Highlight All Cells Containing A Specific Value
What This Does:
This code will search all of the cells in your worksheet that have data entered into them and highlight the cell yellow if it contains a user-entered value. Watch the animated GIF image below to see it in action!
Sub HighlightSpecificValue()
'PURPOSE: Highlight all cells containing a specified values
'SOURCE: www.TheSpreadsheetGuru.com
Dim fnd As String, FirstFound As String
Dim FoundCell As Range, rng As Range
Dim myRange As Range, LastCell As Range
'What value do you want to find?
fnd = InputBox("I want to hightlight cells containing...", "Highlight")
'End Macro if Cancel Button is Clicked or no Text is Entered
If fnd = vbNullString Then Exit Sub
Set myRange = ActiveSheet.UsedRange
Set LastCell = myRange.Cells(myRange.Cells.Count)
Set FoundCell = myRange.Find(what:=fnd, after:=LastCell)
'Test to see if anything was found
If Not FoundCell Is Nothing Then
FirstFound = FoundCell.Address
Else
GoTo NothingFound
End If
Set rng = FoundCell
'Loop until cycled through all unique finds
Do Until FoundCell Is Nothing
'Find next cell with fnd value
Set FoundCell = myRange.FindNext(after:=FoundCell)
'Add found cell to rng range variable
Set rng = Union(rng, FoundCell)
'Test to see if cycled through to first found cell
If FoundCell.Address = FirstFound Then Exit Do
Loop
'Highlight Found cells yellow
rng.Interior.Color = RGB(255, 255, 0)
'Report Out Message
MsgBox rng.Cells.Count & " cell(s) were found containing: " & fnd
Exit Sub
'Error Handler
NothingFound:
MsgBox "No cells containing: " & fnd & " were found in this worksheet"
End SubLearn More With The Example Workbook
If you would like to get a copy of the Excel file I used throughout this article, feel free to directly download the spreadsheet by clicking the download button below.
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.