How to list or generate all possible combinations in Excel?

When working with data in Excel, you may encounter situations where you need to generate all possible combinations from multiple lists. For instance, if you have two or more columns of values, manually listing every combination can be tedious and error-prone, especially as the number of values grows. In this guide, we’ll explore different techniques to quickly list or generate all possible combinations in Excel.

List or generate all possible combinations from two lists with formula

List or generate all possible combinations from three or more lists with VBA code

List or generate all possible combinations from multiple lists with a powerful feature

List or generate all possible combinations from two lists with formula

The following long formula can help you to list all possible combinations of two lists values quickly, please do as follows:

1. Enter or copy the below formula into a blank cell, in this case, I will enter it to cell D2, and then press Enter key to get the result, see screenshot:

2. Then select cell D2 and drag the fill handle down until blank cells appear. All possible combinations will be listed based on the two lists of values. See screenshot:

List or generate all possible combinations from three or more lists with VBA code

If the above formula feels difficult to apply, especially with multiple columns of data, modifying it can be challenging. In such cases, a VBA code provides a quicker and more flexible solution.

1. Hold down the ALT + F11 keys to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.

2. Click Insert > Module, and paste the following code in the Module Window.

VBA code: Generate all combinations of 3 or multiple columns

Sub ListAllCombinations()
'Updateby Extendoffice
Dim xDRg1, xDRg2, xDRg3 As Range
Dim xRg  As Range
Dim xStr As String
Dim xFN1, xFN2, xFN3 As Integer
Dim xSV1, xSV2, xSV3 As String
Set xDRg1 = Range("A2:A5")  'First column data
Set xDRg2 = Range("B2:B4")  'Second column data
Set xDRg3 = Range("C2:C4")  'Third column data
xStr = "-"   'Separator
Set xRg = Range("E2")  'Output cell
For xFN1 = 1 To xDRg1.Count
    xSV1 = xDRg1.Item(xFN1).Text
    For xFN2 = 1 To xDRg2.Count
        xSV2 = xDRg2.Item(xFN2).Text
      For xFN3 = 1 To xDRg3.Count
        xSV3 = xDRg3.Item(xFN3).Text
        xRg.Value = xSV1 & xStr & xSV2 & xStr & xSV3
        Set xRg = xRg.Offset(1, 0)
       Next
    Next
Next
End Sub

3. Then, press F5 key to run this code, and all combinations of the 3 columns will be generated at once, see screenshot:

List or generate all possible combinations from multiple lists with a powerful feature

If there are multiple lists of values that need to have all possible combinations listed, maybe it is difficult for you to modify the code. Here, I can recommend a powerful tool -- Kutools for Excel, it contains a handy feature List All Combinations which can quickly list all the possible combinations based on given data lists.

1. Click Kutools > Insert > List All Combinations, see screenshot:

2. In the List All Combinations dialog box, do the operations as below demo shown:

3. Then all the specified values and separators have been listed into the dialog box, see screenshot:

4.And then click Ok button, and a prompt box will pop out to remind you select a cell to output the result, see screenshot:

5. Click OK, all of the possible combinations based on the given lists have been generated into the worksheet as following screenshot shown:

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