Working with String Variables

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Almost any application uses strings that contain variables in some form or another; you dimension a variable, assign a value to it, and output that variable as part of a string. If you must output a string that contains multiple variables, it can often be a painstaking process adding all of the quote characters and concatenation operators in the right places.

For example, the following code contains several string variables:

Dim Fname As String, Lname As String
Dim varAge As Variant, varDate as Variant

Fname = "John"
Lname = "Doe"
varAge = 42
varDate = "August 15"

TextBox1.Text = Fname & Lname & " will be " & varAge & _
   " od on " & varDate & " of this year."

In the preceding example, it would be easy to leave out a quotation mark character or space or to misplace a concatenation character. The result would be a compile-time error, and finding your mistake could prove especially difficult in a long string.

The String Editor add-in, included in Microsoft® Office XP Developer, greatly simplifies the process of formatting complex strings such as SQL statements or scripts. Using the String Editor, you can simply enter your string as straight text, then mark any string variables within the string. On completion, the String Editor will automatically format the string for you, inserting all of the necessary quotes and other formatting characters.

To insert a formatted string into your code

  1. Select an insertion point in the Code Editor where you want to add a string.

  2. From the Add-Ins menu, select String Editor.

    Note   The String Editor menu item is only available when the VBA String Editor add-in is loaded.

  3. Type the string into the String Editor. For example:

    Fname Lname will be varAge od on varDate of this year.

  4. For each variable within the string, select the variable, and click the Toggle String button on the String Editor toolbar.

    Each selection will be marked as a variable and color-coded blue in the String Editor.

  5. Click the Update button to insert the formatted string into your code with all of the necessary formatting characters.

    Aa189293.destringeditorvariablesexamplecodeinsertedgif(en-us,office.10).gif

The following table shows some examples of the formatting applied by the String Editor.

In the String Editor Resulting code 
The dog is happy.
 
"The dog is happy."
 
The dog is
happy.
 
"The dog is " & vbNewLine & "happy."
 
The strAnimal is happy.
 
"The " & strAnimal & " is happy."
 
     The dog is happy.
 
vbTab & "The dog is happy."
 
"The dog is happy"
 
Chr$(34) & "The dog is happy" & Chr$(34)

See Also

Getting the Most Out of Visual Basic for Applications | Working with Strings | Comparing Strings | Calculating String Length | Searching a String | Returning Portions of a String | Working with Strings as Arrays | Replacing Text Within a String | Converting Strings