Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365. 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 September 6, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365

2

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(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, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365. 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 six minus 1?

2025-09-07 10:32:34

J. Woolley

IMHO, creating a function like ToNum that simply returns the result of another function is dumb.

2025-09-06 10:46:04

J. Woolley

As noted later in the Tip, A = Str(B) is not the correct way to convert a numeric data type into a String data type; use A = CStr(B) instead. CStr(...) converts any data type into a String data type. Str(...) returns a string "representation" of a number.

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