the example Excel VBA Syntax to check if a cell is blank or not. The below macro will check whether a Range A1 is blank or not.

If Cells(1, 1) = "" Then
 ... Statements to execute if the Cell is Empty 
Else
 ...statements to execute if Cell is not Blank.
end if

VBA code to check if a cell is blank – Example

Here is the example macro to check if a cell is blank or not. The below macro will show a message box based on the Cell.

Sub vba_code_to_check_if_a_cell_is_blank()
    If Cells(1, 1) = "" Then
        MsgBox "Cell is Blank"
    Else
        MsgBox "Cell is not blank"
    End If
End Sub

VBA code to check if a cell is blank – Better Example: Avoid Empty Spaces

Sometimes, A cell or rang looks blank and we notice that the condition is failing. It is because of the empty spaces in the cell. So, whenever you want to check if a cell is empty, you can trim the Cell value and check it.

Sub vba_code_to_check_if_a_cell_is_blank()
     'use trim to avoide blank spaces
    If Trim(Cells(1, 1)) = "" Then
        MsgBox "Cell is Blank"
    Else
        MsgBox "Cell is not blank"
    End If
End Sub

VBA code to check if a cell is blank – Instructions

Please follow the below step by step instructions to test this Example VBA Macro codes:

• Step 1: Open a New Excel workbook
• Step 2: Press Alt+F11 – This will open the VBA Editor (alternatively, you can open it from Developer Tab in Excel Ribbon)
• Step 3: Insert a code module from then insert menu of the VBE
• Step 4: Copy the above code and paste in the code module which have inserted in the above step
• Step 5: Enter some sample data at range A1 to check if the cell is blank or not using VBA.
• Step 6: Now press F5 to execute the code or F8 to debug the Macro to check the if Range A1 is blank or not

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By PNRaoLast Updated: January 19, 2015Categories: VBA

One Comment

1. Jorge Cabral
   March 12, 2017 at 6:01 AM — Reply

   What about if the cell as a formula, but the result is ” or zero?

“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data”- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This post covers everything you need to know about using Cells and Ranges in VBA. You can read it from start to finish as it is laid out in a logical order. If you prefer you can use the table of contents below to go to a section of your choice.

Topics covered include Offset property, reading values between cells, reading values to arrays and formatting cells.

A Quick Guide to Ranges and Cells

Function	Takes	Returns	Example	Gives
Range	cell address	multiple cells	.Range(«A1:A4»)	$A$1:$A$4
Cells	row, column	one cell	.Cells(1,5)	$E$1
Offset	row, column	multiple cells	Range(«A1:A2») .Offset(1,2)	$C$2:$C$3
Rows	row(s)	one or more rows	.Rows(4) .Rows(«2:4»)	$4:$4 $2:$4
Columns	column(s)	one or more columns	.Columns(4) .Columns(«B:D»)	$D:$D $B:$D

Download the Code

 

The Webinar

If you are a member of the VBA Vault, then click on the image below to access the webinar and the associated source code.

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

Introduction

This is the third post dealing with the three main elements of VBA. These three elements are the Workbooks, Worksheets and Ranges/Cells. Cells are by far the most important part of Excel. Almost everything you do in Excel starts and ends with Cells.

 
Generally speaking, you do three main things with Cells

1. Read from a cell.
2. Write to a cell.
3. Change the format of a cell.

 
Excel has a number of methods for accessing cells such as Range, Cells and Offset.These can cause confusion as they do similar things and can lead to confusion

In this post I will tackle each one, explain why you need it and when you should use it.

 
Let’s start with the simplest method of accessing cells – using the Range property of the worksheet.

Important Notes

I have recently updated this article so that is uses Value2.

You may be wondering what is the difference between Value, Value2 and the default:

' Value2
Range("A1").Value2 = 56

' Value
Range("A1").Value = 56

' Default uses value
Range("A1") = 56

 
Using Value may truncate number if the cell is formatted as currency. If you don’t use any property then the default is Value.

It is better to use Value2 as it will always return the actual cell value(see this article from Charle Williams.)

The Range Property

The worksheet has a Range property which you can use to access cells in VBA. The Range property takes the same argument that most Excel Worksheet functions take e.g. “A1”, “A3:C6” etc.

The following example shows you how to place a value in a cell using the Range property.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub WriteToCell()

    ' Write number to cell A1 in sheet1 of this workbook
    ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1").Value2 = 67

    ' Write text to cell A2 in sheet1 of this workbook
    ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A2").Value2 = "John Smith"

    ' Write date to cell A3 in sheet1 of this workbook
    ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A3").Value2 = #11/21/2017#

End Sub

 
As you can see Range is a member of the worksheet which in turn is a member of the Workbook. This follows the same hierarchy as in Excel so should be easy to understand. To do something with Range you must first specify the workbook and worksheet it belongs to.

For the rest of this post I will use the code name to reference the worksheet.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub UsingCodeName()

    ' Write number to cell A1 in sheet1 of this workbook
    Sheet1.Range("A1").Value2 = 67

    ' Write text to cell A2 in sheet1 of this workbook
    Sheet1.Range("A2").Value2 = "John Smith"

    ' Write date to cell A3 in sheet1 of this workbook
    Sheet1.Range("A3").Value2 = #11/21/2017#

End Sub

You can also write to multiple cells using the Range property

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub WriteToMulti()

    ' Write number to a range of cells
    Sheet1.Range("A1:A10").Value2 = 67

    ' Write text to multiple ranges of cells
    Sheet1.Range("B2:B5,B7:B9").Value2 = "John Smith"

End Sub

 
You can download working examples of all the code from this post from the top of this article.
 

The Cells Property of the Worksheet

The worksheet object has another property called Cells which is very similar to range. There are two differences

1. Cells returns a range of one cell only.
2. Cells takes row and column as arguments.

 
The example below shows you how to write values to cells using both the Range and Cells property

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub UsingCells()

    ' Write to A1
    Sheet1.Range("A1").Value2 = 10
    Sheet1.Cells(1, 1).Value2  = 10

    ' Write to A10
    Sheet1.Range("A10").Value2 = 10
    Sheet1.Cells(10, 1).Value2  = 10

    ' Write to E1
    Sheet1.Range("E1").Value2 = 10
    Sheet1.Cells(1, 5).Value2  = 10

End Sub

 
You may be wondering when you should use Cells and when you should use Range. Using Range is useful for accessing the same cells each time the Macro runs.

For example, if you were using a Macro to calculate a total and write it to cell A10 every time then Range would be suitable for this task.

Using the Cells property is useful if you are accessing a cell based on a number that may vary. It is easier to explain this with an example.

 
In the following code, we ask the user to specify the column number. Using Cells gives us the flexibility to use a variable number for the column.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub WriteToColumn()

    Dim UserCol As Integer
    
    ' Get the column number from the user
    UserCol = Application.InputBox(" Please enter the column...", Type:=1)
    
    ' Write text to user selected column
    Sheet1.Cells(1, UserCol).Value2 = "John Smith"

End Sub

 
In the above example, we are using a number for the column rather than a letter.

To use Range here would require us to convert these values to the letter/number  cell reference e.g. “C1”. Using the Cells property allows us to provide a row and a column number to access a cell.

Sometimes you may want to return more than one cell using row and column numbers. The next section shows you how to do this.

Using Cells and Range together

As you have seen you can only access one cell using the Cells property. If you want to return a range of cells then you can use Cells with Ranges as follows

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub UsingCellsWithRange()

    With Sheet1
        ' Write 5 to Range A1:A10 using Cells property
        .Range(.Cells(1, 1), .Cells(10, 1)).Value2 = 5

        ' Format Range B1:Z1 to be bold
        .Range(.Cells(1, 2), .Cells(1, 26)).Font.Bold = True

    End With

End Sub

 
As you can see, you provide the start and end cell of the Range. Sometimes it can be tricky to see which range you are dealing with when the value are all numbers. Range has a property called Address which displays the letter/ number cell reference of any range. This can come in very handy when you are debugging or writing code for the first time.

 
In the following example we print out the address of the ranges we are using:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub ShowRangeAddress()

    ' Note: Using underscore allows you to split up lines of code
    With Sheet1

        ' Write 5 to Range A1:A10 using Cells property
        .Range(.Cells(1, 1), .Cells(10, 1)).Value2 = 5
        Debug.Print "First address is : " _
            + .Range(.Cells(1, 1), .Cells(10, 1)).Address

        ' Format Range B1:Z1 to be bold
        .Range(.Cells(1, 2), .Cells(1, 26)).Font.Bold = True
        Debug.Print "Second address is : " _
            + .Range(.Cells(1, 2), .Cells(1, 26)).Address

    End With

End Sub

 
In the example I used Debug.Print to print to the Immediate Window. To view this window select View->Immediate Window(or Ctrl G)

 

 

 
You can download all the code for this post from the top of this article.
 

The Offset Property of Range

Range has a property called Offset. The term Offset refers to a count from the original position. It is used a lot in certain areas of programming. With the Offset property you can get a Range of cells the same size and a certain distance from the current range. The reason this is useful is that sometimes you may want to select a Range based on a certain condition. For example in the screenshot below there is a column for each day of the week. Given the day number(i.e. Monday=1, Tuesday=2 etc.) we need to write the value to the correct column.

 

 
We will first attempt to do this without using Offset.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
' This sub tests with different values
Public Sub TestSelect()

    ' Monday
    SetValueSelect 1, 111.21
    ' Wednesday
    SetValueSelect 3, 456.99
    ' Friday
    SetValueSelect 5, 432.25
    ' Sunday
    SetValueSelect 7, 710.17

End Sub

' Writes the value to a column based on the day
Public Sub SetValueSelect(lDay As Long, lValue As Currency)

    Select Case lDay
        Case 1: Sheet1.Range("H3").Value2 = lValue
        Case 2: Sheet1.Range("I3").Value2 = lValue
        Case 3: Sheet1.Range("J3").Value2 = lValue
        Case 4: Sheet1.Range("K3").Value2 = lValue
        Case 5: Sheet1.Range("L3").Value2 = lValue
        Case 6: Sheet1.Range("M3").Value2 = lValue
        Case 7: Sheet1.Range("N3").Value2 = lValue
    End Select

End Sub

 
As you can see in the example, we need to add a line for each possible option. This is not an ideal situation. Using the Offset Property provides a much cleaner solution

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
' This sub tests with different values
Public Sub TestOffset()

    DayOffSet 1, 111.01
    DayOffSet 3, 456.99
    DayOffSet 5, 432.25
    DayOffSet 7, 710.17

End Sub

Public Sub DayOffSet(lDay As Long, lValue As Currency)

    ' We use the day value with offset specify the correct column
    Sheet1.Range("G3").Offset(, lDay).Value2 = lValue

End Sub

 
As you can see this solution is much better. If the number of days in increased then we do not need to add any more code. For Offset to be useful there needs to be some kind of relationship between the positions of the cells. If the Day columns in the above example were random then we could not use Offset. We would have to use the first solution.

 
One thing to keep in mind is that Offset retains the size of the range. So .Range(“A1:A3”).Offset(1,1) returns the range B2:B4. Below are some more examples of using Offset

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub UsingOffset()

    ' Write to B2 - no offset
    Sheet1.Range("B2").Offset().Value2 = "Cell B2"

    ' Write to C2 - 1 column to the right
    Sheet1.Range("B2").Offset(, 1).Value2 = "Cell C2"

    ' Write to B3 - 1 row down
    Sheet1.Range("B2").Offset(1).Value2 = "Cell B3"

    ' Write to C3 - 1 column right and 1 row down
    Sheet1.Range("B2").Offset(1, 1).Value2 = "Cell C3"

    ' Write to A1 - 1 column left and 1 row up
    Sheet1.Range("B2").Offset(-1, -1).Value2 = "Cell A1"

    ' Write to range E3:G13 - 1 column right and 1 row down
    Sheet1.Range("D2:F12").Offset(1, 1).Value2 = "Cells E3:G13"

End Sub

Using the Range CurrentRegion

CurrentRegion returns a range of all the adjacent cells to the given range.

In the screenshot below you can see the two current regions. I have added borders to make the current regions clear.

A row or column of blank cells signifies the end of a current region.

You can manually check the CurrentRegion in Excel by selecting a range and pressing Ctrl + Shift + *.

If we take any range of cells within the border and apply CurrentRegion, we will get back the range of cells in the entire area.

For example
Range(“B3”).CurrentRegion will return the range B3:D14
Range(“D14”).CurrentRegion will return the range B3:D14
Range(“C8:C9”).CurrentRegion will return the range B3:D14
and so on

How to Use

We get the CurrentRegion as follows

' Current region will return B3:D14 from above example
Dim rg As Range
Set rg = Sheet1.Range("B3").CurrentRegion

Read Data Rows Only

Read through the range from the second row i.e.skipping the header row

' Current region will return B3:D14 from above example
Dim rg As Range
Set rg = Sheet1.Range("B3").CurrentRegion

' Start at row 2 - row after header
Dim i As Long
For i = 2 To rg.Rows.Count
    ' current row, column 1 of range
    Debug.Print rg.Cells(i, 1).Value2
Next i

Remove Header

Remove header row(i.e. first row) from the range. For example if range is A1:D4 this will return A2:D4

' Current region will return B3:D14 from above example
Dim rg As Range
Set rg = Sheet1.Range("B3").CurrentRegion

' Remove Header
Set rg = rg.Resize(rg.Rows.Count - 1).Offset(1)

' Start at row 1 as no header row
Dim i As Long
For i = 1 To rg.Rows.Count
    ' current row, column 1 of range
    Debug.Print rg.Cells(i, 1).Value2
Next i

 

Using Rows and Columns as Ranges

If you want to do something with an entire Row or Column you can use the Rows or Columns property of the Worksheet. They both take one parameter which is the row or column number you wish to access

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub UseRowAndColumns()

    ' Set the font size of column B to 9
    Sheet1.Columns(2).Font.Size = 9

    ' Set the width of columns D to F
    Sheet1.Columns("D:F").ColumnWidth = 4

    ' Set the font size of row 5 to 18
    Sheet1.Rows(5).Font.Size = 18

End Sub

Using Range in place of Worksheet

You can also use Cells, Rows and Columns as part of a Range rather than part of a Worksheet. You may have a specific need to do this but otherwise I would avoid the practice. It makes the code more complex. Simple code is your friend. It reduces the possibility of errors.

 
The code below will set the second column of the range to bold. As the range has only two rows the entire column is considered B1:B2

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub UseColumnsInRange()

    ' This will set B1 and B2 to be bold
    Sheet1.Range("A1:C2").Columns(2).Font.Bold = True

End Sub

 
You can download all the code for this post from the top of this article.
 

Reading Values from one Cell to another

In most of the examples so far we have written values to a cell. We do this by placing the range on the left of the equals sign and the value to place in the cell on the right. To write data from one cell to another we do the same. The destination range goes on the left and the source range goes on the right.

 
The following example shows you how to do this:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub ReadValues()

    ' Place value from B1 in A1
    Sheet1.Range("A1").Value2 = Sheet1.Range("B1").Value2

    ' Place value from B3 in sheet2 to cell A1
    Sheet1.Range("A1").Value2 = Sheet2.Range("B3").Value2

    ' Place value from B1 in cells A1 to A5
    Sheet1.Range("A1:A5").Value2 = Sheet1.Range("B1").Value2

    ' You need to use the "Value" property to read multiple cells
    Sheet1.Range("A1:A5").Value2 = Sheet1.Range("B1:B5").Value2

End Sub

 
As you can see from this example it is not possible to read from multiple cells. If you want to do this you can use the Copy function of Range with the Destination parameter

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub CopyValues()

    ' Store the copy range in a variable
    Dim rgCopy As Range
    Set rgCopy = Sheet1.Range("B1:B5")

    ' Use this to copy from more than one cell
    rgCopy.Copy Destination:=Sheet1.Range("A1:A5")

    ' You can paste to multiple destinations
    rgCopy.Copy Destination:=Sheet1.Range("A1:A5,C2:C6")

End Sub

 
The Copy function copies everything including the format of the cells. It is the same result as manually copying and pasting a selection. You can see more about it in the Copying and Pasting Cells section.

Using the Range.Resize Method

When copying from one range to another using assignment(i.e. the equals sign), the destination range must be the same size as the source range.

Using the Resize function allows us to resize a range to a given number of rows and columns.

For example:
 

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub ResizeExamples()
 
    ' Prints A1
    Debug.Print Sheet1.Range("A1").Address

    ' Prints A1:A2
    Debug.Print Sheet1.Range("A1").Resize(2, 1).Address

    ' Prints A1:A5
    Debug.Print Sheet1.Range("A1").Resize(5, 1).Address
    
    ' Prints A1:D1
    Debug.Print Sheet1.Range("A1").Resize(1, 4).Address
    
    ' Prints A1:C3
    Debug.Print Sheet1.Range("A1").Resize(3, 3).Address
    
End Sub

 
When we want to resize our destination range we can simply use the source range size.

In other words, we use the row and column count of the source range as the parameters for resizing:

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

    Dim rgSrc As Range, rgDest As Range
    
    ' Get all the data in the current region
    Set rgSrc = Sheet1.Range("A1").CurrentRegion

      ' Get the range destination
    Set rgDest = Sheet2.Range("A1")
    Set rgDest = rgDest.Resize(rgSrc.Rows.Count, rgSrc.Columns.Count)
    
    rgDest.Value2 = rgSrc.Value2

End Sub

 
We can do the resize in one line if we prefer:

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

    Dim rgSrc As Range
    
    ' Get all the data in the current region
    Set rgSrc = Sheet1.Range("A1").CurrentRegion
    
    With rgSrc
        Sheet2.Range("A1").Resize(.Rows.Count, .Columns.Count).Value2 = .Value2
    End With
    
End Sub

Reading Values to variables

We looked at how to read from one cell to another. You can also read from a cell to a variable. A variable is used to store values while a Macro is running. You normally do this when you want to manipulate the data before writing it somewhere. The following is a simple example using a variable. As you can see the value of the item to the right of the equals is written to the item to the left of the equals.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub UseVariables()

    ' Create
    Dim number As Long

    ' Read number from cell
    number = Sheet1.Range("A1").Value2

    ' Add 1 to value
    number = number + 1

    ' Write new value to cell
    Sheet1.Range("A2").Value2 = number

End Sub

 
To read text to a variable you use a variable of type String:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub UseVariableText()

    ' Declare a variable of type string
    Dim text As String

    ' Read value from cell
    text = Sheet1.Range("A1").Value2

    ' Write value to cell
    Sheet1.Range("A2").Value2 = text

End Sub

 
You can write a variable to a range of cells. You just specify the range on the left and the value will be written to all cells in the range.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub VarToMulti()

    ' Read value from cell
    Sheet1.Range("A1:B10").Value2 = 66

End Sub

 
You cannot read from multiple cells to a variable. However you can read to an array which is a collection of variables. We will look at doing this in the next section.

How to Copy and Paste Cells

If you want to copy and paste a range of cells then you do not need to select them. This is a common error made by new VBA users.

Note: We normally use Range.Copy when we want to copy formats, formulas, validation. If we want to copy values it is not the most efficient method.
I have written a complete guide to copying data in Excel VBA here.

 
You can simply copy a range of cells like this:

Range("A1:B4").Copy Destination:=Range("C5")

 
Using this method copies everything – values, formats, formulas and so on. If you want to copy individual items you can use the PasteSpecial property of range.

 
It works like this

Range("A1:B4").Copy
Range("F3").PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteValues
Range("F3").PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteFormats
Range("F3").PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteFormulas

 
The following table shows a full list of all the paste types

Paste Type
xlPasteAll
xlPasteAllExceptBorders
xlPasteAllMergingConditionalFormats
xlPasteAllUsingSourceTheme
xlPasteColumnWidths
xlPasteComments
xlPasteFormats
xlPasteFormulas
xlPasteFormulasAndNumberFormats
xlPasteValidation
xlPasteValues
xlPasteValuesAndNumberFormats

Reading a Range of Cells to an Array

You can also copy values by assigning the value of one range to another.

Range("A3:Z3").Value2 = Range("A1:Z1").Value2

 
The value of  range in this example is considered to be a variant array. What this means is that you can easily read from a range of cells to an array. You can also write from an array to a range of cells. If you are not familiar with arrays you can check them out in this post.  

 
The following code shows an example of using an array with a range:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub ReadToArray()

    ' Create dynamic array
    Dim StudentMarks() As Variant

    ' Read 26 values into array from the first row
    StudentMarks = Range("A1:Z1").Value2

    ' Do something with array here

    ' Write the 26 values to the third row
    Range("A3:Z3").Value2 = StudentMarks

End Sub

 
Keep in mind that the array created by the read is a 2 dimensional array. This is because a spreadsheet stores values in two dimensions i.e. rows and columns

Going through all the cells in a Range

Sometimes you may want to go through each cell one at a time to check value.

 
You can do this using a For Each loop shown in the following code

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub TraversingCells()

    ' Go through each cells in the range
    Dim rg As Range
    For Each rg In Sheet1.Range("A1:A10,A20")
        ' Print address of cells that are negative
        If rg.Value < 0 Then
            Debug.Print rg.Address + " is negative."
        End If
    Next

End Sub

 
You can also go through consecutive Cells using the Cells property and a standard For loop.

 
The standard loop is more flexible about the order you use but it is slower than a For Each loop.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub TraverseCells()
 
    ' Go through cells from A1 to A10
    Dim i As Long
    For i = 1 To 10
        ' Print address of cells that are negative
        If Range("A" & i).Value < 0 Then
            Debug.Print Range("A" & i).Address + " is negative."
        End If
    Next
 
    ' Go through cells in reverse i.e. from A10 to A1
    For i = 10 To 1 Step -1
        ' Print address of cells that are negative
        If Range("A" & i) < 0 Then
            Debug.Print Range("A" & i).Address + " is negative."
        End If
    Next
 
End Sub

Formatting Cells

Sometimes you will need to format the cells the in spreadsheet. This is actually very straightforward. The following example shows you various formatting you can add to any range of cells

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Public Sub FormattingCells()

    With Sheet1

        ' Format the font
        .Range("A1").Font.Bold = True
        .Range("A1").Font.Underline = True
        .Range("A1").Font.Color = rgbNavy

        ' Set the number format to 2 decimal places
        .Range("B2").NumberFormat = "0.00"
        ' Set the number format to a date
        .Range("C2").NumberFormat = "dd/mm/yyyy"
        ' Set the number format to general
        .Range("C3").NumberFormat = "General"
        ' Set the number format to text
        .Range("C4").NumberFormat = "Text"

        ' Set the fill color of the cell
        .Range("B3").Interior.Color = rgbSandyBrown

        ' Format the borders
        .Range("B4").Borders.LineStyle = xlDash
        .Range("B4").Borders.Color = rgbBlueViolet

    End With

End Sub

Main Points

The following is a summary of the main points

1. Range returns a range of cells
2. Cells returns one cells only
3. You can read from one cell to another
4. You can read from a range of cells to another range of cells.
5. You can read values from cells to variables and vice versa.
6. You can read values from ranges to arrays and vice versa
7. You can use a For Each or For loop to run through every cell in a range.
8. The properties Rows and Columns allow you to access a range of cells of these types

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 and all the tutorials.

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

• #2

Hi and Welcome to the Board.
What specific value are you looking for in «C16»
AND
You want to copy range «F3» to «F last cell» to the first blank cell in «F» ?

• #3

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the welcome. Basically I have created an invoice sheet (F3:P43) that uses lookups from standard formulas I use based on client, dates, etc, etc to calculate an invoice from other worksheets. What I was doing to keep track of invoices I’ve issued, is to copy and paste the issued invoice values below F43. I’ve ensured that the F column only contains the invoice numbers. So everything below row 43 contains copies of invoices.

I created a macro button to copy and paste values of F3:P43, starting from F44, to the next blank cell in column F. The invoices are always 40 rows long, and each cell in F contains the invoice number it corresponds to.

The reason I want to use VBA is to make sure that I don’t copy and paste duplicates unnecessarily.

• #4

Ok, now I’m really confused……so what does «cell «C16» have to do with the copy and paste ?

• #5

Sorry Michael,

I’m a bit tired.

«C16» is the cell/value I want to check/search against «F44:F1000»

IF — the value of «C16» is found in «F44:F100»

THEN — don’t copy and paste

ELSE — copy and paste

END IF

I’ve figured out my copy and paste code. What I’m stuck on, is trying to create a code that will search «F44:F1000» for a value in «C16».

• #6

Maybe this

Code:

Sub CopyPaste()
Dim lr As Long
lr = Cells(Rows.Count, "F").End(xlUp).Row
    For Each cell In Range("F3:F43")
        If cell.Value = Range("C16").Value Then
           MsgBox "Invoice number already issued."
           Exit Sub
        End If
    Next cell
        Range("F3:P43").Copy
        Range("F" & lr + 1).PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteValues
    End Sub

• #7

Thanks Michael,

That worked great, the only thing I had to change was Line 4, «F3:F43» to «F44:F1000».

But is there away to replace «F44:F1000» I entered to some thing like «F44: («F» & lr + 1)»?

• #8

MAybe

Code:

Sub CopyPaste()
Dim lr As Long
lr = Cells(Rows.Count, "F").End(xlUp).Row
    For Each cell In Range("F44:F" & lr)
        If cell.Value = Range("C16").Value Then
           MsgBox "Invoice number already issued."
           Exit Sub
        End If
    Next cell
        'Range("F3:F43").Copy ' so should this line change too !!
        Range("F44:F" & lr).copy ' to this ?
        Range("F" & lr + 1).PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteValues
    End Sub

• #9

Perfect Michael, thanks a lot. It’s way too late on this side of the world, but I apprecciate all the help. Time for some sleep.

• #10

OK, glad it worked. Thanks for the feedback