XL: Macro to Select Every nth Row/Column

Last reviewed: February 3, 1998
Article ID: Q125267

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
  • Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows NT, version 5.0
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
  • Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel, you can create a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro (Sub procedure) to select every nth row within a currently selected contiguous range on a worksheet. An example of such a procedure is provided below.

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 engineers 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/default.asp

The following macro selects every third row in the current selection. To change the number of rows between each selected row, change the value of the RowsBetween variable (for example, if you want to select every fourth row, set RowsBetween equal to 4).

NOTE: You must have a contiguous range of cells selected before you run this macro.

Sample Visual Basic Procedure

   Sub SelectEveryNthRow()

       ' Initialize ColsSelection equal to the number of columns in the
       ' selection.
       ColsSelection = Selection.Columns.Count

       ' Initialize RowsSelection equal to the number of rows in your
       ' selection.
       RowsSelection = Selection.Rows.Count

       ' Initialize RowsBetween equal to three.
       RowsBetween = 3

       ' Initialize Diff equal to one row less than the first row number of
       ' the selection.
       Diff = Selection.Row - 1

       ' Resize the selection to be 1 column wide and the same number of
       ' rows long as the initial selection.
       Selection.Resize(RowsSelection, 1).Select

       ' Resize the selection to be every third row and the same number of
       ' columns wide as the original selection.
       Set FinalRange = Selection. _
          Offset(RowsBetween - 1, 0).Resize(1,ColsSelection)

       ' Loop through each cell in the selection.
       For Each xCell In Selection
   
           ' If the row number is a multiple of 3, then . . .
           If xCell.Row Mod RowsBetween = Diff Then
               ' ...reset FinalRange to include the union of the current
               ' FinalRange and the same number of columns.
               Set FinalRange = Application.Union _
                   (FinalRange, xCell.Resize(1,ColsSelection))
           ' End check.
           End If
       ' Iterate loop.
       Next xCell
       ' Select the requested cells in the range.
       FinalRange.Select
   End Sub

For an example of a similar Microsoft Excel 4.0 macro, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    ARTICLE-ID: Q103165
    TITLE     : Excel: Macro to Select a Range Every nth Row/Column


Additional query words: 7.00 5.00 XL97 XL98 XL7 XL5
Keywords : kbcode kbprg xlvbahowto PgmHowto
Version : WINDOWS:5.0,5.0c,7.0,97; MACINTOSH:5.0,98
Platform : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto


THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.

Last reviewed: February 3, 1998
© 1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.