Store location of cell address to variable in VBA - vba

Question

I'm using VBA in Excel and I'm using a function to find the first empty row then adding some values, after that I need to pass the address of the cell to another function but using the code below I get a runtime error. firstEmptyRow is a function that returns a range,e.g. $A$280.
Dim addCell as Range
'Find first empty row in the table
With firstEmptyRow
'Enter Values
.Value = taskID
.Offset(0, 1).Value = jobID
.Offset(0, 2).Value = jobName
.Offset(0, 6).Value = taskTypeID
.Offset(0, 8).Value = taskName
.Offset(0, 9).Value = desc
.Offset(0, 11).Value = estMins
.Offset(0, 13).Value = "No"
set addCell = .Address //Gives a runtime error
End With
What is the correct way to save the address of the cell so I can pass it to another function? Below is the code for firstEmptyRow
Public Function firstEmptyRow() As Range 'Returns the first empty row in the Schedule sheet
Dim i, time As Long
Dim r As Range
Dim coltoSearch, lastRow As String
Dim sheet As Worksheet
Set sheet = Worksheets("Schedule")
time = GetTickCount
coltoSearch = "A"
For i = 3 To sheet.Range(coltoSearch & Rows.Count).End(xlUp).Row
Set r = sheet.Range(coltoSearch & i)
If Len(r.Value) = 0 Then
Set firstEmptyRow = sheet.Range(r.Address)
'r.Select
Exit For 'End the loop once the first empty row is found
End If
Next i
'Debug.Print "firstEmptyRow time: " & GetTickCount - time, , "ms"
End Function

Answer 1

The .Address property returns a string so you'll need to to set the addCell variable like so:
Set addCell = Worksheets("Schedule").Range(.Address)

Answer 2

I am a total "noob" at vba and learning by trying code snipits and routines that appear to to me to answer to a problem I am stuck on. When I tried the code posted by Vityata I encountered "Run-time error '424': Object Required
at the following stmts:
Set myCell = Sheet.Range(coltoSearch & i)
Set FirstEmptyRow = Sheet.Range(coltoSearch & i + 1)
Changing the stmts as follows resolved the errors for me:
Set myCell = wks.Range(coltoSearch & i)
Set FirstEmptyRow = wks.Range(coltoSearch & i + 1)
I also added a Debug.Print stmt between the last End If and the End Function stmts so I could quickly see the result when testing as follows:
End If
Debug.Print "The 1st empty cell address is "; coltoSearch & i
End Function
If I have violated some posting rule, please accept my apology. Hopefully sharing this will avoid future confusion by others who use a similar learning process.

Answer 3

You do not need to overcomplicate the code with something like Set addCell = Worksheets("Schedule").Range(.Address) because it really makes the readability a bit tough. In general, try something as simple as this: Set FirstEmptyRow = myCell. Then the whole code could be rewritten to this:
Public Function FirstEmptyRow() As Range
Dim myCell As Range
Dim coltoSearch As String, lastRow As String
Dim wks As Worksheet
Set wks = Worksheets(1)
coltoSearch = "A"
Dim i As Long
For i = 3 To wks.Range(coltoSearch & Rows.Count).End(xlUp).Row
Set myCell = sheet.Range(coltoSearch & i)
If IsEmpty(myCell) Then
Set FirstEmptyRow = myCell
Exit For
End If
Next i
If i = 2 ^ 20 Then
MsgBox "No empty rows at all!"
Else
Set FirstEmptyRow = sheet.Range(coltoSearch & i + 1)
End If
End Function
The last part of the code makes sure, that if there is no empty cell before the last row and row number 3, then next cell would be given as an answer. Furthermore, it checks whether this next row is not the last row in Excel and if it is so, it gives a MsgBox() with some information.