I started a new consulting gig with NZ Ministry of Business (aside: when I told my daughter about this, she widened her eyes and said, “ministry of MAGIC!!!”). On my first day, while having lunch in breakout area, I chatted with the gentleman sitting opposite me. We got talking about this and that and eventually the topic turned to What I do at MB. So I told him that I am helping the HR with some data analysis and reporting using Excel & SQL Server. He asks me, “So you must be familiar with Excel object model”. I said, “oh, why yes”. He then asks me, “I have this problem that is bothering me for years. You see, I get a lot of data. And I use Find (Ctrl+F) to find all the cells that contain certain code. But the results are all over the place. I want to know how to extract all the finds to a target worksheet – value & address format.”
I explained him how to do this while chewing mouthfuls of rice & veggies.
But once I am home, I thought, “hey, maybe there are others out in the world who want to do this”.
So here we go.
How to find and extract all matching values
Let’s say you have some data in a range like this.
And you want to find all cells with comp in them. If the values are all in one column, you could use auto-filter to quickly filter cells with comp in them and copy paste them to a target range.You can even automate the steps a bit with advanced filter.
But what if the data can be in any column?
We can use Find (Ctrl+F) to find the values and click on “Find all” to see all results in the find box. But to extract them, we must take the red pill and escape the limitations of Excel to enter in to the exciting world of VBA.
Here is a quick demo of what our find and extract macro does.
Here is the code:
Sub findAll()
Dim findWhat As String, address As String
Dim fsr As Range, rs As Range, fCount As Long
findWhat = InputBox("Enter what you want to find?", "Find what...")
If Len(findWhat) > 0 Then
clearFinds
Set frs = Range("b4").CurrentRegion
Set rs = frs.Find(What:=findWhat)
If Not rs Is Nothing Then
address = rs.address
Do
Range("I5").Offset(fCount).Value = rs.Value
Range("J5").Offset(fCount).Value = rs.address
Set rs = frs.FindNext(rs)
fCount = fCount + 1
Loop While Not rs Is Nothing And rs.address <> address
End If
End If
End Sub
How does it work?
The code is inspired from Bill Jelen’s excellent example on Find method on MSDN.
The logic goes like this.
- We start by asking the user what they want to find and store this in findWhat string variable.
- If the string to find is not empty,
- We clear any previous find results
- We grab the current region for cell B4 (change this to the top-left of your find range)
- We look for findWhat in this range using range.Find method
- As long as Find result is not empty and not same as the first result
- We copy the value & address to I5 (change this to target range as per your workbook setup)
Download the Find and Extract workbook
Click here to download the example workbook. Play with the macro to learn its inner workings.
The rabbit hole is deep, don’t stop just here…
If you enjoyed this little macro, you are going to love VBA. Check out our free starter tutorial or extensive VBA section for more.
How would you find and extract results?
I thought the Find method approach would be slow, but I am surprised to see that on a medium sized dataset (12000 values), the macro produced results almost instantly. So I would be using it more often to iterate thru a range to find a value.
What about you? Do you have such problems at work? Do you use VBA to solve them or just ask colleagues during lunch break and hope for a miracle? Please share your approach in the comments.
29 Responses to “You are invited [personal]”
Dear Sir,
This is to just Wish the kids a Happy birthday in Advance.May Almighty bless them all strength,Success
Dear Chandoo,
My best wishes to your child.I had become regular visitor of your site and finally today it made me to post a comment...
Best wishes from my end! Dont think it would be possible to personally come .. but my best wishes would always be there!! 🙂
Chandoo, thank you for the kind invitation. I wish a special birthday day for your daughters, Nishanth & Nakshatra. Will you be serving "dudh pakh"?
-bill
What a kind thought to invite us!
I pray your family will be continually blessed.
Thank you very much for the invitation, how I wish Philippines is just a Jeepney ride away from India. Best wishes for your baby girls and more blessings to come.
Hi Chandoo,
Thanks for the invitation ! You treat everyone that comes to your site as part of your family community. Me and my family wishes Nishanth & Nakshatra a very very happy birthday !!
Though physically we cant be with you to celebrate the occasion, you know our blessing are with you !
To be a father is not easy, furthermore you have to be a father to 2 kids !
Francis
Dad of 2 and 9 year old.
Hi Chandoo,
It was very kind of you to invite us all along to the 'Extravaganza'. Like others that have commented here I too, am to far (Australia) to pop over for a piece of cake 🙂 Best wishes to you and your family on such a milestone.
Emma
(soon to be mum of 1!!!)
Dear Chandoo
God bless Nishanth & Nakshatra. Wishing you and your family a very enjoyable first birthday party.
(Father of a 9 month baby... wondering how you manage 2 !!! )
God bless the little ones. Have a blast.
Hi Chandoo
Happy birthday !
Indeed children are a blessing and make our lives much more deeper.
Wow! I wonder how that would look; all those Excel users partying with your cute kids!
Enjoy the festivities and remember; they grow up really fast.
Dear Chandoo,
Thanks for your invitation!
Please accept my wishes for Nishanth & Nakshatra, and a very very happy birthday to both of them.
(Father of a 1 year old baby)
Hi Chandoo,
Thanks for the invitation. Wishing Nishanth and Nakshatra a very happy birthday and God bless all of you!
Howdy Chandoo,
Gosh, would love to attend the birthday party for your little blessings but I live in Dallas, TX. The children are beautiful. Thank you so much for the Excel information, tips, hints, special formulas, etc., you and your children are really a blessing. I look forward to your e-mails and check your web site frequently. Regards, Lynn
Chandoo Garu,
Your kids look adorable. Congratulations. My Aashirwaadam to both of them.
Regards,
Kalyan Verma
@all: Thank you every one for the wishes, blessings and prayers. We are very excited and busy with the birthday preps now. I will share a pic or two when its over... 🙂
Wish you and your entire family all the blessings. May god provide your babies with all the love and charm in the entire universe.
Like Emma I am rather far away (South Africa), but best wishes to you and your family on this special occasion.
(Mother of 7 and grandmother of 5)
Dear Chandoo,
May God Bless your little ones with Good Health... Happy birthday to them from me... Wish i could be there but work doesn't permit me to travel 🙁
And thanks again for treating all of us like your family
Rajatha
Sir.
God bless the two little angels with all the happiness in the world.....
Wishing Nishanth and Nakshatra a very happy first birthday. My youngest has just turned 18, and I wish you and your family every happiness in the exciting journey ahead.
Hi Chandoo,
I'm reading your blog for more than a year now, and i'm very pleased by this invitation.
I wish a very special Happy Birthday to the 2 little ones from Mauritius Island.
If, for any reason, you are coming on the island in the future, feel free to drop me a mail.
Have a nice party, and a nice year to come with Nishanth and Nakshatra.
Happy birthday!
Your babies are beautiful!
This year is not possible for us to attend. My family will be there for your next family party.
Enjoy the cake and dinner
May God Bless your little ones with Good Health… Happy birthday to them from me....I am also the father my little daughter named akanksha, she is 2.5 yrs old,,,,but i am unemployed 2 yrs ,,i know when u become a dad u r many hopes.
Guru
My belated wishes for your kids... I feel sorry for having missed them to wish to the right time.... May almighty shower all his blessings on your family.....
With regards
Chandoo,
Congratulations. Please give you children a big Happy Birthday (one day late) from me. Enjoy, they grow up very fast
Gene
@all.. thanks for the wishes and blessings. We had a fantastic weekend with all the relatives, friends. Kids loved the cake, enjoyed the beach and had fun playing with gifts. Here are some photos..
Chandoo & family - greetings from Ireland, hope you enjoyed the day!