Vba excel active cell

‘Active Cell’ is an important concept in Excel.

While you don’t have to care about the active cell when you’re working on the worksheet, it’s an important thing to know when working with VBA in Excel.

Proper use of the active cell in Excel VBA can help you write better code.

In this tutorial, I first explained what is an active cell, and then show you some examples of how to use an active cell in VBA in Excel.

What is an Active Cell in Excel?

An active cell, as the name suggests, is the currently active cell that will be used when you enter any text or formula in Excel.

For example, if I select cell B5, then B5 becomes my active cell in the worksheet. Now if I type anything from my keyboard, it would be entered in this cell, because this is the active cell.

While this may sound obvious, here is something not that obvious – when you select a range of cells, even then you would only have one active cell.

For example, if I select A1:B10, although I have 20 selected cells, I still have only one single active cell.

So now, if I start typing any text or formula, it would only be entered in the active cell.

You can identify the active cell by looking at the difference in color between the active cell in all the other cells in the selection. You would notice that the active cell is of a lighter shade than the other selected cells.

Another quick way to know which cell is the active cell is by looking at the Name box (the field that is next to the formula bar). The cell reference of the active cell would be shown in the Name Box.

Using Active Cell in VBA in Excel

Now that I’ve explained what is an active cell in a worksheet in excel, let’s learn how an Active cell can be used in Excel VBA.

Active Cell Properties and Methods

In VBA, you can use an active cell in two ways:

1. To get the information about it (these are called Properties)
2. To perform some action on it (these are called Methods)

Here is how you can access all the properties and methods of an active cell in VBA:

1. Open a Module in Excel VBA editor
2. Type the phrase ‘ActiveCell’
3. Enter a dot (.) after the word ActiveCell

As soon as you do this, you would notice that a set of properties and methods appear as a drop-down (this is called an IntelliSense in Excel VBA).

In the drop-down that appears, you would see two types of options – the one that has a green icon and the one that has a gray icon (with a hand).

The one with the grey icons is the Properties, and the one with the green icons is the Methods.

Some examples of Methods would include Activate, AddComment, Cut, Delete, Clear, etc. As you can notice, these are actions that can be performed on the active cell.

Some examples of Properties would include Address, Font, HasFormula, Interior.Color. All these are properties of the active cell that gives you information about that active cell.

For example, you can use this to get the cell address of the active cell or change the interior cell color of the cell.

Now let’s have a few simple VBA code examples that you can use in your day-to-day work when working with active cell in excel

Making a Cell the Active Cell

To make any cell the active cell, you first have to make sure that it is selected.

If you only have one single cell selected, it by default becomes the active cell.

Below is the VBA code to make cell B5 the active cell:

Sub Change_ActiveCell()
Range("B5").Activate
End Sub

In the above VBA code, I have first specified the cell address of the cell that I want to activate (which is B5), and then I use the activate method to make it the active cell.

When you only want to make one single cell the active cell, you can also use the select method (code below):

Sub Change_ActiveCell()
Range("B5").Select
End Sub

As I mentioned earlier, you can only have one active cell even if you have a range of cell selected.

With VBA, you can first select a range of cells, and then make any one of those cells the active cell.

Below the VBA code that would first select range A1:B10, and then make cell A5 the active cell:

Sub Select_ActiveCell()
Range("A1:B10").Select
Range("A5").Activate
End Sub

Clear the Active Cell

Below is the VBA code that would first make cell A5 the active cell, and then clear its content (cell content as well any formatting applied to the cell).

Sub Clear_ActiveCell()
Range("A5").Activate
ActiveCell.Clear
End Sub

Note that I have shown you the above code just to show you how the clear method work with active cell. In VBA, you don’t need to always select or activate the cell to perform any method on it.

For example, you can also clear the content of cell A5 using the below code:

Sub Clear_CellB5()
Range("A5").Clear
End Sub

Get the Value from the Active Cell

Below the VBA code that could show you a message box displaying the value in the active cell:

Sub Show_ActiveCell_Value()
MsgBox ActiveCell.Value
End Sub

Similarly, you can also use a simple VBA code to show the cell address of the active cell (code below):

Sub Show_ActiveCell_Address()
MsgBox ActiveCell.Address
End Sub

The above code would show the address in absolute reference (such as $A$5).

Formating the Active Cell (Color, Border)

Below the VBA code that would make the active cell blue in color and change the font color to white.

Sub Format_ActiveCell()

'Makes the active cell blue in color
ActiveCell.Interior.Color = vbBlue

'Changes the cell font color to white
ActiveCell.Font.Color = vbWhite

End Sub

Note that I have used the inbuilt color constant (vbBlue and vbWhite). You can also use the RGB constant. For example, instead of vbRed, you can use RGB(255, 0, 0)

Offsetting From the Active Cell

VBA in Excel allows you to refer to cells relative to the position of the active cell (this is called offsetting).

For example, if my active cell is cell A1, I can use the offset property on the active cell and refer to the cell below it by specifying the position of that row corresponding to the active cell.

Let me show you an example.

Sub Offset_From_ActiveCell()

'Make cell A1 the Active Cell
Range("A1").Activate

'Goes One cell Below the Actice Cell and Enters the text Test in it
ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Value = "Test"

End Sub

The above code first activate cell A1 and makes it the active cell. It then uses the offset property on the active cell, to refer to the cell which is one row below it.

And in the same line in the code, I have also assigned a value “Test” to that cell which is one row below the active cell.

Let me show you another example where offsetting from the active cell could be used in a practical scenario.

Below I have a VBA code that first activates cell A1, and then uses the offset property to cover 10 cells below the active cell and enter numbers from 1 to 10 in cell A1:A10.

Sub Offset_From_ActiveCell()

'Activates cell A1
Range("A1").Activate

'Loop to go through 10 cells below the active cell and enter sequential numbers in it
For i = 1 To 10
    ActiveCell.Offset(i - 1, 0).Value = i
Next i

End Sub

The above code uses a For Next loop that runs 10 times (and each time the value of the variable ‘i’ increases by 1). And since I am also using ‘i’ in the offset property, it keeps going one cell down with each iteration.

Get ActiveCell Row or Column Number

Below the VBA code that will show you the row number of the active cell in message box:

Sub ActiveCell_RowNumber()
MsgBox ActiveCell.Row
End Sub

And the below code will show you the column number in a message box:

Sub ActiveCell_ColumnNumber()
MsgBox ActiveCell.Column
End Sub

Assign Active Cell Value to a Variable

You can also use VBA to assign the active cell to a variable. Once this is done, you can use this variable instead of the active cell in your code.

And how does this help? Good Question!

When you assign the active cell to a variable, you can continue to use this variable instead of the active cell. The benefit here is that unlike the active cell (which can change when other sheets or workbooks are activated) your variable would continue to refer to the original active cell it was assigned to.

So if you are writing a VBA code that cycles through each worksheet and activates these worksheets, while your active cell would change as new sheets are activated, the variable to which you assigned the active cell initially wouldn’t change.

Below is an example code that defines a variable ‘varcell’ and assigns the active cell to this variable.

Sub Assign_ActiveCell()
Dim varcell As Range
Set varcell = ActiveCell
MsgBox varcell.Value
End Sub

Select a Range of Cells Starting from the Active Cell

And the final thing I want to show you about using active cell in Excel VBA is to select an entire range of cells starting from the active cell.

A practical use case of this could be when you want to quickly format a set of cells in every sheet in your workbook.

Below is the VBA code that would select cells in 10 rows and 10 columns starting from the active cell:

Sub Select_from_Activecell()
Range(ActiveCell, ActiveCell.Offset(10, 10)).Select
End Sub

When we specify two cell references inside the Range property, VBA refers to the entire range covered between there two references.

For example, Range(Range(“A1”), Range(“A10”)).Select would select cell A1:A10.

Similarly, I have used it with active cell, Where the first reference is the active cell itself, and the second reference offsets the active cell by 10 rows and 10 columns.

I hope this tutorial has been useful for you in understanding how active cell works in Excel VBA.

Other Excel tutorials you may also find useful:

• Highlight the Active Row and Column in a Data Range in Excel
• 24 Useful Excel Macro Examples for VBA Beginners (Ready-to-use)
• How to Filter Cells with Bold Font Formatting in Excel (An Easy Guide)
• How to Delete Entire Row in Excel Using VBA
• Copy and Paste Multiple Cells in Excel (Adjacent & Non-Adjacent)
• Working with Worksheets using Excel VBA (Explained with Examples)
• Using Workbook Object in Excel VBA (Open, Close, Save, Set)
• Excel VBA Events – An Easy (and Complete) Guide
• How to Edit Cells in Excel? (Shortcuts)

In this example we will see how to use the ActiveCell property of VBA. The ActiveCell property returns a Range object of the active cell in the active workbook. You can then apply any of the properties or methods of a Range object to it.

Though you may find a very practical scenarios to use ActiveCell, it is best to avoid using it as much as possible. The reason being, if you accidentally change the active cell during the execution of the macro or you happen to open / activate another workbook, it will cause run-time errors in your code.

So, in this article, I will also suggest few ways to avoid the use of ActiveCell and also how to minimize some errors that can result from using ActiveCell.

Before looking at a practical example, let us have a look at a few examples on how to use the ActiveCell property and the various methods / properties associated with it.

Example 1: Getting the value of the active cell

This example shows how to display the value of an active cell in a message box

    Dim selectedCell As Range
    Set selectedCell = Application.activecell
    MsgBox selectedCell.Value

However, please note that if another workbook is active, the ActiveCell from that workbook will be considered, irrespective of workbook in which the code is written. So, always make sure to activate the current workbook before using ActiveCell.
So, a better way of doing it will be
    Dim selectedCell As Range
    ThisWorkbook.Activate
    Set selectedCell = Application.activecell
    MsgBox selectedCell.Value

Example 2: Getting the address / row / column of the active cell
Use the following properties to display the address / row number and column number of the active cell
    Dim selectedCell As Range
    ThisWorkbook.Activate
    Set selectedCell = Application.activecell
    MsgBox selectedCell.Address
    MsgBox selectedCell.Row
    MsgBox selectedCell.Column

The address will be displayed as below:

And for row and column, the respective numbers will be displayed.


Example 3: Activating / Selecting a cell
You can make a cell active either by using the activate method or by using the select method on the range you want to activate
    ThisWorkbook.Activate
    Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("B4").Activate

which is equivalent to
    ThisWorkbook.Activate
    Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("B4").Select

And now when you run MsgBox selectedCell.Address you will get the output as “$B$4”
Example 4: Select last row in the active column using ActiveCell
Consider the below snapshot. The ActiveCell is in the first column.

If you want to select the last cell that has data in this active column, you can use the code snippet below.
    ThisWorkbook.Activate
    Application.activecell.End(XlDirection.xlDown).Select

After the execution of the code, the last cell will be selected like this

Example 5: Selecting the cells that contain data around the ActiveCell using CurrentRegion
The CurrentRegion property returns a range of cells bounded by blank rows and columns. In the following example, the selection is expanded to include the cells adjoining the active cell that contain data and the background color of the current region is modified. The entire range is copied to another sheet at the same location.
Sub CurrRegion()

    Dim curReg As Range

    ThisWorkbook.Activate

    'Get the current region and assign it to a Range variable
    Set curReg = ActiveCell.CurrentRegion
    ActiveCell.CurrentRegion.Select

    'Format it
    Selection.Interior.Color = vbCyan

    'Select the first cell in the range
    Application.ActiveCell.End(XlDirection.xlUp).Select
    Application.ActiveCell.End(XlDirection.xlToLeft).Select

    'Paste the current region in another sheet at the same location
    curReg.Copy Worksheets("Sheet2").Range(Application.ActiveCell.Address)

End Sub


The current region can be useful when the range of data is not fixed and you need to perform certain operations on it, like format it, copy it, insert charts or send an email using that range.
Example 6: Using offset with ActiveCell
Now let us look at a more practical example of using ActiveCell. Say, in your Excel sheet you have multiple lines of data as shown below and you need to process data only for a single selected row.

The desired output is that in the column “Gaining”, Y or N should be inputted based on the price level and the background color should be set to Green or Red respectively.
Here, we will assume that the stock name is selected before running the macro. To get the values of the Previous Close and Current Price we will use the Offset Method
Sub offset()

    Dim preClose As Double, currPrice As Double

    ThisWorkbook.Activate

    'Get value from the second column i.e. offset of zero rows and one column
    preClose = ActiveCell.offset(0, 1).Value

    'Get value from the third column i.e. offset of zero rows and two columns
    currPrice = ActiveCell.offset(0, 2).Value

    If currPrice < preClose Then
        'Set value and format of the forth column i.e. offset of zero rows and three columns
        ActiveCell.offset(0, 3).Value = "N"
        ActiveCell.offset(0, 3).Interior.Color = vbRed
    Else
        ActiveCell.offset(0, 3).Value = "Y"
        ActiveCell.offset(0, 3).Interior.Color = vbGreen
    End If

End Sub

For further details on the Offset Method, please refer to the article “How to use VBA Range.Offset Method”
You can easily avoid the use of ActiveCell here, by using the input box to get the stock name / row number from the user.  After running the code on the last row the output will look like this.

See also: “VBA, Excel Automation From Other Applications“

What is the ActiveCell Property?

The active cell signifies the active selected cell in the
current worksheet. The Active property acts as a reference point and is used to
move the cell cursor from one location to another. It is also useful in
changing the current cell or reference cell properties. The cell address of the
Active cell will also be displayed in the name box (left corner of the excel
sheet) For instance, and we have selected the B4 cell in sheet 1 means cell B4
is the active cell of this worksheet and we fetch range properties of cell B4
by using Active cell function. In the below example, you will notice in the
name box B4 cell address has been displayed.

In VBA, the Active cell function is used in different circumstances
where we need to alter the properties/values in the active cell or want to
apply certain conditions to meet the requirements. This function is also used
to assign values or to fetch the address details of an active cell. It returns
the range property of the current of the active worksheet.  The Active cell function can also be
accessible with the help of active cell application.property method.

Many users confuse the active cell property with selection.
But these terms are different and are related to each other. The selection
contains one or more cells, whereas active cell can have only one cell. It
could be there inside the selection range.

Many users confuse the active cell property with selection.
But these terms are different and are related to each other. The selection
contains one or more cells whereas active cell can have only one cell. It could
be there inside the selection range.

Advantages of ActiveCell Property

1. ActiveCell acts as a starting point and is often
   used to offset the cursor anywhere as per the requirement.
2. With the help of this property, we can easily
   change all the features of the active cell or the referenced cells
3. The Activecell property helps us to fetch the
   row, column, and cell address.

Syntax

1. Basic Activecell

ActiveCell ([RowIndex], [ColumnIndex])

• Assign the value to Active cell

Activecell.Value= “”

• Row/Column/Value — Select Active cell’s
  value or property in the current workbook. The following syntax is also used to
  display row or column address of the active cell

Application.Activecell

• Font selection — The following syntax is
  used to change the text font of the active cell. This is done by using the font
  property.

Activecell.Font.(font_name) = True

ActiveCell
Example

Code:

Sub ActiveCell_Example()
 'activating the current sheet with the help of the activate method
 Worksheets("Sheet1").Activate
 'passing value to our active cell
 ActiveCell.Value = "Hello World"
 End Sub 

Let’s us analyze step-step the above VBA code:

Step 1: Open the developer window by using the
shortcut keywords Alt +F11.

Step 2: Create a module by right-clicking on the VBA
Project-> Click on Insert-> Click on Module.

Step 3: In the Module window, introduce the
sub-block, followed by your macro name.

Step 4: We will specify the worksheet which you would
like to activate. This is optional if you want to can skip this step. In the
below example, we have specified Sheet1.

Step 5: Next, with the help of the ActiveCell
function, we will set a value. This will display the same value in the current
cell address.

Output

Step 6: Execute the above code either by pressing the
F5 shortcut key or by clicking on the Run button.

Step 7: You will notice that in the Excel active cell
the value “Hello World” is written.

Active Cell Address, Value, Row, and Column Number

Active cell function helps us to fetch the address, row, and
column number. All the information can be fetched through the ActiveCell method
i.e., ActiveCell.Row, ActiveCell.Column, ActiceCell.Value, etc.,

Code:

Sub ActiveCell_RowColumnNumber()
 'declaring the variable
 Dim currentCell As Variant
 'Activating the worksheet sheet1
 Worksheets("Sheet1").Activate
 'string the range of active cell in variable currentCell
 Set currentCell = Application.ActiveCell 
 'fetching the current row address of the active cell
 MsgBox ("Active cell row number = " & currentCell.Row)
 'fetching the current row address of the active cell
 MsgBox ("Active cell column number = " & currentCell.Column)
 End Sub 

Let’s us analyze step-step the above VBA code:

Step 1: Open the developer window by using the
shortcut keywords Alt +F11.

Step 2: Create a module by right-clicking on the VBA
Project-> Click on Insert-> Click on Module.

Step 3: In the Module window, introduce the
sub-block, followed by your macro name.

Step 4: Declare the variable so as further you can
store the return range. Also, we will activate the worksheet.

Step 5: Call the Application.ActiveCell function and
store the returned value in the declared variable.

Step 6: With the help of the Row and column method,
we will fetch the ActiveCell address.

Output

Step 6: Execute the above code either by pressing the
F5 shortcut key or by clicking on the Run button.

Step 7: The message box dialog box will appear displaying
the row number. Click on OK.

Step 8: The message box dialog box will again appear
displaying the column number.

ActiveCell
with Fonts

You can use all the Fonts properties to alter the ActiveCell
look and feel and can make it more representable.

Code:

Sub ActiveCell_Fonts()
 'changing the font of the active cell with ActiveCell.Font method
 'Using With statement to perform a series of font properties
 With ActiveCell.Font
  .Bold = True
  .Italic = True
  .ColorIndex = 21 
  .FontStyle = "Algerian"
  .Size = 14
 End With
 End Sub 

Let’s us analyze step-step the above VBA code:

Step 1: Open the developer window by using the
shortcut keywords Alt +F11.

Step 2: Create a module by right-clicking on the VBA
Project-> Click on Insert-> Click on Module.

Step 3: In the Module window, introduce the
sub-block, followed by your macro name.

Step 4: Activating the worksheet (Sheet1) with the
help of Worksheets.Activate method.

Step 5: Next, we will use all the fonts properties
with the help of ActiveCell.Font method.  In the below example, we have used ‘With’
statement to perform a series of fonts properties.

Output

Step 6: Execute the above code either by pressing the
F5 shortcut key or by clicking on the Run button.

Step 7: You will notice that the active cell value
has changed its fonts properties.