Error in finding last used cell in Excel with VBA
When I want to find the last used cell value, I use:
Dim LastRow As Long
LastRow = Range("E4:E48").End(xlDown).Row
Debug.Print LastRow
I'm getting the wrong output when I put a single element into a cell. But when I put more than one value into the cell, the output is correct. What's the reason behind this?
NOTE: I intend to make this a "one stop post" where you can use the Correct way to find the last row. This will also cover the best practices to follow when finding the last row. And hence I will keep on updating it whenever I come across a new scenario/information.
Unreliable ways of finding the last row
Some of the most common ways of finding last row which are highly unreliable and hence should never be used.
- UsedRange
- xlDown
- CountA
UsedRange should NEVER be used to find the last cell which has data. It is highly unreliable. Try this experiment.
Type something in cell A5. Now when you calculate the last row with any of the methods given below, it will give you 5. Now color the cell A10 red. If you now use the any of the below code, you will still get 5. If you use Usedrange.Rows.Count what do you get? It won't be 5.
Here is a scenario to show how UsedRange works.
xlDown is equally unreliable.
Consider this code
lastrow = Range("A1").End(xlDown).Row
What would happen if there was only one cell (A1) which had data? You will end up reaching the last row in the worksheet! It's like selecting cell A1 and then pressing End key and then pressing Down Arrow key. This will also give you unreliable results if there are blank cells in a range.
CountA is also unreliable because it will give you incorrect result if there are blank cells in between.
And hence one should avoid the use of UsedRange, xlDown and CountA to find the last cell.
Find Last Row in a Column
To find the last Row in Col E use this
With Sheets("Sheet1")
LastRow = .Range("E" & .Rows.Count).End(xlUp).Row
End With
If you notice that we have a . before Rows.Count. We often chose to ignore that. See THIS question on the possible error that you may get. I always advise using . before Rows.Count and Columns.Count. That question is a classic scenario where the code will fail because the Rows.Count returns 65536 for Excel 2003 and earlier and 1048576 for Excel 2007 and later. Similarly Columns.Count returns 256 and 16384, respectively.
The above fact that Excel 2007+ has 1048576 rows also emphasizes on the fact that we should always declare the variable which will hold the row value as Long instead of Integer else you will get an Overflow error.
Note that this approach will skip any hidden rows. Looking back at my screenshot above for column A, if row 8 were hidden, this approach would return 5 instead of 8.
Find Last Row in a Sheet
To find the Effective last row in the sheet, use this. Notice the use of Application.WorksheetFunction.CountA(.Cells). This is required because if there are no cells with data in the worksheet then .Find will give you Run Time Error 91: Object Variable or With block variable not set
With Sheets("Sheet1")
If Application.WorksheetFunction.CountA(.Cells) <> 0 Then
lastrow = .Cells.Find(What:="*", _
After:=.Range("A1"), _
Lookat:=xlPart, _
LookIn:=xlFormulas, _
SearchOrder:=xlByRows, _
SearchDirection:=xlPrevious, _
MatchCase:=False).Row
Else
lastrow = 1
End If
End With
Find Last Row in a Table (ListObject)
The same principles apply, for example to get the last row in the third column of a table:
Sub FindLastRowInExcelTableColAandB()
Dim lastRow As Long
Dim ws As Worksheet, tbl as ListObject
Set ws = Sheets("Sheet1") 'Modify as needed
'Assuming the name of the table is "Table1", modify as needed
Set tbl = ws.ListObjects("Table1")
With tbl.ListColumns(3).Range
lastrow = .Find(What:="*", _
After:=.Cells(1), _
Lookat:=xlPart, _
LookIn:=xlFormulas, _
SearchOrder:=xlByRows, _
SearchDirection:=xlPrevious, _
MatchCase:=False).Row
End With
End Sub
Note: this answer was motivated by this comment. The purpose of UsedRange is different from what is mentioned in the answer above.
As to the correct way of finding the last used cell, one has first to decide what is considered used, and then select a suitable method. I conceive at least three meanings:
Used = non-blank, i.e., having data.
Used = "... in use, meaning the section that contains data or formatting." As per official documentation, this is the criterion used by Excel at the time of saving. See also this official documentation. If one is not aware of this, the criterion may produce unexpected results, but it may also be intentionally exploited (less often, surely), e.g., to highlight or print specific regions, which may eventually have no data. And, of course, it is desirable as a criterion for the range to use when saving a workbook, lest losing part of one's work.
Used = "... in use, meaning the section that contains data or formatting" or conditional formatting. Same as 2., but also including cells that are the target for any Conditional Formatting rule.
How to find the last used cell depends on what you want (your criterion).
For criterion 1, I suggest reading this answer.
Note that UsedRange is cited as unreliable. I think that is misleading (i.e., "unfair" to UsedRange), as UsedRange is simply not meant to report the last cell containing data. So it should not be used in this case, as indicated in that answer. See also this comment.
For criterion 2, UsedRange is the most reliable option, as compared to other options also designed for this use. It even makes it unnecessary to save a workbook to make sure that the last cell is updated.
Ctrl+End will go to a wrong cell prior to saving
(“The last cell is not reset until you save the worksheet”, from
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa139976%28v=office.10%29.aspx.
It is an old reference, but in this respect valid).
For criterion 3, I do not know any built-in method.
Criterion 2 does not account for Conditional Formatting. One may have formatted cells, based on formulas, which are not detected by UsedRange or Ctrl+End.
In the figure, the last cell is B3, since formatting was applied explicitly to it. Cells B6:D7 have a format derived from a Conditional Formatting rule, and this is not detected even by UsedRange.
Accounting for this would require some VBA programming.
As to your specific question: What's the reason behind this?
Your code uses the first cell in your range E4:E48 as a trampoline, for jumping down with End(xlDown).
The "erroneous" output will obtain if there are no non-blank cells in your range other than perhaps the first. Then, you are leaping in the dark, i.e., down the worksheet (you should note the difference between blank and empty string!).
Note that:
If your range contains non-contiguous non-blank cells, then it will also give a wrong result.
If there is only one non-blank cell, but it is not the first one, your code will still give you the correct result.
I created this one-stop function for determining the last row, column and cell, be it for data, formatted (grouped/commented/hidden) cells or conditional formatting.
Sub LastCellMsg()
Dim strResult As String
Dim lngDataRow As Long
Dim lngDataCol As Long
Dim strDataCell As String
Dim strDataFormatRow As String
Dim lngDataFormatCol As Long
Dim strDataFormatCell As String
Dim oFormatCond As FormatCondition
Dim lngTempRow As Long
Dim lngTempCol As Long
Dim lngCFRow As Long
Dim lngCFCol As Long
Dim strCFCell As String
Dim lngOverallRow As Long
Dim lngOverallCol As Long
Dim strOverallCell As String
With ActiveSheet
If .ListObjects.Count > 0 Then
MsgBox "Cannot return reliable results, as there is at least one table in the worksheet."
Exit Sub
End If
strResult = "Workbook name: " & .Parent.Name & vbCrLf
strResult = strResult & "Sheet name: " & .Name & vbCrLf
'DATA:
'last data row
If Application.WorksheetFunction.CountA(.Cells) <> 0 Then
lngDataRow = .Cells.Find(What:="*", _
After:=.Range("A1"), _
Lookat:=xlPart, _
LookIn:=xlFormulas, _
SearchOrder:=xlByRows, _
SearchDirection:=xlPrevious, _
MatchCase:=False).Row
Else
lngDataRow = 1
End If
'strResult = strResult & "Last data row: " & lngDataRow & vbCrLf
'last data column
If Application.WorksheetFunction.CountA(.Cells) <> 0 Then
lngDataCol = .Cells.Find(What:="*", _
After:=.Range("A1"), _
Lookat:=xlPart, _
LookIn:=xlFormulas, _
SearchOrder:=xlByColumns, _
SearchDirection:=xlPrevious, _
MatchCase:=False).Column
Else
lngDataCol = 1
End If
'strResult = strResult & "Last data column: " & lngDataCol & vbCrLf
'last data cell
strDataCell = Replace(Cells(lngDataRow, lngDataCol).Address, "$", vbNullString)
strResult = strResult & "Last data cell: " & strDataCell & vbCrLf
'FORMATS:
'last data/formatted/grouped/commented/hidden row
strDataFormatRow = StrReverse(Split(StrReverse(.UsedRange.Address), "$")(0))
'strResult = strResult & "Last data/formatted row: " & strDataFormatRow & vbCrLf
'last data/formatted/grouped/commented/hidden column
lngDataFormatCol = Range(StrReverse(Split(StrReverse(.UsedRange.Address), "$")(1)) & "1").Column
'strResult = strResult & "Last data/formatted column: " & lngDataFormatCol & vbCrLf
'last data/formatted/grouped/commented/hidden cell
strDataFormatCell = Replace(Cells(strDataFormatRow, lngDataFormatCol).Address, "$", vbNullString)
strResult = strResult & "Last data/formatted cell: " & strDataFormatCell & vbCrLf
'CONDITIONAL FORMATS:
For Each oFormatCond In .Cells.FormatConditions
'last conditionally-formatted row
lngTempRow = CLng(StrReverse(Split(StrReverse(oFormatCond.AppliesTo.Address), "$")(0)))
If lngTempRow > lngCFRow Then lngCFRow = lngTempRow
'last conditionally-formatted column
lngTempCol = Range(StrReverse(Split(StrReverse(oFormatCond.AppliesTo.Address), "$")(1)) & "1").Column
If lngTempCol > lngCFCol Then lngCFCol = lngTempCol
Next
'no results are returned for Conditional Format if there is no such
If lngCFRow <> 0 Then
'strResult = strResult & "Last cond-formatted row: " & lngCFRow & vbCrLf
'strResult = strResult & "Last cond-formatted column: " & lngCFCol & vbCrLf
'last conditionally-formatted cell
strCFCell = Replace(Cells(lngCFRow, lngCFCol).Address, "$", vbNullString)
strResult = strResult & "Last cond-formatted cell: " & strCFCell & vbCrLf
End If
'OVERALL:
lngOverallRow = Application.WorksheetFunction.Max(lngDataRow, strDataFormatRow, lngCFRow)
'strResult = strResult & "Last overall row: " & lngOverallRow & vbCrLf
lngOverallCol = Application.WorksheetFunction.Max(lngDataCol, lngDataFormatCol, lngCFCol)
'strResult = strResult & "Last overall column: " & lngOverallCol & vbCrLf
strOverallCell = Replace(.Cells(lngOverallRow, lngOverallCol).Address, "$", vbNullString)
strResult = strResult & "Last overall cell: " & strOverallCell & vbCrLf
MsgBox strResult
Debug.Print strResult
End With
End Sub
Results look like this:
For more detailed results, some lines in the code can be uncommented:
One limitation exists - if there are tables in the sheet, results can become unreliable, so I decided to avoid running the code in this case:
If .ListObjects.Count > 0 Then
MsgBox "Cannot return reliable results, as there is at least one table in the worksheet."
Exit Sub
End If
One important note to keep in mind when using the solution ...
LastRow = ws.Cells.Find(What:="*", After:=ws.range("a1"), SearchOrder:=xlByRows, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).Row
... is to ensure that your LastRow variable is of Long type:
Dim LastRow as Long
Otherwise you will end up getting OVERFLOW errors in certain situations in .XLSX workbooks
This is my encapsulated function that I drop in to various code uses.
Private Function FindLastRow(ws As Worksheet) As Long
' --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Find the last used Row on a Worksheet
' --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If WorksheetFunction.CountA(ws.Cells) > 0 Then
' Search for any entry, by searching backwards by Rows.
FindLastRow = ws.Cells.Find(What:="*", After:=ws.range("a1"), SearchOrder:=xlByRows, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).Row
End If
End Function
Since the original question is about problems with finding the last cell, in this answer I will list the various ways you can get unexpected results; see my answer to "How can I find last row that contains data in the Excel sheet with a macro?" for my take on solving this.
I'll start by expanding on the answer by sancho.s and the comment by GlennFromIowa, adding even more detail:
[...] one has first to decide what is considered used. I see at least 6 meanings. Cell has:
- 1) data, i.e., a formula, possibly resulting in a blank value;
- 2) a value, i.e., a non-blank formula or constant;
- 3) formatting;
- 4) conditional formatting;
- 5) a shape (including Comment) overlapping the cell;
- 6) involvement in a Table (List Object).
Which combination do you want to test for? Some (such as Tables) may be more difficult to test for, and some may be rare (such as a shape outside of data range), but others may vary based on the situation (e.g., formulas with blank values).
Other things you might want to consider:
- A) Can there be hidden rows (e.g. autofilter), blank cells or blank rows?
- B) What kind of performance is acceptable?
- C) Can the VBA macro affect the workbook or the application settings in any way?
With that in mind, let's see how the common ways of getting the "last cell" can produce unexpected results:
- The
.End(xlDown)code from the question will break most easily (e.g. with a single non-empty cell or when there are blank cells in between) for the reasons explained in the answer by Siddharth Rout here (search for "xlDown is equally unreliable.") 👎 - Any solution based on
Counting (CountAorCells*.Count) or.CurrentRegionwill also break in presence of blank cells or rows 👎 - A solution involving
.End(xlUp)to search backwards from the end of a column will, just as CTRL+UP, look for data (formulas producing a blank value are considered "data") in visible rows (so using it with autofilter enabled might produce incorrect results ⚠️).You have to take care to avoid the standard pitfalls (for details I'll again refer to the answer by Siddharth Rout here, look for the "Find Last Row in a Column" section), such as hard-coding the last row (
Range("A65536").End(xlUp)) instead of relying onsht.Rows.Count. -
.SpecialCells(xlLastCell)is equivalent to CTRL+END, returning the bottom-most and right-most cell of the "used range", so all caveats that apply to relying on the "used range", apply to this method as well. In addition, the "used range" is only reset when saving the workbook and when accessingworksheet.UsedRange, soxlLastCellmight produce stale results⚠️ with unsaved modifications (e.g. after some rows were deleted). See the nearby answer by dotNET. -
sht.UsedRange(described in detail in the answer by sancho.s here) considers both data and formatting (though not conditional formatting) and resets the "used range" of the worksheet, which may or may not be what you want.Note that a common mistake ️is to use
.UsedRange.Rows.Count⚠️, which returns the number of rows in the used range, not the last row number (they will be different if the first few rows are blank), for details see newguy's answer to How can I find last row that contains data in the Excel sheet with a macro? -
.Findallows you to find the last row with any data (including formulas) or a non-blank value in any column. You can choose whether you're interested in formulas or values, but the catch is that it resets the defaults in the Excel's Find dialog ️️⚠️, which can be highly confusing to your users. It also needs to be used carefully, see the answer by Siddharth Rout here (section "Find Last Row in a Sheet") - More explicit solutions that check individual
Cells' in a loop are generally slower than re-using an Excel function (although can still be performant), but let you specify exactly what you want to find. See my solution based onUsedRangeand VBA arrays to find the last cell with data in the given column -- it handles hidden rows, filters, blanks, does not modify the Find defaults and is quite performant.
Whatever solution you pick, be careful
- to use
Longinstead ofIntegerto store the row numbers (to avoid gettingOverflowwith more than 65k rows) and - to always specify the worksheet you're working with (i.e.
Dim ws As Worksheet ... ws.Range(...)instead ofRange(...)) - when using
.Value(which is aVariant) avoid implicit casts like.Value <> ""as they will fail if the cell contains an error value.