Excel vba last column

In this VBA Tutorial, you learn how to find the last row or column with macros.

This VBA Last Row or Last Column Tutorial is accompanied by an Excel workbook containing the data and macros I use in the examples below. You can get immediate free access to this example workbook by subscribing to the Power Spreadsheets Newsletter.

Use the following Table of Contents to navigate to the section you’re interested in.

Related Excel VBA and Macro Tutorials

The following VBA and Macro Tutorials may help you better understand and implement the contents below:

• General VBA constructs and structures:
  • Learn the basics about working with macros and VBA here.
  • Learn the basic terms you should know to start working with VBA here.
  • Learn how to enable or disable macros here.
  • Learn how to work with the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) here.
  • Learn how to work with Sub procedures here.
  • Learn how to work with Function procedures (User-Defined Functions) here.
  • Learn how to refer to objects here.
  • Learn how to refer to cell ranges with VBA here.
  • Learn how to work with R1C1-style references here.
  • Learn how to work with VBA properties here.
  • Learn how to work with VBA methods here.
  • Learn how to declare and work with variables here.
  • Learn how to work with VBA data types here.
  • Learn how to use worksheet functions in VBA here.
  • Learn how to work with loops here.
• Practical VBA applications and macro examples:
  • Learn how to check if a cell is empty with VBA here.
  • Learn how to insert rows with VBA here.
  • Learn how to delete rows with VBA here.
  • Learn how to delete blank or empty rows with VBA here.
  • Learn how to delete columns with VBA here.
  • Learn how to hide or unhide rows and columns with VBA here.
  • Learn how to create named ranges with VBA here.
  • Learn how to work with VBA message boxes here.

You can also:

• Find additional VBA and Macro Tutorials here.
• Find online courses about VBA and macros here.
• Find books about VBA and macros here.
• Find Excel tools and templates here.

#1: Find the Last Row in a Column Before an Empty Cell

VBA Code to Find the Last Row in a Column Before an Empty Cell

To find the last row in a column before an empty cell with VBA, use a statement with the following structure:

LastRow = CellInColumn.End(xlDown).Row

Process to Find the Last Row in a Column Before an Empty Cell

To find the last row in a column before an empty cell with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify a cell in the column whose last row (before an empty cell) you want to find (CellInColumn). This cell should be located above the empty cell.
2. Move down the column to the end of the region (End(xlDown)). This takes you to the cell immediately above the empty cell.
3. Obtain the row number of that last cell immediately above the empty cell (Row).
4. Assign the number of the last row to a variable (LastRow = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Item: LastRow

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last row found by the macro (CellInColumn.End(xlDown).Row).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last row found by the macro (CellInColumn.End(xlDown).Row) to LastRow.

Item: CellInColumn

Range object representing a cell in the column whose last row (before an empty cell) you want to find. The cell represented by Range should be located above the empty cell.

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Range object:

• Worksheet.Range.
• Worksheet.Cells.

Item: End(xlDown)

The Range.End property returns a Range object representing the cell at the end of the region containing the source range (CellInColumn).

When searching for the last row in a column (before an empty cell), set the Direction parameter of the Range.End property to xlDown. xlDown specifies the direction in which to move (down).

CellInColumn.End(xlDown) is the equivalent to pressing the “Ctrl+Down Arrow” keyboard shortcut when CellInColumn is the active cell.

Item: Row

The Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last row in a column (before an empty cell), the source range is the cell immediately above that empty cell (CellInColumn.End(xlDown)). Therefore, the Range.Row property returns the number of that row immediately above the applicable empty cell.

Macro Example to Find the Last Row in a Column Before an Empty Cell

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last row (before an empty cell) in the column containing the cell passed as argument (myCell).

Function lastRowInColumnBeforeBlank(myCell As Range) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last row (before an empty cell) in the column containing myCell
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'find the last row (before an empty cell) in the column containing myCell
    lastRowInColumnBeforeBlank = myCell.End(xlDown).Row

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Row in a Column Before an Empty Cell

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (16) of the last row before an empty cell (A17) in the column containing the cell passed as argument (A6).

#2: Find the Last Row Among Several Columns Before Empty Cells

VBA Code to Find the Last Row Among Several Columns Before Empty Cells

To find the last row (furthest down, before empty cells) among several columns with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

OverallLastRow = 0
With Range
    For Counter = .Column To .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column
        ColumnLastRow = .Parent.Cells(.Row, Counter).End(xlDown).Row
        If ColumnLastRow > OverallLastRow Then OverallLastRow = ColumnLastRow
    Next Counter
End With

Process to Find the Last Row Among Several Columns Before Empty Cells

To find the last row (furthest down, before empty cells) among several columns with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Initialize the variable that will hold the number of the overall (across all columns) last row by setting it to 0 (OverallLastRow = 0).
2. Identify a cell range containing cells in the (several) columns you consider when searching for the last row before empty cells (With Range | End With). This cell range should begin above the empty cells.
3. Loop through each column in Range (For Counter = .Column To .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column | Next Counter).
4. Identify a cell in the column you’re currently working with (.Parent.Cells(.Row, Counter)).
5. Move down the column to the end of the region (End(xlDown)). This takes you to the cell immediately above the empty cell in that column.
6. Obtain the row number of that last cell immediately above the empty cell (Row).
7. Assign the number of the last row in the column you’re working with to a variable (ColumnLastRow = …).
8. Test if the number of the last row in the column you’re working with (ColumnLastRow) is larger than the value currently held by the variable (OverallLastRow) that holds the overall (across all columns) last row number (If ColumnLastRow > OverallLastRow).
9. If the number of the last row in the column you’re working with (ColumnLastRow) is larger than the value currently held by the variable (OverallLastRow) that holds the overall (across all columns) last row number, update the value held by the variable (Then OverallLastRow = ColumnLastRow).

VBA Statement Explanation

Line #1: OverallLastRow = 0

OverallLastRow is a variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last row (among several columns) found by the macro.

The assignment operator (=) initializes OverallLastRow by assigning the value of 0.

Lines #2 and #7: With Range| End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (lines #3 through #6) on a single object (Range).

Range is a Range object representing a cell range containing cells in the (several) columns you consider when searching for the last row (before empty cells). This cell range should begin above those empty cells.

You can usually work with, among others, the Worksheet.Range property to refer to this Range object.

Lines #3 and #6: For Counter = .Column To .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column | Next Counter

Item: For Counter = … To … | Next Counter

The For… Next statement repeats a group of statements (lines #4 and #5) a specific number of times (.Column To .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column).

Counter is the loop counter. If you explicitly declare a variable to represent Counter, you can usually declare it as of the Long data type.

The following are the initial and final values of Counter:

• Initial value: The number of the first column in Range (.Column).
• Final value: The number of the last column in Range (.Columns(.Columns.Count).Column).

Therefore, the For… Next statement loops through all the columns in Range.

Item: .Column

The Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range (Range).

When searching for the last row among several columns (before empty cells), you use the Range.Column property twice, as follows:

1. .Column returns the number of the first column in Range.
2. .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column returns the number of the last column in Range.

Item: .Columns(.Columns.Count)

The Range.Columns property returns a Range object representing the columns in the source range (Range).

The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last row among several columns (before empty cells), the Range.Count property returns the number of columns in the source range (.Columns).

Therefore:

• .Columns returns a Range object representing all columns in Range.
• .Columns.Count returns the number of columns in Range.

.Columns.Count is used as an index number of the Range.Columns property (.Columns(.Columns.Count)). In other words, .Columns(.Columns.Count) refers to the column (within Range) whose index number is equal to the number of columns in Range (.Columns.Count). This is the last column in Range.

Line #4: ColumnLastRow = .Parent.Cells(.Row, Counter).End(xlDown).Row

Item: ColumnLastRow

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last row in the current column (column number Counter) found by the macro (.Parent.Cells(.Row, Counter).End(xlDown).Row).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last row found by the macro in the current column (.Parent.Cells(.Row, Counter).End(xlDown).Row) to ColumnLastRow.

Item: Parent

The Range.Parent property returns the parent object of the source range (Range).

When searching for the last row among several columns, the Range.Parent property returns a Worksheet object representing the worksheet that contains Range.

Item: Cells(.Row, Counter)

The Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing all the cells in the worksheet. If you specify the row and column index, the Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing the cell at the intersection of the specified row and column.

When searching for the last row among several columns (before empty cells):

• .Row is the row index. The Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range (Range).
• Counter is the column index and loop counter of the For… Next statement that iterates through all the columns in Range.

Therefore, the Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing the cell at the intersection of:

• The first row of Range (.Row); and
• The column through which the For… Next loop is currently iterating (Counter).

Item: End(xlDown)

The Range.End property returns a Range object representing the cell at the end of the region containing the source range (Cells(.Row, Counter)).

When searching for the last row among several columns (before empty cells), set the Direction parameter of the Range.End property to xlDown. xlDown specifies the direction in which to move (down).

.Parent.Cells(.Row, Counter).End(xlDown) is the equivalent to pressing the “Ctrl+Down Arrow” keyboard shortcut when .Parent.Cells(.Row, Counter) is the active cell.

Item: Row

The Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last row in a column (column number Counter, before an empty cell), the source range is the cell immediately above that empty cell (.Parent.Cells(.Row, Counter).End(xlDown)). Therefore, the Range.Row property returns the number of that row immediately above the applicable empty cell.

Line #5: If ColumnLastRow > OverallLastRow Then OverallLastRow = ColumnLastRow

Item: If … Then …

The If… Then… statement conditionally executes a group of statements (OverallLastRow = ColumnLastRow), depending on the value of an expression (ColumnLastRow > OverallLastRow).

Item: ColumnLastRow > OverallLastRow

Condition of the If… Then… statement, which evaluates to True or False as follows:

• True if ColumnLastRow is larger than (>) OverallLastRow.
• False otherwise.

Item: OverallLastRow = ColumnLastRow

Statement that is executed if the condition tested by the If… Then… statement (ColumnLastRow > OverallLastRow) returns True.

The assignment operator (=) assigns the value held by ColumnLastRow to OverallLastRow.

Macro Example to Find the Last Row Among Several Columns Before Empty Cells

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last row (before empty cells) among the columns containing the cell range passed as argument (myRange).

Function lastRowInSeveralColumnsBeforeBlank(myRange As Range) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last row (before empty cells) in the columns containing myRange
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'declare variables to represent loop counter and hold value of last row in current column
    Dim iCounter As Long
    Dim iColumnLastRow As Long

    'initialize variable that holds the number of the (overall) last row across several columns
    lastRowInSeveralColumnsBeforeBlank = 0

    With myRange

        'loop through each column in myRange
        For iCounter = .Column To .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column

            'find last row (before an empty cell) in the current column
            iColumnLastRow = .Parent.Cells(.Row, iCounter).End(xlDown).Row

            'if the number of the last row in the current column is larger than the row number held by lastRowInSeveralColumnsBeforeBlank, update value held by lastRowInSeveralColumnsBeforeBlank
            If iColumnLastRow > lastRowInSeveralColumnsBeforeBlank Then lastRowInSeveralColumnsBeforeBlank = iColumnLastRow

        Next iCounter

    End With

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Row Among Several Columns Before Empty Cells

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (17) of the last row before empty cells (A14, B15, C16, D17, E18) among the columns containing the cell range passed as argument (A6 to E6).

#3: Find the Last Row in a Column

VBA Code to Find the Last Row in a Column

To find the last row in a column with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

With CellInColumn.Parent
    LastRow = .Cells(.Rows.Count, CellInColumn.Column).End(xlUp).Row
End With

Process to Find the Last Row in a Column

To find the last row in a column with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify a cell in the column whose last row you want to find (CellInColumn) and the worksheet containing this cell (CellInColumn.Parent).
2. Identify the last worksheet cell in the column containing CellInColumn (.Cells(.Rows.Count, CellInColumn.Column)).
3. Move up the column to the end of the region (End(xlUp)). This takes you to the last cell in the column.
4. Obtain the row number of that last cell in the column (Row).
5. Assign the number of the last row to a variable (LastRow = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Lines #1 and #3: With CellInColumn.Parent | End With

Item: With … | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (line #2) on a single object (CellInColumn.Parent).

Item: CellInColumn

Range object representing a cell in the column whose last row you want to find.

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Range object:

• Worksheet.Range.
• Worksheet.Cells.

Item: Parent

The Range.Parent property returns the parent object of the source range (CellInColumn).

When searching for the last row in a column, the Range.Parent property returns a Worksheet object representing the worksheet that contains CellInColumn.

Line #2: LastRow = .Cells(.Rows.Count, CellInColumn.Column).End(xlUp).Row

Item: LastRow

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last row found by the macro (.Cells(.Rows.Count, CellInColumn.Column).End(xlUp).Row).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last row found by the macro (.Cells(.Rows.Count, CellInColumn.Column).End(xlUp).Row) to LastRow.

Item: .Cells(.Rows.Count, CellInColumn.Column)

The Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing all the cells in the worksheet. If you specify the row and column index, the Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing the cell at the intersection of the specified row and column.

When searching for the last row in a column:

• .Rows.Count is the row index and returns the number of the last row in the worksheet (CellInColumn.Parent). For these purposes:
  • The Worksheet.Rows property returns a Range object representing all rows on the worksheet (CellInColumn.Parent).
  • The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last row in a column, the Range.Count property returns the number of rows in the worksheet (CellInColumn.Parent).
• CellInColumn.Column is the column index and returns the number of the column containing CellInColumn. For these purposes, the Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range (CellInColumn).

Therefore, the Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing the cell at the intersection of:

• The last row of the worksheet (.Rows.Count); and
• The column containing CellInColumn (CellInColumn.Column).

Item: End(xlUp)

The Range.End property returns a Range object representing the cell at the end of the region containing the source range (.Cells(.Rows.Count, CellInColumn.Column)).

When searching for the last row in a column, set the Direction parameter of the Range.End property to xlUp. xlUp specifies the direction in which to move (up).

.Cells(.Rows.Count, CellInColumn.Column).End(xlUp) is the equivalent to pressing the “Ctrl+Up Arrow” keyboard shortcut when Cells(.Rows.Count, CellInColumn.Column) is the active cell.

Item: Row

The Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last row in a column, the source range is the last cell in the column (.Cells(.Rows.Count, CellInColumn.Column).End(xlUp)). Therefore, the Range.Row property returns the number of that last row.

Macro Example to Find the Last Row in a Column

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last row in the column containing the cell passed as argument (myCell).

Function lastRowInColumn(myCell As Range) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last row in the column containing myCell
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'identify worksheet containing myCell
    With myCell.Parent

        'find the last row in the column containing myCell
        lastRowInColumn = .Cells(.Rows.Count, myCell.Column).End(xlUp).Row

    End With

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Row in a Column

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (25) of the last row in the column containing the cell passed as argument (A6).

#4: Find the Last Row Among Several Columns

VBA Code to Find the Last Row Among Several Columns

To find the last row (furthest down) among several columns with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

OverallLastRow = 0
With Range
    For Counter = .Column To .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column
        With .Parent
            ColumnLastRow = .Cells(.Rows.Count, Counter).End(xlUp).Row
            If ColumnLastRow > OverallLastRow Then OverallLastRow = ColumnLastRow
        End With
    Next Counter
End With

Process to Find the Last Row Among Several Columns

To find the last row (furthest down) among several columns with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Initialize the variable that will hold the number of the overall (across all columns) last row by setting it to 0 (OverallLastRow = 0).
2. Identify a cell range containing cells in the (several) columns you consider when searching for the last row (With Range | End With).
3. Loop through each column in Range (For Counter = .Column To .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column | Next Counter).
4. Identify the worksheet containing Range (With .Parent | End With).
5. Identify the last worksheet cell in the column you’re currently working with (.Cells(.Rows.Count, Counter)).
6. Move up the column to the end of the region (End(xlUp)). This takes you to the last cell in the column.
7. Obtain the row number of that last cell in the column (Row).
8. Assign the number of the last row in the column you’re working with to a variable (ColumnLastRow = …).
9. Test if the number of the last row in the column you’re working with (ColumnLastRow) is larger than the value currently held by the variable (OverallLastRow) that holds the overall (across all columns) last row number (If ColumnLastRow > OverallLastRow).
10. If the number of the last row in the column you’re working with (ColumnLastRow) is larger than the value currently held by the variable (OverallLastRow) that holds the overall (across all columns) last row number, update the value held by the variable (Then OverallLastRow = ColumnLastRow).

VBA Statement Explanation

Line #1: OverallLastRow = 0

OverallLastRow is a variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last row among several columns found by the macro.

The assignment operator (=) initializes OverallLastRow by assigning the value of 0.

Lines #2 and #9: With Range | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (lines #3 through #8) on a single object (Range).

Range is a Range object representing a cell range containing cells in the (several) columns you consider when searching for the last row.

You can usually work with, among others, the Worksheet.Range property to refer to this Range object.

Lines #3 and #8: For Counter = .Column To .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column | Next Counter

Item: For Counter = … To … | Next Counter

The For… Next statement repeats a group of statements (lines #4 to #7) a specific number of times (.Column To .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column).

Counter is the loop counter. If you explicitly declare a variable to represent Counter, you can usually declare it as of the Long data type.

The following are the initial and final values of Counter:

• Initial value: The number of the first column in Range (.Column).
• Final value: The number of the last column in Range (.Columns(.Columns.Count).Column).

Therefore, the For… Next statement loops through all the columns in Range.

Item: .Column

The Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range (Range).

When searching for the last row among several columns, you use the Range.Column property twice, as follows:

1. .Column returns the number of the first column in Range.
2. .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column returns the number of the last column in Range.

Item: .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column

The Range.Columns property returns a Range object representing the columns in the source range (Range).

The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last row among several columns, the Range.Count property returns the number of columns in the source range (.Columns).

Therefore:

• .Columns returns a Range object representing all columns in Range.
• .Columns.Count returns the number of columns in Range.

.Columns.Count is used as an index number of the Range.Columns property (.Columns(.Columns.Count)). In other words, .Columns(.Columns.Count) refers to the column (within Range) whose index number is equal to the number of columns in Range (.Columns.Count). This is the last column in Range.

Lines #4 and #7: With .Parent | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (lines #5 and #6) on a single object (.Parent).

The Range.Parent property returns the parent object of the source range (Range). When searching for the last row among several columns, the Range.Parent property returns a Worksheet object representing the worksheet that contains Range.

Line #5: ColumnLastRow = .Cells(.Rows.Count, Counter).End(xlUp).Row

Item: ColumnLastRow

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last row in the current column (column number Counter) found by the macro (.Cells(.Rows.Count, Counter).End(xlUp).Row).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last row found by the macro in the current column (.Cells(.Rows.Count, Counter).End(xlUp).Row) to ColumnLastRow.

Item: .Cells(.Rows.Count, Counter)

The Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing all the cells in the worksheet. If you specify the row and column index, the Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing the cell at the intersection of the specified row and column.

When searching for the last row among several columns:

• .Rows.Count is the row index and returns the number of the last row in the worksheet (Range.Parent). For these purposes:
  • The Worksheet.Rows property returns a Range object representing all rows on the worksheet (Range.Parent).
  • The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last row among several columns, the Range.Count property returns the number of rows in the worksheet (Range.Parent).
• Counter is the column index and loop counter of the For… Next statement that iterates through all the columns in Range.

Therefore, the Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing the cell at the intersection of:

• The last row of the worksheet (.Rows.Count); and
• The column through which the For… Next loop is currently iterating (Counter).

Item: End(xlUp)

The Range.End property returns a Range object representing the cell at the end of the region containing the source range (.Cells(.Rows.Count, Counter)).

When searching for the last row among several columns, set the Direction parameter of the Range.End property to xlUp. xlUp specifies the direction in which to move (up).

.Cells(.Rows.Count, Counter).End(xlUp) is the equivalent to pressing the “Ctrl+Up Arrow” keyboard shortcut when .Cells(.Rows.Count, Counter) is the active cell.

Item: Row

The Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last row in a column (column number Counter), the source range is the last cell in the column (.Cells(.Rows.Count, Counter).End(xlUp)). Therefore, the Range.Row property returns the number of that last row.

Line #6: If ColumnLastRow > OverallLastRow Then OverallLastRow = ColumnLastRow

Item: If … Then

The If… Then… statement conditionally executes a group of statements (OverallLastRow = ColumnLastRow), depending on the value of an expression (ColumnLastRow > OverallLastRow).

Item: ColumnLastRow > OverallLastRow

Condition of the If… Then… statement, which evaluates to True or False as follows:

• True if ColumnLastRow is larger than (>) OverallLastRow.
• False otherwise.

Item: OverallLastRow = ColumnLastRow

Statement that is executed if the condition tested by the If… Then… statement (ColumnLastRow > OverallLastRow) returns True.

The assignment operator (=) assigns the value held by ColumnLastRow to OverallLastRow.

Macro Example to Find the Last Row Among Several Columns

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last row among the columns containing the cell range passed as argument (myRange).

Function lastRowInSeveralColumns(myRange As Range) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last row in the columns containing myRange
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'declare variables to represent loop counter and hold value of last row in current column
    Dim myColumnLastRow As Long
    Dim iCounter As Long

    'initialize variable that holds the number of the (overall) last row across several columns
    lastRowInSeveralColumns = 0

    With myRange

        'loop through each column in myRange
        For iCounter = .Column To .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column

            'work with the worksheet containing myRange
            With .Parent

                'find last row in the current column
                myColumnLastRow = .Cells(.Rows.Count, iCounter).End(xlUp).Row

                'if the number of the last row in the current column is larger than the row number held by lastRowInSeveralColumns, update value held by lastRowInSeveralColumns
                If myColumnLastRow > lastRowInSeveralColumns Then lastRowInSeveralColumns = myColumnLastRow

            End With

        Next iCounter

    End With

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Row Among Several Columns

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (25) of the last row among the columns containing the cell range passed as argument (A6 to E6).

#5: Find the Last Row by Going to the Last Cell in the Used Range

VBA Code to Find the Last Row by Going to the Last Cell in the Used Range

To find the last row by going to the last cell in the used range with VBA, use a macro with the following structure:

Worksheet.UsedRange
LastRow = Worksheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Row

Process to Find the Last Row by Going to the Last Cell in the Used Range

To find the last row by going to the last cell in the used range with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify the worksheet whose last row you want to find (Worksheet).
2. Attempt to reset the used range of Worksheet (Worksheet.UsedRange).
3. Identify the last cell in the used range of Worksheet (Worksheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell)).
4. Obtain the row number of that last cell in the used range (Row).
5. Assign the number of the last row to a variable (LastRow = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Line #1: Worksheet.UsedRange

Item: Worksheet

Worksheet object representing the worksheet whose last row (in the used range) you want to find.

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Worksheet object:

• Application.ActiveSheet.
• Workbook.Worksheets.

Item: UsedRange

The Worksheet.UsedRange property returns a Range object representing the used range of Worksheet.

From a broad perspective, you can think of the used range as the cell range encompassing all “used” cells within a worksheet.

Working with the Worksheet.UsedRange property can be tricky. One of the main challenges associated with relying on this property is that Excel retains cells that aren’t longer in use (but have been) and considers them when calculating the used range.

Therefore, prior to using VBA code that relies on Excel’s calculation of the used range, you may want to (try to) reset it. The following 2 alternative statements are commonly used for these purposes:

'alternative #1 (used in this Tutorial)
Worksheet.UsedRange

'alternative #2 (relies on the Range.Count property)
rowsCount = Worksheet.UsedRange.Rows.Count

There are cases in which these used-range-resetting statements fail.

Line #2: LastRow = Worksheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Row

Item: LastRow

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last row found by the macro (Worksheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Row).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last row found by the macro (Worksheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Row) to LastRow.

Item: Worksheet

Worksheet object representing the worksheet whose last row (in the used range) you want to find. This worksheet should be the same whose used range you attempt to reset (line #1).

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Worksheet object:

• Application.ActiveSheet.
• Workbook.Worksheets.

Item: Cells

The Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing all the cells in Worksheet.

Item: SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell)

The Range.SpecialCells method returns a Range object representing the cells that match a specific type and value.

When Searching for the last row by going to the last cell in the used range, set the Type parameter of the Range.SpecialCells method to the xlCellTypeLastCell built-in constant (or 11). This results in Range.SpecialCells returning a Range object that represents the last cell in the used range.

Item: Row

The Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last row by going to the last cell in the used range, the source range is that last cell of the used range (Worksheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell)). Therefore, the Range.Row property returns the number of that last row.

Macro Example to Find the Last Row by Going to the Last Cell in the Used Range

The following macro example finds the last row in the active sheet (ActiveSheet) by going to the last cell in the used range (Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell)).

Sub lastRowInWorksheetXlCellTypeLastCell()
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last row in the active sheet's used range
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'declare variable to hold value of last row
    Dim myLastRow As Long

    'attempt to reset the active sheet's used range
    ActiveSheet.UsedRange

    'find the last row in the active sheet by, previously, identifying the last cell in the used range
    myLastRow = ActiveSheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Row

    'display the number of the last row found by the macro
    MsgBox myLastRow

End Sub

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Row by Going to the Last Cell in the Used Range

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro example. As expected, Excel returns the number (26) of the last row in the active sheet by going to the last cell in the used range. Excel considers formatting (including conditional formatting) when keeping track of a worksheet’s used range.

#6: Find the Last Row in the Used Range

VBA Code to Find the Last Row in the Used Range

To find the last row in the used range with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

Worksheet.UsedRange
With Worksheet.UsedRange
    LastRow = .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row
End With

Process to Find the Last Row in the Used Range

To find the last row in the used range with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify the worksheet whose last row you want to find (Worksheet).
2. Attempt to reset the used range of Worksheet (Worksheet.UsedRange).
3. Work with the used range of Worksheet (With Worksheet.UsedRange | End With).
4. Identify the last row in the used range of Worksheet (.Rows(.Rows.Count)).
5. Obtain the number of that last row in the used range (Row).
6. Assign the number of the last row to a variable (LastRow = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Line #1: Worksheet.UsedRange

Item: Worksheet

Worksheet object representing the worksheet whose last row (in the used range) you want to find.

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Worksheet object:

• Application.ActiveSheet.
• Workbook.Worksheets.

Item: UsedRange

The Worksheet.UsedRange property returns a Range object representing the used range of Worksheet.

From a broad perspective, you can think of the used range as the cell range encompassing all “used” cells within a worksheet.

Working with the Worksheet.UsedRange property can be tricky. One of the main challenges associated with relying on this property is that Excel retains cells that aren’t longer in use (but have been) and considers them when calculating the used range.

Therefore, prior to using VBA code that relies on Excel’s calculation of the used range, you may want to (try to) reset it. The following 2 alternative statements are commonly used for these purposes:

'alternative #1 (used in this Tutorial)
Worksheet.UsedRange

'alternative #2 (relies on the Range.Count property)
rowsCount = Worksheet.UsedRange.Rows.Count

There are cases in which these used-range-resetting statements fail.

Lines #2 and #4: With Worksheet.UsedRange | End With

Item: With … | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (line #3) on a single object (Worksheet.UsedRange).

Item: Worksheet

Worksheet object representing the worksheet whose last row (in the used range) you want to find. This worksheet should be the same whose used range you attempt to reset (line #1).

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Worksheet object:

• Application.ActiveSheet.
• Workbook.Worksheets.

Item: UsedRange

The Worksheet.UsedRange property returns a Range object representing the used range of Worksheet. From a broad perspective, you can think of the used range as the cell range encompassing all “used” cells within a worksheet.

Line #3: LastRow = .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row

Item: LastRow

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last row found by the macro (.Rows(.Rows.Count).Row).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last row found by the macro (.Rows(.Rows.Count).Row) to LastRow.

Item: .Rows(.Rows.Count)

The Range.Rows property returns a Range object representing the rows in the source range (Worksheet.UsedRange).

The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last row in the used range, the Range.Count property returns the number of rows in the source range (.Rows).

Therefore:

• .Rows returns a Range object representing all rows in Worksheet.UsedRange.
• .Rows.Count returns the number of rows in Worksheet.UsedRange.

.Rows.Count is used as an index number of the Range.Rows property (.Rows(.Rows.Count)). In other words, .Rows(.Rows.Count) refers to the row (within Worksheet.UsedRange) whose index number is equal to the number of rows in Worksheet.UsedRange (.Rows.Count). This is the last row in Worksheet.UsedRange.

Item: Row

The Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last row in the used range, the source range is that last row in the used range (.Rows(.Rows.Count)). Therefore, the Range.Row property returns the number of that last row.

Macro Example to Find the Last Row in the Used Range

The following macro example finds the last row in the used range of the active sheet (ActiveSheet.UsedRange).

Sub lastRowInWorksheetUsedRange()
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last row in the active sheet's used range
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'declare variable to hold value of last row
    Dim myLastRow As Long

    'attempt to reset the active sheet's used range
    ActiveSheet.UsedRange

    'find the last row in the active sheet's used range
    With ActiveSheet.UsedRange
        myLastRow = .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row
    End With

    'display the number of the last row found by the macro
    MsgBox myLastRow

End Sub

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Row in the Used Range

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro example. As expected, Excel returns the number (26) of the last row in the active sheet’s used range. Excel considers formatting (including conditional formatting) when keeping track of a worksheet’s used range.

#7: Find the Last Row by Searching

VBA Code to Find the Last Row by Searching

To find the last row by searching with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

If Application.CountA(Range) = 0 Then
    LastRow = 0
Else
    LastRow = Range.Find(What:="*", LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByRows, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).Row
End If

Process to Find the Last Row by Searching

To find the last row by searching with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify the cell range whose last row you want to find (Range).
2. Test if Range is empty (If Application.CountA(Range) = 0).
3. If Range is empty (Then), handle this situation by, for example, assigning the value of 0 to the variable that will hold the number of the last row (LastRow = 0).
4. If Range isn’t empty (Else), search for the last cell in Range containing any character sequence (Range.Find(What:=”*”, LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByRows, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious)).
5. Obtain the row number of that last cell containing any character sequence (Row).
6. Assign the number of the last row to the appropriate variable (LastRow = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Lines #1, #3 and #5: If Application.CountA(Range) = 0 Then | Else | End If

Item: If … Then | Else | End If

The If… Then… Else statement conditionally executes a group of statements (line #2 or line #4), depending on the value of an expression (Application.CountA(Range) = 0).

Item: Application.CountA(Range) = 0

Condition of the If… Then… Else statement, which evaluates to True or False as follows:

• True if all cells in Range are empty. For these purposes:
  • Range is a Range object representing the cell range whose last row you want to find. You can usually work with, among others, the Worksheet.Range or Worksheet.Cells properties to refer to this Range object.
  • The WorksheetFunction.CountA method (Application.CountA(Range)) counts the number of cells within Range that are not empty.
• False if at least 1 cell in Range isn’t empty.

In other words, this condition tests whether Range is empty (Application.CountA(Range) = 0) or not.

Line #2: LastRow = 0

Statement that is executed if the condition tested by the If… Then… Else statement (Application.CountA(Range) = 0) returns True.

LastRow is a variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last row found by the macro.

If Range is empty (Application.CountA(Range) = 0), use the assignment operator (=) to assign an appropriate value (LastRow = 0 assigns the value of 0) to LastRow. In other words, use this statement (or set of statements) to handle the cases where Range is empty.

Line #4: LastRow = Range.Find(What:=”*”, LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByRows, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).Row

Item: LastRow

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last row found by the macro (Range.Find(What:=”*”, LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByRows, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).Row).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last row found by the macro (Range.Find(What:=”*”, LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByRows, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).Row) to LastRow.

Item: Range

Range object representing the cell range whose last row you want to find.

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Range object:

• Worksheet.Range.
• Worksheet.Cells.

Item: Find(What:=”*”, LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByRows, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious)

The Range.Find method:

• Finds specific information in a cell range (Range); and
• Returns a Range object representing the first cell where the information is found.

When identifying the last row by searching, set the parameters of the Range.Find method as follows:

• What, which represents the data to search for, to “*” (What:=”*”). The asterisk (*) acts as a wildcard and results in Range.Find searching for any character sequence.
• LookIn, which specifies the type of data to search, to the xlFormulas built-in constant (or -4123) which refers to formulas (LookIn:=xlFormulas).
• LookAt, which specifies whether the match is made against the whole or any part of the search text, to the xlPart built-in constant (or 2) which matches against any part of the search text (LookAt:=xlPart).
• SearchOrder, which specifies the order in which to search the cell range, to the xlByRows built-in constant (or 1) which searches across a row and then moves to the next row (SearchOrder:=xlByRows).
• SearchDirection, which specifies the search direction, to the xlPrevious built-in constant (or 2) which searches for the previous match in the cell range (SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).

The settings for LookIn, LookAt, SearchOrder and MatchByte (used only if you have selected or installed double-byte language support) are saved every time you work with the Range.Find method. Therefore, if you don’t specify values for these parameters when searching for the last row, the saved values are used. Setting these parameters changes the settings in the Find dialog box and, vice-versa, changing the settings in the Find dialog box changes these parameters. Therefore, to reduce the risk of errors, set these arguments explicitly when searching for the last row.

Item: Row

The Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range.

When identifying the last row by searching, the source range is the Range object returned by the Range.Find method (Range.Find(What:=”*”, LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByRows, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious)). This Range object represents the last cell (furthest down) in the cell range you work with (Range). Therefore, the Range.Row property returns the number of that last row.

Macro Example to Find the Last Row by Searching

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last row in the cell range passed as argument (myRange) by searching. If myRange is empty (Application.CountA(myRange) = 0), the User-Defined Function returns the number 0 (lastRowRangeFind = 0).

Function lastRowRangeFind(myRange As Range) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last row in myRange by searching for the last cell with any character sequence. If myRange is empty, assigns the 0 as the number of the last row
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'test if myRange is empty
    If Application.CountA(myRange) = 0 Then

        'if myRange is empty, assign 0 to lastRowRangeFind
        lastRowRangeFind = 0

    Else
        'if myRange isn't empty, find the last cell with any character sequence (What:="*") by:
            '(1) Searching for the previous match (SearchDirection:=xlPrevious);
            '(2) Across rows (SearchOrder:=xlByRows)
        lastRowRangeFind = myRange.Find(What:="*", LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByRows, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).Row

    End If

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Row by Searching

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (25) of the last row in the cell range passed as argument (A5 to E26) by searching.

#8: Find the Last Row in the Current Region

VBA Code to Find the Last Row in the Current Region

To find the last row in the current region with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

With Cell.CurrentRegion
    LastRow = .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row
End With

Process to Find the Last Row in the Current Region

To find the last row in the current region with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify the current region whose last row you want to find (With Cell.CurrentRegion | End With).
2. Identify the last row in the current region (.Rows(.Rows.Count)).
3. Obtain the number of that last row in the current region (Row).
4. Assign the number of the last row to a variable (LastRow = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Lines #1 and #3: With Cell.CurrentRegion | End With

Item: With … | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (line #2) on a single object (Cell.CurrentRegion).

Item: Cell

Range object representing a cell in the current region whose last row you want to find.

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Range object:

• Worksheet.Range.
• Worksheet.Cells.

Item: CurrentRegion

The Range.CurrentRegion property returns a Range object representing the current region. The current region is a cell range bounded by a combination of:

• Blank rows; and
• Blank columns.

The Range.CurrentRegion property (basically) expands from Cell to include the entire current region.

Line #2: LastRow = .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row

Item: LastRow

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last row found by the macro (.Rows(.Rows.Count).Row).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last row found by the macro (.Rows(.Rows.Count).Row) to LastRow.

Item: .Rows(.Rows.Count)

The Range.Rows property returns a Range object representing the rows in the source range (Cell.CurrentRegion).

The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last row in the current region, the Range.Count property returns the number of rows in the source range (.Rows).

Therefore:

• .Rows returns a Range object representing all rows in Cell.CurrentRegion.
• .Rows.Count returns the number of rows in Cell.CurrentRegion.

.Rows.Count is used as an index number of the Range.Rows property (.Rows(.Rows.Count)). In other words, .Rows(.Rows.Count) refers to the row (within Cell.CurrentRegion) whose index number is equal to the number of rows in Cell.CurrentRegion (.Rows.Count). This is the last row in Cell.CurrentRegion.

Item: Row

The Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last row in the current region, the source range is that last row of that current region (.Rows(.Rows.Count)). Therefore, the Range.Row property returns the number of that last row.

Macro Example to Find the Last Row in the Current Region

The following macro example finds the last row in the current region (myCell.CurrentRegion) containing cell A6 in the active worksheet (ActiveSheet.Range(“A6”)).

Sub lastRowInCurrentRegion()
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last row in the current region containing cell A6 in the active worksheet
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'declare object variable to represent source range
    Dim myCell As Range

    'declare variable to hold value of last row
    Dim myLastRow As Long

    'identify source range
    Set myCell = ActiveSheet.Range("A6")

    'identify the current region containing myCell
    With myCell.CurrentRegion

        'find the last row in the current region containing myCell
        myLastRow = .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row

    End With

    'display the number of the last row found by the macro
    MsgBox myLastRow

End Sub

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Row in the Current Region

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro example. As expected, Excel returns the number (25) of the last row in the current region containing cell A6.

#9: Find the Last Row in an Excel Table

VBA Code to Find the Last Row in an Excel Table

To find the last row in an Excel Table with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

With ExcelTable.Range
    LastRow = .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row
End With

Process to Find the Last Row in an Excel Table

To find the last row in an Excel Table with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify the Excel Table whose last row you want to find (With ExcelTable.Range | End With).
2. Identify the last row in the Excel Table (.Rows(.Rows.Count)).
3. Obtain the number of that last row in the Excel Table (Row).
4. Assign the number of the last row to a variable (LastRow = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Lines #1 and #3: With ExcelTable.Range | End With

Item: With … | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (line #2) on a single object (ExcelTable.Range).

Item: ExcelTable

ListObject object representing the Excel Table whose last row you want to find.

You can usually work with the Worksheet.ListObjects property to refer to this ListObject object.

Item: Range

The ListObject.Range property returns a Range object representing the cell range to which ExcelTable applies.

Line #2: LastRow = .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row

Item: LastRow

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last row found by the macro (.Rows(.Rows.Count).Row).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last row found by the macro (.Rows(.Rows.Count).Row) to LastRow.

Item: .Rows(.Rows.Count)

The Range.Rows property returns a Range object representing the rows in the source range (ExcelTable.Range).

The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last row in an Excel Table, the Range.Count property returns the number of rows in the source range (.Rows).

Therefore:

• .Rows returns a Range object representing all rows in ExcelTable.Range.
• .Rows.Count returns the number of rows in ExcelTable.Range.

.Rows.Count is used as an index number of the Range.Rows property (.Rows(.Rows.Count)). In other words, .Rows(.Rows.Count) refers to the row (within ExcelTable.Range) whose index number is equal to the number of rows in ExcelTable.Range (.Rows.Count). This is the last row in ExcelTable.Range.

Item: Row

The Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last row in an Excel Table, the source range is that last row of the Excel Table (.Rows(.Rows.Count)). Therefore, the Range.Row property returns the number of that last row.

Macro Example to Find the Last Row in an Excel Table

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last row in an Excel Table (ListObjects(myTableIndex).Range):

• Located in the same worksheet as that where the User-Defined Function is used in a worksheet formula (Application.Caller.Parent); and
• Whose index number is passed as argument of the User-Defined Function (myTableIndex).

Function lastRowInTable(myTableIndex As Long) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last column in an Excel Table (in the same worksheet as that where the User-Defined Function is used and whose index number is myTableIndex)
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'identify the cell range containing the Excel Table located in the same worksheet as that where the User-Defined Function is used and whose index number is myTableIndex
    With Application.Caller.Parent.ListObjects(myTableIndex).Range

        'find the last row in the Excel Table
        lastRowInTable = .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row

    End With

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Row in an Excel Table

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (25) of the last row in the Excel Table whose index number (1) is passed as argument.

#10: Find the Last Row in a Named Cell Range

VBA Code to Find the Last Row in a Named Cell Range

To find the last row in a named cell range with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

With NamedRange
    LastRow = .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row
End With

Process to Find the Last Row in a Named Cell Range

To find the last row in a named cell range with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify the named cell range whose last row you want to find (With NamedRange | End With).
2. Identify the last row in the named cell range (.Rows(.Rows.Count)).
3. Obtain the number of that last row in the named cell range (Row).
4. Assign the number of the last row to a variable (LastRow = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Lines #1 and #3: With NamedRange | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (line #2) on a single object (NamedRange).

NamedRange is a Range object representing the named cell range whose last row you want to find. You can usually work with the Worksheet.Range property to refer to this Range object.

Line #2: LastRow = .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row

Item: LastRow

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last row found by the macro (.Rows(.Rows.Count).Row).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last row found by the macro (.Rows(.Rows.Count).Row) to LastRow.

Item: .Rows(.Rows.Count)

The Range.Rows property returns a Range object representing the rows in the source range (NamedRange).

The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last row in a named cell range, the Range.Count property returns the number of rows in the source range (.Rows).

Therefore:

• .Rows returns a Range object representing all rows in NamedRange.
• .Rows.Count returns the number of rows in NamedRange.

.Rows.Count is used as an index number of the Range.Rows property (.Rows(.Rows.Count)). In other words, .Rows(.Rows.Count) refers to the row (within NamedRange) whose index number is equal to the number of rows in NamedRange (.Rows.Count). This is the last row in NamedRange.

Item: Row

The Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last row in a named cell range, the source range is the last row of that named cell range (.Rows(.Rows.Count)). Therefore, the Range.Row property returns the number of that last row.

Macro Example to Find the Last Row in a Named Cell Range

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last row in a named cell range (Range(myRangeName)):

• Located in the same worksheet as that where the User-Defined Function is used in a worksheet formula (Application.Caller.Parent); and
• Whose name is passed as argument of the User-Defined Function (myRangeName).

Function lastRowInNamedRange(myRangeName As String) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last row in a named cell range (in the same worksheet as that where the User-Defined Function is used and whose name is myRangeName)
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'identify the named cell range whose name is myRangeName
    With Application.Caller.Parent.Range(myRangeName)

        'find the last row in myRangeName
        lastRowInNamedRange = .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row

    End With

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Row in a Named Cell Range

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (25) of the last row in the named cell range passed as argument (namedRangeRow).

#11: Find the Last Column in a Row Before an Empty Cell

VBA Code to Find the Last Column in a Row Before an Empty Cell

To find the last column in a row before an empty cell with VBA, use a statement with the following structure:

LastColumn = CellInRow.End(xlToRight).Column

Process to Find the Last Column in a Row Before an Empty Cell

To find the last column in a row before an empty cell with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify a cell in the row whose last row (before an empty cell) you want to find (CellInRow). This cell should be located to the left of the empty cell.
2. Move to the right of the row to the end of the region (End(xlToRight)). This takes you to the cell immediately before (to the left of) the empty cell.
3. Obtain the column number of that last cell immediately before the empty cell (Column).
4. Assign the number of the last column to a variable (LastColumn = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Item: LastColumn

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last column found by the macro (CellInRow.End(xlToRight).Column).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last column found by the macro (CellInRow.End(xlToRight).Column) to LastColumn.

Item: CellInRow

Range object representing a cell in the row whose last column (before an empty cell) you want to find. The cell represented by Range should be located to the left of the empty cell.

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Range object:

• Worksheet.Range.
• Worksheet.Cells.

Item: End(xlToRight)

The Range.End property returns a Range object representing the cell at the end of the region containing the source range (CellInRow).

When searching for the last column in a row (before an empty cell), set the Direction parameter of the Range.End property to xlToRight. xlToRight specifies the direction in which to move (right).

CellInRow.End(xlToRight) is the equivalent to pressing the “Ctrl+Right Arrow” keyboard shortcut when CellInRow is the active cell.

Item: Column

The Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last column in a row (before an empty cell), the source range is the cell immediately to the left of that empty cell (CellInRow.End(xlToRight)). Therefore, the Range.Column property returns the number of that column immediately before (to the left of) the applicable empty cell.

Macro Example to Find the Last Column in a Row Before an Empty Cell

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last column (before an empty cell) in the row containing the cell passed as argument (myCell).

Function lastColumnInRowBeforeBlank(myCell As Range) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last column (before an empty cell) in the row containing myCell
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'find the last column (before an empty cell) in the row containing myCell
    lastColumnInRowBeforeBlank = myCell.End(xlToRight).Column

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Column in a Row Before an Empty Cell

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (2) of the last column before an empty cell (C6) in the column containing the cell passed as argument (A6).

#12: Find the Last Column Among Several Rows Before Empty Cells

VBA Code to Find the Last Column Among Several Rows Before Empty Cells

To find the last column (furthest to the right, before empty cells) among several rows with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

OverallLastColumn = 0
With Range
    For Counter = .Row To .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row
        RowLastColumn = .Parent.Cells(Counter, .Column).End(xlToRight).Column
        If RowLastColumn > OverallLastColumn Then OverallLastColumn = RowLastColumn
    Next Counter
End With

Process to Find the Last Column Among Several Rows Before Empty Cells

To find the last column (furthest to the right, before empty cells) among several rows with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Initialize the variable that will hold the number of the overall (across all rows) last column by setting it to 0 (OverallLastColumn = 0).
2. Identify a cell range containing cells in the (several) rows you consider when searching for the last column before empty cells (With Range | End With). This cell range should begin to the left of the empty cells.
3. Loop through each row in Range (For Counter = .Row To .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row | Next Counter).
4. Identify a cell in the row you’re currently working with (.Parent.Cells(Counter, .Column)).
5. Move to the right of the row to the end of the region (End(xlToRight)). This takes you to the cell immediately before (to the left of) the empty cell in that row.
6. Obtain the column number of that last cell immediately before the empty cell (Column).
7. Assign the number of the last column in the row you’re working with to a variable (RowLastColumn = …).
8. Test if the number of the last column in the row you’re working with (RowLastColumn) is larger than the value currently held by the variable (OverallLastColumn) that holds the overall (across all rows) last column number (If RowLastColumn > OverallLastColumn).
9. If the number of the last column in the row you’re working with (RowLastColumn) is larger than the value currently held by the variable (OverallLastColumn) that holds the overall (across all rows) last column number, update the value held by the variable (Then OverallLastColumn = RowLastColumn).

VBA Statement Explanation

Line #1: OverallLastColumn = 0

OverallLastColumn is a variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last column (among several rows) found by the macro.

The assignment operator (=) initializes OverallLastColumn by assigning the value of 0.

Lines #2 and #7: With Range | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (lines #3 through #6) on a single object (Range).

Range is a Range object representing a cell range containing cells in the (several) rows you consider when searching for the last column (before empty cells). This cell range should begin to the left of those empty cells.

You can usually work with, among others, the Worksheet.Range property to refer to this Range object.

Lines #3 and #6: For Counter = .Row To .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row | Next Counter

Item: For Counter = … To … | Next Counter

The For… Next statement repeats a group of statements (lines #4 and #5) a specific number of times (.Row To .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row).

Counter is the loop counter. If you explicitly declare a variable to represent Counter, you can usually declare it as of the Long data type.

The following are the initial and final values of Counter:

• Initial value: The number of the first row in Range (.Row).
• Final value: The number of the last row in Range (.Rows(.Rows.Count).Row).

Therefore, the For… Next statement loops through all the rows in Range.

Item: .Row

The Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range (Range).

When searching for the last column among several rows (before empty cells), you use the Range.Row property twice, as follows:

1. .Row returns the number of the first row in Range.
2. .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row returns the number of the last row in Range.

Item: .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row

The Range.Rows property returns a Range object representing the rows in the source range (Range).

The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last column among several rows (before empty cells), the Range.Count property returns the number of rows in the source range (.Rows).

Therefore:

• .Rows returns a Range object representing all rows in Range.
• .Rows.Count returns the number of rows in Range.

.Rows.Count is used as an index number of the Range.Rows property (.Rows(.Rows.Count)). In other words, .Rows(.Rows.Count) refers to the row (within Range) whose index number is equal to the number of rows in Range (.Rows .Count). This is the last row in Range.

Line #4: RowLastColumn = .Parent.Cells(Counter, .Column).End(xlToRight).Column

Item: RowLastColumn

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last column in the current row (row number Counter) found by the macro (.Parent.Cells(Counter, .Column).End(xlToRight).Column).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last column found by the macro in the current row (.Parent.Cells(Counter, .Column).End(xlToRight).Column) to RowLastColumn.

Item: Parent

The Range.Parent property returns the parent object of the source range (Range).

When searching for the last column among several rows, the Range.Parent property returns a Worksheet object representing the worksheet that contains Range.

Item: Cells(Counter, .Column)

The Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing all the cells in the worksheet. If you specify the row and column index, the Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing the cell at the intersection of the specified row and column.

When searching for the last column among several rows (before empty cells):

• Counter is the row index and loop counter of the For… Next statement that iterates through all the rows in Range.
• .Column is the column index. The Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range (Range).

Therefore, the Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing the cell at the intersection of:

• The row through which the For… Next loop is currently iterating (Counter); and
• The first column of Range (.Column).

Item: End(xlToRight)

The Range.End property returns a Range object representing the cell at the end of the region containing the source range (Cells(Counter, .Column)).

When searching for the last column among several rows (before empty cells), set the Direction parameter of the Range.End property to xlToRight. xlToRight specifies the direction in which to move (right).

.Parent.Cells(Counter, .Column).End(xlToRight) is the equivalent to pressing the “Ctrl+Right Arrow” keyboard shortcut when .Parent.Cells(Counter, .Column) is the active cell.

Item: Column

The Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last column in a row (row number Counter, before an empty cell), the source range is the cell immediately to the left of that empty cell (.Parent.Cells(Counter, .Column).End(xlToRight)). Therefore, the Range.Column property returns the number of that column immediately before (to the left of) the applicable empty cell.

Line #5: If RowLastColumn > OverallLastColumn Then OverallLastColumn = RowLastColumn

Item: If … Then …

The If… Then… statement conditionally executes a group of statements (OverallLastColumn = RowLastColumn), depending on the value of an expression (RowLastColumn > OverallLastColumn).

Item: RowLastColumn > OverallLastColumn

Condition of the If… Then… statement, which evaluates to True or False as follows:

• True if RowLastColumn is larger than (>) OverallLastColumn.
• False otherwise.

Item: OverallLastColumn = RowLastColumn

Statement that is executed if the condition tested by the If… Then… statement (RowLastColumn > OverallLastColumn) returns True.

The assignment operator (=) assigns the value held by RowLastColumn to OverallLastColumn.

Macro Example to Find the Last Column Among Several Rows Before Empty Cells

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last column (before empty cells) among the rows containing the cell range passed as argument (myRange).

Function lastColumnInSeveralRowsBeforeBlank(myRange As Range) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last column (before empty cells) in the rows containing myRange
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'declare variables to represent loop counter and hold value of last column in current row
    Dim iCounter As Long
    Dim myRowLastColumn As Long

    'initialize variable that holds the number of the (overall) last column across several rows
    lastColumnInSeveralRowsBeforeBlank = 0

    With myRange

        'loop through each row in myRange
        For iCounter = .Row To .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row

            'find last column (before an empty cell) in the current row
            myRowLastColumn = .Parent.Cells(iCounter, .Column).End(xlToRight).Column

            'if the number of the last column in the current row is larger than the column number held by lastColumnInSeveralRowsBeforeBlank, update value held by lastColumnInSeveralRowsBeforeBlank
            If myRowLastColumn > lastColumnInSeveralRowsBeforeBlank Then lastColumnInSeveralRowsBeforeBlank = myRowLastColumn

        Next iCounter

    End With

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Column Among Several Rows Before Empty Cells

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (5) of the last column before empty cells (column F) among the columns containing the cell range passed as argument (A6 to A25).

#13: Find the Last Column in a Row

VBA Code to Find the Last Column in a Row

To find the last column in a row with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

With CellInRow.Parent
    LastColumn = .Cells(CellInRow.Row, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column
End With

Process to Find the Last Column in a Row

To find the last column in a row with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify a cell in the row whose last column you want to find (CellInRow) and the worksheet containing this cell (CellInRow.Parent).
2. Identify the last worksheet cell in the row containing CellInRow (.Cells(CellInRow.Row, .Columns.Count)).
3. Move towards the left of the row to the end of the region (End(xlToLeft)). This takes you to the last cell in the row.
4. Obtain the column number of that last cell in the row (Column).
5. Assign the number of the last column to a variable (LastColumn = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Lines #1 and #3: With CellInRow.Parent | End With

Item: With … | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (line #2) on a single object (CellInRow.Parent).

Item: CellInRow.

Range object representing a cell in the row whose last column you want to find.

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Range object:

• Worksheet.Range.
• Worksheet.Cells.

Item: Parent

The Range.Parent property returns the parent object of the source range (CellInRow).

When searching for the last column in a row, the Range.Parent property returns a Worksheet object representing the worksheet that contains CellInRow.

Line #2: LastColumn = .Cells(CellInRow.Row, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column

Item: LastColumn

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last column found by the macro (.Cells(CellInRow.Row, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last column found by the macro (.Cells(CellInRow.Row, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column) to LastColumn.

Item: .Cells(CellInRow.Row, .Columns.Count)

The Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing all the cells in the worksheet. If you specify the row and column index, the Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing the cell at the intersection of the specified row and column.

When searching for the last column in a row:

• CellInRow.Row is the row index and returns the number of the row containing CellInRow. For these purposes, the Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range (CellInRow).
• .Columns.Count is the column index and returns the number of the last column in the worksheet (CellInRow.Parent). For these purposes:
  • The Worksheet.Columns property returns a Range object representing all columns on the worksheet (CellInRow.Parent).
  • The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last column in a row, the Range.Count property returns the number of columns in the worksheet (CellInColumn.Parent).

Therefore, the Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing the cell at the intersection of:

• The row containing CellInRow (CellInRow.Row); and
• The last column of the worksheet (.Columns.Count).

Item: End(xlToLeft)

The Range.End property returns a Range object representing the cell at the end of the region containing the source range (.Cells(CellInRow.Row, .Columns.Count)).

When searching for the last column in a row, set the Direction parameter of the Range.End property to xlToLeft. xlToLeft specifies the direction in which to move (left).

.Cells(CellInRow.Row, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft) is the equivalent to pressing the “Ctrl+Left Arrow” keyboard shortcut when .Cells(CellInRow.Row, .Columns.Count) is the active cell.

Item: Column

The Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last column in a row, the source range is the last cell in the row (.Cells(CellInRow.Row, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft)). Therefore, the Range.Column property returns the number of that last column.

Macro Example to Find the Last Column in a Row

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last column in the row containing the cell passed as argument (myCell).

Function lastColumnInRow(myCell As Range) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last column in the row containing myCell
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'identify worksheet containing myCell
    With myCell.Parent

        'find the last column in the row containing myCell
        lastColumnInRow = .Cells(myCell.Row, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column

    End With

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Column in a Row

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (5) of the last column in the column containing the cell passed as argument (A7).

#14: Find the Last Column Among Several Rows

VBA Code to Find the Last Column Among Several Rows

To find the last column (furthest to the right) among several columns with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

OverallLastColumn = 0
With Range
    For Counter = .Row To .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row
        With .Parent
            RowLastColumn = .Cells(Counter, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column
            If RowLastColumn > OverallLastColumn Then OverallLastColumn = RowLastColumn
        End With
    Next Counter
End With

Process to Find the Last Column Among Several Rows

To find the last column (furthest to the right) among several columns with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Initialize the variable that will hold the number of the overall (across all rows) last column by setting it to 0 (OverallLastColumn = 0).
2. Identify a cell range containing cells in the (several) rows you consider when searching for the last column (With Range | End With).
3. Loop through each row in Range (For Counter = .Row To .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row | Next Counter).
4. Identify the worksheet containing Range (With .Parent | End With).
5. Identify the last worksheet cell in the row you’re currently working with (.Cells(Counter, .Columns.Count)).
6. Move towards the left of the row to the end of the region (End(xlToLeft)). This takes you to the last cell in the row.
7. Obtain the column number of that last cell in the row (Column).
8. Assign the number of the last column in the row you’re working with to a variable (RowLastColumn = …).
9. Test if the number of the last column in the row you’re working with (RowLastColumn) is larger than the value currently held by the variable (OverallLastColumn) that holds the overall (across all rows) last column number (If RowLastColumn > OverallLastColumn).
10. If the number of the last column in the row you’re working with (RowLastColumn) is larger than the value currently held by the variable (OverallLastColumn) that holds the overall (across all rows) last column number, update the value held by the variable (Then OverallLastColumn = RowLastColumn).

VBA Statement Explanation

Line #1: OverallLastColumn = 0

OverallLastColumn is a variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last column among several rows found by the macro.

The assignment operator (=) initializes OverallLastColumn by assigning the value of 0.

Lines #2 and #9: With Range | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (lines #3 through #8) on a single object (Range).

Range is a Range object representing a cell range containing cells in the (several) rows you consider when searching for the last column.

You can usually work with, among others, the Worksheet.Range property to refer to this Range object.

Lines #3 and #8: For Counter = .Row To .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row | Next Counter

Item: For Counter = … To … | Next Counter

The For… Next statement repeats a group of statements (lines #4 to #7) a specific number of times (.Row To .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row).

Counter is the loop counter. If you explicitly declare a variable to represent Counter, you can usually declare it as of the Long data type.

The following are the initial and final values of Counter:

• Initial value: The number of the first row in Range (.Row).
• Final value: The number of the last row in Range (.Rows(.Rows.Count).Row).

Therefore, the For… Next statement loops through all the rows in Range.

Item: .Row

The Range.Row property returns the number of the first row of the first area in the source range (Range).

When searching for the last column among several rows, you use the Range.Row property twice, as follows:

1. .Row returns the number of the first row in Range.
2. .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row returns the number of the last row in Range.

Item: .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row

The Range.Rows property returns a Range object representing the rows in the source range (Range).

The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last column among several rows, the Range.Count property returns the number of rows in the source range (.Rows).

Therefore:

• .Rows returns a Range object representing all rows in Range.
• .Rows.Count returns the number of rows in Range.

.Rows.Count is used as an index number of the Range.Rows property (.Rows(.Rows.Count)). In other words, .Rows(.Rows.Count) refers to the row (within Range) whose index number is equal to the number of rows in Range (.Rows.Count). This is the last row in Range.

Lines #4 and #7: With .Parent | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (lines #5 and #6) on a single object (.Parent).

The Range.Parent property returns the parent object of the source range (Range). When searching for the last column among several rows, the Range.Parent property returns a Worksheet object representing the worksheet that contains Range.

Line #5: RowLastColumn = .Cells(Counter, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column

Item: RowLastColumn

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last column in the current row (row number Counter) found by the macro (.Cells(Counter, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last column found by the macro in the current row (.Cells(Counter, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column) to RowLastColumn.

Item: .Cells(Counter, .Columns.Count)

The Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing all the cells in the worksheet. If you specify the row and column index, the Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing the cell at the intersection of the specified row and column.

When searching for the last column among several rows:

• Counter is the row index and loop counter of the For… Next statement that iterates through all the rows in Range.
• .Columns.Count is the column index and returns the number of the last column in the worksheet (Range.Parent). For these purposes:
  • The Worksheet.Columns property returns a Range object representing all column on the worksheet (Range.Parent).
  • The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last column among several rows, the Range.Count property returns the number of columns in the worksheet (Range.Parent).

Therefore, the Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing the cell at the intersection of:

• The row through which the For… Next loop is currently iterating (Counter); and
• The last column of the worksheet (.Columns.Count).

Item: End(xlToLeft)

The Range.End property returns a Range object representing the cell at the end of the region containing the source range (.Cells(Counter, .Columns.Count)).

When searching for the last column among several rows, set the Direction parameter of the Range.End property to xlToLeft. xlToLeft specifies the direction in which to move (left).

.Cells(Counter, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft) is the equivalent to pressing the “Ctrl+Left Arrow” keyboard shortcut when .Cells(Counter, .Columns.Count) is the active cell.

Item: Column

The Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last column in a row (row number Counter), the source range is the last cell in the row (.Cells(Counter, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft)). Therefore, the Range.Column property returns the number of that last column.

Line #6: If RowLastColumn > OverallLastColumn Then OverallLastColumn = RowLastColumn

Item: If … Then …

The If… Then… statement conditionally executes a group of statements (OverallLastColumn = RowLastColumn), depending on the value of an expression (RowLastColumn > OverallLastColumn).

Item: RowLastColumn > OverallLastColumn

Condition of the If… Then… statement, which evaluates to True or False as follows:

• True if RowLastColumn is larger than (>) OverallLastColumn.
• False otherwise.

Item: OverallLastColumn = RowLastColumn

Statement that is executed if the condition tested by the If… Then… statement (RowLastColumn > OverallLastColumn) returns True.

The assignment operator (=) assigns the value held by RowLastColumn to OverallLastColumn .

Macro Example to Find the Last Column Among Several Rows

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last column among the rows containing the cell range passed as argument (myRange).

Function lastColumnInSeveralRows(myRange As Range) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last column in the rows containing myRange
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'declare variables to represent loop counter and hold value of last column in current row
    Dim iCounter As Long
    Dim myRowLastColumn As Long

    'initialize variable that holds the number of the (overall) last column across several rows
    lastColumnInSeveralRows = 0

    With myRange

        'loop through each row in myRange
        For iCounter = .Row To .Rows(.Rows.Count).Row

            'work with the worksheet containing myRange
            With .Parent

                'find last column in the current row
                myRowLastColumn = .Cells(iCounter, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column

                'if the number of the last column in the current row is larger than the column number held by lastColumnInSeveralRows, update value held by lastColumnInSeveralRows
                If myRowLastColumn > lastColumnInSeveralRows Then lastColumnInSeveralRows = myRowLastColumn

            End With

        Next iCounter

    End With

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Column Among Several Rows

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (5) of the last column among the rows containing the cell range passed as argument (A7 to A25).

#15: Find the Last Column by Going to the Last Cell in the Used Range

VBA Code to Find the Last Column by Going to the Last Cell in the Used Range

To find the last column by going to the last cell in the used range with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

Worksheet.UsedRange
LastColumn = Worksheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Column

Process to Find the Last Column by Going to the Last Cell in the Used Range

To find the last column by going to the last cell in the used range with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify the worksheet whose last column you want to find (Worksheet).
2. Attempt to reset the used range of Worksheet (Worksheet.UsedRange).
3. Identify the last cell in the used range of Worksheet (Worksheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell)).
4. Obtain the column number of that last cell in the used range (Column).
5. Assign the number of the last column to a variable (LastColumn = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Line #1: Worksheet.UsedRange

Item: Worksheet

Worksheet object representing the worksheet whose last column (in the used range) you want to find.

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Worksheet object:

• Application.ActiveSheet.
• Workbook.Worksheets.

Item: UsedRange

The Worksheet.UsedRange property returns a Range object representing the used range of Worksheet.

From a broad perspective, you can think of the used range as the cell range encompassing all “used” cells within a worksheet.

Working with the Worksheet.UsedRange property can be tricky. One of the main challenges associated with relying on this property is that Excel retains cells that aren’t longer in use (but have been) and considers them when calculating the used range.

Therefore, prior to using VBA code that relies on Excel’s calculation of the used range, you may want to (try to) reset it. The following 2 alternative statements are commonly used for these purposes:

'alternative #1 (used in this Tutorial)
Worksheet.UsedRange

'alternative #2 (relies on the Range.Count property)
columnsCount = Worksheet.UsedRange.Columns.Count

There are cases in which these used-range-resetting statements fail.

Line #2: LastColumn = Worksheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Column

Item: LastColumn

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last column found by the macro (Worksheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Column).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last column found by the macro (Worksheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Column) to LastColumn.

Item: Worksheet

Worksheet object representing the worksheet whose last column (in the used range) you want to find. This worksheet should be the same whose used range you attempt to reset (line #1).

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Worksheet object:

• Application.ActiveSheet.
• Workbook.Worksheets.

Item: Cells

The Worksheet.Cells property returns a Range object representing all the cells in Worksheet.

Item: SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell)

The Range.SpecialCells method returns a Range object representing the cells that match a specific type and value.

When Searching for the last column by going to the last cell in the used range, set the Type parameter of the Range.SpecialCells method to the xlCellTypeLastCell built-in constant (or 11). This results in Range.SpecialCells returning a Range object that represents the last cell in the used range.

Item: Column

The Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last column by going to the last cell in the used range, the source range is that last cell of the used range (Worksheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell)). Therefore, the Range.Column property returns the number of that last column.

Macro Example to Find the Last Column by Going to the Last Cell in the Used Range

The following macro example finds the last column in the active sheet (ActiveSheet) by going to the last cell in the used range (Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell)).

Sub lastColumnInWorksheetXlCellTypeLastCell()
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last column in the active sheet's used range
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'declare variable to hold value of last column
    Dim myLastColumn As Long

    'attempt to reset the active sheet's used range
    ActiveSheet.UsedRange

    'find the last column in the active sheet by, previously, identifying the last cell in the used range
    myLastColumn = ActiveSheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Column

    'display the number of the last column found by the macro
    MsgBox myLastColumn

End Sub

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Column by Going to the Last Cell in the Used Range

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro example. As expected, Excel returns the number (6) of the last column in the active sheet’s used range. Excel considers formatting (including conditional formatting) when keeping track of a worksheet’s used range.

#16: Find the Last Column in the Used Range

VBA Code to Find the Last Column in the Used Range

To find the last column in the used range with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

Worksheet.UsedRange
With Worksheet.UsedRange
    LastColumn = .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column
End With

Process to Find the Last Column in the Used Range

To find the last column in the used range with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify the worksheet whose last column you want to find (Worksheet).
2. Attempt to reset the used range of Worksheet (Worksheet.UsedRange).
3. Work with the used range of Worksheet (With Worksheet.UsedRange | End With).
4. Identify the last column in the used range of Worksheet (.Columns(.Columns.Count)).
5. Obtain the number of that last column in the used range (Column).
6. Assign the number of the last column to a variable (Column = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Line #1: Worksheet.UsedRange

Item: Worksheet

Worksheet object representing the worksheet whose last column (in the used range) you want to find.

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Worksheet object:

• Application.ActiveSheet.
• Workbook.Worksheets.

Item: UsedRange

The Worksheet.UsedRange property returns a Range object representing the used range of Worksheet.

From a broad perspective, you can think of the used range as the cell range encompassing all “used” cells within a worksheet.

Working with the Worksheet.UsedRange property can be tricky. One of the main challenges associated with relying on this property is that Excel retains cells that aren’t longer in use (but have been) and considers them when calculating the used range.

Therefore, prior to using VBA code that relies on Excel’s calculation of the used range, you may want to (try to) reset it. The following 2 alternative statements are commonly used for these purposes:

'alternative #1 (used in this Tutorial)
Worksheet.UsedRange

'alternative #2 (relies on the Range.Count property)
columnsCount = Worksheet.UsedRange.Columns.Count

There are cases in which these used-range-resetting statements fail.

Lines #2 and #4: With Worksheet.UsedRange | End With

Item: With … | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (line #3) on a single object (Worksheet.UsedRange).

Item: Worksheet

Worksheet object representing the worksheet whose last column (in the used range) you want to find. This worksheet should be the same whose used range you attempt to reset (line #1).

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Worksheet object:

• Application.ActiveSheet.
• Workbook.Worksheets.

Item: UsedRange

The Worksheet.UsedRange property returns a Range object representing the used range of Worksheet. From a broad perspective, you can think of the used range as the cell range encompassing all “used” cells within a worksheet.

Line #3: LastColumn = .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column

Item: LastColumn

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last column found by the macro (.Columns(.Columns.Count).Column).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last column found by the macro (.Columns(.Columns.Count).Column) to LastColumn.

Item: .Columns(.Columns.Count)

The Range.Columns property returns a Range object representing the columns in the source range (Worksheet.UsedRange).

The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last column in the used range, the Range.Count property returns the number of columns in the source range (.Columns).

Therefore:

• .Columns returns a Range object representing all columns in Worksheet.UsedRange.
• .Columns.Count returns the number of columns in Worksheet.UsedRange.

.Columns.Count is used as an index number of the Range.Columns property (.Columns(.Columns.Count)). In other words, .Columns(.Columns.Count) refers to the column (within Worksheet.UsedRange) whose index number is equal to the number of columns in Worksheet.UsedRange (.Columns.Count). This is the last column in Worksheet.UsedRange.

Item: Column

The Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last column in the used range, the source range is that last column in the used range (.Columns(.Columns.Count)). Therefore, the Range.Column property returns the number of that last column.

Macro Example to Find the Last Column in the Used Range

The following macro example finds the last column in the used range of the active sheet (ActiveSheet.UsedRange).

Sub lastColumnInWorksheetUsedRange()
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last column in the active sheet's used range
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'declare variable to hold value of last column
    Dim myLastColumn As Long

    'attempt to reset the active sheet's used range
    ActiveSheet.UsedRange

    'find the last column in the active sheet's used range
    With ActiveSheet.UsedRange
        myLastColumn = .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column
    End With

    'display the number of the last column found by the macro
    MsgBox myLastColumn

End Sub

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Column in the Used Range

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro example. As expected, Excel returns the number (6) of the last row in the active sheet’s used range. Excel considers formatting (including conditional formatting) when keeping track of a worksheet’s used range.

#17: Find the Last Column by Searching

VBA Code to Find the Last Column by Searching

To find the last column by searching with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

If Application.CountA(Range) = 0 Then
    LastColumn = 0
Else
    LastColumn = Range.Find(What:="*", LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByColumns, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).Column
End If

Process to Find the Last Column by Searching

To find the last column by searching with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify the cell range whose last column you want to find (Range).
2. Test if Range is empty (If Application.CountA(Range) = 0).
3. If Range is empty (Then), handle this situation by, for example, assigning the value of 0 to the variable that will hold the number of the last column (LastColumn = 0).
4. If Range isn’t empty (Else), search for the last cell in Range containing any character sequence (Range.Find(What:=”*”, LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByColumns, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious)).
5. Obtain the column number of that last cell containing any character sequence (Column).
6. Assign the number of the last column to the appropriate variable (LastColumn = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Lines #1, #3 and #5: If Application.CountA(Range) = 0 Then | Else | End If

Item: If … Then | Else | End If

The If… Then… Else statement conditionally executes a group of statements (line #2 or line #4), depending on the value of an expression (Application.CountA(Range) = 0).

Item: Application.CountA(Range) = 0

Condition of the If… Then… Else statement, which evaluates to True or False as follows:

• True if all cells in Range are empty. For these purposes:
  • Range is a Range object representing the cell range whose last column you want to find. You can usually work with, among others, the Worksheet.Range or Worksheet.Cells properties to refer to this Range object.
  • The WorksheetFunction.CountA method (Application.CountA(Range)) counts the number of cells within Range that are not empty.
• False if at least 1 cell in Range isn’t empty.

In other words, this condition tests whether Range is empty (Application.CountA(Range) = 0) or not.

Line #2: LastColumn = 0

Statement that is executed if the condition tested by the If… Then… Else statement (Application.CountA(Range) = 0) returns True.

LastColumn is a variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last column found by the macro.

If Range is empty (Application.CountA(Range) = 0), use the assignment operator (=) to assign an appropriate value (LastColumn = 0 assigns the value of 0) to LastColumn. In other words, use this statement (or set of statements) to handle the cases where Range is empty.

Line #4: LastColumn = Range.Find(What:=”*”, LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByColumns, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).Column

Item: LastColumn

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last column found by the macro (Range.Find(What:=”*”, LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByColumns, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).Column).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last column found by the macro (Range.Find(What:=”*”, LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByColumns, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).Column) to LastColumn.

Item: Range

Range object representing the cell range whose last column you want to find.

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Range object:

• Worksheet.Range.
• Worksheet.Cells.

Item: Find(What:=”*”, LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByColumns, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious)

The Range.Find method:

• Finds specific information in a cell range (Range); and
• Returns a Range object representing the first cell where the information is found.

When identifying the last column by searching, set the parameters of the Range.Find method as follows:

• What, which represents the data to search for, to “*” (What:=”*”). The asterisk (*) acts as a wildcard and results in Range.Find searching for any character sequence.
• LookIn, which specifies the type of data to search, to the xlFormulas built-in constant (or -4123) which refers to formulas (LookIn:=xlFormulas).
• LookAt, which specifies whether the match is made against the whole or any part of the search text, to the xlPart built-in constant (or 2) which matches against any part of the search text (LookAt:=xlPart).
• SearchOrder, which specifies the order in which to search the cell range, to the xlByColumns built-in constant (or 2) which searches across a column and then moves to the next column (SearchOrder:=xlByColumns).
• SearchDirection, which specifies the search direction, to the xlPrevious built-in constant (or 2) which searches for the previous match in the cell range (SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).

The settings for LookIn, LookAt, SearchOrder and MatchByte (used only if you have selected or installed double-byte language support) are saved every time you work with the Range.Find method. Therefore, if you don’t specify values for these parameters when searching for the last column, the saved values are used. Setting these parameters changes the settings in the Find dialog box and, vice-versa, changing the settings in the Find dialog box changes these parameters. Therefore, to reduce the risk of errors, set these arguments explicitly when searching for the last column.

Item: Column

The Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range.

When identifying the last column by searching, the source range is the Range object returned by the Range.Find method (Range.Find(What:=”*”, LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByColumns, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious)). This Range object represents the last cell (furthest to the right) in the cell range you work with (Range). Therefore, the Range.Column property returns the number of that last column.

Macro Example to Find the Last Column by Searching

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last column in the cell range passed as argument (myRange) by searching. If myRange is empty (Application.CountA(myRange) = 0), the User-Defined Function returns the number 0 (lastColumnRangeFind = 0).

Function lastColumnRangeFind(myRange As Range) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last column in myRange by searching for the last cell with any character sequence. If myRange is empty, assigns the 0 as the number of the last row
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'test if myRange is empty
    If Application.CountA(myRange) = 0 Then

        'if myRange is empty, assign 0 to lastColumnRangeFind
        lastColumnRangeFind = 0

    Else

        'if myRange isn't empty, find the last cell with any character sequence (What:="*") by:
            '(1) Searching for the previous match (SearchDirection:=xlPrevious);
            '(2) Across columns (SearchOrder:=xlByColumns)
        lastColumnRangeFind = myRange.Find(What:="*", LookIn:=xlFormulas, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByColumns, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).Column

    End If

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Column by Searching

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (5) of the last column in the cell range passed as argument (A5 to F25) by searching.

#18: Find the Last Column in the Current Region

VBA Code to Find the Last Column in the Current Region

To find the last column in the current region with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

With Cell.CurrentRegion
    LastColumn = .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column
End With

Process to Find the Last Column in the Current Region

To find the last column in the current region with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify the current region whose last column you want to find (With Cell.CurrentRegion | End With).
2. Identify the last column in the current region (.Columns(.Columns.Count)).
3. Obtain the number of that last column in the current region (Column).
4. Assign the number of the last column to a variable (LastColumn = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Lines #1 and #3: With Cell.CurrentRegion | End With

Item: With … | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (line #2) on a single object (Cell.CurrentRegion).

Item: Cell

Range object representing a cell in the current region whose last column you want to find.

You can usually work with, among others, the following properties to refer to this Range object:

• Worksheet.Range.
• Worksheet.Cells.

Item: CurrentRegion

The Range.CurrentRegion property returns a Range object representing the current region. The current region is a cell range bounded by a combination of:

• Blank rows; and
• Blank columns.

The Range.CurrentRegion property (basically) expands from Cell to include the entire current region.

Line #2: LastColumn = .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column

Item: LastColumn

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last column found by the macro (.Columns(.Columns.Count).Column).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last column found by the macro (.Columns(.Columns.Count).Column) to LastColumn.

Item: .Columns(.Columns.Count)

The Range.Columns property returns a Range object representing the columns in the source range (Cell.CurrentRegion).

The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last column in the current region, the Range.Count property returns the number of columns in the source range (.Columns).

Therefore:

• .Columns returns a Range object representing all columns in Cell.CurrentRegion.
• .Columns.Count returns the number of columns in Cell.CurrentRegion.

.Columns.Count is used as an index number of the Range.Columns property (.Columns(.Columns.Count)). In other words, .Columns(.Columns.Count) refers to the column (within Cell.CurrentRegion) whose index number is equal to the number of columns in Cell.CurrentRegion (.Columns.Count). This is the last column in Cell.CurrentRegion.

Item: Column

The Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last column in the current region, the source range is that last column of that current region (.Columns(.Columns.Count)). Therefore, the Range.Column property returns the number of that last column.

Macro Example to Find the Last Column in the Current Region

The following macro example finds the last column in the current region (myCell.CurrentRegion) containing cell A6 in the active worksheet (ActiveSheet.Range(“A6”)).

Sub lastColumnInCurrentRegion()
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last column in the current region containing cell A6 in the active worksheet
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'declare object variable to represent source range
    Dim myCell As Range

    'declare variable to hold value of last column
    Dim myLastColumn As Long

    'identify source range
    Set myCell = ActiveSheet.Range("A6")

    'identify the current region containing myCell
    With myCell.CurrentRegion

        'find the last column in the current region containing myCell
        myLastColumn = .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column

    End With

    'display the number of the last column found by the macro
    MsgBox myLastColumn

End Sub

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Column in the Current Region

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro example. As expected, Excel returns the number (5) of the last column in the current region containing cell A6.

#19: Find the Last Column in an Excel Table

VBA Code to Find the Last Column in an Excel Table

To find the last column in an Excel Table with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

With ExcelTable.Range
    LastColumn = .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column
End With

Process to Find the Last Column in an Excel Table

To find the last column in an Excel Table with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify the Excel Table whose last column you want to find (With ExcelTable.Range | End With).
2. Identify the last column in the Excel Table (.Columns(.Columns.Count)).
3. Obtain the number of that last column in the Excel Table (Column).
4. Assign the number of the last column to a variable (LastColumn = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Lines #1 and #3: With ExcelTable.Range | End With

Item: With … | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (line #2) on a single object (ExcelTable.Range).

Item: ExcelTable

ListObject object representing the Excel Table whose last column you want to find.

You can usually work with the Worksheet.ListObjects property to refer to this ListObject object.

Item: Range

The ListObject.Range property returns a Range object representing the cell range to which ExcelTable applies.

Line #2: LastColumn = .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column

Item: LastColumn

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last column found by the macro (.Columns(.Columns.Count).Column).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last column found by the macro (.Columns(.Columns.Count).Column) to LastColumn.

Item: .Columns(.Columns.Count)

The Range.Columns property returns a Range object representing the columns in the source range (ExcelTable.Range).

The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last column in an Excel Table, the Range.Count property returns the number of columns in the source range (.Columns).

Therefore:

• .Columns returns a Range object representing all columns in ExcelTable.Range.
• .Columns.Count returns the number of columns in ExcelTable.Range.

.Columns.Count is used as an index number of the Range.Columns property (.Columns(.Columns.Count)). In other words, .Columns(.Columns.Count) refers to the column (within ExcelTable.Range) whose index number is equal to the number of columns in ExcelTable.Range (.Columns.Count). This is the last column in ExcelTable.Range.

Item: Column

The Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last column in an Excel Table, the source range is that last column of the Excel Table (.Columns(.Columns.Count)). Therefore, the Range.Column property returns the number of that last column.

Macro Example to Find the Last Column in an Excel Table

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last column in an Excel Table (ListObjects(myTableIndex).Range):

• Located in the same worksheet as that where the User-Defined Function is used in a worksheet formula (Application.Caller.Parent); and
• Whose index number is passed as argument of the User-Defined Function (myTableIndex).

Function lastColumnInTable(myTableIndex As Long) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last column in an Excel Table (in the same worksheet as that where the User-Defined Function is used and whose index number is myTableIndex)
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'identify the cell range containing the Excel Table located in the same worksheet as that where the User-Defined Function is used and whose index number is myTableIndex
    With Application.Caller.Parent.ListObjects(myTableIndex).Range

        'find the last column in the Excel Table
        lastColumnInTable = .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column

    End With

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Column in an Excel Table

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (5) of the last column in the Excel Table whose index number (1) is passed as argument.

#20: Find the Last Column in a Named Cell Range

VBA Code to Find the Last Column in a Named Cell Range

To find the last column in a named cell range with VBA, use a macro with the following statement structure:

With NamedRange
    LastColumn = .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column
End With

Process to Find the Last Column in a Named Cell Range

To find the last column in a named cell range with VBA, follow these steps:

1. Identify the named cell range whose last column you want to find (With NamedRange | End With).
2. Identify the last column in the named cell range (.Columns(.Columns.Count)).
3. Obtain the number of that last column in the named cell range (Column).
4. Assign the number of the last column to a variable (LastColumn = …).

VBA Statement Explanation

Lines #1 and #3: With NamedRange | End With

The With… End With statement executes a series of statements (line #2) on a single object (NamedRange).

NamedRange is a Range object representing the named cell range whose last column you want to find. You can usually work with the Worksheet.Range property to refer to this Range object.

Line #2: LastColumn = .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column

Item: LastColumn

Variable of the Long data type to which you assign the number of the last column found by the macro (.Columns(.Columns.Count).Column).

Item: =

The assignment operator (=) assigns the number of the last column found by the macro (.Columns(.Columns.Count).Column) to LastColumn.

Item: .Columns(.Columns.Count)

The Range.Columns property returns a Range object representing the columns in the source range (NamedRange).

The Range.Count property returns the number of objects in a collection. When searching for the last column in a named cell range, the Range.Count property returns the number of columns in the source range (.Columns).

Therefore:

• .Columns returns a Range object representing all columns in NamedRange.
• .Columns.Count returns the number of columns in NamedRange.

.Columns.Count is used as an index number of the Range.Columns property (.Columns(.Columns.Count)). In other words, .Columns(.Columns.Count) refers to the column (within NamedRange) whose index number is equal to the number of columns in NamedRange (.Columns.Count). This is the last column in NamedRange.

Item: Column

The Range.Column property returns the number of the first column of the first area in the source range.

When searching for the last column in a named cell range, the source range is the last column of that named cell range (.Columns(.Columns.Count)). Therefore, the Range.Column property returns the number of that last column.

Macro Example to Find the Last Column in a Named Cell Range

The following macro (User-Defined Function) example finds the last column in a named cell range (Range(myRangeName)):

• Located in the same worksheet as that where the User-Defined Function is used in a worksheet formula (Application.Caller.Parent); and
• Whose name is passed as argument of the User-Defined Function (myRangeName).

Function lastColumnInNamedRange(myRangeName As String) As Long
    'Source: https://powerspreadsheets.com/
    'finds the last column in a named cell range (in the same worksheet as that where the User-Defined Function is used and whose name is myRangeName)
    'For further information: https://powerspreadsheets.com/vba-last-row-column/

    'identify the named cell range whose name is myRangeName
    With Application.Caller.Parent.Range(myRangeName)

        'find the last column in myRangeName
        lastColumnInNamedRange = .Columns(.Columns.Count).Column

    End With

End Function

Effects of Executing Macro Example to Find the Last Column in a Named Cell Range

The following image illustrates the effects of using the macro (User-Defined Function) example. As expected, Excel returns the number (5) of the last column in the named cell range passed as argument (namedRangeColumn).

Workbook Example Used in this VBA Last Row and Last Column Tutorial

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