XL: Sample Macro Code to Loop Through a List on a Worksheet

ID: Q141572

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

When you write a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro, you may need to loop through a list of data on a worksheet. There are several methods for performing this task. The "More Information" section of this article contains information about methods you can use to search the following types of lists:

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web: 

   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/
The following code samples assume that the list has a header row starting in cell A1 and data starting in A2.

To Search a List with a Constant, Known Number of Rows

This code moves down column A to the end of the list: 

   Sub Test1()
      Dim x As Integer

      ' Set numrows = number of rows of data.
      NumRows = Range("A2", Range("A2").End(xldown)).Rows.Count

      ' Select cell a1.
      Range("A2").Select

      ' Establish "For" loop to loop "numrows" number of times.
      For x = 1 To NumRows

         ' Insert your code here.

         ' Selects cell down 1 row from active cell.
         ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Select
      Next
   End Sub

To Search a Dynamic List or a List with an Unknown Number of Rows

This code moves down through column A to the end of the list. (This code assumes that each cell in column A contains an entry until the end.) 

   Sub Test2()

      ' Select cell A2, *first line of data*.
      Range("A2").Select

      ' Set Do loop to stop when an empty cell is reached.
      Do Until IsEmpty(ActiveCell)

         ' Insert your code here.

         ' Step down 1 row from present location.
         ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Select
      Loop

   End Sub

   NOTE: If there are empty cells in column A throughout the data, then
   you can modify this code to account for this condition, as long as
   empty cells are a consistent distance apart. For example, if every
   other cell in column A is empty (this might occur if every 'record'
   uses 2 rows, with the second row indented 1 cell, for example), this
   loop can be modified as follows:

      ' Set Do loop to stop when two consecutive empty cells are reached.
      Do Until IsEmpty(ActiveCell) and IsEmpty(ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0))

         ' Insert your code here.
         '
         ' Step down 2 rows from present location.
         ActiveCell.Offset(2, 0).Select
      Loop

To Search a List for a Specific Record

   Sub Test3()
      Dim x As String
      Dim found As Boolean

      ' Select first line of data.
      Range("A2").Select

      ' Set search variable value.
      x = "test"

      ' Set Boolean variable "found" to false.
      found = False

      ' Set Do loop to stop at empty cell.
      Do Until IsEmpty(ActiveCell)

         ' Check active cell for search value.
         If ActiveCell.Value = x Then
            found = TRUE
            Exit Do
         End If

         ' Step down 1 row from present location.
         ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Select
      Loop

   ' Check for found.
      If found = True Then
         Msgbox "Value found in cell " & ActiveCell.Address
      Else
         Msgbox "Value not found"
      End If
   End Sub

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 5.00a 5.00c 7.00 8.00 xl97 
Keywords          : kbprg kbdta kbdtacode PgmHowto KbVBA 
Version           : WINDOWS: 5.0, 5.0c, 7.0, 97; MACINTOSH: 5.0, 5.0a
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: May 17, 1999