Reference excel worksheet by name?

The Problem (Q-score 4, ranked #76th of 95 in the VBA Core archive)

The scenario as originally posted in 2012

I have the name of a worksheet stored as a string in a variable. How do I perform some operation on this worksheet?

I though I would do something like this:

nameOfWorkSheet = "test"
ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets(nameOfWorkSheet).someOperation()

How do I get this done?

Why this Range / Worksheet targeting trips people up

The question centers on reaching a specific cell, range, or workbook object. In VBA Core, 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 — niche answer (below median) (+8)

56-line VBA Core pattern (copy-ready)

There are several options, including using the method you demonstrate, With, and using a variable.

My preference is option 4 below: Dim a variable of type Worksheet and store the worksheet and call the methods on the variable or pass it to functions, however any of the options work.

Sub Test()
  Dim SheetName As String
  Dim SearchText As String
  Dim FoundRange As Range

  SheetName = "test"      
  SearchText = "abc"

  ' 0. If you know the sheet is the ActiveSheet, you can use if directly.
  Set FoundRange = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Find(What:=SearchText)
  ' Since I usually have a lot of Subs/Functions, I don't use this method often.
  ' If I do, I store it in a variable to make it easy to change in the future or
  ' to pass to functions, e.g.: Set MySheet = ActiveSheet
  ' If your methods need to work with multiple worksheets at the same time, using
  ' ActiveSheet probably isn't a good idea and you should just specify the sheets.

  ' 1. Using Sheets or Worksheets (Least efficient if repeating or calling multiple times)
  Set FoundRange = Sheets(SheetName).UsedRange.Find(What:=SearchText)
  Set FoundRange = Worksheets(SheetName).UsedRange.Find(What:=SearchText)

  ' 2. Using Named Sheet, i.e. Sheet1 (if Worksheet is named "Sheet1"). The
  ' sheet names use the title/name of the worksheet, however the name must
  ' be a valid VBA identifier (no spaces or special characters. Use the Object
  ' Browser to find the sheet names if it isn't obvious. (More efficient than #1)
  Set FoundRange = Sheet1.UsedRange.Find(What:=SearchText)

  ' 3. Using "With" (more efficient than #1)
  With Sheets(SheetName)
    Set FoundRange = .UsedRange.Find(What:=SearchText)
  End With
  ' or possibly...
  With Sheets(SheetName).UsedRange
    Set FoundRange = .Find(What:=SearchText)
  End With

  ' 4. Using Worksheet variable (more efficient than 1)
  Dim MySheet As Worksheet
  Set MySheet = Worksheets(SheetName)
  Set FoundRange = MySheet.UsedRange.Find(What:=SearchText)

  ' Calling a Function/Sub
  Test2 Sheets(SheetName) ' Option 1
  Test2 Sheet1 ' Option 2
  Test2 MySheet ' Option 4

End Sub

Sub Test2(TestSheet As Worksheet)
    Dim RowIndex As Long
    For RowIndex = 1 To TestSheet.UsedRange.Rows.Count
        If TestSheet.Cells(RowIndex, 1).Value = "SomeValue" Then
            ' Do something
        End If
    Next RowIndex
End Sub

Loop-performance notes specific to this pattern

The loop in the answer iterates in process. On a 2026 Office build, setting Application.ScreenUpdating = False and Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual around a loop of this size typically cuts runtime by 40–70%. Re-enable both in the Exit handler.

When to Use It — vintage (14+ years old, pre-2013)

Ranked #76th in its category — specialized fit

This pattern sits in the 93% tail relative to the top answer. Reach for it when your scenario closely matches the question title; otherwise browse the VBA Core archive for a higher-consensus alternative.

What changed between 2012 and 2026

The answer is 14 years old. The VBA Core 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.