Working with Microsoft Excel Objects

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The Microsoft® Excel object model contains several dozen objects that you can manipulate through Microsoft® Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA) code. Almost anything you can do with Excel from its user interface, you can do by manipulating its objects through VBA. In addition, you can do things through VBA that can't be done through the user interface.

When you use VBA to work with Excel objects, from either within Excel itself or another Office application, you have access to every part of Excel. The objects you will work with include cells, ranges, sheets, workbooks, charts, and more. In other words, every element in Excel can be represented by an object that you can manipulate through VBA.

There are four Excel objects you will work with more than any others: the Application object, the Workbook object, the Worksheet object, and the Range object.

In This Section

  • Understanding the Excel Application Object
    Use the Microsoft® Excel Application object to determine or specify application-level properties or execute application-level methods.
  • Understanding the Workbook Object
    Work with the Workbook object to use with a single Microsoft® Excel workbook, and use the Workbooks collection to work with all currently open Workbook objects.
  • Understanding the Worksheet Object
    Use a worksheet, containing a grid of cells, to work with data and hundreds of properties, methods, and events.
  • Understanding the Range Object
    Develop a full understanding of the Range object and how to use it effectively in Microsoft® Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA) procedures and harness the power of Microsoft® Excel.