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How to find duplicate entries in a column by using a macro in Excel 2000

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Summary

The Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications sample macro in this article finds duplicate cell entries within a column, and changes the color of the cell containing the duplicate entry to red.

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More information

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For the macro to work correctly, make sure both of the following conditions have been met:
  • The column in which you want to find duplicates has been sorted based on values in that column.

    -and-
  • The first cell in the column in which you want to find duplicates is selected.

Sample Visual Basic Code

Sub FindDups ()
   '
   ' NOTE: You must select the first cell in the column and
   ' make sure that the column is sorted before running this macro
   '
   ScreenUpdating = False
   FirstItem = ActiveCell.Value
   SecondItem = ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Value
   Offsetcount = 1
   Do While ActiveCell <> ""
      If FirstItem = SecondItem Then
        ActiveCell.Offset(Offsetcount,0).Interior.Color = RGB(255,0,0)
        Offsetcount = Offsetcount + 1
        SecondItem = ActiveCell.Offset(Offsetcount, 0).Value
      Else
        ActiveCell.Offset(Offsetcount, 0).Select
        FirstItem = ActiveCell.Value
        SecondItem = ActiveCell.Offset(1,0).Value
        Offsetcount = 1
      End If
   Loop
   ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

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Keywords: KB213355, kbprogramming, kbinfo, kbhowto, kbdtacode, kbsample

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Article Info
Article ID : 213355
Revision : 9
Created on : 11/23/2006
Published on : 11/23/2006
Exists online : False
Views : 289