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How to generate all combinations of 3 or multiple columns in Excel?

Supposing, I have 3 columns of data, now, I want to generate or list all combinations of the data in these 3 columns as below screenshot shown. Do you have any good methods for solving this task in Excel?

Generate all combinations based on 3 columns of data by using a formula

Generate all combinations based on 3 or multiple columns of data by using VBA code

Generate all combinations based on 3 or multiple columns of data by using an awesome feature


Generate all combinations based on 3 columns of data by using a formula

The following long formula can help to list all combinations of 3 columns, please do as this:

1. Please, click a cell where to output the result, and then copy and paste the below formula into it:

=IFERROR(INDEX($A$2:$A$4,INT((ROW(1:1)-1)/((COUNTA($B$2:$B$6)*(COUNTA($C$2:$C$5)))))+1)&"-"&INDEX($B$2:$B$6,MOD(INT((ROW(1:1)-1)/COUNTA($C$2:$C$5)),COUNTA($B$2:$B$6))+1)&"-"&INDEX($C$2:$C$5,MOD((ROW(1:1)-1),COUNTA($C$2:$C$5))+1),"")

Note: In this formula: A2:A4, B2:B6, C2:C5 are the data ranges that you want to use.

2. Then, drag the fill handle down to the cells until blank cells are displayed, that means, all combinations of the 3 columns have been listed, see screenshot:


Generate all combinations based on 3 or multiple columns of data by using VBA code

The above long formula is somewhat difficult for using, if there are multiple columns data need to use, it will be troublesome for modifying. Here, I will introduce a VBA code to deal with it quickly.

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:A4")  'First column data
Set xDRg2 = Range("B2:B6")  'Second column data
Set xDRg3 = Range("C2:C5")  '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

Note: In the above code, A2:A4, B2:B6, C2:C5 are the data range that you want to use, E2 is the output cell that you want to locate the results. If you want to get all combinations of more columns, please change and add other parameters to the code as your need.

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


Generate all combinations based on 3 or multiple columns of data by using an awesome feature

If you have Kutools for Excel, with its powerful List All Combinations feature, you can list all combinations of multiple columns quickly and easily.

Tips:To apply this List All Combinations feature, firstly, you should download the Kutools for Excel, and then apply the feature quickly and easily.

After installing Kutools for Excel, please do as this:

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

2. In the List All Combinations dialog box, specify the columns data and separators for listing the combinations as following screenshot shown:

3. After setting the data and separator, then, click Ok button, in the next prompt box, select a cell to locate the result, see screenshot:

4. And then, click OK button, all combinations have been generated immediately as below screenshot shown:

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Comments (19)
Rated 4.5 out of 5 · 1 ratings
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Isn't this permutations without repetition, not combinations (of either variety)?

P(7,3) = 210 and that's the number of "combinations" your formula churns out for 3 columns of 7 rows.

Permutation of 7 choose 3 is 343 (repetition allowed).

C(7,3) = 35

Combination of 7 choose 3 is 84 (repetition allowed).

None of these match the 210 value returned by your formula.

Regardless, I like your formula. It can be extremely useful and taught me a lot about how to get something unusual out of Excel (LibreCalc in my case :) ).
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Thanks! The formula worked nicely
Rated 4.5 out of 5
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Esse código me ajudou bastante e combinou um item de cada coluna entre elas. Mas também preciso combinar dois itens de cada coluna, sem repetição. Alguém poderia me ajudar nisso?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Esse código me ajudou bastante e combinou um item de cada coluna entre elas. Mas também preciso combinar dois itens de cada coluna, sem repetição. Alguém poderia me ajudar nisso?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Bonjour, comment faire pour que chaque valeurs soient placées dans une colonne distincte en non séparées par un tiret ?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
조합의 나열을 "단어-단어-단어" 순으로 나열하는 법은 이해했습니다.
그런데 "단어"가 아니라 숫자일 경우,
즉 숫자의 조합을 단순 나열이 아닌 덧셈이나 곱셈으로 적용하려면 어떻게 해야하는지 알 수 있을까요?

'VBA 코드 : 3 개 또는 여러 열의 모든 조합 생성' 에서 말이죠.

"1-1-1" 로 엑셀에 결과 값이 표기되는 것이 아니고

-1 로 엑셀에 표기될 수 있게 말입니다.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hello So this is a code for 9 columns :')
Sub ListAllCombinations()
'Updateby Extendoffice
Dim xDRg1, xDRg2, xDRg3, xDRg4, xDRg5, xDRg6, xDRg7, xDRg8, xDRg9 As Range
Dim xRg As Range
Dim xStr As String
Dim xFN1, xFN2, xFN3, xFN4, xFN5, xFN6, xFN7, xFN8, xFN9 As Integer
Dim xSV1, xSV2, xSV3, xSV4, xSV5, xSV6, xSV7, xSV8, xSV9 As String
Set xDRg1 = Range("A2:A3") 'First column data
Set xDRg2 = Range("B2:B3") 'Second column data
Set xDRg3 = Range("C2:C10") 'Third column data
Set xDRg4 = Range("D2:D2") 'Third column data
Set xDRg5 = Range("E2:E3") 'Third column data
Set xDRg6 = Range("F2:F3") 'Third column data
Set xDRg7 = Range("G2:G4") 'Third column data
Set xDRg8 = Range("H2:H3") 'Third column data
Set xDRg9 = Range("I2:I3") 'Third column data
xStr = "-" 'Separator
Set xRg = Range("K2") '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
For xFN4 = 1 To xDRg4.Count
xSV4 = xDRg4.Item(xFN4).Text
For xFN5 = 1 To xDRg5.Count
xSV5 = xDRg5.Item(xFN5).Text
For xFN6 = 1 To xDRg6.Count
xSV6 = xDRg6.Item(xFN6).Text
For xFN7 = 1 To xDRg7.Count
xSV7 = xDRg7.Item(xFN7).Text
For xFN8 = 1 To xDRg8.Count
xSV8 = xDRg8.Item(xFN8).Text
For xFN9 = 1 To xDRg9.Count
xSV9 = xDRg9.Item(xFN9).Text
xRg.Value = xSV1 & xStr & xSV2 & xStr & xSV3 & xStr & xSV4 & xStr & xSV5 & xStr & xSV6 & xStr & xSV7 & xStr & xSV8 & xStr & xSV9
Set xRg = xRg.Offset(1, 0)
Next
Next
Next
Next
Next
Next
Next
Next
Next
End Sub
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
HiIn VBA code I used four column and range of the column are E2:E75, B2:B267, C2:C195 & D2:D267. Out put range is J2. In this case out put result was exceed row limit. Please help to solve the error
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
<p>Thank you so much for this code. I have modified the code for the amount of column I need (25).</p><p>Thanks,</p>
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Thank you so much. Exactly what I need :-)))
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