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Loop Through All Excel Files In A Given Folder

By Chris Newman •  Updated: 04/23/14 •  4 min read
Loop Through All Excel Files In A Given Folder

What This VBA Code Does

This VBA macro will let you select a folder path and loop through each of the Excel files in the folder.  The following macro code

  1. Opens each Excel file within the user-selected folder
  2. Performs a task
  3. Saves the file
  4. Closes the workbook

This VBA code can save a ton of time if you need to make simple formatting changes to a slew of Excel files!

Sub LoopAllExcelFilesInFolder()
'PURPOSE: To loop through all Excel files in a user specified folder and perform a set task on them
'SOURCE: www.TheSpreadsheetGuru.com

Dim wb As Workbook
Dim myPath As String
Dim myFile As String
Dim myExtension As String
Dim FldrPicker As FileDialog

'Optimize Macro Speed
  Application.ScreenUpdating = False
  Application.EnableEvents = False
  Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual

'Retrieve Target Folder Path From User
  Set FldrPicker = Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogFolderPicker)

    With FldrPicker
      .Title = "Select A Target Folder"
      .AllowMultiSelect = False
        If .Show <> -1 Then GoTo NextCode
        myPath = .SelectedItems(1) & "\"
    End With

'In Case of Cancel
NextCode:
  myPath = myPath
  If myPath = "" Then GoTo ResetSettings

'Target File Extension (must include wildcard "*")
  myExtension = "*.xls*"

'Target Path with Ending Extention
  myFile = Dir(myPath & myExtension)

'Loop through each Excel file in folder
  Do While myFile <> ""
    'Set variable equal to opened workbook
      Set wb = Workbooks.Open(Filename:=myPath & myFile)
    
    'Ensure Workbook has opened before moving on to next line of code
      DoEvents
    
    'Change First Worksheet's Background Fill Blue
      wb.Worksheets(1).Range("A1:Z1").Interior.Color = RGB(51, 98, 174)
    
    'Save and Close Workbook
      wb.Close SaveChanges:=True
      
    'Ensure Workbook has closed before moving on to next line of code
      DoEvents

    'Get next file name
      myFile = Dir
  Loop

'Message Box when tasks are completed
  MsgBox "Task Complete!"

ResetSettings:
  'Reset Macro Optimization Settings
    Application.EnableEvents = True
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True

End Sub

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!

Keep Learning

Chris Newman

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.