Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Selecting Visible Cells in a Macro.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 11, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Karthi notes that he often needs to use Go To Special to select just the visible cells in a selection. This makes him wonder if there is a way that such cells can be selected in a macro.
There are numerous ways that just the visible cells can be selected without a macro, but those won't be gone into here. The assumption is that you want to select the visible cells as part of a larger macro you may be creating. For instance, you might need to select the visible cells before doing some sort of formatting or before you process the cells in some other way.
To select just the visible cells from a range of selected cells, you can use the following line of code:
Selection.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeVisible).Select
If you need to work on some other initial range of cells before selecting the visible subset of those cells, all you need to do is change the "Selection" portion of the line. For instance, you could select the visible cells in the used range of the worksheet by using this line:
ActiveSheet.UsedRange.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeVisible).Select
Similarly, you could select all the visible cells on the entire worksheet by using this line:
Cells.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeVisible).Select
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8523) 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: Selecting Visible Cells in a Macro.
Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!
What is a macro? Ever wonder what these are and how to use them? This tip answers the basics of what a macro is used for, ...
Discover MoreIf you use For ... Next loops in your macros, make sure you give a way to jump out of the loop early. That way you can ...
Discover MoreIf your macro processes information on a number of worksheets, chances are good that you need your macro to figure out ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here:
Comments