Converting Text Case

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 29, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

If you use worksheets that have quite a bit of text in them, there may be times you long for a function like Word has that easily converts between upper and lower case. Excel contains such functions, but they are designed to be used in macros, not as commands from the menus.

If you want to quickly convert large ranges of text without the need to retype the text in the cells of the range, you can use the following macro:

Sub MakeUpper()
    Dim MyText As String
    Dim MyRange As Range
    Dim CellCount As Integer

    Set MyRange = ActiveSheet.Range(ActiveWindow.Selection.Address)
    For CellCount = 1 To MyRange.Cells.Count
        If Not MyRange.Cells(CellCount).HasFormula Then
            MyText = MyRange.Cells(CellCount).Value
            MyRange.Cells(CellCount).Value = UCase(MyText)
        End If
    Next CellCount
End Sub

This macro steps through the cells in a range you select, converts the contents of any cell that does not contain a formula to uppercase. You can easily modify the macro so that it converts to lowercase by changing the UCase function (used near the bottom of the macro) to LCase. Another nifty modification is if you want to use title case instead of uppercase or lowercase. (Title case is where only the first letter of each word is uppercased.) To do this, replace UCase(MyText) with Application.Proper(MyText).

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (1970) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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