The Problem (Q-score 6, ranked #93rd of 303 in the Excel VBA archive)
The scenario as originally posted in 2009
The following VBA code (Excel 2007) is failing with Error 1004, “Autofill Method of Range Class Failed.”. Can anyone tell me how to fix it?
Dim src As Range, out As Range, wks As Worksheet
Set wks = Me
Set out = wks.Range("B:U")
Set src = wks.Range("A6")
src.AutoFill Destination:=out
(note: I have Googled, etc. for this. It comes up fairly often, but all of the responses that I saw had to do with malformed range addresses, which AFAIK is not my problem.
At someone’s suggestion I tried replacing the autofill line with the following:
src.Copy out
This had the effect of throwing my Excel session into an apparent infinite loop consuming 100% CPU and then just hanging forever.
OK, apparently the source has to be part of the destination range for autofill. So my code now looks like this:
Dim src As Range, out As Range, wks As Worksheet
Set wks = Me
Set out = wks.Range("B1")
Set src = wks.Range("A6")
src.Copy out
Set out = wks.Range("B:U")
Set src = wks.Range("B1")
src.AutoFill Destination:=out, Type:=xlFillCopy
Same error on the last line.
Why this Range / Worksheet targeting trips people up
The question centers on reaching a specific cell, range, or workbook object. In Excel VBA, this is the #1 source of failures after activation events: every property (.Value, .Formula, .Address) behaves differently depending on whether the parent Workbook is explicit or implicit.
The Verified Solution — strong answer (top 25 %%) (+16)
15-line Excel VBA pattern (copy-ready)
From MSDN:
The destination must include the
source range.
B:U does not contain A6 and thus there is an error. I believe that you probably want out to be set to A6:U6.
Specifiying just the column name means that you want to fill every row in that column which is unlikely to be the desired behvaiour
Update
Further to the OP’s comment below and update to the original answer, this might do the trick:
Dim src As Range, out As Range, wks As Worksheet
Set wks = Me
Set out = wks.Range("B1")
Set src = wks.Range("A6")
src.Copy out
Set out = wks.Range("B1:U1")
Set src = wks.Range("B1")
src.AutoFill Destination:=out, Type:=xlFillCopy
Set out = wks.Range("B:U")
Set src = wks.Range("B1:U1")
src.AutoFill Destination:=out, Type:=xlFillCopy
AutoFill is constrained to a single direction (i.e. horizontal or vertical) at once. To fill a two-dimensional area from a single cell you first have to auto-fill a line along one edge of that area and then stretch that line across the area
For the specific case of copying the formatting and clearing the contents (by virtue of the source cell being empty), this is better:
Dim src As Range, out As Range, wks As Worksheet
Set wks = Sheet1
Set out = wks.Range("B:U")
Set src = wks.Range("A6")
src.Copy out
When to Use It — vintage (14+ years old, pre-2013)
Ranked #93rd in its category — specialized fit
This pattern sits in the 95% tail relative to the top answer. Reach for it when your scenario closely matches the question title; otherwise browse the Excel VBA archive for a higher-consensus alternative.
What changed between 2009 and 2026
The answer is 17 years old. The Excel VBA object model has been stable across Office 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 365, and 2024/2026 LTSC, so the pattern still compiles. Changes that might affect you: 64-bit API declarations (use PtrSafe), blocked macros in downloaded files (Mark-of-the-Web), and the shift toward Office Scripts for web-first workflows.