Vba excel in list список

Элемент управления пользовательской формы ListBox для выбора и ввода информации в VBA Excel. Свойства списка, его заполнение, извлечение данных, примеры кода.

UserForm.ListBox – это элемент управления пользовательской формы, предназначенный для передачи в код VBA информации, выбранной пользователем из одностолбцового или многостолбцового списка.

Список используется в тех случаях, когда необходимо добавить в форму информацию, которая заранее известна, а ее отдельные позиции можно сгруппировать в список. Элемент управления ListBox оправдывает себя при небольших списках, так как большой список будет занимать много места на форме.

Использование полос прокрутки уменьшает преимущество ListBox перед элементом управления ComboBox, которое заключается в том, что при открытии формы все позиции для выбора на виду без дополнительных действий со стороны пользователя. При выборе информации из большого списка удобнее использовать ComboBox.

Элемент управления ListBox позволяет выбрать несколько позиций из списка, но эта возможность не имеет практического смысла. Ввести информацию в ListBox с помощью клавиатуры или вставить из буфера обмена невозможно.

Свойства списка

Свойство	Описание
ColumnCount	Указывает количество столбцов в списке. Значение по умолчанию = 1.
ColumnHeads	Добавляет строку заголовков в ListBox. True – заголовки столбцов включены, False – заголовки столбцов выключены. Значение по умолчанию = False.
ColumnWidths	Ширина столбцов. Значения для нескольких столбцов указываются в одну строку через точку с запятой (;).
ControlSource	Ссылка на ячейку для ее привязки к элементу управления ListBox.
ControlTipText	Текст всплывающей подсказки при наведении курсора на ListBox.
Enabled	Возможность выбора элементов списка. True – выбор включен, False – выключен*. Значение по умолчанию = True.
Font	Шрифт, начертание и размер текста в списке.
Height	Высота элемента управления ListBox.
Left	Расстояние от левого края внутренней границы пользовательской формы до левого края элемента управления ListBox.
List	Позволяет заполнить список данными из одномерного или двухмерного массива, а также обращаться к отдельным элементам списка по индексам для записи и чтения.
ListIndex	Номер выбранной пользователем строки. Нумерация начинается с нуля. Если ничего не выбрано, ListIndex = -1.
Locked	Запрет возможности выбора элементов списка. True – выбор запрещен**, False – выбор разрешен. Значение по умолчанию = False.
MultiSelect***	Определяет возможность однострочного или многострочного выбора. 0 (fmMultiSelectSingle) – однострочный выбор, 1 (fmMultiSelectMulti) и 2 (fmMultiSelectExtended) – многострочный выбор.
RowSource	Источник строк для элемента управления ListBox (адрес диапазона на рабочем листе Excel).
TabIndex	Целое число, определяющее позицию элемента управления в очереди на получение фокуса при табуляции. Отсчет начинается с 0.
Text	Текстовое содержимое выбранной строки списка (из первого столбца при ColumnCount > 1). Тип данных String, значение по умолчанию = пустая строка.
TextAlign	Выравнивание текста: 1 (fmTextAlignLeft) – по левому краю, 2 (fmTextAlignCenter) – по центру, 3 (fmTextAlignRight) – по правому краю.
Top	Расстояние от верхнего края внутренней границы пользовательской формы до верхнего края элемента управления ListBox.
Value	Значение выбранной строки списка (из первого столбца при ColumnCount > 1). Value – свойство списка по умолчанию. Тип данных Variant, значение по умолчанию = Null.
Visible	Видимость списка. True – ListBox отображается на пользовательской форме, False – ListBox скрыт.
Width	Ширина элемента управления.

* При Enabled в значении False возможен только вывод информации в список для просмотра.
** Для элемента управления ListBox действие свойства Locked в значении True аналогично действию свойства Enabled в значении False.
*** Если включен многострочный выбор, свойства Text и Value всегда возвращают значения по умолчанию (пустая строка и Null).

В таблице перечислены только основные, часто используемые свойства списка. Еще больше доступных свойств отображено в окне Properties элемента управления ListBox, а все методы, события и свойства – в окне Object Browser.

Вызывается Object Browser нажатием клавиши «F2». Слева выберите объект ListBox, а справа смотрите его методы, события и свойства.

Свойства BackColor, BorderColor, BorderStyle отвечают за внешнее оформление списка и его границ. Попробуйте выбирать доступные значения этих свойств в окне Properties, наблюдая за изменениями внешнего вида элемента управления ListBox на проекте пользовательской формы.

Способы заполнения ListBox

Используйте метод AddItem для загрузки элементов в список по одному:

With UserForm1.ListBox1   .AddItem «Значение 1»   .AddItem «Значение 2»   .AddItem «Значение 3» End With

Используйте свойство List, чтобы скопировать одномерный массив значений в элемент управления ListBox.

UserForm1.ListBox1.List = Array(«Текст 1», _ «Текст 2», «Текст 3», «Текст 4», «Текст 5»)

Вместо функции Array можно использовать переменные одномерных и двухмерных массивов. При загрузке значений из двухмерного массива, требуется предварительно указать количество столбцов в списке.

Используйте свойство RowSource, чтобы загрузить в список значения из диапазона ячеек рабочего листа:

UserForm1.ListBox1.RowSource = «Лист1!A1:A6»

При загрузке данных из диапазона, содержащего более одного столбца, требуется предварительно указать количество столбцов в списке:

With UserForm1.ListBox1   ‘Указываем количество столбцов   .ColumnCount = 5   .RowSource = «‘Лист со списком’!A1:E10» End With

В качестве имени листа используется имя ярлыка. Если имя листа содержит пробелы, оно заключается в одинарные кавычки.

Подробнее о заполнении элемента управления ListBox вы можете ознакомиться в отдельной статье с наглядными примерами.

Привязка списка к ячейке

Для привязки списка к ячейке на рабочем листе используется свойство ControlSource. Суть привязки заключается в том, что при выборе строки в элементе управления, значение свойства Value копируется в привязанную ячейку.

Если привязанная к списку ячейка содержит значение одной из строк элемента управления ListBox, то при запуске пользовательской формы список откроется с выделенной строкой, содержащей это значение. Если привязанная ячейка при загрузке формы пустая, то список откроется без выделения какой-либо строки.

В случае, когда при открытии формы в привязанной к списку ячейке содержится значение, которого нет ни в одной из строк элемента управления ListBox, будет сгенерирована ошибка.

Привязать ячейку к списку можно, указав адрес ячейки в поле свойства ControlSource в окне Properties элемента управления ListBox. Или присвоить адрес ячейки свойству ControlSource в коде VBA Excel:

UserForm1.ListBox1.ControlSource = «Лист1!A2»

Теперь значение выбранной строки в списке автоматически копируется в ячейку «A2» на листе «Лист1»:

В окне Properties адрес указывается без двойных кавычек. Если имя листа содержит пробелы, оно заключается в одинарные кавычки.

Извлечение информации из списка

Первоначально элемент управления ListBox открывается со строками, ни одна из которых не выбрана. При выборе (выделении) строки, ее значение записывается в свойства Value и Text.

Из этих свойств мы с помощью кода VBA Excel извлекаем информацию, выбранную в списке пользователем:

Dim myVar as Variant, myTxt As String myVar = UserForm1.ListBox1.Value ‘или myTxt = UserForm1.ListBox1.Text

Вторую строку кода можно записать myVar = UserForm1.ListBox1, так как Value является свойством списка по умолчанию.

Если ни одна позиция в списке не выбрана, свойство Value возвращает значение Null, а свойство Text – пустую строку. Если выбрана строка в многостолбцовом списке, в свойства Value и Text будет записана информация из первого столбца.

Что делать, если понадобятся данные из других столбцов многостолбцового списка, кроме первого?

Для получения данных из любого столбца элемента управления ListBox используется свойство List, а для определения выбранной пользователем строки – ListIndex.

Для тестирования приведенного ниже кода скопируйте таблицу и вставьте ее в диапазон «A1:D4» на листе с ярлыком «Лист1»:

Звери	Лев	Тапир	Вивера
Птицы	Грач	Сорока	Филин
Рыбы	Карась	Налим	Парусник
Насекомые	Оса	Жук	Муравей

Создайте в редакторе VBA Excel пользовательскую форму и добавьте на нее список с именем ListBox1. Откройте модуль формы и вставьте в него следующие процедуры:

Private Sub UserForm_Initialize() With Me.ListBox1   ‘Указываем, что у нас 4 столбца   .ColumnCount = 4   ‘Задаем размеры столбцов   .ColumnWidths = «50;50;50;50»   ‘Импортируем данные   .RowSource = «Лист1!A1:D4»   ‘Привязываем список к ячейке «F1»   .ControlSource = «F1» End With End Sub Private Sub UserForm_Click() MsgBox Me.ListBox1.List(Me.ListBox1.ListIndex, 2) End Sub

В процедуре UserForm_Initialize() присваиваем значения некоторым свойствам элемента управления ListBox1 перед открытием пользовательской формы. Процедура UserForm_Click() при однократном клике по форме выводит в MsgBox значение из третьего столбца выделенной пользователем строки.

Теперь при выборе строки в списке, значение свойства Value будет записываться в ячейку «F1», а при клике по форме функция MsgBox выведет значение третьего столбца выделенной строки.

Обратите внимание, что при первом запуске формы, когда ячейка «F1» пуста и ни одна строка в ListBox не выбрана, клик по форме приведет к ошибке. Это произойдет из-за того, что свойство ListIndex возвратит значение -1, а это недопустимый номер строки для свойства List.

Если для списка разрешен многострочный выбор (MultiSelect = fmMultiSelectMulti или MultiSelect = fmMultiSelectExtended), тогда, независимо от количества выбранных строк, свойство Value будет возвращать значение Null, а свойство Text – пустую строку. Свойство ListIndex будет возвращать номер строки, которую кликнули последней, независимо от того, что это было – выбор или отмена выбора.

Иногда перед загрузкой в ListBox требуется отобрать уникальные элементы из имеющегося списка. Смотрите, как это сделать с помощью объектов Collection и Dictionary.

Using a VBA ArrayList

An ArrayList is a VBA object that can be used to store values. It is similar to a Collection object, but it has far greater flexibility from a programming point of view. Let’s discuss some difference between ArrayLists and Collections and Arrays.

• The Collection object only has two methods (Add, Remove) and two properties (Count, Item) whereas an Array List has many more.
• The Collection object is read only. Once values have been added, the indexed value cannot be changed, whereas on an Array List, editing is possible.
• The ArrayList object expands and contracts in size according to how many items that it contains.  It does not need to be dimensioned before use like an Array.
• The ArrayList is one dimensional (same as the Collection object) and the default data type is Variant, which means that it will accept any type of data, whether it be numeric, text, or date.

In many ways the Array List addresses a number of shortcomings of the Collection object. It is certainly far more flexible in what it can do.

The Array List object is not part of the standard VBA library. You can use it in your Excel VBA code by using late or early binding.

Sub LateBindingExample()
Dim MyList As Object
Set MyList = CreateObject("System.Collections.ArrayList")
End Sub

Sub EarlyBindingExample()
Dim MyList As New ArrayList
End Sub

In order to use the early binding example, you must first enter a reference in VBA to the file ‘mscorlib.tlb’

You do this by selecting ‘Tools | References ‘ from the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) window. A pop-up window will appear with all available references. Scroll down to ‘mscorlib.dll’ and tick the box next to it. Click OK and that library is now part of your project:

One of the big drawbacks of an Array List object is that it does not have ‘Intellisense’. Normally, where you are using an object in VBA such as a range, you will see a pop-up list of all the available properties and methods.  You do not get this with an Array List object, and it sometimes needs careful checking to make sure that you have spelt the method or property correctly.

Also, if you press F2 in the VBE window, and search on ‘arraylist’, nothing will be displayed, which is not very helpful to a developer.

Your code will run considerably faster with early binding, because it is all compiled up front. With late binding, the object has to be compiled as the code runs

Distributing Your Excel Application Containing an Array List

As already pointed out, the ArrayList object is not part of Excel VBA. This means that any of your colleagues that you distribute the application to must have access to the file ‘mscorlib.tlb’

This file is normally located in:

C:WindowsMicrosoft.NETFrameworkv4.0.30319

It could be worth writing some code (using the Dir method) to check that this file exists when a user loads the application so that they experience a ‘soft landing’ if not found. If it is not present, and the code runs then errors will occur.

Also, the user must have the correct .Net Framework version installed. Even if the user has a later version, V3.5 must be installed otherwise your application will not work

Scope of an Array List Object

In terms of scope, the Array List object is only available whilst the workbook is open. It does not get saved when the workbook is saved. If the workbook is re-opened then the Array List object needs to be re-created using VBA code.

If you want your Array List to be available to all the code in your code module, then you need to declare the Array List object in the Declare section at the very top of the module window

This will ensure that all your code within that module can access the Array List.  If you want any module within your workbook to access the Array List object, then define it as a global object.

Global MyCollection As New ArrayList

Populating and Reading from Your Array List

The most basic action that you want to take is to create an array list, put some data into it and then prove that the data can be read.  All the code examples in this article assume that you are using early binding, and have added ‘mscorlib.tlb’ to the VBA references, as described above.

Sub ArrayListExample()
'Create new array list object
Dim MyList As New ArrayList

'Add items to list
MyList.Add "Item1"
MyList.Add "Item2"
MyList.Add "Item3"

'Iterate through array list to prove values
For N = 0 To MyList.Count - 1
    MsgBox MyList(N)
Next N

End Sub

This example creates a new ArrayList object, populates it with 3 items, and the iterates through the list displaying each item.

Note that the ArrayList index starts at 0, not 1, so you need to subtract 1 from the Count value

You can also use a ‘For…Each’ loop to read the values:

Sub ArrayListExample()
'Create new array list object
Dim MyList As New ArrayList

'Add items to list
MyList.Add "Item1"
MyList.Add "Item2"
MyList.Add "Item3"

'Iterate through array list to prove values
For Each I In MyList
    MsgBox I
Next I

End Sub

Editing and Changing Items in an Array List

A major advantage of an Array List over a Collection is that the items in the list can be edited and changed within your code. The Collection object is read only whereas the Array List object is read / write.

Sub ArrayListExample()
'Create new array list object
Dim MyList As New ArrayList

'Add items to list
MyList.Add "Item1"
MyList.Add "Item2"
MyList.Add "Item3"

'Change item 1 from ‘Item2’ to ‘Changed’
MyList(1) = "Changed"

'Iterate through array list to prove change worked
For Each I In MyList
    'Display item name
    MsgBox I
Next I

End Sub

In this example, the second item, ‘Item2’ is altered to the value ‘Changed’ (remember that the index starts at 0). When the iteration is run at the end of the code, the new value will be displayed.

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Adding an Array of Values to an Array List

You can enter values into your Array List by using an array containing a list of these values or references to cell values on a worksheet

Sub AddArrayExample()
'Create Array list object
Dim MyList As New ArrayList

'iterate through array values adding them to the array list
For Each v In Array("A1", "A2", "A3")
    'Add each array value to list		
    MyList.Add v
Next

'iterate through array values with worksheet references adding them to the array list
For Each v In Array(Range("A5").Value, Range("A6").Value)
    MyList.Add v
Next

'Iterate through array list to prove values
For N = 0 To MyList.Count – 1
   'Display list item
    MsgBox MyList.Item(N)
Next N

End Sub

Reading / Retrieving a Range of Items from an Array List

By using the GetRange method on an Array List, you can specify a rage of consecutive items to be retrieved. The two parameters required are the starting index position and the number of items to be retrieved. The code populates a second Array List object with the sub set of items which can then be read separately.

Sub ReadRangeExample()
'Define objects
Dim MyList As New ArrayList, MyList1 As Object

'Add items to ‘MyList’ object
MyList.Add "Item1"
MyList.Add "Item2"
MyList.Add "Item3"
MyList.Add "Item6"
MyList.Add "Item4"
MyList.Add "Item7"

'Capture 4 items in ‘MyList’ starting at index position 2
Set MyList1 = MyList.GetRange(2, 4)

'Iterate through the object ‘MyList1’ to display the sub set of items
For Each I In MyList1
   'Display item name
    MsgBox I
Next I

End Sub

Searching for Items Within an Array List

You can test whether a named item is in your list by using the ‘Contains’ method. This will return True or False

MsgBox MyList.Contains("Item2")

You can also find the actual index position by using the ‘IndexOf’ method. You need to specify the start index for the search (usually 0).  The return value is the index of the first instance of the found item.  You can then use a loop to change the starting point to the next index value to find further instances if there are several duplicate values.

If the value is not found then a value of -1 is returned

This example demonstrates using ‘Contains’, item not found, and looping through the array list to find the position of all duplicate items:

Sub SearchListExample()
'Define array list and variables
Dim MyList As New ArrayList, Sp As Integer, Pos As Integer

'Add new items including a duplicate
MyList.Add "Item1"
MyList.Add "Item2"
MyList.Add "Item3"
MyList.Add "Item1"

'Test for “Item2” being in list - returns True
MsgBox MyList.Contains("Item2")

'Get index of non-existent value – returns -1
MsgBox MyList.IndexOf("Item", 0)

'Set the start position for the search to zero
Sp = 0

'Iterate through list to get all positions of ‘Item1”
Do
     'Get the index position of the next ‘Item1’ based on the position in the variable ‘Sp’
    Pos = MyList.IndexOf("Item1", Sp)
   'If no further instances of ‘Item1’ are found then exit the loop
    If Pos = -1 Then Exit Do
   'Display the next instance found and the index position
    MsgBox MyList(Pos) & " at index " & Pos
   'Add 1 to the last found index value – this now becomes the new start position for the next search
    Sp = Pos + 1
Loop

End Sub

Note that the search text used is case sensitive and wild cards are not accepted.

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Insert and Remove Items

If you do not wish to add your items onto the end of the list, you can insert them at a particular index position so that the new item is in the middle of the list. The index numbers will be automatically adjusted for the subsequent items.

Sub InsertExample()
'Define array list object
Dim MyList As New ArrayList

'Add items to array list
MyList.Add "Item1"
MyList.Add "Item2"
MyList.Add "Item3"
MyList.Add "Item1"

'Insert ‘Item6’ at index position 2
MyList.Insert 2, "Item6"

'Iterate through items in the array list to show new order and index position
For N = 0 To MyList.Count - 1
    MsgBox MyList(N) & " Index " & N
Next N

End Sub

In this example, ‘Item6’ is added into the list at index position 2, so the ‘item3’ which was at index position 2 now moves to index position 3.

An individual item can be removed by using the ‘Remove’ method.

MyList.Remove "Item"

Note that there is no error produced if the item name is not found. All the subsequent index numbers will be changed to suit the removal.

If you know the index position of the item you can use the ‘RemoveAt’ method e.g.

MyList.RemoveAt 2

Note that if the index position given is greater than the number of items in the array list, then an error will be returned.

You can remove a range of values from the list by using the ‘RemoveRange’ method.  The parameters are the starting index and then the number of items to remove e.g.

MyList.RemoveRange 3, 2

Note that you will get an error in your code if the number of items offset from the start value is greater than the number of items in the array list.

In both the ‘RemoveAt’ and ‘RemoveRange’ methods, some code would be advisable to check whether the index numbers specified are greater than the total number of items in the array list in order to trap any possible errors.  The ‘Count’ property will give the total number of items in the array list.

Sub RemoveExample()
'Define array list object
Dim MyList As New ArrayList
'Add items to array list
MyList.Add "Item1"
MyList.Add "Item2"
MyList.Add "Item3"
MyList.Add "Item1"
MyList.Add "Item4"
MyList.Add "Item5"
'Insert ‘Item6’ at index position 2
MyList.Insert 2, "Item6"
'Remove ‘Item2’
MyList.Remove "Item2"
'Remove ‘Item’ – this does not exist in the array list but does not error
MyList.Remove "Item"
'Remove the item at index position 2
MyList.RemoveAt 2
'Remove 2 consecutive items starting at index position 2
MyList.RemoveRange 3, 2
'Iterate through the array list to show what is left and what index position it is now in
For N = 0 To MyList.Count - 1
    MsgBox MyList(N) & " Index " & N
Next N
End Sub

Note that if you are using the ‘RemoveAt’ to remove an item at a specific position then as soon as that item is removed, all the subsequent index positions are altered. If you have multiple removals using the index position, then a good idea is to start with the highest index number and step backwards down to position zero so that you will always be removing the correct item. In this way you will not have the problem

Sorting an Array List

Another big advantage over a collection is that you can sort the items into ascending or descending order.

The Array List object is the only object in Excel VBA with a sorting method.  The sorting method is very fast and this can be an important consideration for using an Array List.

In the collection object, some ‘out of the box’ thinking was required to sort all the items, but with an array list, it is very simple.

The ‘Sort’ method sorts in ascending order, and the ‘Reverse’ method sorts in descending order.

Sub ArrayListExample()
'Create Array List object
Dim MyList As New ArrayList
'Add items in a non-sorted order
MyList.Add "Item1"
MyList.Add "Item3"
MyList.Add "Item2"
'Sort the items into ascending order
MyList.Sort
'Iterate through the items to show ascending order
For Each I In MyList
    'Display item name
    MsgBox I
Next I
'Sort the items into descending order
MyList.Reverse
'Iterate through the items to show descending order
For Each I In MyList
    'Display item name
    MsgBox I
Next I
End Sub

Cloning an Array List

An array list has the facility to create a clone or copy of itself.  This is useful if a user makes changes to the items using a front end and your VBA code, but you need to keep a copy of the items in their original state as a backup.

This could provide the user with an ‘Undo’ feature. They may have made the changes, and wish to revert back to the original list.

Sub CloneExample()
'Define two objects – array list and an object
Dim MyList As New ArrayList, MyList1 As Object
'Populate first object with items
MyList.Add "Item1"
MyList.Add "Item2"
MyList.Add "Item3"
'Copy Mylist to MyList1
Set MyList1 = MyList.Clone
'Iterate through MyList1 to prove cloning
For Each I In MyList1
    'Display item name
    MsgBox I
Next I
End Sub

‘MyList1’ now contains all the items from ‘MyList’ in the same order

Copying a List Array into a Conventional VBA Array Object

You can use a simple method to copy the array list into a normal VBA array:

Sub ArrayExample()
'Create array list object and a standard array object
Dim MyList As New ArrayList, NewArray As Variant
'Populate array list with items
MyList.Add "Item1"
MyList.Add "Item2"
MyList.Add "Item3"
'Copy the array list to the new array
NewArray = MyList.ToArray
'Iterate through the new array – note that the array list count provides the maximum index
For N = 0 To MyList.Count – 1
    'Display item name
    MsgBox NewArray(N)
Next N
End Sub

Copying a List Array into a Worksheet Range

You can copy your array list to a specific worksheet and cell reference without the need to iterate through the array list. You need only specify the first cell reference

Sub RangeExample()
'Create new array list object
Dim MyList As New ArrayList
'Add items to list
MyList.Add "Item1"
MyList.Add "Item2"
MyList.Add "Item3"
'Clear the target sheet
Sheets("Sheet1").UsedRange.Clear
'Copy items across a row
Sheets("Sheet1").Range("A1").Resize(1, MyList.Count).Value = MyList.toArray
'Copy items down a column
Sheets("Sheet1").Range("A5").Resize(MyList.Count, 1).Value =  _
WorksheetFunction.Transpose(MyList.toArray)
End Sub

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Empty All Items from an Array List

There is a simple function (Clear) to clear the array list completely

Sub ClearListExample()
'Create array list object
Dim MyList As New ArrayList
'Add new items
MyList.Add "Item1"
MyList.Add "Item2"
MyList.Add "Item3"
'Show count of items
MsgBox MyList.Count
'Clear all items
MyList.Clear
'Show count of items to prove that clear has worked
MsgBox MyList.Count
End Sub

This example creates items in an array list and then clears the array list.  Message boxes prove before and after the number of items in the array list.

Array List Methods Summary for Excel VBA

Task	Parameters	Examples
Add / Edit item	Value	MyList.Add “Item1”
MyList(4)= “Item2”
Clone an Array List	None	Dim MyList As Object
	Set MyList2 = MyList.Clone
Copy to Array	None	Dim MyArray As Variant
MyArray = MyList.ToArray
Copy to a worksheet range(row)	None	Sheets(“Sheet1”).Range(“A1”).Resize(1, MyList.Count).Value = MyList.ToArray
Copy to a worksheet  range(column)	None	Sheets(“Sheet1”).Range(“A3”).Resize(MyList.Count, 1).Value = WorksheetFunction.Transpose(MyList.ToArray)
Create	“System.Collections.ArrayList”	Dim MyList As Object
Set MyList = CreateObject(“System.Collections.ArrayList”)
Declare	N/A	Dim MyList As Object
Find / check if item exists	Item to find	MyList.Contains(“Item2”)
Find the position of an item in the ArrayList	1. Item to find.	Dim IndexNo As Long
2. Position to start searching from.	IndexNo = MyList.IndexOf(“Item3”, 0)
	IndexNo = MyList.IndexOf(“Item5”, 3)
Get number of items	None	MsgBox MyList.Count
Insert Item	1. Index – position to insert at.	MyList.Insert 0, “Item5”
2 Value – object or value to insert.	MyList.Insert 4, “Item7”
Read item	Index – long integer	MsgBox MyList.Item(0)
MsgBox MyList.Item(4)
Read item added last	Index – long integer	MsgBox MyList.Item(list.Count – 1)
Read item added first	Index – long integer	MsgBox MyList.Item(0)
Read all items(For Each)	N/A	Dim element As Variant
For Each element In MyList
MsgBox element
Next element
Read all items(For)	Index – long integer	Dim i As Long
For i = 0 To MyList.Count – 1
MsgBox i
Next i
Remove all Items	None	MyList.Clear
Remove item at position	Index position where the item is	MyList.RemoveAt 5
Remove item by name	The item to remove from the ArrayList	MyList.Remove “Item3”
Remove a range of Items	1. Index – starting postion.	MyList.RemoveRange 4,3
2. Count – the number of items to remove.
Sort in Descending Order	None	MyList.Reverse
Sort in ascending order	Non	MyList.Sort

The VBA ArrayList is a much better alternative to the built-in VBA Collection. It contains much richer functionality such as sorting, converting to an array, removing all items etc.

Check out the quick guide for an overview of what the ArrayList does. The rest of this post provides examples of how to use the ArrayList.

Quick Guide to the VBA ArrayList

Task	Method	Parameters	Examples
Access item	Item	index — long integer	value = list.Item(0) value = list.Item(3)
Access item added last	Item	index — long integer	value = list.Item(list.Count — 1)
Access item added first	Item	index — long integer	value = list.Item(0)
Access all items(For Each)	N/A	N/A	Dim element As Variant For Each element In fruit Debug.Print element Next element
Access all items(For)	Item	index — long integer	Dim i As Long For i = 0 To list.Count — 1 Debug.Print list.item(i) Next i
Add item	Add	object or value	list.Add «Apple» list.Add «Pear»
Copy ArrayList to another ArrayList	Clone	None	Dim list2 As Object Set list2 = list.Clone
Copy to Array	ToArray	None	Dim arr As Variant arr = list.ToArray
Copy to a range(row)	ToArray	None	Sheet1.Range(«A1»).Resize(1, list.Count).Value = list.ToArray
Copy to a range(column)	ToArray	None	Sheet1.Range(«A3»).Resize(list.Count, 1).Value = WorksheetFunction.Transpose(list.ToArray)
Create	CreateObject	«System.Collections.ArrayList»	Dim list As Object Set list = CreateObject(«System.Collections.ArrayList»)
Declare	N/A	N/A	Dim list As Object
Find — check if item exists	Contains	item to find	list.Contains(«Apple»)
Find the position of an item in the ArrayList	IndexOf	1. Item to find. 2. Position to start searching from.	Dim index As Long ‘ Search from 0 position index = fruit.IndexOf(«Pear», 0)
Get number of items	Count	None	totalElements = list.Count
Insert Item	Insert	1. Index — position to insert at. 2 Value — object or value to insert.	list.Insert 0, «Peach» ‘ First list.Insert 1, «Banana» ‘ Second list.Insert list.Count, «Orange» ‘ Last
Remove all Items	Clear	None	list.Clear
Remove item at position	RemoveAt	Index — position where the item is	list.RemoveAt 0
Remove item by name	Remove	Item — the item to remove from the ArrayList	list.Remove «Apple»
Remove a range of Items	RemoveRange	1. Index — starting postion. 2. Count — the number of items to remove.	list.RemoveRange 1,3
Reverse the list	Reverse	None	list.Reverse
Sort in ascending	Sort	None	list.Sort

Description

The ArrayList is similar to the VBA built-in Collection. It is not part of VBA, but it is in an external library which we can access easily. The ArrayList is the same one that is used in the language C#. As you would expect, the ArrayList has a built-in sort, array conversion and other functionality that you would expect in a modern programming language. For the purpose of this article, I will refer to it as the VBA ArrayList.

Download the Source Code

Declare and Create the VBA ArrayList

Like all external libraries we can create the ArrayList using early and late binding.

Late Binding

We use CreateObject to create the ArrayList using late binding:

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

    Dim coll As Object
    Set coll = CreateObject("System.Collections.ArrayList")

End Sub

Early Binding

Update 12-Nov-2019: Intellisense doesn’t currently work for the ArrayList.
Early binding allows use to use the Intellisense to see what is available to use. We must first add the type library as a reference and then select it from the reference list. We can use the following steps to do this:

1. Select Tools and then References from the menu.
2. Click on the Browse.
3. Find the file mscorlib.tlb and click Open. It should be in a folder like this C:WindowsMicrosoft.NETFrameworkv4.0.30319.
4. Scroll down the list and check mscorlib.dll.
5. Click Ok.

 
You can now use the following code to declare the ArrayList using early binding:

Dim coll As New ArrayList

VBA ArrayList Automation Error

You may encounter the VB Run-time Error ‘-2146232576 Automation Error’ when trying to get the ArrayList to work. Or sometimes your code has been working for a long time and then suddenly this error appears.

This is caused by not having the correct .Net Framework version installed. The correct version is 3.5. It doesn’t matter if you have a later version like 4.7, you must have 3.5 installed.

Adding Items to the VBA ArrayList

Adding items to the ArrayList is very similar to how we add them to the Collection. We use the Add method:

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

    Dim coll As Object
    Set coll = CreateObject("System.Collections.ArrayList")
    
    ' Add items
    coll.Add "Apple" 
    coll.Add "Watermelon"
    coll.Add "Pear"
    coll.Add "Banana"
    
    ' Insert to first position
    coll.Insert 0, "Plum"

End Sub

Reading through an ArrayList

We read through the ArrayList similar to the VBA Collection except that we read from zero to Count-1 rather than from one to Count.

Note: We will use this PrintToImmediateWindow sub in the follow examples to show the contents of the array after the various operations.

' Print all items to the Immediate Window(Ctrl + G)
' Items must be basic data type e.g. Long, String, Double
' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub PrintToImmediateWindow(coll As Object)

    Dim i As Long
    For i = 0 To coll.Count - 1
        Debug.Print coll(i)
    Next i
    
End Sub

 
We can use the For Each loop with the VBA ArrayList just like we use it with a Collection:

' Print all items to the Immediate Window(Ctrl + G)
' Items much be basic data type e.g. Long, String, Double
' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub PrintToImmediateWindowEach(coll As Object)

    Dim item As Variant
    For Each item In coll
        Debug.Print item
    Next item
    
End Sub

You can download all the code examples at the top of this post.

Sorting

Sort will sort the VBA ArrayList in ascending order.

To sort in descending order simply use Reverse after Sort.

The following code shows an example of sorting in both ascending and descending order:

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

    Dim coll As Object
    Set coll = CreateObject("System.Collections.ArrayList")
    
    ' Add items
    coll.Add "Apple"
    coll.Add "Watermelon"
    coll.Add "Pear"
    coll.Add "Banana"
    coll.Add "Plum"
    
    ' Sort
    coll.Sort
    
    Debug.Print vbCrLf & "Sorted Ascending"
    ' Add this sub from "Reading through the items" section
    PrintToImmediateWindow coll
    
    ' Reverse sort
    coll.Reverse
    
    Debug.Print vbCrLf & "Sorted Descending"
    PrintToImmediateWindow coll
    
End Sub

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub PrintToImmediateWindow(coll As Object)

    Dim i As Long
    For i = 0 To coll.Count - 1
        Debug.Print coll(i)
    Next i
    
End Sub

Cloning the VBA ArrayList

We can create a copy of the ArrayList by using the Clone method. This creates a brand new copy of the ArrayList.

It’s not the same as assigning the variable which means both variables point to the same ArrayList e.g.

' Both variables point to the same ArrayList
Set coll2 = coll

We use Clone like this:

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

    ' Create the ArrayList
    Dim coll1 As Object
    Set coll1 = CreateObject("System.Collections.ArrayList")
    
    ' Add items
    coll1.Add "Apple"
    coll1.Add "Watermelon"
    coll1.Add "Pear"
    coll1.Add "Banana"
    coll1.Add "Plum"
    
    ' Creates a copy of the original ArrayList
    Dim coll2 As Object
    Set coll2 = coll1.Clone
    
    ' Remove all items from coll1
    coll1.Clear
    
    ' Add PrintToImmediateWindow sub from "Reading through the items" section
    Debug.Print vbCrLf & "coll1 Contents are:"
    PrintToImmediateWindow coll1
    
    Debug.Print vbCrLf & "coll2 Contents are:"
    PrintToImmediateWindow coll2

End Sub

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub PrintToImmediateWindow(coll As Object)

    Dim i As Long
    For i = 0 To coll.Count - 1
        Debug.Print coll(i)
    Next i
    
End Sub

Copying from an VBA ArrayList to an Array

We can copy from the ArrayList to an array in one line using the ToArray method:

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

    ' Declare and Create ArrayList
    Dim coll As Object
    Set coll = CreateObject("System.Collections.ArrayList")
    
    ' Add items
    coll.Add "Apple"
    coll.Add "Watermelon"
    coll.Add "Pear"
    coll.Add "Banana"
    coll.Add "Plum"
    
    ' Copy to array
    Dim arr As Variant
    arr = coll.ToArray
    
    ' Print the array
    Debug.Print vbCrLf & "Printing the array contents:"
    PrintArrayToImmediate arr
    
End Sub

' Prints the contents of a one dimensional array
' to the Immediate Window(Ctrl + G)
' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub PrintArrayToImmediate(arr As Variant)
    
    Dim i As Long
    For i = LBound(arr) To UBound(arr)
        Debug.Print arr(i)
    Next i
       
End Sub

 
You can download all the code examples at the top of this post.
 

Writing Directly to a Range

One of the biggest advantages of the ArrayList is that we can write the contents directly to a range.

The code below writes the contents to both a row and a column:

'  Writes the contents of an ArrayList to a worksheet range
' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub ClearArrayList()

    ' Declare and Create ArrayList
    Dim fruit As Object
    Set fruit = CreateObject("System.Collections.ArrayList")
    
    ' Add items
    fruit.Add "Apple"
    fruit.Add "Watermelon"
    fruit.Add "Pear"
    fruit.Add "Banana"
    fruit.Add "Plum"
    fruit.Add "Peach"
    
       
    ' ' Clean existing data
    Sheet1.Cells.ClearContents
    
    ' Write to a row
    Sheet1.Range("C1").Resize(1, fruit.Count).Value = fruit.toArray
    
    ' Write to a column
    Sheet1.Range("A1").Resize(fruit.Count, 1).Value = WorksheetFunction.Transpose(fruit.toArray)
    
End Sub

Array to a VBA ArrayList(1D)

As we have seen, there is an in-built function ToArray which will copy from an ArrayList to an Array.

If we want to copy from an Array to an ArrayList we need to create our own function which I have done below. Because we read through the items one at a time, it may be a bit slow if we have a lot of data:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Function ArrayToArrayList(arr As Variant) As Object

    ' Check that array is One Dimensional
    On Error Resume Next
    Dim ret As Long
    ret = -1
    ret = UBound(arr, 2)
    On Error Goto 0
    If ret <> -1 Then
        Err.Raise vbObjectError + 513, "ArrayToArrayList" _
                , "The array can only have one 1 dimension"
    End If

    ' Create the ArrayList
    Dim coll As Object
    Set coll = CreateObject("System.Collections.ArrayList")
    
    ' Add items to the ArrayList
    Dim i As Long
    For i = LBound(arr, 1) To UBound(arr, 1)
        coll.Add arr(i)
    Next i
    
    ' Return the new ArrayList
    Set ArrayToArrayList = coll
    
End Function

 
You can use it like this:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub ReadFromArray1D()
    
    Dim arr(1 To 3) As Variant
    
    arr(1) = "PeterJ"
    arr(2) = "Jack"
    arr(3) = "Jill"
    
    ' Create the ArrayList
    Dim coll As Object
    Set coll = ArrayToArrayList(arr)

    PrintToImmediateWindow coll
    
End Sub

Remove All Items from the ArrayList

We can remove all the items from an ArrayList by using the Clear function:

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

    ' Declare and Create ArrayList
    Dim coll As Object
    Set coll = CreateObject("System.Collections.ArrayList")
    
    ' Add items
    coll.Add "Apple"
    coll.Add "Watermelon"
    coll.Add "Pear"
    coll.Add "Banana"
    coll.Add "Plum"
    
    Debug.Print vbCrLf & "The number of items is: " & coll.Count
    
    ' Remove all item
    coll.Clear
    
    Debug.Print "The number of items is: " & coll.Count
    
End Sub

 
You can download all the code examples at the top of this post.
 

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.)

Fill the values array in with the appropriate values from Codes!$A$1:$A$14.

Code without comments

Sub UpdateLookups()
    Dim data, values As Variant
    Dim Target As Range
    Dim x As Long

    values = Array("Tom", "Henry", "Frank", "Richard", "Rodger", "ect...")
    With Worksheets("Sheet1")
        Set Target = .Range("D2", .Range("D" & .Rows.Count).End(xlUp))
    End With
    data = Target.Value
    For x = 1 To UBound(data, 1)
        data(x, 1) = IIf(IsError(Application.Match(data(x, 1), values, 0)), "YES", "NO")
    Next
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual
    Target.Offset(0, -3).Value = data
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False

End Sub

Code with comments

Sub UpdateLookups()
    Dim data, values As Variant
    Dim Target As Range
    Dim x As Long
    'values: Array of values that will be searched
    values = Array("Tom", "Henry", "Frank", "Richard", "Rodger", "ect...")
    'With Worksheets allows use to easily 'qualify' ranges
    'The term fully qualified means that there is no ambiguity about the reference
    'For instance this referenece Range("A1") changes depending on the ActiveSheet
    'Worksheet("Sheet1").Range("A1") is considered a qualified reference.
    'Of course Workbooks("Book1.xlsm").Worksheet("Sheet1").Range("A1") is fully qualified but it is usually overkill

    With Worksheets("Sheet1")
        'Sets a refernce to a Range that starts at "D2" extends to the last used cell in Column D
        Set Target = .Range("D2", .Range("D" & .Rows.Count).End(xlUp))
    End With
    ' Assigns the values of the Target Cells to an array
    data = Target.Value
    'Iterate over each value of the array changing it's value based on our formula
    For x = 1 To UBound(data, 1)
        data(x, 1) = IIf(IsError(Application.Match(data(x, 1), values, 0)), "YES", "NO")
    Next
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False 'Speeds up write operations (value assignments) and formatting
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual 'Speeds up write operations (value assignments)
    'Here we assign the data array back to the Worksheet
    'But we assign them 3 Columns to the left of the original Target Range
    Target.Offset(0, -3).Value = data
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
    'Loading the data into an Array allows us to write the data back to the worksheet in one operation
    'So if there was 100K cells in the Target range we would have
    'reduced the number of write operations from 100K to 1
End Sub