How to quickly search a value in multiple sheets or workbooks?

Have you ever imaged to search a certain value in multiple sheets or workbooks in Excel? This tutorial introduces some different methods to solve the problems about searching in multiple sheets or searching in multiple workbooks.

Search a value in multiple sheets of a workbook with Find and Replace function

Search a value in all workbooks of a folder with VBA

Quickly search a value across multiple opened workbooks with Kutools for Excel

  Search a value in multiple sheets of a workbook with Find and Replace function

With Excel’s Find and Replace function, you can find a certain value across multiple sheets.

1. Select multiple sheet tabs you want to find value from by holding the Ctrl key and clicking the worksheets in the Sheet Tab bar one by one. See screenshot:

2. Then Press Ctrl + F to enable the Find and Replace window, and type the value you want to search in the Find what textbox under Find tab, and then click Find All button to list all the results. See screenshot:

Find and replace value across sheets and workbooks

Kutools for Excel's advanced Find and Replace function, can help you find and replace a value across multiple sheets and opened workbooks.  Free Download

Kutools for Excel: with more than 300 handy Excel add-ins, free to try with no limitation in 30 days.

Search a value in all workbooks of a folder with VBA

If you want to search a value in all closed workbooks from a folder, you only can apply a VBA to solve it.

1. Enable a new workbook and select a cell, then press Alt + F11 keys to open Microsoft Visual for Basic Applications window.

2. Click Insert > Module and paste below VBA to the new Module window.

VBA: Search a value across all workbooks of a folder.

Sub SearchFolders()
'UpdatebyKutoolsforExcel20200913
    Dim xFso As Object
    Dim xFld As Object
    Dim xStrSearch As String
    Dim xStrPath As String
    Dim xStrFile As String
    Dim xOut As Worksheet
    Dim xWb As Workbook
    Dim xWk As Worksheet
    Dim xRow As Long
    Dim xFound As Range
    Dim xStrAddress As String
    Dim xFileDialog As FileDialog
    Dim xUpdate As Boolean
    Dim xCount As Long
    Dim xAWB As Workbook
    Dim xAWBStrPath As String
    Dim xBol As Boolean
    Set xAWB = ActiveWorkbook
    xAWBStrPath = xAWB.Path & "\" & xAWB.Name
    On Error GoTo ErrHandler
    Set xFileDialog = Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogFolderPicker)
    xFileDialog.AllowMultiSelect = False
    xFileDialog.Title = "Select a forlder"
    If xFileDialog.Show = -1 Then
        xStrPath = xFileDialog.SelectedItems(1)
    End If
    If xStrPath = "" Then Exit Sub
    xStrSearch = "KTE"
    xUpdate = Application.ScreenUpdating
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
    Set xOut = Worksheets.Add
    xRow = 1
    With xOut
        .Cells(xRow, 1) = "Workbook"
        .Cells(xRow, 2) = "Worksheet"
        .Cells(xRow, 3) = "Cell"
        .Cells(xRow, 4) = "Text in Cell"
        Set xFso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
        Set xFld = xFso.GetFolder(xStrPath)
        xStrFile = Dir(xStrPath & "\*.xls*")
        Do While xStrFile <> ""
            xBol = False
            If (xStrPath & "\" & xStrFile) = xAWBStrPath Then
                xBol = True
                Set xWb = xAWB
            Else
                Set xWb = Workbooks.Open(Filename:=xStrPath & "\" & xStrFile, UpdateLinks:=0, ReadOnly:=True, AddToMRU:=False)
            End If
            For Each xWk In xWb.Worksheets
                If xBol And (xWk.Name = .Name) Then
                Else
                Set xFound = xWk.UsedRange.Find(xStrSearch)
                If Not xFound Is Nothing Then
                    xStrAddress = xFound.Address
                End If
                Do
                    If xFound Is Nothing Then
                        Exit Do
                    Else
                        xCount = xCount + 1
                        xRow = xRow + 1
                        .Cells(xRow, 1) = xWb.Name
                        .Cells(xRow, 2) = xWk.Name
                        .Cells(xRow, 3) = xFound.Address
                        .Cells(xRow, 4) = xFound.Value
                    End If
                    Set xFound = xWk.Cells.FindNext(After:=xFound)
                Loop While xStrAddress <> xFound.Address
                End If
            Next
            If Not xBol Then
            xWb.Close (False)
            End If
            xStrFile = Dir
        Loop
        .Columns("A:D").EntireColumn.AutoFit
    End With
    MsgBox xCount & " cells have been found", , "Kutools for Excel"
ExitHandler:
    Set xOut = Nothing
    Set xWk = Nothing
    Set xWb = Nothing
    Set xFld = Nothing
    Set xFso = Nothing
    Application.ScreenUpdating = xUpdate
    Exit Sub
ErrHandler:
    MsgBox Err.Description, vbExclamation
    Resume ExitHandler
End Sub

3. Then press F5 key or Run button to execute this VBA, and a Select a folder dialog pops out to remind you to select a folder which you want to search value from. See screenshot:

4. And then click OK and another dialog pops out to remind you the number of cells have been found. See screenshot:

5. Click OK to close it, and all the found cells are list in the current worksheet with the corresponding information.

Tip: In above VBA, you search the value “KTE”, and you can change “KTE” from this xStrSearch = "KTE" to another value as you need.

Quickly search a value in multiple opened workbooks with Kutools for Excel

If you just want to search a value across multiple opened workbooks, you can use Kutools for Excel’s advanced Find and Replace utility.

After free installing Kutools for Excel, please do as below:

1. In one of the opened workbooks, click Kutools > Navigation, and then click the Find and Replace button  to go to Find and Replace pane. See screenshot:

2. Then click Find tab, and type the value you want to search in the Find what textbox, and then select All workbooks from the Within dropdown list, and go to click Find All to list all found cells. See screenshot:

Tip:

With Kutools for Excel’s advanced Find and Replace utility, you can search and replace value in selected sheets across multiple workbooks, all workbooks, active workbook, active sheet or selection.

  Search Value Across Multiple Opened Workbooks

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