[Excel VBA] How to Apply the Same Process to Selected Multiple Sheets (Work Group) at Once

Adding the same header, updating the same cell value, or applying the same print settings to multiple sheets… There are many situations in Excel where you want to perform the exact same operation on several sheets.

Using VBA, you can execute a loop command on “all currently selected sheets (Work Group)” at once.

This article explains the basic pattern for applying a process to selected multiple sheets using the ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets collection.

The Core Concept: ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets

To get the collection of currently selected sheets in VBA, use the special collection ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.

• ActiveWindow: Refers to the currently active Excel window.
• SelectedSheets: Returns the collection of sheets currently selected (grouped) within that window.

By running a For Each loop on this SelectedSheets collection, you can process the sheets in the group one by one.

Complete VBA Code

Below is the VBA code that selects specific sheets and then enters the date and formats cell A1 for all of them.

Sub ProcessAllSelectedSheets()

    ' Declare variables
    Dim targetSheet As Worksheet
    
    ' --- 1. Select multiple sheets to process (Create a Work Group) ---
    ' Here, we select specific sheets by name as an example.
    ' This macro also works if the user manually selects multiple sheets before running it.
    On Error Resume Next ' Avoid error if specified sheet names do not exist
    ThisWorkbook.Worksheets(Array("Report_Jan", "Report_Feb", "Report_Mar")).Select
    If Err.Number <> 0 Then
        MsgBox "Some of the specified sheets were not found.", vbCritical
        On Error GoTo 0
        Exit Sub
    End If
    On Error GoTo 0
    
    '--- Stop processing if only one sheet (or fewer) is selected ---
    If ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.Count <= 1 Then
        MsgBox "Please run this macro with multiple sheets selected.", vbInformation
        Exit Sub
    End If
    
    ' --- 2. Loop through all selected sheets ---
    For Each targetSheet In ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets
    
        ' --- 3. Execute the same process for each sheet ---
        ' Example: Enter "Last Updated: (Date)" in cell A1 and make it bold
        With targetSheet.Range("A1")
            .Value = "Last Updated: " & Date
            .Font.Bold = True
        End With
        
    Next targetSheet
    
    ' --- 4. Ungroup sheets after processing (Recommended) ---
    ' To prevent accidental input into multiple sheets, re-select just the first sheet.
    ThisWorkbook.Worksheets(1).Select
    
    MsgBox "Processing complete for selected sheets."

End Sub

Key Points of the Code

1. Creating a Work Group

ThisWorkbook.Worksheets(Array("Report_Jan", "Report_Feb", "Report_Mar")).Select

First, select the target sheets as a work group. You can omit this part if you want the user to manually select sheets (by holding the Ctrl key) before running the macro.

2. Looping Through Selected Sheets

For Each targetSheet In ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets

This is the heart of the technique. Use a For Each loop to iterate through the sheets contained in the ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets collection, assigning them one by one to the targetSheet variable.

3. Common Processing for Each Sheet

With targetSheet.Range("A1")
    .Value = "Last Updated: " & Date
    .Font.Bold = True
End With

Inside the loop, the variable targetSheet points to the selected sheets in order. Therefore, operations performed on this variable (like inputting into cell A1 and formatting) are executed on all selected sheets.

4. Ungrouping Sheets (Recommended)

ThisWorkbook.Worksheets(1).Select

If the sheets remain grouped after the macro finishes, the user might accidentally input data into multiple sheets. It is a good design practice to select a single sheet at the end of the process to ungroup them.

Summary

The procedure for performing the same operation on multiple selected sheets is very simple:

1. Select the target sheets as a work group (manually or via VBA).
2. Start a loop with the syntax For Each mySheet In ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.
3. Write the common processing for each sheet using the variable mySheet inside the loop.
4. (Recommended) Re-select a single sheet at the end to ungroup.

This pattern is a powerful technique that is extremely effective when formatting many sheets or updating common items all at once.