How to: Programmatically Search for Text in Worksheet Ranges

The Find method of the Range object enables you to search for text within the range. This text can also be any of the error strings that can appear in a worksheet cell such as #NULL! or #VALUE!. For more information about error strings, see Cell Error Values.

Applies to: The information in this topic applies to document-level projects and application-level projects for Excel 2013 and Excel 2010. For more information, see Features Available by Office Application and Project Type.

The following example searches a range named Fruits and modifies the font for cells that contain the word "apples". This procedure also uses the FindNext method, which uses the previously set search settings to repeat the search. You specify the cell after which to search, and the FindNext method handles the rest.

Note

The FindNext method's search wraps back to the beginning of the search range after it has reached the end of the range. Your code must ensure that the search does not wrap around in an infinite loop. The sample procedure shows one way to handle this using the Address property.

For a related video demonstration, see How Do I: Use the Find Method in an Excel Add-in?.

To search for text in a worksheet range

1. Declare variables for tracking the entire range, the first found range, and the current found range.

   Dim currentFind As Excel.Range = Nothing 
   Dim firstFind As Excel.Range = Nothing
   

   Excel.Range currentFind = null; 
   Excel.Range firstFind = null; 
   

2. Search for the first match, specifying all the parameters except the cell to search after.

   currentFind = Fruits.Find("apples", , _
       Excel.XlFindLookIn.xlValues, Excel.XlLookAt.xlPart, _
       Excel.XlSearchOrder.xlByRows, Excel.XlSearchDirection.xlNext, False)
   

   currentFind = Fruits.Find("apples", missing,
       Excel.XlFindLookIn.xlValues, Excel.XlLookAt.xlPart, 
       Excel.XlSearchOrder.xlByRows, Excel.XlSearchDirection.xlNext, false,
       missing, missing); 
   

3. Continue searching as long as there are matches.

   While Not currentFind Is Nothing
   

   while(currentFind != null) 
   

4. Compare the first found range (firstFind) to Nothing. If firstFind contains no value, the code stores away the found range (currentFind).

   If firstFind Is Nothing Then
       firstFind = currentFind
   

   if (firstFind == null)
   {
       firstFind = currentFind; 
   }
   

5. Exit the loop if the address of the found range matches the address of the first found range.

   ElseIf currentFind.Address = firstFind.Address Then 
       Exit While 
   End If
   

   else if (currentFind.get_Address(Excel.XlReferenceStyle.xlA1)
         == firstFind.get_Address(Excel.XlReferenceStyle.xlA1))
   {
       break;
   }
   

6. Set the appearance of the found range.

   With currentFind.Font
       .Color = System.Drawing.ColorTranslator.ToOle(System.Drawing.Color.Red)
       .Bold = True 
   End With
   

   currentFind.Font.Color = System.Drawing.ColorTranslator.ToOle(System.Drawing.Color.Red);
   currentFind.Font.Bold = true; 
   

7. Perform another search.

   currentFind = Fruits.FindNext(currentFind)
   

   currentFind = Fruits.FindNext(currentFind); 
   

The following example shows the complete method.

Example

Private Sub DemoFind()
    Dim currentFind As Excel.Range = Nothing 
    Dim firstFind As Excel.Range = Nothing 

    Dim Fruits As Excel.Range = Me.Application.Range("A1", "B2")
    ' You should specify all these parameters every time you call this method,  
    ' since they can be overridden in the user interface.
    currentFind = Fruits.Find("apples", , _
        Excel.XlFindLookIn.xlValues, Excel.XlLookAt.xlPart, _
        Excel.XlSearchOrder.xlByRows, Excel.XlSearchDirection.xlNext, False)

    While Not currentFind Is Nothing 

        ' Keep track of the first range you find. 
        If firstFind Is Nothing Then
            firstFind = currentFind

        ' If you didn't move to a new range, you are done. 
        ElseIf currentFind.Address = firstFind.Address Then 
            Exit While 
        End If 

        With currentFind.Font
            .Color = System.Drawing.ColorTranslator.ToOle(System.Drawing.Color.Red)
            .Bold = True 
        End With

        currentFind = Fruits.FindNext(currentFind)
    End While 
End Sub

private void DemoFind() 
{
    Excel.Range currentFind = null; 
    Excel.Range firstFind = null; 

    Excel.Range Fruits = Application.get_Range("A1", "B3");
    // You should specify all these parameters every time you call this method, 
    // since they can be overridden in the user interface. 
    currentFind = Fruits.Find("apples", missing,
        Excel.XlFindLookIn.xlValues, Excel.XlLookAt.xlPart, 
        Excel.XlSearchOrder.xlByRows, Excel.XlSearchDirection.xlNext, false,
        missing, missing); 

    while(currentFind != null) 
    { 
        // Keep track of the first range you find.  
        if (firstFind == null)
        {
            firstFind = currentFind; 
        }

        // If you didn't move to a new range, you are done. 
        else if (currentFind.get_Address(Excel.XlReferenceStyle.xlA1)
              == firstFind.get_Address(Excel.XlReferenceStyle.xlA1))
        {
            break;
        }

        currentFind.Font.Color = System.Drawing.ColorTranslator.ToOle(System.Drawing.Color.Red);
        currentFind.Font.Bold = true; 

        currentFind = Fruits.FindNext(currentFind); 
    }
}

See Also

Tasks

How to: Programmatically Apply Styles to Ranges in Workbooks

How to: Programmatically Refer to Worksheet Ranges in Code

Concepts

Working with Ranges

Optional Parameters in Office Solutions