Excel Macro Examples Covered

Unhide All Worksheets at One Go

Hide All Worksheets Except the Active Sheet
Sort Worksheets Alphabetically Using VBA
Protect All Worksheets At One Go
Unprotect All Worksheets At One Go
Unhide All Rows and Columns
Unmerge All Merged Cells
Save Workbook With TimeStamp in Its Name
Save Each Worksheet as a Separate PDF
Save Each Worksheet as a Separate PDF
Convert All Formulas into Values
Protect/Lock Cells with Formulas
Protect All Worksheets in the Workbook
Insert A Row After Every Other Row in the Selection
Automatically Insert Date & Timestamp in the Adjacent Cell
Highlight Alternate Rows in the Selection
Highlight Cells with Misspelled Words
Refresh All Pivot Tables in the Workbook
Change the Letter Case of Selected Cells to Upper Case
Highlight All Cells With Comments
Highlight Blank Cells With VBA
How to Sort Data by Single Column
How to Sort Data by Multiple Columns
How to Get Only the Numeric Part from a String in Excel

Unhide All Worksheets at One Go

If you are working in a workbook that has multiple hidden sheets, you need to unhide these sheets
one by one. This could take some time in case there are many hidden sheets.

Here is the code that will unhide all the worksheets in the workbook.

'This code will unhide all sheets in the workbook

Sub UnhideAllWoksheets()
Dim ws As Worksheet
For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
 ws.Visible = xlSheetVisible
Next ws
End Sub

The above code uses a VBA loop (For Each) to go through each worksheets in the workbook. It
then changes the visible property of the worksheet to visible.

Here is a detailed tutorial on how to use various methods to unhide sheets in Excel.

Hide All Worksheets Except the Active Sheet

If you're working on a report or dashboard and you want to hide all the worksheet except the one
that has the report/dashboard, you can use this macro code.

'This macro will hide all the worksheet except the active sheet
Sub HideAllExceptActiveSheet()
Dim ws As Worksheet
For Each ws In ThisWorkbook.Worksheets
If ws.Name <> ActiveSheet.Name Then ws.Visible = xlSheetHidden
Next ws
End Sub

Sort Worksheets Alphabetically Using VBA

If you have a workbook with many worksheets and you want to sort these alphabetically, this
macro code can come in really handy. This could be the case if you have sheet names as years or
employee names or product names.

'This code will sort the worksheets alphabetically

Sub SortSheetsTabName()
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Dim ShCount As Integer, i As Integer, j As Integer
ShCount = Sheets.Count
For i = 1 To ShCount - 1
For j = i + 1 To ShCount
If Sheets(j).Name < Sheets(i).Name Then
Sheets(j).Move before:=Sheets(i)
End If
Next j
Next i
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

Protect All Worksheets At One Go

If you have a lot of worksheets in a workbook and you want to protect all the sheets, you can use
this macro code.
It allows you to specify the password within the code. You will need this password to unprotect the
worksheet.

'This code will protect all the sheets at one go

Sub ProtectAllSheets()
Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim password As String
password = "Test123" 'replace Test123 with the password you want
For Each ws In Worksheets
ws.Protect password:=password
Next ws
End Sub

Unprotect All Worksheets At One Go

If you have some or all of the worksheets protected, you can just use a slight modification of the
code used to protect sheets to unprotect it.

'This code will protect all the sheets at one go

Sub ProtectAllSheets()
Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim password As String
password = "Test123" 'replace Test123 with the password you want
For Each ws In Worksheets
ws.Unprotect password:=password
Next ws
End Sub

Note that the password needs to the same that has been used to lock the worksheets. If it's not,
you will see an error.

FREE PDF: 30
Useful Excel Macro
Examples For VBA
Beginners

Unhide All Rows and Columns

This macro code will unhide all the hidden rows and columns.
This could be really helpful if you get a file from someone else and want to be sure there are
no hidden rows/columns.

'This code will unhide all the rows and columns in the Worksheet
Sub UnhideRowsColumns()
Columns.EntireColumn.Hidden = False
Rows.EntireRow.Hidden = False
End Sub

Unmerge All Merged Cells

It's a common practice to merge cells to make it one. While it does the work, when cells are
merged you will not be able to sort the data.

In case you are working with a worksheet with merged cells, use the code below to unmerge all the
merged cells at one go.

'This code will unmerge all the merged cells

Sub UnmergeAllCells()
ActiveSheet.Cells.UnMerge
End Sub

Note that instead of Merge and Center, I recommend using Centre Across Selection option.

Save Workbook With TimeStamp in Its Name

A lot of time, you may need to create versions of your work. These are quite helpful in long
projects where you work with a file over time.

A good practice is to save the file with timestamps.

Using timestamps will allow you to go back to a certain file to see what changes were made or
what data was used.

Here is the code that will automatically save the workbook in the specified folder and add a
timestamp whenever it's saved.

'This code will Save the File With a Timestamp in its name
Sub SaveWorkbookWithTimeStamp()
Dim timestamp As String
timestamp = Format(Date, "dd-mm-yyyy") & "_" & Format(Time, "hh-ss")
ThisWorkbook.SaveAs "C:UsersUsernameDesktopWorkbookName" & timestamp
End Sub

You need to specify the folder location and the file name.
In the above code, "C:UsersUsernameDesktop is the folder location I have used. You need to
specify the folder location where you want to save the file. Also, I have used a generic name
"WorkbookName" as the filename prefix. You can specify something related to your project or
company.

Save Each Worksheet as a Separate PDF

If you work with data for different years or divisions or products, you may have the need to save
different worksheets as PDF files.

While it could be a time-consuming process if done manually, VBA can really speed it up.

Here is a VBA code that will save each worksheet as a separate PDF.

'This code will save each worsheet as a separate PDF

Sub SaveWorkshetAsPDF()
Dim ws As Worksheet
For Each ws In Worksheets
ws.ExportAsFixedFormat xlTypePDF, "C:UsersSumitDesktopTest" & ws.Name & ".pdf"
Next ws
End Sub

In the above code, I have specified the address of the folder location in which I want to save the
PDFs. Also, each PDF will get the same name as that of the worksheet. You will have to modify this
folder location (unless your name is also Sumit and you're saving it in a test folder on the desktop).

Note that this code works for worksheets only (and not chart sheets).

Save Each Worksheet as a Separate PDF

Here is the code that will save your entire workbook as a PDF in the specified folder.

'This code will save the entire workbook as PDF

Sub SaveWorkshetAsPDF()
ThisWorkbook.ExportAsFixedFormat xlTypePDF, "C:UsersSumitDesktopTest" & ThisWorkbook.Name &
".pdf"
End Sub

You will have to change the folder location to use this code.

Convert All Formulas into Values

Use this code when you have a worksheet that contains a lot of formulas and you want to convert
these formulas to values.
 'This code will convert all formulas into values
Sub ConvertToValues()
With ActiveSheet.UsedRange
.Value = .Value
End With
End Sub

This code automatically identifies cells are used and convert it into values.

Protect/Lock Cells with Formulas

You may want to lock cells with formulas when you have a lot of calculations and you don't want to
accidentally delete it or change it.

Here is the code that will lock all the cells that have formulas, while all the other cells are not
locked.

'This macro code will lock all the cells with formulas
Sub LockCellsWithFormulas()
With ActiveSheet
.Unprotect
.Cells.Locked = False
.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeFormulas).Locked = True
.Protect AllowDeletingRows:=True
End With
End Sub

Related Tutorial: How to Lock Cells in Excel.

Protect All Worksheets in the Workbook

Use the below code to protect all the worksheets in a workbook at one go.

'This code will protect all sheets in the workbook

Sub ProtectAllSheets()
Dim ws As Worksheet
For Each ws In Worksheets
ws.Protect
Next ws
End Sub

This code will go through all the worksheets one by one and protect it.

In case you want to unprotect all the worksheets, use ws.Unprotect instead of ws.Protect in the
code.
 FREE PDF: 30
Useful Excel Macro
Examples For VBA
Beginners

Insert A Row After Every Other Row in the Selection

Use this code when you want to insert a blank row after every row in the selected range.

'This code will insert a row after every row in the selection
Sub InsertAlternateRows()
Dim rng As Range
Dim CountRow As Integer
Dim i As Integer
Set rng = Selection
CountRow = rng.EntireRow.Count
For i = 1 To CountRow
ActiveCell.EntireRow.Insert
ActiveCell.Offset(2, 0).Select
Next i
End Sub

Similarly, you can modify this code to insert a blank column after every column in the selected
range.

Automatically Insert Date & Timestamp in the Adjacent

Cell
A timestamp is something you use when you want to track activities.

For example, you may want to track activities such as when was a particular expense incurred,
what time did the sale invoice was created, when was the data entry done in a cell, when was the
report last updated, etc.

Use this code to insert a date and time stamp in the adjacent cell when an entry is made or the
existing contents are edited.

'This code will insert a timestamp in the adjacent cell

Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)
 On Error GoTo Handler
If Target.Column = 1 And Target.Value <> "" Then
Application.EnableEvents = False
Target.Offset(0, 1) = Format(Now(), "dd-mm-yyyy hh:mm:ss")
Application.EnableEvents = True
End If
Handler:
End Sub

Note that you need to insert this code in the worksheet code window (and not the in module code
window as we have done in other Excel macro examples so far). To do this, in the VB Editor, double
click on the sheet name on which you want this functionality. Then copy and paste this code in that
sheet's code window.

Also, this code is made to work when the data entry is done in Column A (note that the code has
the line Target.Column = 1). You can change this accordingly.

Highlight Alternate Rows in the Selection

Highlighting alternate rows can increase the readability of your data tremendously. This can be
useful when you need to take a print out and go through the data.

Here is a code that will instantly highlight alternate rows in the selection.

'This code would highlight alternate rows in the selection

Sub HighlightAlternateRows()
Dim Myrange As Range
Dim Myrow As Range
Set Myrange = Selection
For Each Myrow In Myrange.Rows
If Myrow.Row Mod 2 = 1 Then
Myrow.Interior.Color = vbCyan
End If
Next Myrow
End Sub

Note that I have specified the color as vbCyan in the code. You can specify other colors as well
(such as vbRed, vbGreen, vbBlue).

Highlight Cells with Misspelled Words

Excel doesn't have a spell check as it has in Word or PowerPoint. While you can run the spell check
by hitting the F7 key, there is no visual cue when there is a spelling mistake.

Use this code to instantly highlight all the cells that have a spelling mistake in it.

'This code will highlight the cells that have misspelled words
Sub HighlightMisspelledCells()
Dim cl As Range
 For Each cl In ActiveSheet.UsedRange
If Not Application.CheckSpelling(word:=cl.Text) Then
cl.Interior.Color = vbRed
End If
Next cl
End Sub

Note that the cells that are highlighted are those that have text that Excel considers as a spelling
error. In many cases, it would also highlight names or brand terms that it doesn't understand.

Refresh All Pivot Tables in the Workbook

If you have more than one Pivot Table in the workbook, you can use this code to refresh all these
Pivot tables at once.

'This code will refresh all the Pivot Table in the Workbook
Sub RefreshAllPivotTables()
Dim PT As PivotTable
For Each PT In ActiveSheet.PivotTables
PT.RefreshTable
Next PT
End Sub

You can read more about refreshing Pivot Tables here.

Change the Letter Case of Selected Cells to Upper Case

While Excel has the formulas to change the letter case of the text, it makes you do that in another
set of cells.

Use this code to instantly change the letter case of the text in the selected text.

'This code will change the Selection to Upper Case

Sub ChangeCase()
Dim Rng As Range
For Each Rng In Selection.Cells
If Rng.HasFormula = False Then
Rng.Value = UCase(Rng.Value)
End If
Next Rng
End Sub

Note that in this case, I have used UCase to make the text case Upper. You can use LCase for lower
case.

Highlight All Cells With Comments

Use the below code to highlight all the cells that have comments in it.
 'This code will highlight cells that have comments`
Sub HighlightCellsWithComments()
ActiveSheet.Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeComments).Interior.Color = vbBlue
End Sub

In this case, I have used vbBlue to give a blue color to the cells. You can change this to other
colors if you want.

Highlight Blank Cells With VBA

While you can highlight blank cell with conditional formatting or using the Go to Special dialog box,
if you have to do it quite often, it's better to use a macro.

Once created, you can have this macro in the Quick Access Toolbar or save it in your personal
macro workbook.

Here is the code:

'This code will highlight all the blank cells in the dataset
Sub HighlightBlankCells()
Dim Dataset as Range
Set Dataset = Selection
Dataset.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeBlanks).Interior.Color = vbRed
End Sub

In this code, I have specified the blank cells to be highlighted in the red color. You can choose other
colors such as blue, yellow, cyan, etc.

How to Sort Data by Single Column

You can use the below code to sort data by the specified column.

Sub SortDataHeader()
Range("DataRange").Sort Key1:=Range("A1"), Order1:=xlAscending, Header:=xlYes
End Sub

Note that the I have created a named range with the name 'DataRange' and have used it instead of
the cell references.

Also there are three key parameters that are used here:

Key1 - This is the on which you want to sort the data set. In the above example code, the
data will be sorted based on the values in column A.
 Order- Here you need to specify whether you want to sort the data in ascending or
descending order.

Header - Here you need to specify whether your data has headers or not.

Read more on how to sort data in Excel using VBA.

How to Sort Data by Multiple Columns

Suppose you have a dataset as shown below:

Below is the code that will sort the data based on multiple columns:

Sub SortMultipleColumns()
With ActiveSheet.Sort
.SortFields.Add Key:=Range("A1"), Order:=xlAscending
.SortFields.Add Key:=Range("B1"), Order:=xlAscending
.SetRange Range("A1:C13")
.Header = xlYes
.Apply
End With
End Sub

Note that here I have specified to first sort based on column A and then based on column B.

The output would be something as shown below:

How to Get Only the Numeric Part from a String in Excel
If you want extract only the numeric part or only the text part from a string, you can create a
custom function in VBA.

You can then use this VBA function in the worksheet (just like regular Excel functions) and it will
extract only the numeric or text part from the string.

Something as shown below:

Below is the VBA code that will create a function to extract numeric part from a string:

'This VBA code will create a function to get the numeric part from a string
Function GetNumeric(CellRef As String)
Dim StringLength As Integer
StringLength = Len(CellRef)
For i = 1 To StringLength
If IsNumeric(Mid(CellRef, i, 1)) Then Result = Result & Mid(CellRef, i, 1)
Next i
GetNumeric = Result
End Function

You need place in code in a module, and then you can use the function =GetNumeric in the
worksheet.