VBA Code To Remove Duplicate Cell Values Or Entire Rows
What This VBA Code Does
Sometimes when you are cleaning up all the cobwebs of your data, you discover your spreadsheet possesses a bunch of duplicate values. Yes, you could convert your data into a Table and then use the Remove Duplicates feature within the Table Options ribbon menu, but who wants to waste the effort with all those clicks? Here are a couple of VBA macros you can add to your Personal macros to speed up this process and rid your data of duplicate values.
Remove Duplicate Cell Values Within A Range Selection
Sub RemoveDuplicatesCells()
'PURPOSE: Remove duplicate cell values within a selected cell range
'SOURCE: www.TheSpreadsheetGuru.com
Dim rng As Range
Dim x As Integer
'Optimize code execution speed
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
'Determine range to look at from user's selection
On Error GoTo InvalidSelection
Set rng = Selection
On Error GoTo 0
'Determine if multiple columns have been selected
If rng.Columns.Count > 1 Then
On Error GoTo InputCancel
x = InputBox("Multiple columns were detected in your selection. " & _
"Which column should I look at? (Number only!)", "Multiple Columns Found!", 1)
On Error GoTo 0
Else
x = 1
End If
'Optimize code execution speed
Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual
'Remove entire row
rng.RemoveDuplicates Columns:=x
'Change calculation setting to Automatic
Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
Exit Sub
'ERROR HANDLING
InvalidSelection:
MsgBox "You selection is not valid", vbInformation
Exit Sub
InputCancel:
End SubRemove Entire Rows of Duplicate Values
Sub RemoveDuplicatesCells_EntireRow()
'PURPOSE: Remove the entire row of duplicate cell values within a selected cell range
'SOURCE: www.TheSpreadsheetGuru.com
Dim rng As Range
Dim x As Integer
'Optimize code execution speed
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
'Determine range to look at from user's selection
On Error GoTo InvalidSelection
Set rng = Selection
On Error GoTo 0
'Ask user which column to look at when analyzing duplicates
On Error GoTo InputCancel
x = InputBox("Which column should I look at? (Number only!)", _
"Select A Column", 1)
On Error GoTo 0
'Optimize code execution speed
Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual
'Remove entire row if duplicate is found
rng.EntireRow.RemoveDuplicates Columns:=x
'Change calculation setting to Automatic
Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
Exit Sub
'ERROR HANDLING
InvalidSelection:
MsgBox "You selection is not valid", vbInformation
Exit Sub
InputCancel:
End SubUsing 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.