What's the difference between Range.Item and Range.Cells?

Question

For example, in the code below, Item and Cells can be used interchangeably:

Dim rRange As Range
Set rRange = ThisWorkbook.ActiveShe         


        

Answer 1

I can see no use of the Cells Property other than for referring to all the cells in a Worksheet. I would put it like this, ( based on my experiments and research) :

The Cells Property returns a Range Object containing all the cells of the Object to which it is applied. For the case of a Worksheet it is clearly useful so as to be able to use all the Properties of the Range Object on the entire Worksheet. For the case of a Range Object I am not sure if it has any use. I cannot find, for example, any extra Property that I cannot get from the Range Object's Properties without first applying the Cells Property to that Range Object

I am wondering if some of its use in code has just “crept in” over the years. For example , I believe this type of code line is one possible Explicit way to refer to the Range Object of the second cell in a worksheet using the Range Object Item Property Ws.Range("A1").Areas.Item(1).Item(1, 2) Along the lines of what feelthhis said, I can rely on the implied implicit of first Area and Default Property of Item to rewrite that code line thus: Ws.Range("A1")(1, 2)

If I drop in a Cells Property , I do no harm Ws.Range("A1").Cells(1, 2)

But I would suggest: _(i) use of Cells here is totally redundant _(ii) I am still using here the Range Item Property. _(iii) There is no Cells Item Property _(iv) A code part like this Cells(1, 2) has “crept in” as a so called “Cells Property that will accept one or two arguments........”..and/ or ...”cells has a Item Property...”...etc... ,. I think those statements may be incorrect. I think the Cells Property has no argument. ( I am not too sure if Cells may have an Item Property. I am not a computing professional but experts have told me that intellisense offering it , or Microsoft Help suggesting it is no guarantee that it exists. I expect there is no Cells Item Property)

In all case a code part like this, Cells(1, 2), is explained as follows: Cells is returning a Range Object. That Range Object is having its default Property, the Range Object Item Property applied to it. Unless I am using Cells independently to a Range, I should probably omit it. I suggest this as, in this case, I am not being explicit. Rather I am contributing to a, possibly false, idea that I can refer to a Range Object via a _.. _.. “Cells(_argument/s_) type” Property, .. which possibly does not exist.

Alan

Answer 2

The best way to understand this is via the below example

When .Item and .Cells are used with respect to a range then, YES, they are same. For example

Sub Sample()
    Dim rRange As Range
    Set rRange = ThisWorkbook.ActiveSheet.Range("B1:C10")

    With rRange
        Debug.Print .Item(1, 3).Address '<~~ $D$1
        Debug.Print .Cells(1, 3).Address '<~~ $D$1
    End With
End Sub

In the above they both depict the address of the cell in that Range

They are different when Cells() is used independently of a range.

Sub Sample()
    Dim rRange As Range
    Set rRange = ThisWorkbook.ActiveSheet.Range("B1:C10")

    With rRange
        Debug.Print .Item(1, 3).Address  '<~~ $D$1
        '~~> DOT before Cells missing
        Debug.Print Cells(1, 3).Address  '<~~ $C$1
    End With
End Sub

In the above .Item depicts the address of the cell in that Range, where as Cells depicts the address of the cell in the ActiveSheet