To get started, extract and open the file linked to in the Files Needed section above.  You should see a basic table of information about films:

This is the basic data we'll work with.

Now open the VBE and insert a new module into the project.

Selecting a Cell by Reference

You can select a cell by its reference using the Range property.  To demonstrate this, create a new subroutine and begin writing an instruction as shown below:

The tooltip indicates that you need to enter a reference to at least one cell.

In this example, we'll refer to cell which contains the name of the best film in the list:

Enter the cell reference within a set of double-quotes. Feel free to disagree with the choice of best film.

We can now apply a method to select the cell we've referenced:

Choose the Select method from the IntelliSense list or simply type it in.

Once a cell has been selected we can refer to it with the ActiveCell property.  We can use this to highlight the selected cell in a different colour:

You can change the cell colour as shown. Type rgb and then press Ctrl + Space to show the list of colours.

You can run the subroutine to check that the correct cell is selected and coloured:

The end result should resemble the example shown here. Feel free to choose a different cell and fill colour!

Select a Cell by Row and Column Number

If you prefer to, you can select a cell using its row and column number by using the Cells property.  Create a new subroutine and begin writing an instruction as shown below:

The tooltip indicates that you can enter a row and column number to reference a cell.

Next, enter the number of the row followed by the number of the column.  In the example below we're referring to cell B3:

Enter the two numbers, separated by a comma.

You can then apply the Select method to the cell:

You won't see the IntelliSense list appear when referring to a single cell with the Cells property.

Once the cell has been selected, you can use the ActiveCell property to refer to it and change some of its properties:

Here we're changing the fill colour of the cell.

When you run the subroutine you'll see the specified cell's fill colour has changed:

This time we've highlighted the worst film in the list.

Using Cell References

To practise selecting single cells using cell references:

1. Using the same module, create a new subroutine as shown below:

2. Add two instructions to select and then write a label into cell A14 (use the Value property to change the text in a cell):

3. Add two instructions to select and then copy the cell containing the name of your favourite film in the list:

4. Add two more instructions to select and paste the copied cell into cell B14:

5. Run the subroutine and check the results:

The selected cell, along with all of its formatting, will be copied to B14.

Using Row and Column Numbers

To practise selecting cells using row and column numbers:

1. Using the same module, create a new subroutine as shown below:

2. Add instructions to select and write a label into cell A15 using row and column numbers:

3. Add two instructions to select and copy the cell containing the name of your least favourite film:

4. Add two instructions to select and paste the copied cell into cell B15:

5. Run the subroutine and check the results:

The selected cell will be copied, along with its formatting, into the specified cell.

6. Save and close the workbook.