XL: Returning Address of the Cell with Largest or Smallest Value

ID: Q139574

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

The examples in the "More Information" section of this article demonstrate two ways you can find the address of the cell containing the largest or smallest value in a range of cells. If you are using a single row or column of data, you can use a worksheet formula. If you are using multiple rows or columns of adjacent data, you will need to create a custom Visual Basic for applications function. For examples of both methods, see the "More Information" section of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

Using Formulas

You can return the address of the cell with the largest or smallest value in a column or row by using the CELL(), OFFSET(), and MATCH() functions along with the MAX()or the MIN() function.

If there are multiple occurrences of the largest or smallest value, the following formulas will return the cell address of the first occurrence of the value. If there is only one occurrence of the value, the address of the cell containing that value will be returned.

To return the address of a cell in a column (in this example, column A, cells A1:A10), use the appropriate formula in the following table. 

   For this
   address      Use this formula
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Cell with
   largest
   value        =CELL("address",OFFSET(A1,MATCH(MAX(A1:A10),A1:A10,0)-1,0))

   Cell with
   smallest
   value        =CELL("address",OFFSET(A1,MATCH(MIN(A1:A10),A1:A10,0)-1,0))
To return the address of a cell in a row (in this example, column A, cells A1:J1), use the appropriate formula in the following table. 

   For this
   address      Use this formula
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Cell with
   largest
   value        =CELL("address",OFFSET(A1,0,MATCH(MAX(A1:J1),A1:J1,0)-1))

   Cell with
   smallest
   value        =CELL("address",OFFSET(A1,0,MATCH(MIN(A1:J1),A1:J1,0)-1))

Using Custom Functions

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   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/
To return the cell address of the largest value in an adjacent range that is larger than a single column or row, you can create a custom Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications function. 

   Function MaxAddress(The_Range)

      ' Sets variable equal to maximum value in the input range.
      MaxNum = Application.Max(The_Range)
      ' Loop to check each cell in the input range to see if equals the
      ' MaxNum variable.
      For Each cell In The_Range
         If cell = MaxNum Then
            ' If the cell value equals the MaxNum variable it
            ' returns the address to the function and exits the loop.
            MaxAddress = cell.Address
            Exit For
         End If
      Next cell

   End Function
To find the cell address of the smallest value in an adjacent range, substitute the Min() function for the Max() function as in the following example: 

   Function MinAddress(The_Range)

      ' Sets variable equal to minimum value in the input range.
      MinNum = Application.Min(The_Range)
      ' Loop to check each cell in the input range to see if equals the
      ' min variable.
      For Each cell In The_Range
         If cell = MinNum Then
            ' If the cell value equals the max variable it
            ' returns the address to the function and exits the loop
            MinAddress = cell.Address
            Exit For
         End If
      Next cell

   End Function

REFERENCES

For additional information about getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q163435
   TITLE     : VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for
               Applications
Additional query words: 5.00 7.00 8.00 adjacent contiguous nonadjacent noncontiguous discontiguous discontinuous maximum minimum greatest least 
Keywords          : kbprg kbdta PgmHowto xlformula KbVBA 
Version           : WINDOWS:5.0,7.0,97; MACINTOSH:5.0,98
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: May 17, 1999