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How to clear specified cell contents on open and exit in Excel workbook?

Author Siluvia Last modified

This article is talking about clearing specified cell contents when opening or closing an Excel workbook.

Clear specified cell contents on workbook open and exit


Clear specified cell contents on workbook open and exit

Please do as follows to clear specified cell contents on workbook open and exit.

Firstly, you need to save the workbook which you need to clear specified cell contents on open or exit as an Excel Macro-enabled Workbook.

1. Please click File > Save As > Browse. See screenshot:

click File > Save As > Browse

2. In the Save As dialog box, please select a folder to save the workbook, enter a new name into the File name box as you need, select Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook from the Sava as type drop-down list, and then click the Save button.

specify a file name and select Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook in the dialog box

3. In the popping up Microsoft Excel dialog box, please click the OK button as below screenshot shown.

click the OK in the prompt warning box

4. Open the Macro-Enabled Workbook you have saved just now, press the Alt + F11 keys to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.

5. In the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window, double click ThisWorkbook in the left pane, and then copy below VBA code into the Code window.

VBA code 1: Clear specified cell contents on workbook open

Private Sub Workbook_Open()
'Updated by Extendoffice 20190712
    Application.EnableEvents = False
        Worksheets("test").Range("A1:A11").Value = ""
    Application.EnableEvents = True
End Sub

VBA code 2: Clear specified cell contents on workbook exit

Private Sub Workbook_BeforeClose(Cancel As Boolean)
'Updated by Extendoffice 20190712
    Worksheets("test").Range("A1:A11").Value = ""
End Sub

Note: In the above codes, test, and A1:A11 is the worksheet name and cell range you will clear contents from. Please change them as you need.

6. Press the Alt + Q keys to exit the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.

From now on, when opening or closing the workbook, specified cell contents in certain worksheet will be cleared automatically.

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