Get First Empty Row/Column
Description
The Get First Empty Row/Column activity identifies the first empty row and first empty column within a worksheet.
This activity is commonly used to determine the next available row or column for inserting data into a worksheet.
Common settings
Use Process Data to bind supported inputs to workflow values or upstream outputs. See Common Activity Features for shared execution, error-handling, and output-persistence settings. Availability depends on the activity.
Design-Time Configuration
Workbook Configuration
This activity requires an Excel workbook.
Learn more → Excel Workbook Configuration
Worksheet Selection
This activity operates on a worksheet within the workbook.
Learn more → Excel Worksheet Selection
Range
Optional range used to limit the search area.
Learn more → Worksheet Data Selection
Examples:
A1:D100A:A1:100B2:F50
When omitted, the search uses the worksheet data area. A single starting cell extends the scope through the data area; an explicit multi-cell range limits the search.
Behavior
The activity returns zero-based worksheet indexes, not positions relative to Range. A row or column is considered empty when it contains no data within the search scope.
For an explicit range, the activity returns the first empty row and column within that range. When no range or only a starting cell is supplied, it can return the next row/column after the data area if no internal gap is found.
An entirely empty scope returns its top-left row and column indexes. Either output can be empty when no eligible row or column is found. Check each output separately before using it.
Outputs
Row Index
Returns the zero-based index of the first empty row.
Examples:
| Value | Row |
|---|---|
| 0 | First row |
| 1 | Second row |
| 2 | Third row |
Column Index
Returns the zero-based index of the first empty column.
Examples:
| Value | Column |
|---|---|
| 0 | A |
| 1 | B |
| 2 | C |
Execution settings
Configure Wait All Incoming when execution paths converge, and On Error for failure handling. Select Inherit where available to use the workflow-level error policy.
Example: Interpret returned indexes
For Range B2:D10, row and column checks apply only to that rectangle. Row Index 4 refers to worksheet row 5; Column Index 2 refers to column C. Values are not offsets from B2. An empty row index does not imply that the column index is also empty.