How to Select Random Cells in Excel (5 Ways)

Sometimes you may need to select some random cells and show them in your Excel workbook. If you are searching for a way to select random cells in Excel, then you have landed in the right place. I will show you how to select random cells in Excel in this article.

Let’s say, we have got a dataset of Names of the Salesman of an organization and their respective amount of Sales over a certain period of time.

We want to select some random cells from this list of data. For this purpose, we will use different functions and features of Excel.

In this section, you will find 5 suitable and effective ways to select random cells in Excel with proper illustrations. I will demonstrate them one by one here. Let’s check them now!

1. Combining RAND, INDEX, RANK.EQ Functions to Select Random Cells in Excel

For our present set of data, we will show the process of selecting random cells in Excel. We will use RAND, INDEX, RANK.EQ functions for this purpose. In order to do so, proceed with the following steps.

Steps:

• First of all, create two new columns with the heading Random Value and Random Cells.

• Then, type the following formula in a cell under the Random Value column.

• Now, press ENTER, and the cell will show a random value for the function.
• Here, drag the Fill Handle tool down the cells.

• Hence, the cells will Autofill the formula.

• Now, copy the cells and use the Paste Special option (i.e. Paste Values) to paste the values only.

• Then, apply the following formula to a cell under the Random Cells column to show a randomly selected cell.

Here,

• $B$5:$B$12=  Range of the Salesman
• $C$5:$C$12= Range of the Random Value
• C5= Random value

• Now, drag the formula down and you will be able to select the random cells.

Read More: Select All Cells with Data in Excel

2. Selecting Random Cells with UNIQUE, RANDARRAY, INDEX, RANK.EQ Functions 

For the same set of data, we will now select some random cells by using 4 relevant functions. They are UNIQUE, RANDARRAY, INDEX, RANK.EQ functions. You get to know the process by following the steps below.

Steps:

• Firstly, type the following formula to get a random value.

Here,

• 8= Total number of Rows
• 1= Total number of Columns
• 1= Minimum number
• 8= Maximum number

• Then, press ENTER, and all the cells will show corresponding random values for the Salesman Column.

• Now, copy the cells and paste the values only to convert the formula into value.

• After that, apply the following formula to get the randomly selected cell.

Here,

• $B$5:$B$12=  Range of the Salesman
• $C$5:$C$12= Range of the Random Value
• C5= Random value

• Here, drag the formula down to get the random cells.

Read More: Select All Cells with Data in a Column in Excel

3. Applying RAND, INDEX, RANK.EQ, COUNTIF Functions

We will now use a combination of the RAND, INDEX, RANK.EQ, and COUNTIF functions to select random cells in Excel. To demonstrate this method, follow the steps below.

Steps:

• First of all, proceed like Method 1 to get the Random Values with the RAND function.

• Now, apply the following formula to get a randomly selected cell.

Here,

• $B$5:$B$12=  Range of the Salesman
• $C$5:$C$12= Range of the Random Value
• C5= Random value

• Here, drag the formula to the next cells to get the output.

Read More: How to Select Cells with Certain Value in Excel

Similar Readings

• Excel Ctrl End Goes Too Far
• How to Select Multiple Cells in Excel Without Mouse

4. Use of INDEX, SORTBY, RANDARRAY, ROWS, SEQUENCE Functions to Choose Random Cells

Now, we will use a combination of INDEX, SORTBY, RANDARRAY, ROWS, and SEQUENCE functions to select random cells in Excel.

So, let’s start the process like the one below.

Steps:

• First of all, type the following formula to a selected cell.

Here,

• B5:B12=  Range of the Salesman

• Then, press ENTER and you will get the output for all cells you want (i.e. 5).

Read More:

• How to Select Cells in Excel Using Keyboard
• Multiple Excel Cells Are Selected with One Click

5. Select Random Cells Using Excel VBA Code

For, the same set of data, we will now select a random cell from the given list using a VBA code. The newly created cell (i.e. E5) under the Random Cell column will return the selected random cell.

In order to apply this procedure, proceed in the steps below.

Steps:

• Firstly, right-click on the sheet name and select View Code from the options.

• Then, a window for entering the Code will appear here. Enter the Code here. You can use the following.

Code:

Sub Select1Random_Name()

Dim xCell As Long

xCell = [RandBetween(5,12)]
Cells(5, 5) = Cells(xCell, 2)

End Sub

• Here, the output will be shown at cell(5,5) which means cell E5.

Read More: How to Select Non-Adjacent Cells in Excel

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the practice book from the link below.

Conclusion

I have tried to show you some methods to select random cells in Excel in this article. Thanks for reading this article! I hope this article has shed some light on your way of selecting random cells in an Excel workbook. If you have better methods, questions, or feedback regarding this article, please don’t forget to share them in the comment box. This will help me enrich my upcoming articles. Have a great day!

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