Vba excel cells или range

сэр Артур Конан Дойл

Это большая ошибка — теоретизировать, прежде чем кто-то получит данные

Эта статья охватывает все, что вам нужно знать об использовании ячеек и диапазонов в VBA. Вы можете прочитать его от начала до конца, так как он сложен в логическом порядке. Или использовать оглавление ниже, чтобы перейти к разделу по вашему выбору.

Рассматриваемые темы включают свойство смещения, чтение
значений между ячейками, чтение значений в массивы и форматирование ячеек.

Краткое руководство по диапазонам и клеткам

Введение

Это третья статья, посвященная трем основным элементам VBA. Этими тремя элементами являются Workbooks, Worksheets и Ranges/Cells. Cells, безусловно, самая важная часть Excel. Почти все, что вы делаете в Excel, начинается и заканчивается ячейками.

Вы делаете три основных вещи с помощью ячеек:

1. Читаете из ячейки.
2. Пишите в ячейку.
3. Изменяете формат ячейки.

В Excel есть несколько методов для доступа к ячейкам, таких как Range, Cells и Offset. Можно запутаться, так как эти функции делают похожие операции.

В этой статье я расскажу о каждом из них, объясню, почему они вам нужны, и когда вам следует их использовать.

Давайте начнем с самого простого метода доступа к ячейкам — с помощью свойства Range рабочего листа.

Важное замечание

Я недавно обновил эту статью, сейчас использую Value2.

Вам может быть интересно, в чем разница между Value, Value2 и значением по умолчанию:

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

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

' По умолчанию используется значение
Range("A1") = 56

Использование Value может усечь число, если ячейка отформатирована, как валюта. Если вы не используете какое-либо свойство, по умолчанию используется Value.

Лучше использовать Value2, поскольку он всегда будет возвращать фактическое значение ячейки.

Свойство Range

Рабочий лист имеет свойство Range, которое можно использовать для доступа к ячейкам в VBA. Свойство Range принимает тот же аргумент, что и большинство функций Excel Worksheet, например: «А1», «А3: С6» и т.д.

В следующем примере показано, как поместить значение в ячейку с помощью свойства Range.

Sub ZapisVYacheiku()

    ' Запишите число в ячейку A1 на листе 1 этой книги
    ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Лист1").Range("A1").Value2 = 67

    ' Напишите текст в ячейку A2 на листе 1 этой рабочей книги
    ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Лист1").Range("A2").Value2 = "Иван Петров"

    ' Запишите дату в ячейку A3 на листе 1 этой книги
    ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Лист1").Range("A3").Value2 = #11/21/2019#

End Sub

Как видно из кода, Range является членом Worksheets, которая, в свою очередь, является членом Workbook. Иерархия такая же, как и в Excel, поэтому должно быть легко понять. Чтобы сделать что-то с Range, вы должны сначала указать рабочую книгу и рабочий лист, которому она принадлежит.

В оставшейся части этой статьи я буду использовать кодовое имя для ссылки на лист.

Следующий код показывает приведенный выше пример с использованием кодового имени рабочего листа, т.е. Лист1 вместо ThisWorkbook.Worksheets («Лист1»).

Sub IspKodImya ()

    ' Запишите число в ячейку A1 на листе 1 этой книги    
     Sheet1.Range("A1").Value2 = 67

    ' Напишите текст в ячейку A2 на листе 1 этой рабочей книги
    Sheet1.Range("A2").Value2 = "Иван Петров"

    ' Запишите дату в ячейку A3 на листе 1 этой книги
    Sheet1.Range("A3").Value2 = #11/21/2019#

End Sub

Вы также можете писать в несколько ячеек, используя свойство
Range

Sub ZapisNeskol()

    ' Запишите число в диапазон ячеек
    Sheet1.Range("A1:A10").Value2 = 67

    ' Написать текст в несколько диапазонов ячеек
    Sheet1.Range("B2:B5,B7:B9").Value2 = "Иван Петров"

End Sub

Свойство Cells рабочего листа

У Объекта листа есть другое свойство, называемое Cells, которое очень похоже на Range . Есть два отличия:

1. Cells возвращают диапазон только одной ячейки.
2. Cells принимает строку и столбец в качестве аргументов.

В приведенном ниже примере показано, как записывать значения
в ячейки, используя свойства Range и Cells.

Sub IspCells()

    ' Написать в А1
    Sheet1.Range("A1").Value2 = 10
    Sheet1.Cells(1, 1).Value2  = 10

    ' Написать в А10
    Sheet1.Range("A10").Value2 = 10
    Sheet1.Cells(10, 1).Value2  = 10

    ' Написать в E1
    Sheet1.Range("E1").Value2 = 10
    Sheet1.Cells(1, 5).Value2  = 10

End Sub

Вам должно быть интересно, когда использовать Cells, а когда Range. Использование Range полезно для доступа к одним и тем же ячейкам при каждом запуске макроса.

Например, если вы использовали макрос для вычисления суммы и
каждый раз записывали ее в ячейку A10, тогда Range подойдет для этой задачи.

Использование свойства Cells полезно, если вы обращаетесь к
ячейке по номеру, который может отличаться. Проще объяснить это на примере.

В следующем коде мы просим пользователя указать номер столбца. Использование Cells дает нам возможность использовать переменное число для столбца.

Sub ZapisVPervuyuPustuyuYacheiku()

    Dim UserCol As Integer
    
    ' Получить номер столбца от пользователя
    UserCol = Application.InputBox("Пожалуйста, введите номер столбца...", Type:=1)
    
    ' Написать текст в выбранный пользователем столбец
    Sheet1.Cells(1, UserCol).Value2 = "Иван Петров"

End Sub

В приведенном выше примере мы используем номер для столбца,
а не букву.

Чтобы использовать Range здесь, потребуется преобразовать эти значения в ссылку на
буквенно-цифровую ячейку, например, «С1». Использование свойства Cells позволяет нам
предоставить строку и номер столбца для доступа к ячейке.

Иногда вам может понадобиться вернуть более одной ячейки, используя номера строк и столбцов. В следующем разделе показано, как это сделать.

Использование Cells и Range вместе

Как вы уже видели, вы можете получить доступ только к одной ячейке, используя свойство Cells. Если вы хотите вернуть диапазон ячеек, вы можете использовать Cells с Range следующим образом:

Sub IspCellsSRange()

    With Sheet1
        ' Запишите 5 в диапазон A1: A10, используя свойство Cells
        .Range(.Cells(1, 1), .Cells(10, 1)).Value2 = 5

        ' Диапазон B1: Z1 будет выделен жирным шрифтом
        .Range(.Cells(1, 2), .Cells(1, 26)).Font.Bold = True

    End With

End Sub

Как видите, вы предоставляете начальную и конечную ячейку
диапазона. Иногда бывает сложно увидеть, с каким диапазоном вы имеете дело,
когда значением являются все числа. Range имеет свойство Address, которое
отображает буквенно-цифровую ячейку для любого диапазона. Это может
пригодиться, когда вы впервые отлаживаете или пишете код.

В следующем примере мы распечатываем адрес используемых нами
диапазонов.

Sub PokazatAdresDiapazona()

    ' Примечание. Использование подчеркивания позволяет разделить строки кода.
    With Sheet1

        ' Запишите 5 в диапазон A1: A10, используя свойство Cells
        .Range(.Cells(1, 1), .Cells(10, 1)).Value2 = 5
        Debug.Print "Первый адрес: " _
            + .Range(.Cells(1, 1), .Cells(10, 1)).Address

        ' Диапазон B1: Z1 будет выделен жирным шрифтом
        .Range(.Cells(1, 2), .Cells(1, 26)).Font.Bold = True
        Debug.Print "Второй адрес : " _
            + .Range(.Cells(1, 2), .Cells(1, 26)).Address

    End With

End Sub

В примере я использовал Debug.Print для печати в Immediate Window. Для просмотра этого окна выберите «View» -> «в Immediate Window» (Ctrl +  G).

Свойство Offset диапазона

У диапазона есть свойство, которое называется Offset. Термин «Offset» относится к отсчету от исходной позиции. Он часто используется в определенных областях программирования. С помощью свойства «Offset» вы можете получить диапазон ячеек того же размера и на определенном расстоянии от текущего диапазона. Это полезно, потому что иногда вы можете выбрать диапазон на основе определенного условия. Например, на скриншоте ниже есть столбец для каждого дня недели. Учитывая номер дня (т.е. понедельник = 1, вторник = 2 и т.д.). Нам нужно записать значение в правильный столбец.

Сначала мы попытаемся сделать это без использования Offset.

' Это Sub тесты с разными значениями
Sub TestSelect()

    ' Понедельник
    SetValueSelect 1, 111.21
    ' Среда
    SetValueSelect 3, 456.99
    ' Пятница
    SetValueSelect 5, 432.25
    ' Воскресение
    SetValueSelect 7, 710.17

End Sub

' Записывает значение в столбец на основе дня
Public Sub SetValueSelect(lDay As Long, lValue As Currency)

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

End Sub

Как видно из примера, нам нужно добавить строку для каждого возможного варианта. Это не идеальная ситуация. Использование свойства Offset обеспечивает более чистое решение.

' Это Sub тесты с разными значениями
Sub TestOffset()

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

End Sub

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

    ' Мы используем значение дня с Offset, чтобы указать правильный столбец
    Sheet1.Range("G3").Offset(, lDay).Value2 = lValue

End Sub

Как видите, это решение намного лучше. Если количество дней увеличилось, нам больше не нужно добавлять код. Чтобы Offset был полезен, должна быть какая-то связь между позициями ячеек. Если столбцы Day в приведенном выше примере были случайными, мы не могли бы использовать Offset. Мы должны были бы использовать первое решение.

Следует иметь в виду, что Offset сохраняет размер диапазона. Итак .Range («A1:A3»).Offset (1,1) возвращает диапазон B2:B4. Ниже приведены еще несколько примеров использования Offset.

Sub IspOffset()

    ' Запись в В2 - без Offset
    Sheet1.Range("B2").Offset().Value2 = "Ячейка B2"

    ' Написать в C2 - 1 столбец справа
    Sheet1.Range("B2").Offset(, 1).Value2 = "Ячейка C2"

    ' Написать в B3 - 1 строка вниз
    Sheet1.Range("B2").Offset(1).Value2 = "Ячейка B3"

    ' Запись в C3 - 1 столбец справа и 1 строка вниз
    Sheet1.Range("B2").Offset(1, 1).Value2 = "Ячейка C3"

    ' Написать в A1 - 1 столбец слева и 1 строка вверх
    Sheet1.Range("B2").Offset(-1, -1).Value2 = "Ячейка A1"

    ' Запись в диапазон E3: G13 - 1 столбец справа и 1 строка вниз
    Sheet1.Range("D2:F12").Offset(1, 1).Value2 = "Ячейки E3:G13"

End Sub

Использование диапазона CurrentRegion

CurrentRegion возвращает диапазон всех соседних ячеек в данный диапазон. На скриншоте ниже вы можете увидеть два CurrentRegion. Я добавил границы, чтобы прояснить CurrentRegion.

Строка или столбец пустых ячеек означает конец CurrentRegion.

Вы можете вручную проверить
CurrentRegion в Excel, выбрав диапазон и нажав Ctrl + Shift + *.

Если мы возьмем любой диапазон
ячеек в пределах границы и применим CurrentRegion, мы вернем диапазон ячеек во
всей области.

Например:

Range («B3»). CurrentRegion вернет диапазон B3:D14

Range («D14»). CurrentRegion вернет диапазон B3:D14

Range («C8:C9»). CurrentRegion вернет диапазон B3:D14 и так далее

Как пользоваться

Мы получаем CurrentRegion следующим образом

' CurrentRegion вернет B3:D14 из приведенного выше примера
Dim rg As Range
Set rg = Sheet1.Range("B3").CurrentRegion

Только чтение строк данных

Прочитать диапазон из второй строки, т.е. пропустить строку заголовка.

' CurrentRegion вернет B3:D14 из приведенного выше примера
Dim rg As Range
Set rg = Sheet1.Range("B3").CurrentRegion

' Начало в строке 2 - строка после заголовка
Dim i As Long
For i = 2 To rg.Rows.Count
    ' текущая строка, столбец 1 диапазона
    Debug.Print rg.Cells(i, 1).Value2
Next i

Удалить заголовок

Удалить строку заголовка (т.е. первую строку) из диапазона. Например, если диапазон — A1:D4, это возвратит A2:D4

' CurrentRegion вернет B3:D14 из приведенного выше примера
Dim rg As Range
Set rg = Sheet1.Range("B3").CurrentRegion

' Удалить заголовок
Set rg = rg.Resize(rg.Rows.Count - 1).Offset(1)

' Начните со строки 1, так как нет строки заголовка
Dim i As Long
For i = 1 To rg.Rows.Count
    ' текущая строка, столбец 1 диапазона
    Debug.Print rg.Cells(i, 1).Value2
Next i

Использование Rows и Columns в качестве Ranges

Если вы хотите что-то сделать со всей строкой или столбцом,
вы можете использовать свойство «Rows и
Columns» на рабочем листе. Они оба принимают один параметр — номер строки
или столбца, к которому вы хотите получить доступ.

Sub IspRowIColumns()

    ' Установите размер шрифта столбца B на 9
    Sheet1.Columns(2).Font.Size = 9

    ' Установите ширину столбцов от D до F
    Sheet1.Columns("D:F").ColumnWidth = 4

    ' Установите размер шрифта строки 5 до 18
    Sheet1.Rows(5).Font.Size = 18

End Sub

Использование Range вместо Worksheet

Вы также можете использовать Cella, Rows и Columns, как часть Range, а не как часть Worksheet. У вас может быть особая необходимость в этом, но в противном случае я бы избегал практики. Это делает код более сложным. Простой код — твой друг. Это уменьшает вероятность ошибок.

Код ниже выделит второй столбец диапазона полужирным. Поскольку диапазон имеет только две строки, весь столбец считается B1:B2

Sub IspColumnsVRange()

    ' Это выделит B1 и B2 жирным шрифтом.
    Sheet1.Range("A1:C2").Columns(2).Font.Bold = True

End Sub

Чтение значений из одной ячейки в другую

В большинстве примеров мы записали значения в ячейку. Мы
делаем это, помещая диапазон слева от знака равенства и значение для размещения
в ячейке справа. Для записи данных из одной ячейки в другую мы делаем то же
самое. Диапазон назначения идет слева, а диапазон источника — справа.

В следующем примере показано, как это сделать:

Sub ChitatZnacheniya()

    ' Поместите значение из B1 в A1
    Sheet1.Range("A1").Value2 = Sheet1.Range("B1").Value2

    ' Поместите значение из B3 в лист2 в ячейку A1
    Sheet1.Range("A1").Value2 = Sheet2.Range("B3").Value2

    ' Поместите значение от B1 в ячейки A1 до A5
    Sheet1.Range("A1:A5").Value2 = Sheet1.Range("B1").Value2

    ' Вам необходимо использовать свойство «Value», чтобы прочитать несколько ячеек
    Sheet1.Range("A1:A5").Value2 = Sheet1.Range("B1:B5").Value2

End Sub

Как видно из этого примера, невозможно читать из нескольких ячеек. Если вы хотите сделать это, вы можете использовать функцию копирования Range с параметром Destination.

Sub KopirovatZnacheniya()

    ' Сохранить диапазон копирования в переменной
    Dim rgCopy As Range
    Set rgCopy = Sheet1.Range("B1:B5")

    ' Используйте это для копирования из более чем одной ячейки
    rgCopy.Copy Destination:=Sheet1.Range("A1:A5")

    ' Вы можете вставить в несколько мест назначения
    rgCopy.Copy Destination:=Sheet1.Range("A1:A5,C2:C6")

End Sub

Функция Copy копирует все, включая формат ячеек. Это тот же результат, что и ручное копирование и вставка выделения. Подробнее об этом вы можете узнать в разделе «Копирование и вставка ячеек»

Использование метода Range.Resize

При копировании из одного диапазона в другой с использованием присваивания (т.е. знака равенства) диапазон назначения должен быть того же размера, что и исходный диапазон.

Использование функции Resize позволяет изменить размер
диапазона до заданного количества строк и столбцов.

Например:

Sub ResizePrimeri()
 
    ' Печатает А1
    Debug.Print Sheet1.Range("A1").Address

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

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

Когда мы хотим изменить наш целевой диапазон, мы можем
просто использовать исходный размер диапазона.

Другими словами, мы используем количество строк и столбцов
исходного диапазона в качестве параметров для изменения размера:

Sub Resize()

    Dim rgSrc As Range, rgDest As Range
    
    ' Получить все данные в текущей области
    Set rgSrc = Sheet1.Range("A1").CurrentRegion

      ' Получить диапазон назначения
    Set rgDest = Sheet2.Range("A1")
    Set rgDest = rgDest.Resize(rgSrc.Rows.Count, rgSrc.Columns.Count)
    
    rgDest.Value2 = rgSrc.Value2

End Sub

Мы можем сделать изменение размера в одну строку, если нужно:

Sub Resize2()

    Dim rgSrc As Range
    
    ' Получить все данные в ткущей области
    Set rgSrc = Sheet1.Range("A1").CurrentRegion
    
    With rgSrc
        Sheet2.Range("A1").Resize(.Rows.Count, .Columns.Count) = .Value2
    End With
    
End Sub

Чтение Value в переменные

Мы рассмотрели, как читать из одной клетки в другую. Вы также можете читать из ячейки в переменную. Переменная используется для хранения значений во время работы макроса. Обычно вы делаете это, когда хотите манипулировать данными перед тем, как их записать. Ниже приведен простой пример использования переменной. Как видите, значение элемента справа от равенства записывается в элементе слева от равенства.

Sub IspVar()

    ' Создайте
    Dim val As Integer

    ' Читать число из ячейки
    val = Sheet1.Range("A1").Value2

    ' Добавить 1 к значению
    val = val + 1

    ' Запишите новое значение в ячейку
    Sheet1.Range("A2").Value2 = val

End Sub

Для чтения текста в переменную вы используете переменную
типа String.

Sub IspVarText()

    ' Объявите переменную типа string
    Dim sText As String

    ' Считать значение из ячейки
    sText = Sheet1.Range("A1").Value2

    ' Записать значение в ячейку
    Sheet1.Range("A2").Value2 = sText

End Sub

Вы можете записать переменную в диапазон ячеек. Вы просто
указываете диапазон слева, и значение будет записано во все ячейки диапазона.

Sub VarNeskol()

    ' Считать значение из ячейки
    Sheet1.Range("A1:B10").Value2 = 66

End Sub

Вы не можете читать из нескольких ячеек в переменную. Однако
вы можете читать массив, который представляет собой набор переменных. Мы
рассмотрим это в следующем разделе.

Как копировать и вставлять ячейки

Если вы хотите скопировать и вставить диапазон ячеек, вам не
нужно выбирать их. Это распространенная ошибка, допущенная новыми пользователями
VBA.

Вы можете просто скопировать ряд ячеек, как здесь:

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

При использовании этого метода копируется все — значения,
форматы, формулы и так далее. Если вы хотите скопировать отдельные элементы, вы
можете использовать свойство PasteSpecial
диапазона.

Работает так:

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

В следующей таблице приведен полный список всех типов вставок.

Чтение диапазона ячеек в массив

Вы также можете скопировать значения, присвоив значение
одного диапазона другому.

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

Значение диапазона в этом примере считается вариантом массива. Это означает, что вы можете легко читать из диапазона ячеек в массив. Вы также можете писать из массива в диапазон ячеек. Если вы не знакомы с массивами, вы можете проверить их в этой статье.

В следующем коде показан пример использования массива с
диапазоном.

Sub ChitatMassiv()

    ' Создать динамический массив
    Dim StudentMarks() As Variant

    ' Считать 26 значений в массив из первой строки
    StudentMarks = Range("A1:Z1").Value2

    ' Сделайте что-нибудь с массивом здесь

    ' Запишите 26 значений в третью строку
    Range("A3:Z3").Value2 = StudentMarks

End Sub

Имейте в виду, что массив, созданный для чтения, является
двумерным массивом. Это связано с тем, что электронная таблица хранит значения
в двух измерениях, то есть в строках и столбцах.

Пройти через все клетки в диапазоне

Иногда вам нужно просмотреть каждую ячейку, чтобы проверить значение.

Вы можете сделать это, используя цикл For Each, показанный в следующем коде.

Sub PeremeschatsyaPoYacheikam()

    ' Пройдите через каждую ячейку в диапазоне
    Dim rg As Range
    For Each rg In Sheet1.Range("A1:A10,A20")
        ' Распечатать адрес ячеек, которые являются отрицательными
        If rg.Value < 0 Then
            Debug.Print rg.Address + " Отрицательно."
        End If
    Next

End Sub

Вы также можете проходить последовательные ячейки, используя
свойство Cells и стандартный цикл For.

Стандартный цикл более гибок в отношении используемого вами
порядка, но он медленнее, чем цикл For Each.

Sub PerehodPoYacheikam()
 
    ' Пройдите клетки от А1 до А10
    Dim i As Long
    For i = 1 To 10
        ' Распечатать адрес ячеек, которые являются отрицательными
        If Range("A" & i).Value < 0 Then
            Debug.Print Range("A" & i).Address + " Отрицательно."
        End If
    Next
 
    ' Пройдите в обратном порядке, то есть от A10 до A1
    For i = 10 To 1 Step -1
        ' Распечатать адрес ячеек, которые являются отрицательными
        If Range("A" & i) < 0 Then
            Debug.Print Range("A" & i).Address + " Отрицательно."
        End If
    Next
 
End Sub

Форматирование ячеек

Иногда вам нужно будет отформатировать ячейки в электронной
таблице. Это на самом деле очень просто. В следующем примере показаны различные
форматы, которые можно добавить в любой диапазон ячеек.

Sub FormatirovanieYacheek()

    With Sheet1

        ' Форматировать шрифт
        .Range("A1").Font.Bold = True
        .Range("A1").Font.Underline = True
        .Range("A1").Font.Color = rgbNavy

        ' Установите числовой формат до 2 десятичных знаков
        .Range("B2").NumberFormat = "0.00"
        ' Установите числовой формат даты
        .Range("C2").NumberFormat = "dd/mm/yyyy"
        ' Установите формат чисел на общий
        .Range("C3").NumberFormat = "Общий"
        ' Установить числовой формат текста
        .Range("C4").NumberFormat = "Текст"

        ' Установите цвет заливки ячейки
        .Range("B3").Interior.Color = rgbSandyBrown

        ' Форматировать границы
        .Range("B4").Borders.LineStyle = xlDash
        .Range("B4").Borders.Color = rgbBlueViolet

    End With

End Sub

Основные моменты

Ниже приводится краткое изложение основных моментов

1. Range возвращает диапазон ячеек
2. Cells возвращают только одну клетку
3. Вы можете читать из одной ячейки в другую
4. Вы можете читать из диапазона ячеек в другой диапазон ячеек.
5. Вы можете читать значения из ячеек в переменные и наоборот.
6. Вы можете читать значения из диапазонов в массивы и наоборот
7. Вы можете использовать цикл For Each или For, чтобы проходить через каждую ячейку в диапазоне.
8. Свойства Rows и Columns позволяют вам получить доступ к диапазону ячеек этих типов

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

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

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

A Quick Guide to Ranges and Cells

Download the Code

The Webinar

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

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

Introduction

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

 
Generally speaking, you do three main things with Cells

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

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

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

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

Important Notes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Range Property

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

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

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

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

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

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

End Sub

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

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

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

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

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

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

End Sub

You can also write to multiple cells using the Range property

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

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

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

End Sub

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

The Cells Property of the Worksheet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

End Sub

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

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

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

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

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

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

End Sub

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

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

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

Using Cells and Range together

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

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

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

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

    End With

End Sub

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

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

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

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

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

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

    End With

End Sub

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

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

The Offset Property of Range

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

 
We will first attempt to do this without using Offset.

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

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

End Sub

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

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

End Sub

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

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

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

End Sub

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

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

End Sub

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

End Sub

Using the Range CurrentRegion

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to Use

We get the CurrentRegion as follows

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

Read Data Rows Only

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

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

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

Remove Header

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

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

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

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

Using Rows and Columns as Ranges

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

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

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

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

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

End Sub

Using Range in place of Worksheet

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

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

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

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

End Sub

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

Reading Values from one Cell to another

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

 
The following example shows you how to do this:

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

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

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

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

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

End Sub

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

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

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

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

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

End Sub

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

Using the Range.Resize Method

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

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

For example:
 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

End Sub

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

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

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

Reading Values to variables

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

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

    ' Create
    Dim number As Long

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

    ' Add 1 to value
    number = number + 1

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

End Sub

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

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

    ' Declare a variable of type string
    Dim text As String

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

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

End Sub

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

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

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

End Sub

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

How to Copy and Paste Cells

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

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

 
You can simply copy a range of cells like this:

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

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

 
It works like this

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

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

Reading a Range of Cells to an Array

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

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

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

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

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

    ' Create dynamic array
    Dim StudentMarks() As Variant

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

    ' Do something with array here

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

End Sub

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

Going through all the cells in a Range

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

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

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

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

End Sub

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

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

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

Formatting Cells

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

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

    With Sheet1

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

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

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

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

    End With

End Sub

Main Points

The following is a summary of the main points

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

What’s Next?

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

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

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

Ranges and Cells in VBA

Excel spreadsheets store data in Cells. Cells are arranged into Rows and Columns. Each cell can be identified by the intersection point of it’s row and column (Exs. B3 or R3C2).

An Excel Range refers to one or more cells (ex. A3:B4)

Cell Address

A1 Notation

In A1 notation, a cell is referred to by it’s column letter (from A to XFD) followed by it’s row number(from 1 to 1,048,576). This is called a cell address.

In VBA you can refer to any cell using the Range Object.

' Refer to cell B4 on the currently active sheet
MsgBox Range("B4")

' Refer to cell B4 on the sheet named 'Data'
MsgBox Worksheets("Data").Range("B4")

' Refer to cell B4 on the sheet named 'Data' in another OPEN workbook
' named 'My Data'
MsgBox Workbooks("My Data").Worksheets("Data").Range("B4")

R1C1 Notation

In R1C1 Notation a cell is referred by R followed by Row Number then letter ‘C’ followed by the Column Number. eg B4 in R1C1 notation will be referred by R4C2. In VBA you use the Cells Object to use R1C1 notation:

' Refer to cell R[6]C[4] i.e D6
Cells(6, 4) = "D6"

Range of Cells

A1 Notation

To refer to a more than one cell use a “:” between the starting cell address and last cell address. The following will refer to all the cells from A1 to D10:

Range("A1:D10")

R1C1 Notation

To refer to a more than one cell use a “,” between the starting cell address and last cell address. The following will refer to all the cells from A1 to D10:

Range(Cells(1, 1), Cells(10, 4))

Writing to Cells

To write values to a cell or contiguous group of cells, simple refer to the range, put an = sign and then write the value to be stored:

' Store F5 in cell with Address F6
Range("F6") = "F6"

' Store E6 in cell with Address R[6]C[5] i.e E6
Cells(6, 5) = "E6"

' Store A1:D10 in the range A1:D10
Range("A1:D10") = "A1:D10"
' or
Range(Cells(1, 1), Cells(10, 4)) = "A1:D10"

Reading from Cells

To read values from cells, simple refer to the variable to store the values, put an = sign and then refer to the range to be read:

Dim val1
Dim val2

' Read from cell F6
val1 = Range("F6")

' Read from cell E6
val2 = Cells(6, 5)

MsgBox val1
Msgbox val2

Note: To store values from a range of cells, you need to use an Array instead of a simple variable.

Non Contiguous  Cells

To refer to non contiguous  cells use a comma between the cell addresses:

' Store 10 in cells A1, A3, and A5
Range("A1,A3,A5") = 10


' Store 10 in cells A1:A3 and D1:D3) 
Range("A1:A3, D1:D3") = 10

Intersection of  Cells

To refer to non contiguous  cells use a space between the cell addresses:

' Store 'Col D' in D1:D10
' which is Common between A1:D10 and D1:F10
Range("A1:D10 D1:G10") = "Col D"

Offset from a Cell or Range

Using the Offset function, you can move the reference from a given Range (cell or group of cells) by the specified number_of_rows, and number_of_columns.

Offset Syntax

Range.Offset(number_of_rows, number_of_columns)

Offset from a cell

' OFFSET from a cell A1
' Refer to cell itself
' Move 0 rows and 0 columns
Range("A1").Offset(0, 0) = "A1"

' Move 1 rows and 0 columns
Range("A1").Offset(1, 0) = "A2"

' Move 0 rows and 1 columns
Range("A1").Offset(0, 1) = "B1"

' Move 1 rows and 1 columns
Range("A1").Offset(1, 1) = "B2"

' Move 10 rows and 5 columns
Range("A1").Offset(10, 5) = "F11"

Offset from a Range

' Move Reference to Range A1:D4 by 4 rows and 4 columns
' New Reference is E5:H8
Range("A1:D4").Offset(4,4) = "E5:H8"

Setting Reference to a Range

To assign a range to a range variable: declare a variable of type Range then use the Set command to set it to a range. Please note that you must use the SET command as RANGE is an object:

' Declare a Range variable
Dim myRange as Range

' Set the variable to the range A1:D4
Set myRange = Range("A1:D4")

' Prints $A$1:$D$4
MsgBox myRange.Address

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Resize a Range

Resize method of Range object changes the dimension of the reference range:

Dim myRange As Range

' Range to Resize
Set myRange = Range("A1:F4")

' Prints $A$1:$E$10
Debug.Print myRange.Resize(10, 5).Address

Top-left cell of the Resized range is same as the top-left cell of the original range

Resize Syntax

Range.Resize(number_of_rows, number_of_columns)

OFFSET vs Resize

Offset does not change the dimensions of the range but moves it by the specified number of rows and columns. Resize does not change the position of the original range but changes the dimensions to the specified number of rows and columns.

All Cells in Sheet

The Cells object refers to all the cells in the sheet (1048576 rows and 16384 columns).

' Clear All Cells in Worksheets
Cells.Clear

UsedRange

UsedRange property gives you the rectangular range from the top-left cell used cell to the right-bottom used cell of the active sheet.

Dim ws As Worksheet
Set ws = ActiveSheet

' $B$2:$L$14 if L2 is the first cell with any value 
' and L14 is the last cell with any value on the
' active sheet
Debug.Print ws.UsedRange.Address

CurrentRegion

CurrentRegion property gives you the contiguous rectangular range from the top-left cell to the right-bottom used cell containing the referenced cell/range.

Dim myRange As Range

Set myRange = Range("D4:F6")

' Prints $B$2:$L$14
' If there is a filled path from D4:F16 to B2 AND L14
Debug.Print myRange.CurrentRegion.Address

' You can refer to a single starting cell also

Set myRange = Range("D4") ' Prints $B$2:$L$14

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Range Properties

You can get Address, row/column number of a cell, and number of rows/columns in a range as given below:

Dim myRange As Range

Set myRange = Range("A1:F10")

' Prints $A$1:$F$10
Debug.Print myRange.Address

Set myRange = Range("F10")

' Prints 10 for Row 10
Debug.Print myRange.Row

' Prints 6 for Column F
Debug.Print myRange.Column

Set myRange = Range("E1:F5")
' Prints 5 for number of Rows in range
Debug.Print myRange.Rows.Count

' Prints 2 for number of Columns in range
Debug.Print myRange.Columns.Count

Last Cell in Sheet

You can use Rows.Count and Columns.Count properties with Cells object to get the last cell on the sheet:

' Print the last row number
' Prints 1048576
Debug.Print "Rows in the sheet: " & Rows.Count

' Print the last column number
' Prints 16384
Debug.Print "Columns in the sheet: " & Columns.Count

' Print the address of the last cell
' Prints $XFD$1048576
Debug.Print "Address of Last Cell in the sheet: " & Cells(Rows.Count, Columns.Count)

Last Used Row Number in a Column

END property takes you the last cell in the range, and End(xlUp) takes you up to the first used cell from that cell.

Dim lastRow As Long

lastRow = Cells(Rows.Count, "A").End(xlUp).Row

Last Used Column Number in a Row

Dim lastCol As Long

lastCol = Cells(1, Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column

END property takes you the last cell in the range, and End(xlToLeft) takes you left to the first used cell from that cell.

You can also use xlDown and xlToRight properties to navigate to the first bottom or right used cells of the current cell.

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Cell Properties

Common Properties

Here is code to display commonly used Cell Properties

Dim cell As Range
Set cell = Range("A1")

cell.Activate
Debug.Print cell.Address
' Print $A$1

Debug.Print cell.Value
' Prints 456
' Address

Debug.Print cell.Formula
' Prints =SUM(C2:C3)

' Comment
Debug.Print cell.Comment.Text

' Style
Debug.Print cell.Style

' Cell Format
Debug.Print cell.DisplayFormat.NumberFormat

Cell Font

Cell.Font object contains properties of the Cell Font:

Dim cell As Range

Set cell = Range("A1")

' Regular, Italic, Bold, and Bold Italic
cell.Font.FontStyle = "Bold Italic"
' Same as
cell.Font.Bold = True
cell.Font.Italic = True

' Set font to Courier
cell.Font.FontStyle = "Courier"

' Set Font Color
cell.Font.Color = vbBlue
' or
cell.Font.Color = RGB(255, 0, 0)

' Set Font Size
cell.Font.Size = 20

Copy and Paste

Paste All

Ranges/Cells can be copied and pasted from one location to another. The following code copies all the properties of source range to destination range (equivalent to CTRL-C and CTRL-V)

'Simple Copy
Range("A1:D20").Copy 
Worksheets("Sheet2").Range("B10").Paste

'or
' Copy from Current Sheet to sheet named 'Sheet2'
Range("A1:D20").Copy destination:=Worksheets("Sheet2").Range("B10")

Paste Special

Selected properties of the source range can be copied to the destination by using PASTESPECIAL option:

' Paste the range as Values only
Range("A1:D20").Copy
Worksheets("Sheet2").Range("B10").PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteValues

Here are the possible options for the Paste option:

' Paste Special Types
xlPasteAll
xlPasteAllExceptBorders
xlPasteAllMergingConditionalFormats
xlPasteAllUsingSourceTheme
xlPasteColumnWidths
xlPasteComments
xlPasteFormats
xlPasteFormulas
xlPasteFormulasAndNumberFormats
xlPasteValidation
xlPasteValues
xlPasteValuesAndNumberFormats

AutoFit Contents

Size of rows and columns can be changed to fit the contents using AutoFit:

' Change size of rows 1 to 5 to fit contents 
Rows("1:5").AutoFit

' Change size of Columns A to B to fit contents 
Columns("A:B").AutoFit

More Range Examples

It is recommended that you use Macro Recorder while performing the required action through the GUI. It will help you understand the various options available and how to use them.

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For Each

It is easy to loop through a range using For Each construct as show below:

For Each cell In Range("A1:B100")
    ' Do something with the cell
Next cell

At each iteration of the loop one cell in the range is assigned to the variable cell and statements in the For loop are executed for that cell. Loop exits when all the cells are processed.

Sort

Sort is a method of Range object. You can sort a range by specifying options for sorting to Range.Sort. The code below will sort the columns A:C based on key in cell C2. Sort Order can be xlAscending or xlDescending. Header:= xlYes should be used if first row is the header row.

   Columns("A:C").Sort key1:=Range("C2"), _
      order1:=xlAscending, Header:=xlYes

Find

Find is also a method of Range Object. It find the first cell having content matching the search criteria and returns the cell as a Range object. It return Nothing if there is no match.

Use FindNext method (or FindPrevious) to find next(previous) occurrence.

Following code will change the font to “Arial Black” for all cells in the range which start with “John”:

For Each c In Range("A1:A100")
    If c Like "John*" Then
        c.Font.Name = "Arial Black"
    End If
Next c

Following code will replace all occurrences of  “To Test” to “Passed” in the range specified:

With Range("a1:a500")
    Set c = .Find("To Test", LookIn:=xlValues)
    If Not c Is Nothing Then
        firstaddress = c.Address
        Do
            c.Value = "Passed"
            Set c = .FindNext(c)
        Loop While Not c Is Nothing And c.Address <> firstaddress
    End If
End With

It is important to note that you must specify a range to use FindNext. Also you must provide a stopping condition otherwise the loop will execute forever. Normally address of the first cell which is found is stored in a variable and loop is stopped when you reach that cell again. You must also check for the case when nothing is found to stop the loop.

Range Address

Use Range.Address to get the address in A1 Style

MsgBox Range("A1:D10").Address
' or
Debug.Print Range("A1:D10").Address

Use xlReferenceStyle (default is xlA1) to get addres in R1C1 style

MsgBox Range("A1:D10").Address(ReferenceStyle:=xlR1C1)
' or
Debug.Print Range("A1:D10").Address(ReferenceStyle:=xlR1C1) 

This is useful when you deal with ranges stored in variables and want to process for certain addresses only.

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Range to Array

It is faster and easier to transfer a range to an array and then process the values. You should declare the array as Variant to avoid calculating the size required to populate the range in the array. Array’s dimensions are set to match number of values in the range.

Dim DirArray As Variant
' Store the values in the range to the Array

DirArray = Range("a1:a5").Value

' Loop to process the values
For Each c In DirArray
    Debug.Print c
Next

Array to Range

After processing you can write the Array back to a Range. To write the Array in the example above to a Range you must specify a Range whose size matches the number of elements in the Array.

Use the code below to write the Array to the range D1:D5:

Range("D1:D5").Value = DirArray 

Range("D1:H1").Value = Application.Transpose(DirArray)

Please note that you must Transpose the Array if you write it to a row.

Sum Range

SumOfRange = Application.WorksheetFunction.Sum(Range("A1:A10"))
Debug.Print SumOfRange

You can use many functions available in Excel in your VBA code by specifying Application.WorkSheetFunction. before the Function Name as in the example above.

Count Range

' Count Number of Cells with Numbers in the Range
CountOfCells = Application.WorksheetFunction.Count(Range("A1:A10"))
Debug.Print CountOfCells

' Count Number of Non Blank Cells in the Range
CountOfNonBlankCells = Application.WorksheetFunction.CountA(Range("A1:A10"))
Debug.Print CountOfNonBlankCells

Written by: Vinamra Chandra

Excel is powerful. If you use it a lot, you probably already know a lot of tricks using formulas or auto-formatting, but making use of Ranges and Cells function in VBA, you can take your Excel analytics to a whole new level.

The problem with using the Cells and Range functions in VBA macros is that at the advanced levels, most people have a hard time understanding how these functions actually work. Using them can get very confusing. Here’s how you can make use of them in ways you probably never imagined.

Visual Basic Cells Function

The Cells and Range functions let you tell your VBA script exactly where on your worksheet you want to obtain, or place data. The main difference between the two cells is what they reference.

The VBA cells function usually references a single cell at a time, while Range references a group of cells at once.

Here’s the format for the cells function:

  Cells(row, column) 

This references every single cell in the entire sheet. This is one such example where the VBA macro cells function doesn’t reference a single cell:

  Worksheets("Sheet1").Cells 

On the contrary, this piece of code references the third cell from the left, in row number one, i.e., Cell C1:

  Worksheets("Sheet1").Cells(3) 

Let’s get a little adventurous, by referring cell D15 using the VBA cells function:

  Worksheets("Sheet1").Cells(15,4) 

If you wanted to, you could also reference the cell D15 with the following cells function VBA code:

  Cells(15,"D")" 

—you’re allowed to use the column letter.

There is a lot of flexibility using the VBA cell function, as you can reference a cell using a number for column and cell, especially with scripts that can loop through many cells (and perform calculations on them) very quickly.

The Range Function

In many ways, the Range function is far more powerful than using Cells, because it lets you reference either a single cell or a specific range of cells, all at once. You aren’t going to want to loop through a Range function, because the references for cells aren’t numbers (unless you embed the VBA Excel cells function inside it).

The format for this function is as below:

  Range(Cell #1,Cell #2) 

Each cell can be designated by a letter number. Let’s look at a few examples.

The following code is a range function referencing cell A5:

  Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A5") 

Here, the range function is referencing all cells between A1 through E20:

  Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1:E20") 

As mentioned above, you don’t have to use number-letter cell assignments. You could actually use two VBA cell functions inside a Range function to identify a range on the sheet, like this:

  With Worksheets("Sheet1") .Range(.Cells(1, 1), _ .Cells(20, 5))End With 

This code references the same range as Range(«A1:E20») function does. The value in using it is that it would allow you to write code that dynamically works with ranges using loops.

Now that you understand how to format the Cells and Range functions, let’s dive into how you can make creative use of these functions in your VBA code.

Processing Data With Cells Function

The Visual Basic cells function is quite useful when you have a complex formula that you want to use across multiple ranges of cells. These ranges can also exist across multiple sheets.

Let’s take a simple example. Let’s say you manage a sales team of 11 people, and every month you want to look at their performance.

You might have Sheet1 that tracks their sales count and their sales volume.

On Sheet2, you have data to track their feedback rating for the last 30 days from your company’s clients.

If you want to calculate the bonus on the first sheet using values from the two sheets, there are multiple ways to do this. You could write a formula in the first cell that performs the calculation using data across the two sheets and drag it down. That’ll work.

An alternative to this is creating a VBA script that runs whenever you open the sheet, or you trigger it via a command button on the sheet, so that you can control when it calculates. You might use a VBA script to pull in all the sales data from an external file anyway.

So why not just trigger the calculations for the bonus column in the same script at that time?

Excel Macro Cells Function in Action

If you’ve never written VBA code in Excel before, you’ll need to enable the Developer menu item. To do this, go to File > Options. Click on Customize Ribbon. Finally, choose Developer from the left pane, Add it to the right pane, and make sure the checkbox is selected.

Now, when you click OK and go back to the main sheet, you’ll see the Developer menu option.

You can use the Insert menu to insert a command button, or just click View Code to start coding.

In this example, you will set up the script to run every time the workbook opens. To do this, just click View Code from the developer menu, and paste the following new function into the code window.

  Private Sub Workbook_Open() End Sub 

Your code window will look something like this.

Now you’re ready to write the code to handle the calculation. Using a single loop, you can step through all 11 employees, and with the Excel VBA cells function, pull in the three variables needed for the calculation.

Remember the worksheets.cells function has row and column as parameters to identify each individual cell. You need to replace x with the row reference and use a number to request each column’s data. The number of rows is the number of employees, so this will be from 1 to 11. The column identifier will be 2 for Sales Count, 3 for Sales Volume, and 2 from Sheet 2 for Feedback Score.

The final calculation uses the following percentages to add up to 100 percent of the total bonus score. It’s based on an ideal sales count being 50, sales volume of $50,000, and a feedback score of 10.

• (Sales Count/50) x 0.4
• (Sales Volume/50,000) x 0.5
• (Feedback Score/10) x 0.1

This simple approach gives sales employees a weighted bonus. For a count of 50, a volume of $50,000, and a score of 10—they get the entire maximum bonus for the month. However, anything under perfect on any factor reduces the bonus. Anything better than ideal boosts the bonus.

Now let’s look how all of that logic can be pulled off in a very simple, short VBA script:

  Private Sub Workbook_Open()For x = 2 To 12Worksheets("Sheet1").Cells(x, 4) = (Worksheets("Sheet1").Cells(x, 2).Value / 50) * 0.4 _ + (Worksheets("Sheet1").Cells(x, 3).Value / 50000) * 0.5 _ + (Worksheets("Sheet2").Cells(x, 2).Value / 10) * 0.1 _Next xEnd Sub 

This is what the output of this script will look like.

If you wanted to have the Bonus column show the actual dollar bonus rather than the percentage, you could multiply it by the maximum bonus amount. Better yet, place that amount in a cell on another sheet, and reference it in your code. This would make it easier to change the value later without having to edit your code.

The beauty of the cells’ method in VBA is that you can build some pretty creative logic to pull in data from many cells across many sheets and perform some pretty complex calculations with them.

You can perform all sorts of actions on cells using the Cells function—things like clearing the cells, changing font formatting, and much more.

To explore everything you can do further, check out the Microsoft MSDN page for the Cells object.

Formatting Cells With Range Function

For looping through many cells one at a time, the cells’ function is perfect. But if you want to apply something to an entire range of cells all at once, the Range function is far more efficient. In the ongoing comparison of VBA’s range vs cells, there is a lot to look forward to.

One use case for this might be to format a range of cells using script if certain conditions are met.

For example, let’s say if the tally of all sales volume across all sales employees surpasses $400,000 in total, you want to highlight all cells in the bonus column in green to signify that the team has earned an extra team bonus.

Let’s take a look at how you can do that with an IF statement.

  Private Sub Workbook_Open()If Worksheets("Sheet1").Cells(13, 3).Value > 400000 Then ActiveSheet.Range("D2:D12").Interior.ColorIndex = 4End IfEnd Sub 

When this runs, if the cell is over the team goal, all cells in the range will be filled in green.

This is just one simple example of the many actions you can perform on groups of cells using the Range function. Other things you can do include:

• Apply an outline around the group
• Check the spelling of text inside a range of cells
• Clear, copy, or cut cells
• Search through a range with the Find method

Make sure to read the Microsoft MSDN page for the Range object to see all the possibilities.

Take Excel to the Next Level

Now that you understand the differences between the Cells and the Range functions, it’s time to take your VBA scripting to the next level. Dann’s article on using Counting and Adding functions in Excel will allow you to build even more advanced scripts that can accumulate values across all of your data sets very quickly.

Technically, Range and Range.Cells are not equivalent. There is a small but important difference.

However in your particular case, where you

1. Construct the range with Range("something"), and
2. Are only interested in the .Value of that range,

it makes no difference at all.

There is a handy clause in VB, For Each, that enumerates all elements in a collection. In the Excel object model, there are convenient properties such as Columns, Rows, or Cells, that return collections of respective cell spans: a collection of columns, a collection of rows, or a collection of cells.

From how the language flows, you would naturally expect that For Each c In SomeRange.Columns would enumerate columns, one at a time, and that For Each r In SomeRange.Rows would enumerate rows, one at a time. And indeed they do just that.
But you can notice that the Columns property returns a Range, and the Rows property also returns a Range. Yet, the former Range would tell the For Each that it’s a «collection of columns», and the latter Range would introduce itself as a «collection of rows».

This works because apparently there is a hidden flag inside each instance of the Range class, that decides how this instance of Range will behave inside a For Each.

Querying Cells off a Range makes sure that you get an instance of Range that has the For Each enumeration mode set to «cells». If you are not going to For Each the range to begin with, that difference makes no difference to you.

And even if you did care about the For Each mode, in your particular case Range("A1").Resize(2,3) and Range("A1").Resize(2,3).Cells are the same too, because by default the Range is constructed with enumeration mode of «cells», and Resize does not change the enumeration mode of the range it resizes.

So the only case that I can think of where querying Cells from an already existing Range would make a difference, is when you have a function that accepts a Range as a parameter, you don’t know how that Range was constructed, you want to enumerate individual cells in that range, and you want to be sure that it’s cells For Each is going to enumerate, not rows or columns:

function DoSomething(byval r as range)
  dim c as range

  'for each c in r ' Wrong - we don't know what we are going to enumerate

  for each c in r.cells ' Make sure we enumerate cells and not rows or columns (or cells sometimes)
    ...
  next
end function

Introduction to Range and Cells in VBA

When you look around in an Excel workbook, you will find that everything works around cells. A cell and a range of cells are where you store your data, and then everything starts.

To make the best of VBA, you need to learn how to use cells and ranges in your codes. For this, you need to have a solid understanding of Range objects. By using it, you can refer to cells in your codes in the following ways:

• A single cell.
• A range of cells
• A row or a column
• A three-dimensional range

The RANGE OBJECT is a part of Excel’s Object Hierarchy: Application ➜ Workbooks ➜ Worksheets ➜ Range and besides inside the worksheet. So if you are writing code to refer to the RANGE object it would be like this:

Application.Workbook(“Workbook-Name”).Worksheets(“Sheet-Name”).Range

By referring to a cell or range of cells, you can do the following things:

• You can read the value from it.
• You can enter a value in it.
• And, you can make changes to the format.

To do all these things, you need to learn to refer to a cell or a range of cells, and in the next section of this tutorial, you will learn to refer to a cell using different ways.

To refer to a cell or a range of cells, you can use three different ways.

• Range Property
• Cells Property
• Offset Property

Well, which one is best out of these depends on your requirement, but it is worth learning all three so that you can choose which one is perfect for you.

So let’s get started.

Range Property

Range property is the most common and popular way to refer to a range in your VBA codes. With Range property, you simply need to refer to the cell address. Let me tell you the syntax.

expression.range(address)

Here the expression is a variable representing a VBA object. So if you need to refer to the cell A1, the line of code you need to write would be:

Application.Workbook(“Book1”).Worksheets(“Sheet1”).Range(“A1”)

The above code tells VBA that you are referring to cell A1 which is in the worksheet “Sheet1” and workbook ”Book1”.

Note: Whenever you type a cell address in the range object, make sure to wrap it in double quotation marks. But here’s one thing to understand. As you are using VBA in Excel there’s no need to use the word “Application”. So the code would be:

Workbook(“Book1”).Worksheets(“Sheet1”).Range(“A1”)

And if you are in the Book1 there you can further trim down your code:

Worksheets(“Sheet1”).Range(“A1”)

But, if you are already in the worksheet “Sheet1” then you can further trim down your code and can only use:

Range(“A1”)

Now, let’s say if you want to refer to a full range of cells (i.e., multiple cells) you need to write the code in the following way:

Range("A1:A5")

In the above code, you have referred to the range A1 to A5 which consists of the five cells. You can also refer to a named range using the range object. Let’s say you have named range with the name of “Sales Discount” to refer to this you can write a code like this:

Range("Sales Discount")

If you want to refer to a non-continues range then you need to do something like this:

Range("A1:B5,D5:G10")

And if you want to refer to an entire row or a column then you need to enter code like the below:

Range("1:1")
Range("A:A")

At this point, you have a clear understanding of how to refer to a cell and the range of cells. But to make it best with this you need to learn how to use this to do other things.

1. Select and Activate a Cell

If you want to select a cell then you can use the Range. Select method. Let’s say if you want to select cell A5 then all you need to do is specify the range and then add “.Select” after that.

Range(“A1”).Select

This code tells VBA to select cell A5 and if you want to select a range of cells then you just need to refer to that range and simply add “.Select” after that.

Range(“A1:A5”).Select

There’s also another method that you can use to activate a cell.

Range(“A1”).Activate

Here you need to remember that you can activate only one cell at a time. Even if you specify a range with the “.Activate” method, it will select that range but the active cell will be the first cell of the range.

2. Enter a Value in a Cell

By using the range property you can enter a value in a cell or a range of cells. Let’s understand how it works using a simple example:

Range("A1").Value = "ExcelChamps"

In the above example, you have specified the A1 as a range and after that, you have added “.Value” which tells VBA to access the value property of the cell.

The next thing you have is the equals sign and then the value which you want to enter (you need to use double quotation marks if you are entering a text value). For a number, the code would like this:

Range("A1").Value = 9988

And if you want to enter a value into a range of cells, I mean multiple cells, then all you need to do is specify that range. 

Range("A1:A5").Value = "ExcelChamps"

And, here’s the code if you are referring to the non-continues range.

Range("A1:A5 , E2:E3").Value = "ExcelChamps"

3. Copy and Paste a Cell/Range

With Range property, you can use the “.Copy” method to copy and cell and then paste it into a destination cell. Let’s say if you need to copy the cell A5 the code for this would be:

Range("A5").Copy 

When you run this code it will simply copy cell A5 but the next thing is to paste this copied cell to a destination cell. For this, you need to add the keyword destination after it and followed by the cell where you want to paste it. So if you want to copy cell A1 and then want to paste it to the cell E5, the code would be:

Range("A1").Copy Destination:=Range("E5")

In the same way, if you are dealing with a range of multiple cells then the code would be like:

Range("A1:A5").Copy Destination:=Range("E5:E9")

If you have copied a range of cells and then if you have mentioned one cell as the destination range, VBA will copy the entire copied range the starting from the cell you have specified as a destination.

Range("A1:A5").Copy Destination:=Range("B1")

When you run the above code, VBA will copy range A1:A5 and will paste it to the B1:B5 even though you have mentioned only B1 as the destination range.

Tip: Just like the “.Copy” method you can use the “.Cut” method to cut a cell and then simply use a destination to paste it.

4. Use Font Property with Range Property

With the range property, you can access the font property of a cell which helps you to change all the font settings. There are a total of 18 different properties for the font which you can access. Let’s say if you want to make the text BOLD in cell A1, the code would be:

Range("A1").Font.Bold = True

This code tells VBA to access the BOLD property of the font which is inside the range A1 and you have set this property to TRUE. Now, let’s say you want to apply strikethrough to cell A1, this time the code would be:

As I said there are a total of 18 different properties you can use, so make sure to check out all of these to see which one is useful for you.

5. Clear Formatting from a Cell

By using the “.ClearFormats” method you can remove only the format from a cell or a range of cells. All you need to do is add “.ClearFormat” after specifying the range, like below:

Range("A1").ClearFormats

When you run the code above it clears all the formatting from cell A1 and if you want to do it for an entire range, you know what to do, Right?

Range("A1:A5").ClearFormats

Now the above code will simply remove the formatting from the range A1 to A5.

Cells Property

Apart from the RANGE property, you can use the “Cells” property to refer to a cell or a range of cells in your worksheet. In cell property, instead of using the cell reference, you need to enter the column number and row number of the cell.

expression.Cells(Row_Number, Column_Number)

Here the expression is a VBA object and Row_Number is the row number of the cell and Column_Number is the column of the cell. So if you want to refer to the cell A5 you can use the code below code:

Cells(5,1)

Now, this code tells VBA to refer to the cell which is at row number five and at column number one. As its syntax says you need to enter column number as address but the reality is you can also use the column alphabet if you want just by wrapping it in double quotation marks.

The below code will also refer to the cell A5:

Cells(5,"A")

And to VBA to select it simply add “.Select” at the end.

Cells(5,1).Select

The above code will select cell A5 which is in the 5th row and in the first column of the worksheet.

OFFSET Property

If you want to play well with ranges in VBA you need to know how to use the OFFSET property. It helps to refer to a cell that is a particular number of rows and columns away from another cell.

Let’s say your active cell is B5 right now and you want to navigate to the cell which is 3 columns right and 1 row down from B5, you can do this OFFSET. Below is the syntax which you need to use for the OFFSET:

expression.Offset (RowOffset, ColumnOffset)

• RowOffset: In this argument, you need to specify a number that will tell VBA how many rows you want to navigate. A positive number defines a row downward and a negative number defines a row upward.
• ColumnOffset: In this argument, you need to specify a number that will tell VBA how many columns you want to navigate. A positive number defines a column to the right and a negative number defines a left. 

Let’s write a simple code for example which we have discussed above.

1. First, you need to define the range from where you want to navigate and so type the below code:
   
2. After that, type “.Offset” and enter opening parentheses, just like below:
   
3. Next, you need to enter the row number and then the column number where you want to navigate.
   
4. In the end, you need to add “.Select” to tell VBA to select the cell where you want to navigate.
   

So when you run this code it will select the cell which is one row down and 3 columns right from cell B5.

Resize a Range using OFFSET

OFFSET not only allows you to navigate to a cell, but you can also resize the range further. Let’s continue the above example.

Range("B5").Offset(1, 3).Select

The above code navigates you to cell E6, and now let’s say you need to select the range of cells that consists of the five columns and three rows from the E6. So what you need to do is after using OFFSET, use the resize property by adding “.Resize”.

Range("B5").Offset(1, 3).Resize

Now you need to enter the row size and column size. Type a starting parenthesis and enter the number to define the row size and then a number to define the column size.

Range("B5").Offset(1, 3).Resize(3,5)

In the end, add “.Select” to tell VBA to select the range, and when you run this code, it will select the range.

Range("B5").Offset(1, 3).Resize(3, 5).Select

So, when you run this code, it will select the range E6 to I8.

Range("A1").Font.Strikethrough = True

Excel’s ranges and cells are both complicated and very simple. They are simple, because everyone has an idea what is a range and what is a cell, and they are complicated, because these are both:

• Properties of the worksheet object
• Properties of the range object

Yup, range is a property of the range object. Thus, something like this is a valid code in VBA:

Close your eyes and think for a couple of seconds what would be printed in the Immediate window after running the code above. If you manage to guess both of the results then you may treat yourself anything. Try them and let me know how it works.

Worksheet.Range Property

This is the classic Range in Excel. Using only this one, you probably never ever need to go to the other 3. If you are not sure what to use, you would probably need to use this. It is something like
Worksheets(1).Range(«A1:Z10»)  or just
Worksheets(1).Range(«B2»), if it is a single range. What is needed to know here, is to declare the parent worksheet (which is a must everywhere actually!) and to make sure you are using the key word
Set, as this is an object:

Worksheet.Cells Property

The Wokrsheet.Cells property in general declares the cells of a worksheet, using the coordination system from A1. E.g, there are about 5 different ways to obtain the cells property of a worksheet:

Range.Range Property

Here is the reason of the funky code from the beginning of the article (Please, do not ever use it in any VBA project, like never-ever). This range property, when is relative to the Range object. Thus, in our code, we had
Range(«C1»).Range(«B2»).Address, which somehow returns
D2, because this is the relation of
B2 to
C1 . E.g., if
C1 was magically transformed to
A1 , then its
B2 should be
D2 , in order to keep the relation of rows and columns. This is quite tough to get probably, thus try to imagine it with this picture:

It is probably easier to explain with the following example:

It is quite visible that the
A1 range of
D2:Z10 is the top left cell, e.g.
D2

Range.Cells Property

What you need to know about the Range.Cells property, is pretty much that it gives the relative position by rows and columns of the top left cell of the range. And because the
Range.Item property is the default one of the
Range object the word Cells could be omitted. Please, do not omit this word, it makes code more readable:

Thank you for staying with me until the end of the article. I hope you are not confused now. 🙂