VBA UsedRange

UsedRange in VBA Excel

The UsedRange in VBA is a property of the worksheet that returns a range object representing the range used (all Excel cells used or filled in a worksheet) on a particular worksheet. It is a property representing the area covered or bounded by top-left used cell and last right used cells in a worksheet.

We can describe ‘Used cell’ as a cell containing any formula, formatting, value, etc. We can also select the last used cell by pressing CTRL+END keys on the keyboard.

Following is an illustration of a UsedRange in a worksheet:

We can see in the above screenshot that the UsedRange is A1:D5.

Examples of Excel VBA UsedRange Property

Let us look at some examples below to see how the UsedRange Property in a worksheet can be used to find the used range in VBA:

Example #1

Let us say we have an Excel file containing two worksheets, and we wish to find and select the used range on Sheet1.

Let us see what the Sheet1 contains:

We use the UsedRange property in the VBA immediate window to accomplish this task. VBA immediate window is a tool that helps to get information about Excel files, quickly execute or debug any VBA code, even if the user is not writing any macros. It is located in the Visual Basic Editor and can be accessed as follows:

• Go to Developer tab, and then click on Visual Basic Editor, or press Alt+F11 to open the Visual Basic Editor window.

On doing this, a window opens as follows:

• Press Ctrl+G to open the immediate window, and type the code.

The immediate window looks like:

• The following code will select the used range on Sheet1

Code:

?Worksheets("Sheet1").Activate
True
?ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Select
True

The first statement of the code will activate Sheet1 of the file, and the second statement will select the used range in that active sheet.

On writing this code, we see that the range used in Sheet1 gets selected as follows:

Example #2

Now, let’s say in this example we wish to find the total number of rows used in Sheet1.To do this, we follow the below steps:

• Create a macro name in the module.

Code:

Sub TotalRows()

End Sub

• Define the variable TotalRow as Integer in VBA:

Code:

Sub TotalRows()

 Dim TotalRow As Integer

End Sub

• Now assign the variable TotalRow with the formula to calculate a total number of rows:

Code:

Sub TotalRows()

 Dim TotalRow As Integer

 TotalRow = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Rows.Count

End Sub

• Now the resultant value of TotalRow can be displayed and returned using a VBA message box (MsgBox) as follows:

Code:

Sub TotalRows()

 Dim TotalRow As Integer

 TotalRow = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Rows.Count

 MsgBox TotalRow

End Sub

• Now we run this code manually or by pressing F5, and we get the total number of rows used in Sheet1 displayed in a Message Box as follows:

So, we can see in the above screenshot that ‘5’ is returned in the message box, and as we can see in Sheet1, the total number of rows in the used range is 5.

Example #3

Similarly, if we wish to find the total number of columns used in Sheet1, we will follow the same steps as above except for a slight change in the code as follows:

Code:

Sub TotalCols()

 Dim TotalCol As Integer

 TotalCol = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Columns.Count

 MsgBox TotalCol

End Sub

Now when we run this code manually or by pressing F5, we get the total number of columns used in Sheet1 displayed in a Message Box as follows:

So, ‘4’ is returned in the message box, and as we can see in Sheet1, a total number of columns in the used range is 4.

Example #4

Now, let’s say we wish to find the last used row and column number in Sheet2 of the file. Let us see what the Sheet2 contains:

To do this, we follow the below steps:

• Create a macro name in the module.

Code:

Sub LastRow()

End Sub

• Define the variable LastRow as Integer.

Code:

Sub LastRow()

 Dim LastRow As Integer

End Sub

• Now assign the variable LastRow with the formula to calculate last used row number:

Code:

Sub LastRow()

  Dim LastRow As Integer

  LastRow = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Row

End Sub

The SpecialCells Method in Excel VBA returns a range object that represents only the types of cells specified. The syntax for the SpecialCells method is:

RangeObject.SpecialCells (Type, Value)

In the above code, xlCellTypeLastCell: represents the last cell in the used range.

• Now the resultant value of LastRow number can be displayed and returned using a message box (MsgBox) as follows:

Code:

Sub LastRow()

 Dim LastRow As Integer
 
 LastRow = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Row

 MsgBox LastRow

End Sub

• Now we run this code manually or by pressing F5, and we get the last used row number in Sheet2 displayed in a Message Box as follows:

So, we can see in the above screenshot that ‘12’ is returned in the message box, and as we can see in Sheet2, last used row number is 12.

Similarly, if we wish to find the last used column number in Sheet2, we will follow the same steps as above except for a slight change in the code as follows:

Code:

Sub LastCol()

  Dim LastCol As Integer

  LastCol = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Column
 
  MsgBox LastCol

End Sub

Now when we run this code manually or by pressing F5, we get the last used column number in Sheet2 displayed in a Message Box as follows:

So, we can see in the above screenshot that ‘3’ is returned in the message box, and as we can see in Sheet2, last used column number is 3.

Things to Remember About VBA UsedRange

• VBA UsedRange is a rectangle range.
• VBA UsedRange includes cells having any data or being formatted etc.
• Excel VBA UsedRange does not necessarily include the top left cell of the worksheet.
• UsedRange does not necessarily consider the active cell as used.
• UsedRange in VBA can be used to find last used row or column, to reset the used range, etc.
• Pressing the shortcut Excel keys CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER on a keyboard can be used to extend the selection from an active cell to the last used cell on a worksheet.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to VBA UsedRange. Here we will show you how the UsedRange Property in a worksheet to find the used rows and columns in Excel VBA along with practical examples and a downloadable template. Below you can find some useful excel VBA articles –

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