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: Creating a String in a Macro.
What do you do if you need a string of 80 equal signs or 25 spaces in your macro? Use the String function. This function is used to create strings of repeating characters. Consider the following examples:
sNew1 = String(25, 32) sNew2 = String(25, " ") sNew3 = String(80, "=") sNew4 = String(20, "=*")
The first and second lines are functionally the same; they both produce a line of 25 spaces. In the first example, the ANSI value of 32 is used, which is the character code for a space. In the third line, sNew3 will be equal to 80 equal signs.
The fourth line produces a 20-character string of equal signs. This can be a bit frustrating to programmers familiar with other implementations of BASIC, as to them the last example should create a 40-character string of alternating equal signs and asterisks. (Under older versions of BASIC, the String function concatenates whatever you designate, so one could expect this to create a 40-character string made up of 20 iterations of "=*". Not so; VBA does not implement the String function as is done in other BASICs.)
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2325) 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: Creating a String in a Macro.
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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: 
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