Excel 2016 VBA and Macros: Referring to Ranges
- The Range Object
- Syntax for Specifying a Range
- Named Ranges
- Shortcut for Referencing Ranges
- Referencing Ranges in Other Sheets
- Referencing a Range Relative to Another Range
- Using the Cells Property to Select a Range
- Using the Offset Property to Refer to a Range
- Using the Resize Property to Change the Size of a Range
- Using the Columns and Rows Properties to Specify a Range
- Using the Union Method to Join Multiple Ranges
- Using the Intersect Method to Create a New Range from Overlapping Ranges
- Using the IsEmpty Function to Check Whether a Cell Is Empty
- Using the CurrentRegion Property to Select a Data Range
- Using the Areas Collection to Return a Noncontiguous Range
- Referencing Tables
- Next Steps
A range can be a cell, a row, a column, or a grouping of any of these. The RANGE object is probably the most frequently used object in Excel VBA; after all, you are manipulating data on a sheet. Although a range can refer to any grouping of cells on a sheet, it can refer to only one sheet at a time. If you want to refer to ranges on multiple sheets, you must refer to each sheet separately.
This chapter shows you different ways of referring to ranges, such as specifying a row or column. You’ll also find out how to manipulate cells based on the active cell and how to create a new range from overlapping ranges.
The Range Object
The following is the Excel object hierarchy:
Application > Workbook > Worksheet > Range
The Range object is a property of the Worksheet object. This means it requires that a sheet be active or else it must reference a worksheet. Both of the following lines mean the same thing if Worksheets(1) is the active sheet:
Range("A1") Worksheets(1).Range("A1")
There are several ways to refer to a Range object. Range("A1") is the most identifiable because that is how the macro recorder refers to it. However, all the following are equivalent when referring to a range:
Range("D5") [D5] Range("B3").Range("C3") Cells(5,4) Range("A1").Offset(4,3) Range("MyRange") 'assuming that D5 has a 'Name of MyRange
Which format you use depends on your needs. Keep reading....It will all make sense soon!