Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 13, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
If you have used Excel for any length of time, you undoubtedly know that you can define names in your worksheets that refer to various cells and ranges of cells. You can even define names that refer to constants and to formulas. (The naming abilities of Excel are really quite handy.)
As you are developing macros, you may wonder if there is a way to retrieve a list of defined names within a worksheet. This is actually quite easy, if you remember that the defined names are maintained in the Names collection, which belongs to the Workbook object. With this in mind, you can use the following code to put together a variable array that consists of all the names in a workbook:
Dim NamesList() Dim NumNames As Integer Dim x As Integer NumNames = ActiveWorkbook.Names.Count ReDim NamesList(1 To NumNames) For x = 1 To NumNames NamesList(x) = ActiveWorkbook.Names(x).Name Next x
Once the range names are in the array, you can process them in any way you desire.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2283) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Pulling Cell Names into VBA.
Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!
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