Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Trimming Spaces from Strings.

Trimming Spaces from Strings

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 15, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


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:

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 (2303) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Trimming Spaces from 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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