Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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: Trimming Spaces from Strings.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 6, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365
It is often necessary to trim spaces off of strings when programming macros. For instance, let's say you used the InputBox function to get some user input. The function returns a string, but you find out that the user hit the space bar a few times before typing a response. Thus, you end up with a string such as " My String," complete with leading spaces.
Fortunately, VBA provides several different functions to remove spaces from a string. The following are the three functions you could use:
MyVar = LTrim(MyVar) MyVar = RTrim(MyVar) MyVar = Trim(MyVar)
The first example ends up trimming all the spaces from the left end of the string, the second removes them from the right end, and the third removes them from both ends. You can use the function that you feel best fits your programming needs.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (12593) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Trimming Spaces from Strings.
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2022-01-07 06:54:37
Peter Atherton
RKeev
Char 160 is a non-breaking character (hard space) and is not deleted by any Trim functions. Two consectutive hard-spaces will also remain in place wiith trim.
Fig 1 is done in Word and figure 2 is in Excel
[ (see Figure 1 below)
This is fig. 1
Figure 1.
2022-01-07 06:51:37
Peter Atherton
RKeev
Char 160 is a non-breaking character (hard space) and is not deleted by any Trim functions. Two consectutive hard-spaces will also remain in place wiith trim.
Fig 1 is done in Word and figure 2 is in Excel
[ (see Figure 1 below)
HTH
Figure 1.
2022-01-06 08:16:44
RKeev
Do any/all of these remove the CHAR 160 from the cell as well?
2022-01-06 06:11:15
Willy Vanhaelen
There is a fourth possibility: Application.TRIM(MyVar).
Excel's TRIM not only removes leading and trailing spaces but it replaces also multiple spaces within the string with only one space.
So Application.TRM(" test it "), becomes "test it".
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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:
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