Excel: How to search multiple workbooks for Cell information

Question

Currently we receive e-forms filled out with Excel from our customers, so I have a folder filled with workbooks.

Each workbook has multiple sheets.

I need to search through each of the workbooks to see if range "J8:Y8 on Sheet3" and "G8:AC8 on Sheet 4" has been filled in as these need further scrutiny, but only a few will have those sheets completed.

Also, each workbook has been named something completely different.

I have found this code (below) online which in principle does what I need. However, it searches every sheet of the workbook for a specific "Value".

Sub SearchFolders()
Dim fso As Object
Dim fld As Object
Dim strSearch As String
Dim strPath As String
Dim strFile As String
Dim wOut As Worksheet
Dim wbk As Workbook
Dim wks As Worksheet
Dim lRow As Long
Dim rFound As Range
Dim strFirstAddress As String
      

On Error GoTo ErrHandler
Application.ScreenUpdating = False


'Change as desired
strPath = "c:\MyFolder"
strSearch = "Specific text"

Set wOut = Worksheets.Add
lRow = 1
With wOut
    .Cells(lRow, 1) = "Workbook"
    .Cells(lRow, 2) = "Worksheet"
    .Cells(lRow, 3) = "Cell"
    .Cells(lRow, 4) = "Text in Cell"
    Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
    Set fld = fso.GetFolder(strPath)

    strFile = Dir(strPath & "\*.xls*")
    Do While strFile <> ""
        Set wbk = Workbooks.Open _
          (Filename:=strPath & "\" & strFile, _
          UpdateLinks:=0, _
          ReadOnly:=True, _
          AddToMRU:=False)

        For Each wks In wbk.Worksheets
            Set rFound = wks.UsedRange.Find(strSearch)
            If Not rFound Is Nothing Then
                strFirstAddress = rFound.Address
            End If
            Do
                If rFound Is Nothing Then
                     lRow = lRow + 1
                    .Cells(lRow, 1) = wbk.Name
                    .Cells(lRow, 2) = wks.Name
                    .Cells(lRow, 3) = rFound.Address
                    .Cells(lRow, 4) = rFound.Value
Else
Exit Do

                End If
                Set rFound = wks.Cells.FindNext(After:=rFound)
            Loop While strFirstAddress <> rFound.Address
        Next

            wbk.Close (False)
            strFile = Dir
        Loop
        .Columns("A:D").EntireColumn.AutoFit
    End With
    MsgBox "Done"

ExitHandler:
    Set wOut = Nothing
    Set wks = Nothing
    Set wbk = Nothing
    Set fld = Nothing
    Set fso = Nothing
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True
    Exit Sub

ErrHandler:
    MsgBox Err.Description, vbExclamation
    Resume ExitHandler
End Sub

Solution

This code will work in the following way:

1. Open a new workbook wherever you want.
2. Paste the VBA code on Macro

3. On Sheet 1 cell A1 put the path to the folder of workbooks, for example: C:\users\yourname\folder\

4. On Cell A2 the first range for example: J8:Y8 and on Cell B2 the Sheet name: Sheet3

5. On Cell A3 the second range for example: G8:AC8 and on Cell B3 the Sheet name: Sheet4

The best of this code is that if you have more ranges/sheets to search you can add on the next rows.

It will look like this:

Now, execute the macro and after its execution it will show the results on Sheet2, showing the name of the file and the number of empty cells on each range.

Sub foldersearch()
    Dim wbk As Workbook
    Dim wbk1 As Workbook
    Dim wks As Worksheet
    Dim wks2 As Worksheet
    Dim totaltime As Long
    Dim dtDuration As Date
    Set wbk = ThisWorkbook
    Set wks = wbk.Sheets(1)
    Set wks2 = wbk.Sheets(2)
    starttime = Now()
    wks2.Cells.ClearContents
    dirPath = wks.Cells(1, 1)
    file = Dir(dirPath)
    rowscounter = 0
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
    While (file <> "")
        If InStr(file, "xls") > 0 Then
            rowscounter = rowscounter + 1
            totalpath = dirPath & file
            Set wbk1 = Workbooks.Open(totalpath, , True)
            rangelist = True
            i = 2
            columnscounter = 2
            While rangelist = True
                thenewrango = wks.Cells(i, 1)
                thenewsheet = wks.Cells(i, 2)
                emptycount = workbooksearch(wbk1, thenewsheet, thenewrango)
                wks2.Cells(rowscounter, 1) = file
                wks2.Cells(rowscounter, columnscounter) = emptycount
                i = i + 1
                columnscounter = columnscounter + 1
                If wks.Cells(i, 1) = "" Then
                    rangelist = False
                End If
            Wend
            wbk1.Close (False)
        End If
        file = Dir
    Wend
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True
    endtime = Now()
    totaltime = DateDiff("s", starttime, endtime)
    a = MsgBox("Finished in" & vbCrLf & totaltime & " seconds", vbOKOnly)
End Sub
Function workbooksearch(wbk1 As Workbook, wksname As Variant, rango As Variant)
    Dim wks1 As Worksheet
    Dim obj As Object
    On Error GoTo HandleError
    Set obj = wbk1.Sheets(wksname)
    Set wks1 = wbk1.Worksheets(wksname)
    emptycount = 0
    For Each c In wks1.Range(rango)
        If c.Value = "" Then
            emptycount = emptycount + 1
        End If
    Next c
    workbooksearch = emptycount
    Exit Function
HandleError:
    workbooksearch = "N/A"
End Function

Comments

[Raystafarian]

So you've found something that does what you want, but also does something else? What have you tried changing? Why? What happens? Where are you stuck?

[Engineer Toast]

Probably, the only pieces you want out of this code are the bits that open each workbook in a folder. (You may want to keep the results page that it creates if apply the additional scrutiny via organic inspection.)