Searching for string in a two dimensional array vba - excel

Question

I have a 2D array in the following format. (Unsure how to format this so it appears in a table format. The first and second columns are 1 character each and the 3rd columns is 2 characters)
a 1 aa
a 2 ab
b 1 ba
b 2 bb
c 1 ca
c 2 cb
d 1 da
d 2 db
e 1 ea
e 2 eb
f 1 fa
f 2 fb
I need to first search for "c" in the first column. If that is found, I need to search for "2" in the second and find the corresponding value in the 3rd. In this case, I finally need the value "cb".
Here is what I have so far but it isn't working correctly since I don't see the desired results
Public Sub Readinto_array()
Dim TheArray As Variant
Dim i As Long, j As Long, k As Long
Dim found As Boolean
TheArray = Range("G20:I31").Value
found = False
For i = LBound(TheArray) To UBound(TheArray)
For j = LBound(TheArray, 2) To UBound(TheArray, 2)
MsgBox TheArray(i, j)
If TheArray(i, j) <> "c" Then
Exit For
Else
If StrComp(TheArray(i, j + 1), "2", vbTextCompare) = 0 Then
MsgBox "found"
found = True
Exit For
End If
End If
Next j
If found Then
Exit For
End If
Next i
End Sub

Answer 1

Not sure why you have to loop for the columns since you know there's always 3...
So this seems easier.
Public Sub Readinto_array()
Dim TheArray As Variant
Dim i As Long
TheArray = Range("G20:I31").Value
For i = LBound(TheArray) To UBound(TheArray)
If TheArray(i, 1) = "c" And TheArray(i, 2) = "2" Then
MsgBox (TheArray(i, 3))
End If
Next i
End Sub
Or further simplified using innate excel objects.
Public Sub Readinto_array()
Dim MyRange As Range
Set MyRange = Range("G20:I31")
For Each cell In MyRange
If cell.Value = "c" And Cells(cell.Row, cell.Column + 1) = "2" Then
MsgBox (Cells(cell.Row, cell.Column + 2).Value)
End If
Next
End Sub

Answer 2

You could also do this with a worksheet formula. For example, if E1 contains your column1 value; and B1 your column2 value, try:
G2: =INDEX(ThirdColumn,SUMPRODUCT((FirstColumn=E1)*(SecondColumn=E2)*ROW(ThirdColumn)))

Answer 3

I see a tree like structure and think xml but to keep it simple use a Dictionary...
In the VBA Editor - using the Tools/References menu add a reference to Microsoft Scripting Runtime.
Write a function to create the dictionary:
Public Function LookErUp() As Dictionary
Dim i As Integer
Dim d As Dictionary
Set d = New Dictionary
Dim col1() As Variant
col1 = Array("a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f")
Dim col2 As Dictionary
For i = 0 To UBound(col1)
Set col2 = New Dictionary
col2.Add 1, col1(i) & "a"
col2.Add 2, col1(i) & "b"
d.Add col1(i), col2
Next
Set LookErUp = d
End Function
You can test using the dictionary the Test procedure:
Public Sub Test()
Dim ld As Dictionary
Set ld = LookErUp
If ld.Exists("c") Then
If ld("c").Exists(2) Then
MsgBox "Found " & ld("c")(2)
End If
End If
End Sub

Answer 4

Try creating a third column where you concatenate the values from three previous columns i.e. in D1 you would have =A1&B1&C1. Next use that in you vlookup or match. If you do not specify exact match then in case having multiple entries for c 1 you would get the first or last one, depending on comparison type used.