VBA Tutorial: Find the Last Row, Column, or Cell on a Sheet

Bottom line: Learn how to find the last row, column, or cell in a worksheet using three different VBA methods.  The method used depends on the layout of your data, and if the sheet contains blank cells.

Skill level: Intermediate

Video: 3 Part Series How to Find the Last Cell with VBA

Video best viewed in full screen HD

Download the Excel file that contains the code:

Jump to the Code Examples on this page:

• Range.End VBA Code Example
• Range.Find Code Example
• Range.SpecialCells Code Example

Finding the Last Cell is All About the Data

Finding the last used row, column, or cell is one very common task when writing macros and VBA applications.  Like anything in Excel and VBA, there are many different ways to accomplish this.

Choosing the right method mostly depends on what your data looks like.

In this article I explain three different VBA methods of the Range object that we can use to find the last cell in a worksheet.  Each of these methods has pros and cons, and some look scarier than others. 🙂

But understanding how each method works will help you know when to use them, and why.

#1 – The Range.End() Method

The Range.End method is very similar to pressing the Ctrl+Arrow Key keyboard shortcut.  In VBA we can use this method to find the last non-blank cell in a single row or column.

Range.End VBA Code Example

Sub Range_End_Method()
'Finds the last non-blank cell in a single row or column

Dim lRow As Long
Dim lCol As Long
    
    'Find the last non-blank cell in column A(1)
    lRow = Cells(Rows.Count, 1).End(xlUp).Row
    
    'Find the last non-blank cell in row 1
    lCol = Cells(1, Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column
    
    MsgBox "Last Row: " & lRow & vbNewLine & _
            "Last Column: " & lCol
  
End Sub

To find the last used row in a column, this technique starts at the last cell in the column and goes up (xlUp) until it finds the first non-blank cell.

The Rows.Count statement returns a count of all the rows in the worksheet.  Therefore, we are basically specifying the last cell in column A of the sheet (cell A1048567), and going up until we find the first non-blank cell.

It works the same with finding the last column.  It starts at the last column in a row, then goes to the left until the last non-blank cell is found in the column.  Columns.Count returns the total number of columns in the sheet.  So we start at the last column and go left.

The argument for the End method specifies which direction to go.  The options are: xlDown, xlUp, xlToLeft, xlToRight.

Pros of Range.End

• Range.End is simple to use and understand since it works the same way as the Ctrl+Arrow Key shortcuts.
• Can be used to find the first blank cell, or the last non-blank cell in a single row or column.

Cons of Range.End

• Range.End only works on a single row or column.  If you have a range of data that contains blanks in the last row or column, then it may be difficult to determine which row or column to perform the method on.
• If you want to find the last used cell then you have to evaluate at least two statements.  One to find the last row and one to find the last column.  You can then combine these to reference the last cell.

Here are the help articles for Range.End

• MSDN help page for Range.End
• MSDN help for xlDirection Enumerations

#2 – The Range.Find() Method

The Range.Find method is my preferred way to find the last row, column, or cell.  It is the most versatile, but also the scariest looking.  🙂

Range.Find has a lot of arguments, but don't let this scare you.  Once you know what they do you can use Range.Find for a lot of things in VBA.

Range.Find is basically the way to program the Find menu in Excel.  It does the same thing, and most of the arguments of Range.Find are the options on the Find menu.

Range.Find Code Example

The following is the code to find the last non-blank row.

Sub Range_Find_Method()
'Finds the last non-blank cell on a sheet/range.

Dim lRow As Long
Dim lCol As Long
    
    lRow = Cells.Find(What:="*", _
                    After:=Range("A1"), _
                    LookAt:=xlPart, _
                    LookIn:=xlFormulas, _
                    SearchOrder:=xlByRows, _
                    SearchDirection:=xlPrevious, _
                    MatchCase:=False).Row
    
    MsgBox "Last Row: " & lRow

End Sub

The Range.Find Method Explained

The Find method is looking for the first non-blank cell (“*”).  The asterisk represents a wildcard character that looks for any text or numbers in the cell.

Starting in cell A1, it moves backwards (xlPrevious) and actually starts it's search in the very last cell in the worksheet.  It then moves right-to-left (xlByRows) and loops up through each row until it finds a non-blank cell.  When a non-blank is found it stops and returns the row number.

Here is a detailed explanation for each argument.

• What:=”*” – The asterisk is a wildcard character that finds any text or number in the cell.  It's basically the same as searching for a non-blank cell.
• After:=Range(“A1”) – Start the search after cell A1, the first cell in the sheet.  This means that A1 will NOT be searched.  It will start the search after A1 and the next cell it searches depends on the SearchOrder and SearchDirection.  This argument can be changed to start in a different cell, just remember that the search actually starts in the cell after the one specified.
• LookAt:=xlPart – This is going to look at any part of the text inside the cell.  The other option is xlWhole, which would try to match the entire cell contents.
• LookIn:=xlFormulas – This tells Find to look in the formulas, and it is an important argument.  The other option is xlValues, which would only search the values.  If you have formulas that are returning blanks (=IF(A2>5,”Ok”,””) then you might want to consider this a non-blank cell.  Specifying the LookIn as xlFormulas will consider this formula as non-blank, even if the value returned is blank.
• SearchOrder:=xlByRows – This tells Find to search through each entire row before moving on to the next.  The direction is searches left-to-right or right-to-left depends on the SearchDirection argument.  The other option here is xlByColumns, which is used when finding the last column.
• SearchDirection:=xlPrevious – This specifies which direction to search.  xlPrevious means it will search from right-to-left or bottom-to-top.  The other option is xlNext, which moves in the opposite direction.
• MatchCase:=False – This tells Find not to consider upper or lower case letters.  Setting it to True would consider the case.  This argument isn't necessary for this scenario.

Ok, I know that's a lot to read, but hopefully you will have a better understanding of how to use these arguments to find anything in a worksheet.

Pros of Range.Find

• Range.Find searches an entire range for the last non-blank row or column.  It is NOT limited to a single row or column.
• The last row in a data set can contain blanks and Range.Find will still find the last row.
• The arguments can be used to search in different directions and for specific values, not just blank cells.

Cons of Range.Find

• It's ugly.  The method contains 9 arguments.  Although only one of these arguments (What) is required, you should get in a habit of using at least the first 7 arguments.  Otherwise, the Range.Find method will default to your last used settings in the Find window.  This is important.  If you don't specify the optional arguments for LookAt, LookIn, and SearchOrder then the Find method will use whatever options you used last in Excel's Find Window.
• Finding the last cell requires two statements.  One to find the last row and one to find the last column.  You then have to combine these to find the last cell.

Macro Recorder to the Rescue!

Range.Find is still my preferred method for finding the last cell because of it's versatility.  But it is a lot to type and remember.  Fortunately, you don't have to.

You can use the macro recorder to quickly create the code with all the arguments.

1. Start the macro recorder
2. Press Ctrl+F
3. Then press the Find Next button

The code for the Find method with all the arguments will be generated by the macro recorder.

Use a Custom Function for the Find Method

You can also use a custom function (UDF) for the find method.  Ron de Bruin's Last Function is a perfect example.  You can copy that function into any VBA project or code module, and use it to return the last row, column, or cell.

I also have a similar function in the example workbook.  My function just has additional arguments to reference the worksheet and range to search in.

Here are the help articles for Range.Find

• MSDN Help Article for Range.Find Method

#3 – Range.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell)

The SpecialCells method does the same thing as pressing the Ctrl+End keyboard shortcut, and selects the last used cell on the sheet.

SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell) Code Example

Sub Range_SpecialCells_Method()

    MsgBox Range("A1").SpecialCells(xlCellTypeLastCell).Address
      
End Sub

It's actually the easiest way to find the last used cell.  However, this method is finding the last used cell, which can be different than the last non-blank cell.

Often times you will hit Ctrl+End on the keyboard and be taken to some cell way down at the end of the sheet that is definitely not used.  This can occur for a number of reasons.  One common reason is the formatting properties for that cell have been changed.  Simply changing the font size or fill color of a cell will flag it as a used cell.

Pros of Range.SpecialCells

• You can use this method to find “used” rows and columns at the end of a worksheet and delete them.  Comparing the result of Range.SpecialCells with the result of the Range.Find for non-blanks can allow you to quickly determine if any unused rows or columns exist on the sheet.
• Deleting unused rows/columns can reduce file size and make your scroll bar bigger.

Cons of Range.SpecialCells

• Excel only resets the last cell when the workbook is saved.  So if the user or macro deletes the contents of some cells, then this method will not find the true last cell until after the file is saved.
• It finds the last used cell and NOT the last non-blank cell.

Other Methods for Finding the Last Cell

Well, that should cover the basics of finding the last used or non-blank cell in a worksheet.  If you sheet contains objects (tables, charts, pivot tables, slicers, etc.) then you might need to use other methods to find the last cell.  I will explain those techniques in a separate post.

I also have an article on how to find the FIRST used cell in the worksheet.

Please leave a comment below if you have any questions, or are still having trouble finding the last cell.  I'll be happy to help! 🙂