Trimming Spaces from Strings

Summary: Need to get rid of extraneous spaces before or after the text in a string? VBA provides three different functions you can use to make the removal quick and easy. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)

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.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2303) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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