XL: How to Make Sure That Only Numbers Are Entered in a Column

ID: Q141181

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

This article contains a sample Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro (Sub procedure) that you can use to ensure that a certain type of data entry occurs. This macro requires a user to enter only numbers in a specific column on a worksheet.

NOTE: Microsoft Excel 97 and Microsoft Excel 98 offer a new tool called Data Validation. This tool provides the same functionality as the sample macros in this article with an expanded range of restrictions and validation message options.

For additional information on Data Validation, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q157034
   TITLE     : XL97: Cannot Use External References with Data
               Validation

   ARTICLE-ID: Q157484
   TITLE     : XL97: Error When Using Validation Drop-Down List Box

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 sample macros restrict the data type in column C of sheet 1 to numbers. 

   Sub Auto_Open()
       Sheets("Sheet1").OnEntry = "numbers"
   End Sub

   Sub numbers()
       If ActiveCell.Column = 3 And Not IsNumeric(ActiveCell.Value) Then
           MsgBox "Enter a number."
           ActiveCell.Value = ""  ' Clears contents of active cell.
       End If
   End Sub
To restrict the data type in another column, replace the number 3 in the line that begins: 

   If ActiveCell.Column = 3
with the number that represents the column you want. For example, use 1 for column A, 2 for column B, and so on.

REFERENCES

"Visual Basic User's Guide," version 5.0, Chapter 13, "Creating Automatic Procedures and Add-in Applications"

For more information about Data Validation, click the Index tab/button in Microsoft Excel 97 Help or MS Excel Help, type the following text 

   data validation, overview
and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Types of data restrictions" or "About defining the valid entries for a cell" topic.

Additional query words: 5.00 5.00a 5.00c 7.00 8.00 XL98 XL97 XL7 XL5 values only 

Keywords          : kbprg kbdta kbdtacode PgmHowto KbVBA 
Version           : WINDOWS:5.0,5.0c,7.0,97; MACINTOSH:5.0,5.0a,98
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: May 17, 1999