Excel Macro(VBA)

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Create a MacroWith Excel VBA you can automate tasks in Excel by writing so called macros. In this chapter, learn how to create asimple macro which will be executed after clicking on a command button. First, turn on the Developer tab.

Developer TabTo turn on the Developter tab, execute the following steps.

1. Right click anywhere on the ribbon, and then click Customize the Ribbon.

2. Under Customize the Ribbon, on the right side of the dialog box, select Main tabs (if necessary).

3. Check the Developer check box.

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4. Click OK.

5. You can find the Developer tab next to the View tab.

Command ButtonTo place a command button on your worksheet, execute the following steps.

1. On theDeveloper tab,click Insert.

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2. In the ActiveX Controls group, click Command Button.

3. Drag a command button on your worksheet.

Assign a MacroTo assign a macro (one or more code lines) to the command button, execute the following steps.

1. Right click CommandButton1 (make sure Design Mode is selected).

2. Click View Code.

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The Visual Basic Editor appears.

3. Place your cursor between Private Sub CommandButton1_Click() and End Sub.

4. Add the code line shown below.

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Note: the window on the left with the names Sheet1, Sheet2 and Sheet3 is called the Project Explorer. If the Project

Explorer is not visible, click View, Project Explorer. To add the Code window for the first sheet, click Sheet1 (Sheet1).

5. Close the Visual Basic Editor.

6. Click the command button on the sheet (make sure Design Mode is deselected).

Result:

Congratulations. You've just created a macro in Excel!

Visual Basic EditorTo open the Visual Basic Editor, on theDeveloper tab,click Visual Basic.

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The Visual Basic Editor appears.

MsgBox

The MsgBox is a dialog box in Excel VBA you can use to inform the users of your program. Place a command

buttonon your worksheet and add the following code lines:

1. A simple message.

MsgBox "This is fun"

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Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

2. A little more advanced message. First, enter a number into cell A1.

MsgBox "Entered value is " & Range("A1").Value

Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

Note: we used the & operator to concatenate (join) two strings. Although Range("A1").value is not a string, it works

here.

3. To start a new line in a message, use vbNewLine.

MsgBox "Line 1" & vbNewLine & "Line 2"

Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

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Workbook and WorksheetObject

Learn more about the Workbook and Worksheet object in Excel VBA.

Object Hierarchy

In Excel VBA, an object can contain another object, and that object can contain another object, etc. In other words,

Excel VBA programming involves working with an object hierarchy. This probably sounds quite confusing, but we will

make it clear.

The mother of all objects is Excel itself. We call it the Application object. The application object contains other objects.

For example, the Workbook object (Excel file). This can be any workbook you have created. The Workbook object

contains other objects, such as the Worksheet object. The Worksheet object contains other objects, such as the

Range object.

TheCreate a Macrochapter illustrates how to run code by clicking on a command button. We used the following

code line:

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

but what we really meant was:

Application.Workbooks("create-a-macro").Worksheets(1).Range("A1").Value = "Hello"

Note: the objects are connected with a dot. Fortunately, we do not have to add a code line this way. That is because

we placed our command button in create-a-macro.xls, on the first worksheet. Be aware that if you want to change

different things on different worksheets to include the Worksheet object. Read on.

CollectionsYou may have noticed that Workbooks and Worksheets are both plural. That is because they are collections. The

Workbooks collection contains all the Workbook objects that are currently open. The Worksheets collection contains

all the Worksheet objects in a workbook.

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You can refer to a member of the collection, for example, a single Worksheet object, in three ways.

1. Using the worksheet name.

Worksheets("Sales").Range("A1").Value = "Hello"

2. Using the index number (1 is the first worksheet starting from the left).

Worksheets(1).Range("A1").Value = "Hello"

3. Using the CodeName.

Sheet1.Range("A1").Value = "Hello"

To see the CodeName of a worksheet, open theVisual Basic Editor. In the Project Explorer, the first name is the

CodeName. The second name is the worksheet name (Sales).

Note: the CodeName remains the same if you change the worksheet name or the order of your worksheets so this is

the safest way to reference a worksheet. Click View, Properties Window to change the CodeName of a worksheet.

There is one disadvantage, you cannot use the CodeName if you reference a worksheet in a different workbook.

Properties and MethodsNow let's take a look at some properties and methods of the Workbooks and Worksheets collection. Properties are

something which an collection has (they describe the collection), while methods do something (they perform an action

with an collection).

Place acommand buttonon your worksheet and add the code lines:

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1. The Add method of the Workbooks collection creates a new workbook.

Workbooks.Add

Note: the Add method of the Worksheets collection creates a new worksheet.

2. The Count property of the Worksheets collection counts the number of worksheets in a workbook.

MsgBox Worksheets.Count

Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

Note: the Count property of the Workbooks collection counts the number of active workbooks.

Range ObjectThe Range object, which is the representation of a cell (or cells) on your worksheet, is the most important object

of Excel VBA. This chapter gives an overview of the properties and methods of the Range object. Properties aresomething which an object has (they describe the object), while methods do something (they perform an action withan object).

Range ExamplesPlace acommand buttonon your worksheet and add the following code line:

Range("B3").Value = 2

Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

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Code:

Range("A1:A4").Value = 5

Result:

Code:

Range("A1:A2,B3:C4").Value = 10

Result:

CellsInstead of Range, you can also use Cells. Using Cells is particularly useful when you want toloopthrough ranges.

Code:

Cells(3, 2).Value = 2

Result:

Explanation: Excel VBA enters the value 2 into the cell at the intersection of row 3 and column 2.

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Code:

Range(Cells(1, 1), Cells(4, 1)).Value = 5

Result:

Declare a Range ObjectYou can declare a Range object by using the keywords Dim and Set.

Code:

Dimexample AsRange

Setexample = Range("A1:C4")

example.Value = 8

Result:

SelectAn important method of the Range object is the Select method. The Select method simply selects a range.

Code:

Dimexample AsRange

Setexample = Range("A1:C4")

example.Select

Result:

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RowsThe Rows property gives access to a specific row of a range.

Code:

Dimexample AsRange

Setexample = Range("A1:C4")

example.Rows(3).Select

Result:

Note: border for illustration only.

ColumnsThe Columns property gives access to a specific column of a range.

Code:

Dimexample AsRange

Setexample = Range("A1:C4")

example.Columns(2).Select

Result:

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Note: border for illustration only.

Copy/PasteThe Copy and Paste method are used to copy a range and to paste it somewhere else on the worksheet.

Code:

Range("A1:A2").SelectSelection.Copy

Range("C3").Select

ActiveSheet.Paste

Result:

Although this is allowed in Excel VBA, it is much better to use the code line below which does exactly the same.

Range("C3:C4").Value = Range("A1:A2").Value

ClearTo clear the content of an Excel range, you can use the ClearContents method.

Range("A1").ClearContents

or simply use:

Range("A1").Value = ""

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Note: use the Clear method to clear the content and format of a range. Use the ClearFormats method to clear the

format only.

Count

With the Count property, you can count the number of cells, rows and columns of a range.

Note: border for illustration only.

Code:

Dimexample AsRange

Setexample = Range("A1:C4")

MsgBox example.Count

Result:

Code:

Dimexample AsRange

Setexample = Range("A1:C4")

MsgBox example.Rows.Count

Result:

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Note: in a similar way, you can count the number of columns of a range.

VariablesInteger | String | Double | Boolean

This chapter teaches you how to declare, initialize and display a variable in Excel VBA. Letting Excel VBA know you

are using a variable is called declaring a variable. Initializing simply means assigning a beginning (initial) value to a

variable.

Place acommand buttonon your worksheet and add the code lines below. To execute the code lines, click the

command button on the sheet.

IntegerInteger variables are used to store whole numbers.

Dimx AsInteger

x = 6

Range("A1").Value = x

Result:

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Explanation: the first code line declares a variable with name x of type Integer. Next, we initialize x with value 6.

Finally, we write the value of x to cell A1.

String

String variables are used to store text.

Code:

Dimbook AsString

book = "bible"

Range("A1").Value = book

Result:

Explanation: the first code line declares a variable with name book of type String. Next, we initialize book with the text

bible. Always use apostrophes to initialize String variables. Finally, we write the text of the variable book to cell A1.

DoubleA variable of type Double is more accurate than a variable of type Integer and can also store numbers after thecomma.

Code:

Dimx AsInteger

x = 5.5

MsgBox "value is " & x

Result:

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But that is not the right value! We initialized the variable with value 5.5 and we get the value 6. What we need is a

variable of type Double.

Code:

Dimx AsDouble

x = 5.5

MsgBox "value is " & x

Result:

Note: Long variables have even larger capacity. Always use variables of the right type. As a result, errors are easier

to find and your code will run faster.

BooleanUse a Boolean variable to hold the value True or False.

Code:

Dimcontinue AsBoolean

continue = True

Ifcontinue = TrueThenMsgBox "Boolean variables are cool"

Result:

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Explanation: the first code line declares a variable with name continue of type Boolean. Next, we initialize continue

with the value True. Finally, we use the Boolean variable to only display a MsgBox if the variable holds the value

True.

If Then StatementIf Then Statement | Else Statement

Use the If Then statement in Excel VBA to execute code lines if a specific condition is met.

If Then Statement

Place acommand buttonon your worksheet and add the following code lines:

Dimscore AsInteger, result AsString

score = Range("A1").Value

Ifscore >= 60 Thenresult = "pass"

Range("B1").Value = result

Explanation: if score is greater than or equal to 60, Excel VBA returns pass.

Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

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Note: if score is less than 60, Excel VBA places the value of the empty variable result into cell B1.

Else StatementPlace acommand buttonon your worksheet and add the following code lines:

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Dimscore AsInteger, result AsString

score = Range("A1").Value

Ifscore >= 60 Then

result = "pass"

Else

result = "fail"

EndIf

Range("B1").Value = result

Explanation: if score is greater than or equal to 60, Excel VBA returns pass, else Excel VBA returns fail.

Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

Note: only if you have one code line after Then and no Else statement, it is allowed to place a code line directly after

Then and to omit (leave out) End If (first example). Otherwise start a new line after the words Then and Else and end

with End If (second example).

LoopSingle Loop | Double Loop | Triple Loop | Do While LoopLooping is one of the most powerful programming techniques. A loop in Excel VBA enables you to loop through a

range of cells with just a few codes lines.

Single Loop

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You can use a single loop to loop through a one-dimensional range of cells.

Place acommand buttonon your worksheet and add the following code lines:

Dimi AsInteger

Fori = 1 To6

Cells(i, 1).Value = 100

Nexti

Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

Explanation: The code lines between For and Next will be executed six times. For i = 1, Excel VBA enters the value

100 into the cell at the intersection of row 1 and column 1. When Excel VBA reaches Next i, it increases i with 1 and

jumps back to the For statement. For i = 2, Excel VBA enters the value 100 into the cell at the intersection of row 2

and column 1, etc.

Note: it is good practice to always indent (tab) the code between the words For and Next. This makes your code

easier to read.

Double LoopYou can use a double loop to loop through a two-dimensional range of cells.

Place acommand buttonon your worksheet and add the following code lines:

Dimi AsInteger, j AsInteger

Fori = 1 To6

Forj = 1 To2

Cells(i, j).Value = 100

Nextj

Nexti

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Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

Explanation: For i = 1 and j = 1, Excel VBA enters the value 100 into the cell at the intersection of row 1 and column

1. When Excel VBA reaches Next j, it increases j with 1 and jumps back to the For j statement. For i = 1 and j = 2,

Excel VBA enters the value 100 into the cell at the intersection of row 1 and column 2. Next, Excel VBA ignores Next j

because j only runs from 1 to 2. When Excel VBA reaches Next i, it increases i with 1 and jumps back to the For i

statement. For i = 2 and j = 1, Excel VBA enters the value 100 into the cell at the intersection of row 2 and column 1,

etc.

Triple LoopYou can use a triple loop to loop through two-dimensional ranges on multiple Excel worksheets.

Place acommand buttonon your worksheet and add the following code lines:

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Dimc AsInteger, i AsInteger, j AsInteger

Forc = 1 To3

Fori = 1 To6

Forj = 1 To2

Worksheets(c).Cells(i, j).Value = 100

Nextj

Nexti

Nextc

Explanation: The only change made compared to the code for the double loop is that we have added one moreloop

and added Worksheets(c). in front of Cells to get the two-dimensional range on the first sheet for c = 1, the second

sheet for c = 2 and the third sheet for c = 3. Download the Excel file to see this result.

Do While LoopBesides the For Next loop, there are other loops in Excel VBA. For example, the Do While Loop. Code placed

between Do While and Loop will be repeated as long as the part after Do While is true.

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1. Place acommand buttonon your worksheet and add the following code lines:

Dimi AsInteger

i = 1

DoWhilei < 6Cells(i, 1).Value = 20

i = i + 1

Loop

Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

Explanation: as long as i is lower than 6, Excel VBA enters the value 20 into the cell at the intersection of row i and

column 1 and increments i by 1. In Excel VBA (and in other programming languages), the symbol '=' means

becomes. It does not mean equal. So i = i + 1 means i becomes i + 1. In other words: take the present value of i and

add 1 to it. For example, if i = 1, i becomes 1 + 1 = 2. As a result, the value 20 will be placed into column A five times

(not six because Excel VBA stops when i equals 6).

2. Enter some numbers in column A.

3. Place acommand buttonon your worksheet and add the following code lines:

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Dimi AsInteger

i = 1

DoWhileCells(i, 1).Value ""

Cells(i, 2).Value = Cells(i, 1).Value + 10

i = i + 1Loop

Result when you click the command button on the sheet:

Explanation: as long as Cells(i, 1).Value is not empty ( means not equal to), Excel VBA enters the value into the

cell at the intersection of row i and column 2, that is 10 higher than the value in the cell at the intersection of row i and

column 1. Excel VBA stops when i equals 7 because Cells(7, 1).Value is empty. This is a great way to loop through

any number of rows on a worksheet.

Macro Errors

This chapter teaches you how to deal with MACRO ERRORS in EXCEL. First, let's create some errors.

Place acommand buttonon your worksheet and add the following code lines:

x = 2

Range("A1").Valu = x

1. Click the COMMAND BUTTON on the sheet.

Result:

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2. Click OK.

The variable x is not defined. Because we are using theOption Explicitstatement at the start of our code, we have to

declare all our variables. Excel VBA has colored the x blue to indicate the error.

3. In the Visual Basic Editor, click Reset to STOP the debugger.

4. Correct the error by adding the following code line at the start of the code.

Dimx AsInteger

You may have heard of the technique called DEBUGGING before. With this technique you can step through your

code.

5. In the Visual Basic Editor, place your cursor before Private and press F8.

The first line turns yellow.

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6. Press F8 three MORE times.

The following error appears.

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The Range object has a property called Value. Value isn't spelled correctly here. Debugging is a great way to not only

find errors, but also understand code better. OurDebuggingexample program shows you how to single step through

your code and see the effect of each code line on your worksheet.

String ManipulationJoin Strings | Left | Right | Mid | Len | Instr

In this chapter you find the most important FUNCTIONS to manipulate strings in EXCEL VBA.

Place acommand buttonon your worksheet and add the code lines below. To execute the code lines, click

theCOMMAND BUTTON on the sheet.

Join StringsWe use the & operator to concatenate (join) strings.

Code:

Dimtext1 AsString, text2 AsString

text1 = "Hi"

text2 = "Tim"

MsgBox text1 & " " & text2

Result:

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Note: to insert a space, use " "

LeftTo extract the leftmost characters from a string, use Left.

Code:

Dimtext AsString

text = "example text"

MsgBox Left(text, 4)

Result:

RightTo extract the rightmost characters from a string, use Right. We can also directly INSERT TEXT in a function.

Code:

MsgBox Right("example text", 2)

Result:

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MidTo extract a SUBSTRING, starting in the middle of a string, use Mid.

Code:

MsgBox Mid("example text", 9, 2)

Result:

Note: started at position 9 (t) with length 2. You can omit the third argument if you want to extract a substring starting

in the middle of a string, until the end of the string.

LenTo get the length of a string, use Len.

Code:

MsgBox Len("example text")

Result:

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Note: space (position 8) included!

InstrTo find the position of a substring in a string, use INSTR.

Code:

MsgBox Instr("example text", "am")

Result:

Note: string "am" found at position 3.

Date and TimeYear, Month, Day of a Date|DateAdd|Current Date and Time|Hour, Minute, Second|TimeValue

Learn how to work with dates and times in

Excel

VBA.

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Place acommand buttonon your worksheet and add the code lines below. To execute the code lines, click

thecommand buttonon the sheet.

Year, Month, Day of a Date

The following macro gets the year of a date. To declare a date, use the Dim statement. To initialize a date, use the

DateValue function.

Code:

DimexampleDate AsDate

exampleDate = DateValue("Jun 19, 2010")

MsgBox Year(exampleDate)

Result:

Note: Use Month and Day to get the month and day of a date.

DateAddTo add a number of days to a date, use the DateAddfunction. The DateAdd function has three arguments. Fill in "d"

for the first argument to add days. Fill in 3 for the second argument to add 3 days. The third argument represents the

date to which the number of days will be added.

Code:

DimfirstDate AsDate, secondDate AsDate

firstDate = DateValue("Jun 19, 2010")

secondDate = DateAdd("d", 3, firstDate)

MsgBox secondDate

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Result:

Note: Change "d" to "m" to add a number of months to a date. Place your cursor on DateAdd in the Visual Basic

Editor and click F1 for help on the other interval specifiers. Dates are in US Format. Months first, Days second. This

type of format depends on your windowsregional settings.

Current Date and TimeTo get the current date and time, use the Now function.

Code:

MsgBox Now

Result:

Hour, Minute, SecondThe get the hour of a time, use the Hour function.

Code:

MsgBox Hour(Now)

Result:

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Note: Use Minute and Second to get the minute and second of a time.

TimeValueThe TimeValuefunction converts a string to a time serial number. The time's serial number is a number between 0

and 1. For example, noon (halfway through the day) is represented as 0.5.

Code:

MsgBox TimeValue("9:20:01 am")

Result:

Now, to clearly see that Excel handles times internally as numbers between 0 and 1, add the following code lines:

Dimy AsDouble

y = TimeValue("09:20:01")

MsgBox y

Result:

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