Gerry finds it easiest to put together formulas that use R1C1 cell references. She knows how to do this when manually adding formulas to a worksheet, but wonders how she can use R1C1 references in formulas that she puts together and stuffs into cells using a macro. She wonders if there is anything she needs to watch out for when doing this.
When you are normally stuffing a formula into a cell, you would use this type of syntax in your macro:
Cells(3,1).Formula = "=A1 + A2"
Range("A3").Formula = "=A1 + A2"
Either of these will work fine; they both stuff a simple formula into cell A3. If, however, you want to use R1C1 references in the formula you place into cell A3, you only need to change the Formula property to the FormulaR1C1 property:
Cells(3,1).FormulaR1C1 = "=R1C1 + R2C1"
Range("A3").FormulaR1C1 = "=R1C1 + R2C1"
It is interesting to note that if you place the above R1C1 formulas into a cell and the worksheet doesn't have R1C1 display turned on, then Excel converts the formula to reflect the display that is active. In other words, it automatically changes "=R1C1 + R2C1" to "=$A$1 + $A$2". The opposite is also true—place the formula "=A1 + A2" into a cell, and it displays as " =R[-2]C + R[-1]C" if you have R1C1 display turned on.
You should also note that since both Formula and FormulaR1C1 are properties, you can read them and see the formula in the cell in the desired format. For instance, let's say cell A3 contains the formula "=A1 + A2". If you then run the following macro, you'll see the formula displayed in the desired formats:
Sub TestFormula()
Dim sMsg As String
sMsg = "Regular format: " & Cells(3,1).Formula & vbCrLf
sMsg = sMsg & "R1C1 format: " & Range("A3").FormulaR1C1
MsgBox sMsg
End Sub
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (5294) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Office 365.
Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!
The VBA programming language provided with Excel allows you to create and modify text files quite easily. Here's how to ...
Discover MoreAs your macro is processing information, there will doubtless be times that it will need to compare information in ...
Discover MoreNeed to get rid of extraneous spaces before or after the text in a string? VBA provides three different functions you can ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2018-02-18 19:45:08
walter costello
Alan, for what its worth - if you press the ctrl key and the tilde ~ keys excel displays the spreadsheet formulae cell references instead of numbers. To exit just repeat the key strokes!
Walt
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 © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments