Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Converting Numbers to Strings.

Converting Numbers to Strings

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 21, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


1

You already know that you can use variables in your macros, and that there are two very basic types of variables: string variables (containing characters) and numeric variables (containing numeric values). You can quickly and easily convert a number into a string in your macros. This is the done with the Str() function. The way you use this function is as follows:

A = Str(B)

In this syntax, if B is equal to 5, then when completed, A will be " 5"; if B is -4, then A would be "-4". Notice the leading space when converting positive numbers. This may not provide satisfactory results for some subroutines. Instead, you should create a function that returns a stripped-down version of the string. The following function does just that:

Function ToNum(X as Variant) as String
    ToNum = Trim(Str(X))
End Function

The reason that the value passed to the VBA function (X) is defined as a Variant is that you can then pass any type of numeric value.

An alternative approach is to use the following variation of the function:

Function ToNum(X as Variant) as String
    ToNum = CStr(X)
End Function

Either approach will work just fine.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9749) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Converting Numbers to Strings.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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What is 3 + 2?

2019-08-03 06:00:59

Alex B

Using "Str" in the macro means it will error out if the cell reference you pass it contains a non-numeric value. eg aaa in the cell will result in #VALUE.
It is also unnecessary both the following options work fine without it.

Function ToNum(X As Variant) As String
ToNum = Trim(X)
End Function

And even just relying on defining ToNum as a string is enough to do the job
Function ToNum(X As Variant) As String
ToNum = X
End Function


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