Microsoft KB Archive/159915

= XL97: How to Delete Cells with a For Each...Next Loop =

Article ID: 159915

Article Last Modified on 11/23/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q159915



For a Microsoft Excel 2002 version of this article, see 291300.

For a Microsoft Excel 2000 version of this article, see 213544.

For a Microsoft Excel 98 version of this article, see 184378.



SUMMARY
Microsoft Excel 97 deletes cells in a For Each...Next loop in a different way from earlier versions of Microsoft Excel.

This article describes the differences and provides a Visual Basic for Applications macro example that illustrates how to delete cells in a loop.



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 a Microsoft Certified Partner or the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about Microsoft Certified Partners, please visit the following Microsoft Web site:

https://partner.microsoft.com/global/30000104

For more information about the support options that are available and about how to contact Microsoft, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

Sample Data
To use the macro in this article, type the following sample data in a worksheet:   A1:  a  B1:  1 A2: b  B2:  2 A3: x  B3:  3 A4: x  B4:  4 A5: c  B5:  5 A6: x  B6:  6 A7: d  B7:  7 A8: x  B8:  8 A9: x  B9:  9 A10: e B10: 10

Sample Macro
In a new macro module, type the following macro: Sub DeleteCells 'Loop through cells A1:A10 and delete cells that contain an "x." For Each c in Range("A1:A10") If c = "x" Then c.EntireRow.Delete Next End Sub

Behavior of the Sample Macro in Microsoft Excel 97
When you run the DeleteCells macro in Microsoft Excel 97, only rows 3, 6 and 8 are deleted. Although rows 4 and 9 contain an "x" in column A, the macro does not delete the rows. The results of the macro in Microsoft Excel 97 are as follows:   A1: a   B1: 1 A2: b  B2: 2 A3: x  B3: 4 A4: c  B4: 5 A5: d  B5: 7 A6: x  B6: 9 A7: e  B7: 10 When Microsoft Excel deletes row 3, all cells move up one row. For example, cell A3 assumes the contents of cell A4, cell A4 assumes the contents of cell A5, and so forth. After the For Each...Next loop evaluates a cell, it evaluates the next cell; therefore, when cells are shifted, they may be skipped by the loop.

Behavior of the Sample Macro in Microsoft Excel 5.0 and 7.0
When you run the DeleteCells macro in Microsoft Excel 5.0 and 7.0, the macro deletes all rows that contain an "x." The results of the macro in Microsoft Excel 5.0 or 7.0 are as follows:   A1: a   B1: 1 A2: b  B2: 2 A3: c  B3: 5 A4: d  B4: 7 A5: e  B5: 10 When row 3 is deleted, all cells move up one row; and cell A3 assumes the contents of cell A4, cell A4 assumes the contents of cell A5, and so forth.

However, unlike the behavior of the loop in Microsoft Excel 97, when the For Each...Next loop evaluates a cell in Microsoft Excel 5.0 and 7.0, it reevaluates the cell if it is deleted in the loop; therefore, the cells are not skipped.

Recommended Method for Using a Loop to Delete Cells
Use the following macro when you want to use a loop to delete cells: Sub DeleteCells2 Dim rng As Range Dim i As Integer, counter As Integer 'Set the range to evaluate to rng. Set rng = Range("A1:A10") 'initialize i to 1 i = 1 'Loop for a count of 1 to the number of rows 'in the range that you want to evaluate. For counter = 1 To rng.Rows.Count 'If cell i in the range contains an "x", 'delete the row. 'Else increment i          If rng.Cells(i) = "x" Then rng.Cells(i).EntireRow.Delete Else i = i + 1 End If      Next End Sub The results of this macro in Microsoft Excel 97 and earlier versions are as follows:   A1: a   B1: 1 A2: b  B2: 2 A3: c  B3: 5 A4: d  B4: 7 A5: e  B5: 10

Additional Method for Using a Loop to Delete Cells
This is an alternate method to the method shown above. It produces the same results. Sub DeleteCells3 Dim rng As Range, i As Integer 'Set the range to evaluate to rng. Set rng = Range("A1:A10") 'Loop backwards through the rows 'in the range that you want to evaluate. For i = rng.Rows.Count To 1 Step -1 'If cell i in the range contains an "x", delete the entire row. If rng.Cells(i).Value = "x" Then rng.Cells(i).EntireRow.Delete Next End Sub

