Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Creating a String in a Macro.
What do you do if you need a string of 80 equal signs or 25 spaces in your macro? Use the String function. This function is used to create strings of repeating characters. Consider the following examples:
sNew1 = String(25, 32) sNew2 = String(25, " ") sNew3 = String(80, "=") sNew4 = String(20, "=*")
The first and second lines are functionally the same; they both produce a line of 25 spaces. In the first example, the ANSI value of 32 is used, which is the character code for a space. In the third line, sNew3 will be equal to 80 equal signs.
The fourth line produces a 20-character string of equal signs. This can be a bit frustrating to programmers familiar with other implementations of BASIC, as to them the last example should create a 40-character string of alternating equal signs and asterisks. (Under older versions of BASIC, the String function concatenates whatever you designate, so one could expect this to create a 40-character string made up of 20 iterations of "=*". Not so; VBA does not implement the String function as is done in other BASICs.)
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (7801) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Creating a String in a Macro.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
Excel keeps track of the actions you take so that you can undo those actions if any are taken in error. You may want to clear ...
Discover MoreWhen processing information in a macro, you often need to select different cells relative to the currently selected cells. ...
Discover MoreDoes your macro need to allow the user to specify a particular file name that should be used by the macro? Here's a quick ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2015-10-27 00:11:53
David Richardson
@PhilP putting the single quote before the equal sign only produces a string of 80 single quotes.
Aldo's solution applied to sNew3 works as follows:
sNew3 = "'" & String(80,"=")
2013-08-12 11:59:38
Have you tried using =REPT() function.
=REPT("=",80) in a cell will give you ================================================================================ in the cell without an error raised.
sNew4 = "'" & String(80, 61) give you the same result in VBA. The "'" is needed because Excel sees = as a start of a function.
You can change the cell format to TEXT and illiminate the need for "'" altogether.
2013-07-26 14:07:19
awyatt
The last two only return errors if you try to place the contents of the variables (sNew3 and sNew4) into a cell in a worksheet. That is because Excel's formula parsing is only done when values are entered in a worksheet.
If you are using the VBA String function to create a string (as done in this tip) and want to stuff that string into a cell, then you'll need to do as PhilP suggests: put an apostrophe at the beginning of the string.
-Allen
2013-07-26 13:33:31
PhilP
@David
As you say the last two return errors. The way around this to include a single quote at the beginning of the string after the first double quote, for example:
sNew3 = String(80, "'=")
This makes sure that Excel knows all of the string is text
2013-07-26 05:55:47
Rudra Sharma
Thanks for letting me know this.
2013-07-25 19:37:07
David Richardson
I tried out the examples, but the last two return errors. I think that since Excel uses the = to signify a formula that is the cause. (even the ASCII code failed)
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2017 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: 
Comments