In VBA, strings are enclosed within double quotes. However, this can lead to issues when you need to include double quotes within the string itself. This tutorial will cover how to handle double quotes in VBA strings effectively.
Understanding the Problem
When you try to assign a string value to a variable or property in VBA, and that string contains double quotes, VBA interprets those inner double quotes as the end of the string. This results in a syntax error because VBA expects another string or a different type of statement after what it perceives as the end of the string.
Doubling Up on Quotes
One way to handle this is by doubling up on the double quotes within your string. For every double quote you want to include within the string, you write two double quotes in a row (""). This tells VBA that the double quote should be treated as part of the string rather than its delimiter.
Here’s an example:
Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1").Formula = "=IF(Sheet1!B1=0,"""",Sheet1!B1)"
In this example, "" within the formula is interpreted as a single double quote by VBA.
Using CHR(34)
Another method to include double quotes in your strings is by using the CHR(34) function. The number 34 represents the ASCII code for a double quote. This method can be particularly useful when constructing complex strings or formulas programmatically.
Here’s how you could rewrite the previous example using CHR(34):
Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1").Formula = "IF(Sheet1!B1=0," & CHR(34) & CHR(34) & ",Sheet1!B1)"
This achieves the same result as doubling up on quotes but uses CHR(34) to insert the double quotes.
Temporary Substitute Characters
For more complex scenarios, you might find it helpful to use a temporary substitute character for your double quotes and then replace them. This approach can make your code easier to read and understand when dealing with very long or intricate strings.
Here’s an example where we use a tilde (~) as our temporary substitute:
Dim FormulaString As String
FormulaString = "=MID(CELL(~filename~,$A$1),FIND(~[~,CELL(~filename~,$A$1))+1,FIND(~]~, CELL(~filename~,$A$1))-FIND(~[~,CELL(~filename~,$A$1))-1)"
FormulaString = Replace(FormulaString, Chr(126), CHR(34)) ' Replaces tilde with double quote
Range("WorkbookFileName").Formula = FormulaString
This method involves two steps: first constructing your string with a placeholder for the double quotes (in this case, ~), and then replacing all occurrences of that placeholder with an actual double quote.
Best Practices
- Consistency: Choose one method and stick to it throughout your project for consistency.
- Readability: When possible, opt for the method that makes your code easiest to read. Doubling up quotes is straightforward but can become hard to follow in very complex strings. Using
CHR(34)or a temporary substitute character might improve readability in such cases. - Tools and Utilities: Consider creating utilities like the one shown in Answer 5, which copies formulas from Excel cells into VBA-compatible format. Such tools can greatly simplify working with strings that include double quotes.
By mastering these techniques, you’ll be able to effectively handle double quotes within your VBA strings, making it easier to construct complex formulas and manipulate text data.