Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Quickly Dumping Array Contents.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 31, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
If you have done any programming in VBA, you know the value of using variable arrays to store information. It is not uncommon to start working with large arrays in your macros. For instance, you might declare a 100-element string array, as follows:
Dim MyText(99) As String
As your macro executes, information can be stored and restored in the elements of the array. At some point, you may want to erase all the information in the array. One classic way of doing this is using a For ... Next loop to step through each array element, as follows:
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here:
For J = 0 To 99
MyText(J) = ""
Next J
When the looping is complete, everything has been erased from the array. A quicker way of accomplishing the same task is to use the Erase function, as follows:
Erase MyText
Once executed, this single line sets each element of the MyText array back to an empty string. If the array is numeric, then each element of the array is set to zero.
There is one caveat with using the Erase function: If the array being erased were originally dimensioned at run time using the ReDim statement, then Erase gets rid of the dimensions and you'll need to use ReDim again to set them.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9393) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Quickly Dumping Array Contents.
Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!
Hold down the Shift key as you open a workbook, and Excel bypasses any "startup macros" that may be in the workbook. If ...
Discover MoreWhen working with text in Excel, you can slice and dice it in many ways. This tip shows how to pull first letters from ...
Discover MoreThe macro programming language used in Excel gives you a great many tools that allow you to modify the way that Excel ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments