How to Create a Search Box in Excel for Multiple Sheets (2 Ways)

This article illustrates how to create a search box in Excel for multiple sheets. Assume you have 20 sheets in your workbook. Now you need to search for data in all those sheets relevant to a keyword. It will be very time-consuming and tiresome to do this manually. Fortunately, you can create a search box for your workbook to search through all sheets. Follow the article to learn how to do that.

How to Create a Search Box in Excel for Multiple Sheets: 2 Ways

Assume you have data as follows in multiple sheets. You need to search by names to quickly find all the relevant results in those sheets.

Follow the methods below to be able to do that.

1. Search Multiple Sheets in Excel with Conditional Formatting

Follow the steps below to apply conditional formatting to quickly search through multiple sheets in Excel.

Steps:

• First, select the range B3:F21 in Sheet2. Then, select Conditional Formatting >> New Rule from the Home tab.

• Next, select ‘Use a formula to determine which cells to format’ as the rule type. After that, enter the following formula in the text box below for Rule Description.

• Next, click on Format and choose a Fill color to highlight the cells. Then click OK.

• After that, apply the same formatting to the data ranges in other sheets by following the same procedure.
• Now go to Sheet1 and enter a keyword in cell B4. It is better to use wildcards (*, ?, etc.) in the search box if you don’t need exact matches.

• Then go to Sheet2 to see the following result. You can see the relevant results highlighted.

• Next, go to Sheet3 to see a similar result as follows.

Read More: How to Create Search Box in Excel with Conditional Formatting

2. Create a Search Box in Excel for Multiple Sheets with VBA

Now you might be thinking about getting those highlighted data in the same sheet i.e. Sheet1 where you search for the keyword. Follow the steps below to be able to do that with VBA.

Steps:

• First, make a copy of your dataset, and then press ALT+F11 to open the VBA window. Then select Insert >> Module.

• Next, copy the following code.

Sub SearchMultipleSheets()
Main_Sheet = "VBA"
Search_Cell = "B5"
SearchType_Cell = "C5"
Paste_Cell = "B9"
Searched_Sheets = Array("Dataset 1", "Dataset 2")
Searched_Ranges = Array("B5:F23", "B5:F23")
Copy_Format = True
Last_Row = Sheets(Main_Sheet).Range(Paste_Cell).End(xlDown).Row
Last_Column = Sheets(Main_Sheet).Range(Paste_Cell).End(xlToRight).Column
Set Used_Range = Sheets(Main_Sheet).Range(Cells(Range(Paste_Cell).Row, Range(Paste_Cell).Column), Cells(Last_Row, Last_Column))
Used_Range.ClearContents
Used_Range.ClearFormats
Value1 = Sheets(Main_Sheet).Range(Search_Cell).Value
Count = -1
If Sheets(Main_Sheet).Range(SearchType_Cell).Value = "Case-Sensitive" Then
    Case_Sensitive = True
ElseIf Sheets(Main_Sheet).Range(SearchType_Cell).Value = "Case-Insensitive" Then
    Case_Sensitive = False
Else
    MsgBox ("Choose a Search Type.")
    Exit Sub
End If
For S = LBound(Searched_Sheets) To UBound(Searched_Sheets)
    Set Rng = Sheets(Searched_Sheets(S)).Range(Searched_Ranges(S))
    For i = 1 To Rng.Rows.Count
        For j = 1 To Rng.Columns.Count
            Value2 = Rng.Cells(i, j).Value
            If PartialMatch(Value1, Value2, Case_Sensitive) = True Then
                Count = Count + 1
                Rng.Rows(i).Copy
                Set Paste_Range = Sheets(Main_Sheet).Cells(Range(Paste_Cell).Row + Count, Range(Paste_Cell).Column)
                If Copy_Format = True Then
                    Paste_Range.PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteAll
                Else
                    Paste_Range.PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteValues
                End If
            End If
        Next j
    Next i
Next S
Application.CutCopyMode = False
End Sub

Function PartialMatch(Value1, Value2, Case_Sensitive)
Matched = False
For i = 1 To Len(Value2)
    If Case_Sensitive = True Then
        If Mid(Value2, i, Len(Value1)) = Value1 Then
            Matched = True
            Exit For
        End If
    Else
        If Mid(LCase(Value2), i, Len(Value1)) = LCase(Value1) Then
            Matched = True
            Exit For
        End If
    End If
Next i
PartialMatch = Matched
End Function

• After that, paste the code onto the module.

• Next, return to the VBA worksheet and insert a rectangle by selecting Insert > Illustrations > Shapes > Rectangle. After that, change the Fill color and type Search to make it look like a button.

• Now, right-click on the rectangular box, and from the context menu select ‘Assign Macro’.

• Then, select the macro name and click OK.

• Next, type the search keyword in cell A4, select Case-insensitive as the Search type, and then click on the Search.
• After that, you will see all the relevant results that were highlighted in the earlier method are listed here. All the rows associated with the name Smith are now visible in the VBA worksheet.

Read More: Create a Search Box in Excel with VBA

Things to Remember

• You must apply conditional formatting to the data in all sheets. And don’t forget to type the keyword in the exact cell referred to in the conditional formatting.
• Don’t forget to search with wildcards to get all possible matching results if you don’t need exact matches.
• You must make a copy of your dataset before applying the code. Otherwise, you may lose your data.
• You can drag the Search button to move it as required.

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the practice workbook from the download button below.

Conclusion

Now you know how to create a search box for multiple sheets in Excel. Have you been able to apply the methods to your datasets? Do you have any further queries or suggestions? Please let us know in the comment section below.

Related Articles

• How to Create a Search Box in Excel
• How to Create a Filtering Search Box for Your Excel Data
• How to Create a Search Box in Excel Without VBA

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