You can use the following basic syntax to use a formula for “if cell contains” in VBA:
Sub IfContains()
Dim i As Integer
For i = 2 To 8
If InStr(1, LCase(Range("A" & i)), "turtle") <> 0 Then
Result = "Contains Turtle"
Else
Result = "Does Not Contain Turtle"
End If
Range("B" & i) = Result
Next i
End Sub
This particular example checks if each cell in the range A2:A8 contains “turtle” and then assigns either “Contains Turtle” or “Does Not Contain Turtle” to each corresponding cell in the range B2:B8.
Note: The Instr method checks if one string contains another string and the LCase method converts text to lowercase to perform a case-insensitive search.
The following example shows how to use this syntax in practice.
Example: How to Use “If Cell Contains” in VBA
Suppose we have the following list of cells in Excel that each contain various text:
Suppose we would like to check if each cell in the range A2:A8 contains the text “turtle” and output the results in the corresponding cells in the range B2:B8.
We can create the following macro to do so:
Sub IfContains()
Dim i As Integer
For i = 2 To 8
If InStr(1, LCase(Range("A" & i)), "turtle") <> 0 Then
Result = "Contains Turtle"
Else
Result = "Does Not Contain Turtle"
End If
Range("B" & i) = Result
Next i
End Sub
When we run this macro, we receive the following output:
Column B tells us whether or not the corresponding cells in column A contain “turtle” somewhere in the text.
Note: You can find the complete documentation for the VBA Instr method here.
Additional Resources
The following tutorials explain how to perform other common tasks in VBA:
VBA: How to Count Occurrences of Character in String
VBA: How to Check if String Contains Another String
How could you adjust this so it would read so it would reflect the adjacent cell.
– If column A equal to “turtle”, then in Column B enter text “turtle”
— Example: If A1=”turtle”, then enter “turtle” in B1
– If column A is not equal to “turtle”, then leave Column B text as is/no affect to the the cell because there is other text entered.
— Example: If A1 is not equal to “turtle”, then ignore
Hi DeAnn…You can achieve this using a simple VBA script that checks the cells in column A and updates the adjacent cells in column B based on the conditions you described. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
### Step 1: Open the VBA Editor
1. Press `Alt + F11` to open the VBA editor.
2. In the VBA editor, insert a new module:
– Right-click on any of the existing modules or the `VBAProject` in the left sidebar.
– Select `Insert` > `Module`.
### Step 2: Write the VBA Script
Copy and paste the following code into the new module:
“`vba
Sub UpdateColumnB()
Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim lastRow As Long
Dim i As Long
‘ Set the worksheet you want to run the script on
Set ws = ThisWorkbook.Sheets(“Sheet1”) ‘ Change “Sheet1” to your sheet name
‘ Find the last row with data in column A
lastRow = ws.Cells(ws.Rows.Count, “A”).End(xlUp).Row
‘ Loop through each cell in column A
For i = 1 To lastRow
If ws.Cells(i, 1).Value = “turtle” Then
ws.Cells(i, 2).Value = “turtle”
End If
Next i
End Sub
“`
### Explanation of the Code
– **Set ws = ThisWorkbook.Sheets(“Sheet1”)**: Set the worksheet where you want to run the script. Replace `”Sheet1″` with the actual name of your worksheet.
– **lastRow = ws.Cells(ws.Rows.Count, “A”).End(xlUp).Row**: Find the last row with data in column A.
– **For i = 1 To lastRow**: Loop through each cell in column A from row 1 to the last row.
– **If ws.Cells(i, 1).Value = “turtle” Then ws.Cells(i, 2).Value = “turtle”**: If the value in column A equals “turtle”, set the value in the adjacent cell in column B to “turtle”.
### Step 3: Run the Script
1. Close the VBA editor and return to Excel.
2. Press `Alt + F8` to open the Macro dialog box.
3. Select `UpdateColumnB` and click `Run`.
This script will check each cell in column A, and if it contains “turtle”, it will set the corresponding cell in column B to “turtle”. If the cell in column A does not contain “turtle”, the script will leave the cell in column B unchanged.
### Additional Note
If you need the script to update dynamically as you type (i.e., automatically update column B when a change is made in column A), you can use the `Worksheet_Change` event. Here’s how you can do it:
1. In the VBA editor, double-click the sheet where you want the script to run (e.g., `Sheet1`).
2. Copy and paste the following code:
“`vba
Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)
Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim cell As Range
‘ Set the worksheet you want to run the script on
Set ws = ThisWorkbook.Sheets(“Sheet1”) ‘ Change “Sheet1” to your sheet name
‘ Check if the change was made in column A
If Not Intersect(Target, ws.Columns(“A”)) Is Nothing Then
Application.EnableEvents = False
For Each cell In Target
If cell.Value = “turtle” Then
cell.Offset(0, 1).Value = “turtle”
End If
Next cell
Application.EnableEvents = True
End If
End Sub
“`
This code will automatically update column B whenever a change is made in column A. Note that it disables events temporarily to avoid triggering the change event recursively.