20/4/23, 9:25 Dynamically Populating VBA Array Variables To Store Lists of Data

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November 12, 2016

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What Are Arrays? Oct 28, 2022

Arrays are a variant type variable

that you can use in VBA coding to
store a list of data. Think of it as a
mini-spreadsheet inside of a single
variable. You store data into an
array by referring to a reference
number that corresponds with the
location that the piece of data is
positioned in.
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Below is an example of an array

that is holding all the month names
within a year. Notice that the
reference number starts at zero
instead of one.

You can also have multi-

dimensional arrays. Below is a two-
dimensional array that looks much
like a typical spreadsheet is setup.
You can create even more
dimensions if you need to (ie think
"Data Cube"), but in my experience
two dimensions is the max that a
typical person will ever need. 

Now that you've had a quick

overview of what arrays are, let's
get into the meat of this article and
learn various ways to dynamically
resize these variables to fit all of
your data.

Method 1: Resizing
First

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This method resizes the array to

the size of your target data or list
before actually placing the values
inside the array. This can be a good
option if you know beforehand
how many items you need to store.

Sub PopulatingArrayVariable()
'PURPOSE: Dynamically Create Array
Variable based on a Given Size

Dim myArray() As Variant

Dim DataRange As Range
Dim cell As Range
Dim x As Long

'Determine the data you want stored

  Set DataRange =
ActiveSheet.UsedRange

'Resize Array prior to loading data

  ReDim
myArray(DataRange.Cells.Count)

'Loop through each cell in Range and

store value in Array
  For Each cell In DataRange.Cells
    myArray(x) = cell.Value
    x = x + 1
  Next cell

'Print values to Immediate Window

(Ctrl + G to view)
  For x = LBound(myArray) To
UBound(myArray)
    Debug.Print myArray(x)
  Next x

End Sub

Method 2: Resizing
As You Go
This VBA method resizes the array
variable right before storing each
item. The key command here is
"Preserve". This tells the code to

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keep all the stored items in the

Array while increasing it's storage
capacity. If you forgo having
Preserve in your code immediately
after you ReDim, the array variable
will wipe clean of data previously
stored in it before re-dimensioning.

Sub PopulatingArrayVariable()
'PURPOSE: Dynamically Create Array
Variable based on a Given Size

Dim myArray() As Variant

Dim DataRange As Range
Dim cell As Range
Dim x As Long

'Determine the data you want stored

  Set DataRange =
ActiveSheet.UsedRange

'Loop through each cell in Range and

store value in Array
  For Each cell In DataRange.Cells
    ReDim Preserve myArray(x)
    myArray(x) = cell.Value
    x = x + 1
  Next cell

'Print values to Immediate Window

(Ctrl + G to view)
  For x = LBound(myArray) To
UBound(myArray)
    Debug.Print myArray(x)
  Next x

End Sub

Method 3: Creating
From A Delimited
String
Another way you can populate an
array variable is through a
delimiter. A delimiter is simply a

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designated set of character(s) that

separates out your values. Have
you ever heard of a CSV file? CSV
stands for "Comma-Separated
Values" where a comma symbol
tells your computer how to
separate each value apart from one
another.

You can use this same concept to

make your own delimited string or
(more realistically) read a delimited
string exported from your database
software to populate the array. In
my below example code I am
taking a set range and turning it
into a delimited string with the
characters ";|;" separating each
value. 

Sub PopulatingArrayVariable()
'PURPOSE: Dynamically Create Array
Variable based on a Given Size

Dim myArray As Variant

Dim myString As String
Dim DataRange As Range
Dim cell As Range
Dim x As Long

'Determine the data you want stored

  Set DataRange =
ActiveSheet.Range("A1:A100")

'Loop through each cell in Range and

store value in delimited string
  For Each cell In DataRange.Cells
    myString = myString & ";|;" &
cell.Value
  Next cell

'Remove first delimiter from string

(;|;)
  myString = Right(myString,
Len(myString) - 3)
  
'Create an array with the Split()
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function
  myArray = Split(myString, ";|;")

'Print values to Immediate Window

(Ctrl + G to view)
  For x = LBound(myArray) To
UBound(myArray)
    Debug.Print myArray(x)
  Next x

End Sub

If you are already starting with a

delimited string, use this simplified
VBA code to accomplish the same
thing.

Sub PopulatingArrayVariable()
'PURPOSE: Dynamically Create Array
Variable based on a Given Size

Dim myArray As Variant

Dim myString As String
Dim x As Long

'Store delimited string to a

variable
  myString =
"Apple;|;Orange;|;Pear;|;Peach;|;Grapes"
  
'Create an array with the Split()
function
  myArray = Split(myString, ";|;")

'Print values to Immediate Window

(Ctrl + G to view)
  For x = LBound(myArray) To
UBound(myArray)
    Debug.Print myArray(x)
  Next x

End Sub

Method 4: Pulling
From An Excel
Table [My Favorite
Option!]
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This is my favorite way to populate

array variables dynamically
because it has a user-interface
aspect to it (ie it allows you to
make changes to the inputs
without rewriting the code). Now
you may be thinking to yourself
that a couple of the VBA snippets
above are pulling from ranges that
you could easily substitute with a
named range in your code. This is
true, but tables have the auto-
expanding feature that can make
you 100% certain from a visual
perspective that you are picking up
all your values.

You will want to note that when

you size an Array variable from a
Range or Table, the first reference
number will be a One instead of
the typical Zero.

Sub PopulatingArrayVariable()
'PURPOSE: Dynamically Create Array
Variable based on a Single Columned
Table

Dim myArray() As Variant

Dim TempArray() As Variant
Dim myTable As ListObject
Dim x As Long

'Set path for Table variable

  Set myTable =
ActiveSheet.ListObjects("Table1")
  
'Create Array List from Table
  TempArray =
myTable.DataBodyRange.Columns(1)
  
'Convert from vertical to horizontal
array list
  myArray =
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Application.Transpose(TempArray)

'Loop through each item in the Table

Array (displayed in Immediate Window
[ctrl + g])
  For x = LBound(myArray) To
UBound(myArray)
    Debug.Print myArray(x)
  Next x

End Sub

Any Other
Methods?
Are there any other methods you
use to populate arrays
dynamically? I would love to hear
from you in the comments section
below and maybe I can add some
other options to the ones I've
already discussed in the article.

About The Author

Hey there! I’m Chris and I run
TheSpreadsheetGuru website in my
spare time. By day, I’m actually a
finance professional who relies on
Microsoft Excel quite heavily in the
corporate world. I love taking the
things I learn in the “real world”
and sharing them with everyone
here on this site so that you too
can become a spreadsheet guru at
your company.
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20/4/23, 9:25 Dynamically Populating VBA Array Variables To Store Lists of Data

Through my years in the corporate

world, I’ve been able to pick up on
opportunities to make working
with Excel better and have built a
variety of Excel add-ins, from
inserting tickmark symbols to
automating copy/pasting from
Excel to PowerPoint. If you’d like to
keep up to date with the latest
Excel news and directly get emailed
the most meaningful Excel tips I’ve
learned over the years, you can
sign up for my free newsletters. I
hope I was able to provide you
with some value today and I hope
to see you back here soon!

- Chris
Founder, TheSpreadsheetGuru.com

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