VBA - Combine All Variations Between Multiple Lists

B

bt_24

New Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
19
Hi,

Below is an example of what I am trying to accomplish, along with my current code at the bottom. I am trying to create a tool that will loop through multiple lists, generating each unique combination between them. The current code currently works close to expectation but there are 2 issues - A) the column "Output A & B" will show duplicates (understand I could remove them with another line of code but prefer avoiding that if possible) & B) if the column "Input C" is blank the code gets stuck in the loop. I think I might be missing adding in an IF statement somewhere, but am a little stuck.

What I am looking for is some help (suggested code, link to articles, etc) of how to get this current code to work 100% as expected? Extra credit but not necessary I'd love to figure out how to have the code also account for different orders between inputs A, B & C.

[TABLE="width: 418"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]Input A[/TD]
[TD]Input B[/TD]
[TD]Input C[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]Output A & B[/TD]
[TD]Output A&B&C[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]new[/TD]
[TD]car[/TD]
[TD]red[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]new car[/TD]
[TD]new car red[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]old[/TD]
[TD]shoes[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]new shoes[/TD]
[TD]new shoes red[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]bike[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]new bike[/TD]
[TD]new bike red[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]old car[/TD]
[TD]old car red[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]old shoes[/TD]
[TD]old shoes red[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]old bike[/TD]
[TD]old bike red[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]


Code: 
Option Explicit
Sub New_Tool ()

Dim rng1 As Range, rng2 As Range, rng3 As RangeDim rngA As Range, rngB As Range, rngC As Range
Dim rngOut1 As Range, rngOut2 As Range


Set rng1 = Range("B5", Range("B5").End(xlDown))
Set rng2 = Range("c5", Range("c5").End(xlDown))
Set rng3 = Range("d5", Range("d5").End(xlDown))


Set rngOut1 = Range("F5")
Set rngOut2 = Range("G5")


For Each rngA In rng1.Cells
    For Each rngB In rng2.Cells
        For Each rngC In rng3.Cells
        rngOut1 = rngA.Value & " " & rngB.Value
        Set rngOut1 = rngOut1.Offset(1, 0)
               
           rngOut2 = rngA.Value & " " & rngB.Value & " " & rngC.Value
            Set rngOut2 = rngOut2.Offset(1, 0)
        Next
    Next
Next


End Sub
 

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Assuming your 3 columns start at "B5:D5", try this for results as per your post, starting "F1 & G1"
Code: 
[COLOR="Navy"]Sub[/COLOR] MG05Jun17
[COLOR="Navy"]Dim[/COLOR] Lst1 [COLOR="Navy"]As[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]Long,[/COLOR] lst2 [COLOR="Navy"]As[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]Long,[/COLOR] lst3 [COLOR="Navy"]As[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]Long,[/COLOR] n [COLOR="Navy"]As[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]Long[/COLOR]
[COLOR="Navy"]Dim[/COLOR] nn [COLOR="Navy"]As[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]Long,[/COLOR] c [COLOR="Navy"]As[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]Long,[/COLOR] a [COLOR="Navy"]As[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]Long,[/COLOR] nnn [COLOR="Navy"]As[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]Long[/COLOR]
Lst1 = Range("B" & Rows.Count).End(xlUp).Row
lst2 = Range("C" & Rows.Count).End(xlUp).Row
lst3 = Range("D" & Rows.Count).End(xlUp).Row

[COLOR="Navy"]For[/COLOR] n = 5 To Lst1
 [COLOR="Navy"]For[/COLOR] nn = 5 To lst2
    c = c + 1
    Cells(c, "F") = Cells(n, "B") & " " & Cells(nn, "C")
    [COLOR="Navy"]For[/COLOR] nnn = 5 To lst3
        a = a + 1
        Cells(a, "G") = Cells(n, "B") & " " & Cells(nn, "C") & " " & Cells(nnn, "D")
    [COLOR="Navy"]Next[/COLOR] nnn
 [COLOR="Navy"]Next[/COLOR] nn
[COLOR="Navy"]Next[/COLOR] n
[COLOR="Navy"]End[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]Sub[/COLOR]
Regards Mick
 
Upvote 0
Not sure what you mean by "different orders"

With these options ...

Excel 2016 (Windows) 32 bit
[Table="width:, class:head"][tr=bgcolor:#E0E0F0][th] [/th][th]
A​
[/th][th]
B​
[/th][th]
C​
[/th][/tr]
[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
1​
[/td][td]Input A[/td][td]Input B[/td][td]Input C[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
2​
[/td][td]new[/td][td]car[/td][td]red[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
3​
[/td][td]old[/td][td]shoes[/td][td]blue[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
4​
[/td][td][/td][td]bike[/td][td]green[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
5​
[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]yellow[/td][/tr]
[/table][Table="width:, class:grid"][tr][td]Sheet: Options[/td][/tr][/table]

The code below returns one of these columns based on user choice in InputBox ...

Excel 2016 (Windows) 32 bit
[Table="width:, class:head"][tr=bgcolor:#E0E0F0][th] [/th][th]
A​
[/th][th]
B​
[/th][th]
C​
[/th][th]
D​
[/th][th]
E​
[/th][th]
F​
[/th][/tr]
[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
1​
[/td][td]ABC[/td][td]ACB[/td][td]BAC[/td][td]BCA[/td][td]CAB[/td][td]CBA[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
2​
[/td][td]new car red[/td][td]new car red[/td][td]new car red[/td][td]new car red[/td][td]new car red[/td][td]new car red[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
3​
[/td][td]new car blue[/td][td]new shoes red[/td][td]new car blue[/td][td]old car red[/td][td]new shoes red[/td][td]old car red[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
4​
[/td][td]new car green[/td][td]new bike red[/td][td]new car green[/td][td]new car blue[/td][td]new bike red[/td][td]new shoes red[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
5​
[/td][td]new car yellow[/td][td]new car blue[/td][td]new car yellow[/td][td]old car blue[/td][td]old car red[/td][td]old shoes red[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
6​
[/td][td]new shoes red[/td][td]new shoes blue[/td][td]old car red[/td][td]new car green[/td][td]old shoes red[/td][td]new bike red[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
7​
[/td][td]new shoes blue[/td][td]new bike blue[/td][td]old car blue[/td][td]old car green[/td][td]old bike red[/td][td]old bike red[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
8​
[/td][td]new shoes green[/td][td]new car green[/td][td]old car green[/td][td]new car yellow[/td][td]new car blue[/td][td]new car blue[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
9​
[/td][td]new shoes yellow[/td][td]new shoes green[/td][td]old car yellow[/td][td]old car yellow[/td][td]new shoes blue[/td][td]old car blue[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
10​
[/td][td]new bike red[/td][td]new bike green[/td][td]new shoes red[/td][td]new shoes red[/td][td]new bike blue[/td][td]new shoes blue[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
11​
[/td][td]new bike blue[/td][td]new car yellow[/td][td]new shoes blue[/td][td]old shoes red[/td][td]old car blue[/td][td]old shoes blue[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
12​
[/td][td]new bike green[/td][td]new shoes yellow[/td][td]new shoes green[/td][td]new shoes blue[/td][td]old shoes blue[/td][td]new bike blue[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
13​
[/td][td]new bike yellow[/td][td]new bike yellow[/td][td]new shoes yellow[/td][td]old shoes blue[/td][td]old bike blue[/td][td]old bike blue[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
14​
[/td][td]old car red[/td][td]old car red[/td][td]old shoes red[/td][td]new shoes green[/td][td]new car green[/td][td]new car green[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
15​
[/td][td]old car blue[/td][td]old shoes red[/td][td]old shoes blue[/td][td]old shoes green[/td][td]new shoes green[/td][td]old car green[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
16​
[/td][td]old car green[/td][td]old bike red[/td][td]old shoes green[/td][td]new shoes yellow[/td][td]new bike green[/td][td]new shoes green[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
17​
[/td][td]old car yellow[/td][td]old car blue[/td][td]old shoes yellow[/td][td]old shoes yellow[/td][td]old car green[/td][td]old shoes green[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
18​
[/td][td]old shoes red[/td][td]old shoes blue[/td][td]new bike red[/td][td]new bike red[/td][td]old shoes green[/td][td]new bike green[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
19​
[/td][td]old shoes blue[/td][td]old bike blue[/td][td]new bike blue[/td][td]old bike red[/td][td]old bike green[/td][td]old bike green[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
20​
[/td][td]old shoes green[/td][td]old car green[/td][td]new bike green[/td][td]new bike blue[/td][td]new car yellow[/td][td]new car yellow[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
21​
[/td][td]old shoes yellow[/td][td]old shoes green[/td][td]new bike yellow[/td][td]old bike blue[/td][td]new shoes yellow[/td][td]old car yellow[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
22​
[/td][td]old bike red[/td][td]old bike green[/td][td]old bike red[/td][td]new bike green[/td][td]new bike yellow[/td][td]new shoes yellow[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
23​
[/td][td]old bike blue[/td][td]old car yellow[/td][td]old bike blue[/td][td]old bike green[/td][td]old car yellow[/td][td]old shoes yellow[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
24​
[/td][td]old bike green[/td][td]old shoes yellow[/td][td]old bike green[/td][td]new bike yellow[/td][td]old shoes yellow[/td][td]new bike yellow[/td][/tr]

[tr=bgcolor:#FFFFFF][td=bgcolor:#E0E0F0]
25​
[/td][td]old bike yellow[/td][td]old bike yellow[/td][td]old bike yellow[/td][td]old bike yellow[/td][td]old bike yellow[/td][td]old bike yellow[/td][/tr]
[/table][Table="width:, class:grid"][tr][td]Sheet: Results[/td][/tr][/table]


Place code in SHEET module of sheet containing options A,B & C
Code: 
Sub GetCombos()
[COLOR=#006400][I]'variables[/I][/COLOR]
    Dim a, b, c
    Dim X, Y, Z
    Dim r As Long, Order As String
[I][COLOR=#006400]'results sheet[/COLOR][/I]
    Dim ws As Worksheet: Set ws = Sheets.Add
    ws.Columns("A").ColumnWidth = 30
[I][COLOR=#006400]'get order[/COLOR][/I]
    Order = GetOrder
    X = Mid(Order, 1, 1): Set X = Range(X & 2, Range(X & Rows.Count).End(xlUp))
    Y = Mid(Order, 2, 1): Set Y = Range(Y & 2, Range(Y & Rows.Count).End(xlUp))
    Z = Mid(Order, 3, 1): Set Z = Range(Z & 2, Range(Z & Rows.Count).End(xlUp))
[I][COLOR=#006400]'write to cells[/COLOR][/I]
    For Each a In X
        For Each b In Y
            For Each c In Z
                r = r + 1
                ws.Cells(r, 1) = GetString(Order, a, b, c)
            Next c
        Next b
    Next a
End Sub

Code: 
Private Function GetString(Order As String, ByVal a As String, ByVal b As String, ByVal c As String) As String
    Const Sp = " "
    Select Case Order
        Case "ABC": GetString = a & Sp & b & Sp & c
        Case "ACB": GetString = a & Sp & c & Sp & b
        Case "BAC": GetString = b & Sp & a & Sp & c
        Case "BCA": GetString = c & Sp & a & Sp & b
        Case "CAB": GetString = b & Sp & c & Sp & a
        Case "CBA": GetString = c & Sp & b & Sp & a
    End Select
End Function

Private Function GetOrder()
    Dim Order As String
    Order = UCase(InputBox("ABC,ACB,BAC,BCA,CAB,CBA", "Which sequence", "ABC"))
    If Len(Order) <> 3 Then Order = "ABC"
    If InStr(Order, "A") = 0 Then Order = "ABC"
    If InStr(Order, "B") = 0 Then Order = "ABC"
    If InStr(Order, "C") = 0 Then Order = "ABC"
    GetOrder = Order
End Function
 
Upvote 0
Hi MikeG,

Thank you very much for the help adjusting this code - your version is working as expected & simple to understand. I was a little surprised to see that we didnt have to use any ranges or IF statements. i definitely need to do more research to get a better understanding of FOR NEXT loops + combing them, to better leverage that in the future.

Best,
bt_24
 
Upvote 0
Hi Yongle,

I really appreciate your reply to this thread on the "extra credit" portion of my request. The output you created with your code is pretty close to what I was looking for, only your version is more advance. Currently my VBA understanding is a little weak, but know that I am reviewing what you made and very grateful for the help. Ideally I want to be able to understand how it works so I'll be able to apply something similar in the future.

Best,
bt_24
 
Upvote 0
You may find it easier to understand if sorting done after values inserted in results sheet
- this adds a simple sort choice for user (could be made more comprehensive if desired)

sheet of Options as in post#3

Place code in SHEET module of sheet containing options A,B & C
Code: 
Sub GetCombos()
[COLOR=#006400][I]'variables[/I][/COLOR]
    Dim a, b, c, r As Long, aVal As String
[I][COLOR=#006400]
'results sheet[/COLOR][/I]
    Dim ws As Worksheet: Set ws = Sheets.Add: ws.Columns("A:D").ColumnWidth = 30
    
[COLOR=#006400][I]'write to cells[/I][/COLOR]
    For Each a In Range("A2", Range("A" & Rows.Count).End(xlUp))
        For Each b In Range("B2", Range("B" & Rows.Count).End(xlUp))
            For Each C In Range("C2", Range("C" & Rows.Count).End(xlUp))
                r = r + 1
                aVal = a & " " & b & " " & c
                ws.Cells(r, 1).Resize(, 4) = Array(aVal, a, b, c)
            Next c
        Next b
    Next a
[I][COLOR=#006400]'sort[/COLOR][/I]
    Call SortIt(ws.Cells(1).CurrentRegion)
End Sub

Code: 
Sub SortIt(rng As Range)
    Dim X
    X = InputBox("Sort on input" & vbCr & "A = 1 , B = 2, C = 3", "Choose", 1)
    Select Case X
        Case 1, 2, 3:          [COLOR=#006400][I] 'leave unchanged, X is the value required for offset[/I][/COLOR]
        Case Else:              X = 1
    End Select
    With rng
        .Parent.Sort.SortFields.Clear
        .Sort .Resize(, 1).Offset(, X), xlAscending
    End With
End Sub
 
Last edited:
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