VBA To Delete All Shapes On A Spreadsheet
What This VBA Code Does
The following VBA code will provide you with a way to delete all shapes from your currently selected spreadsheet. You will also learn how to further manipulate this code to filter out certain shape types from deletion.
VBA Code:
Sub DeleteAllShapes()
'PURPOSE: Remove All Shape Objects From The Active Worksheet
'SOURCE: www.TheSpreadsheetGuru.com/the-code-vault
Dim shp As Shape
For Each shp In ActiveSheet.Shapes
shp.Delete
Next shp
End SubExcluding Certain Shapes
In most cases, you will want to exclude certain shape types from being deleted within your code. Most commonly, you may not want to remove cell comments or charts as (believe it or not) they are considered shapes! You can add an IF statement to test each shape’s type before deleting it in your loop. The following code shows how you can write your VBA:
Sub DeleteAllShapes()
'PURPOSE: Remove All Shape Objects From The Active Worksheet (Excludes Charts/Comments)
'SOURCE: www.TheSpreadsheetGuru.com/the-code-vault
Dim shp As Shape
For Each shp In ActiveSheet.Shapes
If shp.Type <> msoChart And shp.Type <> msoComment Then shp.Delete
Next shp
End SubBelow is a table of all the msoShapeType properties that you can use in your IF statement to exclude certain shape types from being deleted. You can use the full name or the enumeration in your code.
| Name | Enum | Type |
|---|---|---|
| msoAutoShape | 1 | AutoShape |
| msoCallout | 2 | Callout |
| msoCanvas | 20 | Canvas |
| msoChart | 3 | Chart |
| msoComment | 4 | Comment |
| msoContentApp | 27 | Content Office Add-in |
| msoDiagram | 21 | Diagram |
| msoEmbeddedOLEObject | 7 | Embedded OLE object |
| msoFormControl | 8 | Form Control |
| msoFreeform | 5 | Freeform |
| msoGraphic | 28 | Graphic |
| msoGroup | 6 | Group |
| msoIgxGraphic | 24 | SmartArt Graphic |
| msoInk | 22 | Ink |
| msoInkComment | 23 | Ink Comment |
| msoLine | 9 | Line |
| msoLinkedGraphic | 29 | Linked Graphic |
| msoLinkedOLEObject | 10 | Linked OLE object |
| msoLinkedPicture | 11 | Linked Picture |
| msoMedia | 16 | Media |
| msoOLEControlObject | 12 | OLE Control Object |
| msoPicture | 13 | Picture |
| msoPlaceholder | 14 | Placeholder |
| msoScriptAnchor | 18 | Script Anchor |
| msoShapeTypeMixed | -2 | Mixed Shape Type |
| msoTable | 19 | Table |
| msoTextBox | 17 | Text Box |
| msoTextEffect | 15 | Text Effect |
| msoWebVideo | 26 | Web Video |
Using VBA Code Found On The Internet
Now that you’ve found some VBA code that could potentially solve your Excel automation problem, what do you do with it? If you don’t necessarily want to learn how to code VBA and are just looking for the fastest way to implement this code into your spreadsheet, I wrote an article (with video) that explains how to get the VBA code you’ve found running on your spreadsheet.
Getting Started Automating Excel
Are you new to VBA and not sure where to begin? Check out my quickstart guide to learning VBA. This article won’t overwhelm you with fancy coding jargon, as it provides you with a simplistic and straightforward approach to the basic things I wish I knew when trying to teach myself how to automate tasks in Excel with VBA Macros.
Also, if you haven’t checked out Excel’s latest automation feature called Power Query, I have put together a beginner’s guide for automating with Excel’s Power Query feature as well! This little-known built-in Excel feature allows you to merge and clean data automatically with little to no coding!
How Do I Modify This To Fit My Specific Needs?
Chances are this post did not give you the exact answer you were looking for. We all have different situations and it’s impossible to account for every particular need one might have. That’s why I want to share with you: My Guide to Getting the Solution to your Problems FAST! In this article, I explain the best strategies I have come up with over the years to get quick answers to complex problems in Excel, PowerPoint, VBA, you name it!
I highly recommend that you check this guide out before asking me or anyone else in the comments section to solve your specific problem. I can guarantee that 9 times out of 10, one of my strategies will get you the answer(s) you are needing faster than it will take me to get back to you with a possible solution. I try my best to help everyone out, but sometimes I don’t have time to fit everyone’s questions in (there never seem to be quite enough hours in the day!).
I wish you the best of luck and I hope this tutorial gets you heading in the right direction!
After 10+ years of creating macros and developing add-ins, I've compiled all the hacks I wish I had known years ago!
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Chris Newman
Chris is a finance professional and Excel MVP recognized by Microsoft since 2016. With his expertise, he founded TheSpreadsheetGuru blog to help fellow Excel users, where he shares his vast creative solutions & expertise. In addition, he has developed over 7 widely-used Excel Add-ins that have been embraced by individuals and companies worldwide.