Copy a range of cells and only select cells with data - excel

Question

I'm looking for a way to copy a range of cells, but to only copy the cells that contain a value.
In my excel sheet I have data running from A1-A18, B is empty and C1-C2. Now I would like to copy all the cells that contain a value.
With Range("A1")
Range(.Cells(1, 1), .End(xlDown).Cells(50, 3)).Copy
End With
This will copy everything from A1-C50, but I only want A1-A18 and C1-C2 to be copied seen as though these contain data. But it needs to be formed in a way that once I have data in B or my range extends, that these get copied too.
'So the range could be 5000 and it only selects the data with a value.
With Range("A1")
Range(.Cells(1, 1), .End(xlDown).Cells(5000, 3)).Copy
End With
Thanks!
Thanks to Jean, Current code:
Sub test()
Dim i As Integer
Sheets("Sheet1").Select
i = 1
With Range("A1")
If .Cells(1, 1).Value = "" Then
Else
Range(.Cells(1, 1), .End(xlDown)).Copy Destination:=Sheets("Sheet2").Range("A" & i)
x = x + 1
End If
End With
Sheets("Sheet1").Select
x = 1
With Range("B1")
' Column B may be empty. If so, xlDown will return cell C65536
' and whole empty column will be copied... prevent this.
If .Cells(1, 1).Value = "" Then
'Nothing in this column.
'Do nothing.
Else
Range(.Cells(1, 1), .End(xlDown)).Copy Destination:=Sheets("Sheet2").Range("B" & i)
x = x + 1
End If
End With
Sheets("Sheet1").Select
x = 1
With Range("C1")
If .Cells(1, 1).Value = "" Then
Else
Range(.Cells(1, 1), .End(xlDown)).Copy Destination:=Sheets("Sheet2").Range("C" & i)
x = x + 1
End If
End With
End Sub
A1 - A5 contains data, A6 is blanc, A7 contains data. It stops at A6 and heads over to column B, and continues in the same way.

Answer 1

Since your three columns have different sizes, the safest thing to do is to copy them one by one. Any shortcuts à la PasteSpecial will probably end up causing you headaches.
With Range("A1")
Range(.Cells(1, 1), .End(xlDown)).Copy myDestinationRangeA
End With
With Range("B1")
' Column B may be empty. If so, xlDown will return cell C65536
' and whole empty column will be copied... prevent this.
If .Cells(1, 1).Value = "" Then
'Nothing in this column.
'Do nothing.
Else
Range(.Cells(1, 1), .End(xlDown)).Copy myDestinationRangeB
EndIf
End With
With Range("C1")
Range(.Cells(1, 1), .End(xlDown)).Copy myDestinationRangeC
End With
Now this is ugly, and a cleaner option would be to loop through the columns, especially if you have many columns and you're pasting them to adjacent columns in the same order.
Sub CopyStuff()
Dim iCol As Long
' Loop through columns
For iCol = 1 To 3 ' or however many columns you have
With Worksheets("Sheet1").Columns(iCol)
' Check that column is not empty.
If .Cells(1, 1).Value = "" Then
'Nothing in this column.
'Do nothing.
Else
' Copy the column to the destination
Range(.Cells(1, 1), .End(xlDown)).Copy _
Destination:=Worksheets("Sheet2").Columns(iCol).Cells(1, 1)
End If
End With
Next iCol
End Sub
EDIT
So you've changed your question... Try looping through the individual cells, checking if the current cell is empty, and if not copy it. Haven't tested this, but you get the idea:
iMaxRow = 5000 ' or whatever the max is.
'Don't make too large because this will slow down your code.
' Loop through columns and rows
For iCol = 1 To 3 ' or however many columns you have
For iRow = 1 To iMaxRow
With Worksheets("Sheet1").Cells(iRow,iCol)
' Check that cell is not empty.
If .Value = "" Then
'Nothing in this cell.
'Do nothing.
Else
' Copy the cell to the destination
.Copy Destination:=Worksheets("Sheet2").cells(iRow,iCol)
End If
End With
Next iRow
Next iCol
This code will be really slow if iMaxRow is large. My hunch is that you're trying to solve a problem in a sort of inefficient way... It's a bit hard to settle on an optimal strategy when the question keeps changing.

Answer 2

Take a look at the paste Special function. There's a 'skip blank' property that may help you.

Answer 3

To improve upon Jean-Francois Corbett's answer, use .UsedRange.Rows.Count to get the last used row. This will give you a fairly accurate range and it will not stop at the first blank cell.
Here is a link to an excellent example with commented notes for beginners...
Excel macro - paste only non empty cells from one sheet to another - Stack Overflow