Referencing Dynamic Named Range in Excel Formula

Kyle Wurtz picture Kyle Wurtz · Feb 13, 2013 · Viewed 49.8k times · Source

I have a table in Excel with column headings that correspond to part of a dynamic named range elsewhere in my workbook. For example, I have these column headings: "10", "20", etc., and these dynamic named ranges: "ExampleRange10", "ExampleRange2", etc. I'd like to enter a VLookup formula that references ExampleRange10 by concatenating the string "ExampleRange" and the column heading "10". This would allow me to simply extend the formula across all columns in the table, instead of manually typing "ExampleRange10", "ExampleRange20", etc. in each column's formula.

I'm aware of the INDIRECT function, and have used it successfully in the past with named ranges, but it doesn't seem to be working with the dynamic named range in this case. I'm guessing this is a nuance that has something to do with how dynamic named ranges are defined by Excel (they don't show up in the named range dropdown to the left of the formula bar, and they have some interesting properties in VBA, for example). Is there a way I can use the INDIRECT formula in conjunction with a dynamic named range, or is there another way that I can go about solving this problem?

Edit: Here are the exact formulas used.
This is the main formula: =VLOOKUP(B2,INDIRECT("ExampleRange"&C1),2,FALSE) where C1 contains "10" and the formula for my dynamic named range called "ExampleRange10" is: =OFFSET(Sheet1!$F$2,0,0,COUNTA(Sheet1!$F$2:$F$25),2). The main formula returns "#REF!", but it works correctly when I remove the dynamic named range formula and simply define "ExampleRange10" as a static range.

Answer

Kyle Wurtz picture Kyle Wurtz · Feb 14, 2013

As best I could tell after doing further research, Excel's INDIRECT function simply doesn't work with dynamic ranges. There might be a clever way to get around using INDIRECT and sticking to the non-VBA Excel world, but I'm unaware of such a way. Instead, I ended up creating a user-defined function very similar to the one described here. I altered my main formula to read =VLOOKUP(B2,DINDIRECT("ExampleRange"&C1),2,FALSE), where DINDIRECT is the name of the VBA function I created.

The only downsides (which may or may not be downsides depending on how you look at it) to this alternative is that the workbook must be saved as a macro-enabled workbook and the use of a custom function isn't very self-documenting and requires a little explanation to other users. All things considered, though, this was an acceptable solution for me.

For the link-averse, here's the code:

Public Function DINDIRECT(sName As String) As Range
     Dim nName As Name

     On Error Resume Next
          Set nName = ActiveWorkbook.Names(sName)
          Set nName = ActiveSheet.Names(sName)
     On Error GoTo 0

     If Not nName Is Nothing Then
          Set DINDIRECT = nName.RefersToRange
     Else
          DINDIRECT = CVErr(xlErrName)
End Function

Note: Although this solution worked, I'm not going to accept my answer because I don't want to discourage others from posting better solutions. Also, I'm new to the site, so sorry if I'm breaking any etiquette codes by answering my own question...I just thought I'd share the exact solution that I used in case others find it useful.