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: Filling a Range of Cells with Values.

Filling a Range of Cells with Values

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 16, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Jonathan is creating a macro and needs to fill a range of cells with values. For instance, if he needs to fill the range A1:C1, it currently takes three statements to fill that range:

Range("A1") = "Test1"
Range("B1") = "Test2"
Range("C1") = "Test3"

He wonders if there is a way to fill them in a single statement, similar to the following:

Range("A1:C1") = ("Test1","Test2","Test3")

Jonathan's desired syntax is close, but it won't work. Here's how it will work:

Range("A1:C1") = Array("Test1","Test2","Test3")

Note the use of the Array statement, which tells VBA that what follows should be considered a sequence of values to be used in the sequence of cells at the left of the operator. Interestingly enough, you could stuff values into variables and also use the Array statement, as shown here:

sOne = "Apples"
sTwo = "Oranges"
sThree = "Artichokes"
Range("A1:C1") = Array(sOne, sTwo, sThree)

You can also work with straight variables, if you prefer:

Dim sMyStrings(2) As String
sMyStrings(0) = "Apples"
sMyStrings(1) = "Oranges"
sMyStrings(2) = "Artichokes"
Range("A1:C1") = sMyStrings

The above code could also be rewritten, as follows:

Dim sMyStrings(2) As String
sMyStrings = Array("Apples", "Oranges", "Artichokes")
Range("A1:C1") = sMyStrings

Finally, if you wanted to have the values placed into a single column rather than in a row, you would need to use the Transpose function, in this manner:

Range("A1:A3") = Application.Transpose(Array("Test1","Test2","Test3"))

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 (11701) 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: Filling a Range of Cells with Values.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Maintaining Formatting when Refreshing PivotTables

When you refresh the data in a PivotTable, Excel can play havoc with whatever formatting you applied. Here's how to ...

Discover More

Jumping to the Real Last Cell

Jumping to the last cell in a worksheet should be easy, but you may not always get the results that you expect. This tip ...

Discover More

Copying a Hyperlink to Lots of Worksheets

Copying information from one place to another in a worksheet is easy. Copying hyperlinks may not seem that easy, but you ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Determining an Integer Value

When creating macros, you often need to process numbers in various ways. VBA allows you to convert a numeric value to an ...

Discover More

Generating Unique, Sequential Names

Do you need to create a number of words or phrases where you only alter a few letters in each one? If the alterations ...

Discover More

Displaying Messages When Automatic Data Changes

It is possible to develop macros that update the information in your worksheets automatically. In such instances, you may ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is two more than 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.