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: Swapping Two Strings.
If you do any serious macro programming, there will eventually come a time when you want to swap the values in two strings. In some versions of BASIC, there are commands that handle this. VBA leaves us to our own devices, however. The following technique should do the trick for most people:
TempString = MyString1 MyString1 = MyString2 MyString2 = TempString
When completed, the values in MyString1 and MyString2 have been swapped, and TempString doesn't matter, since it was intended (by this technique) as a temporary variable anyway.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2349) 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: Swapping Two Strings.
Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2013 For Dummies today!
Need to know how many characters there are in a workbook? You can find out easily with the handy macro introduced in this ...
Discover MoreMost charts you create in Excel are based on information stored in a worksheet. You can also create charts based on ...
Discover MoreSometimes it may be helpful for a macro to know exactly where it is being executed. This tip provides a way that you can ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2015-10-31 13:32:31
Rick Rothstein
You can also do the swap without using a temporary variable...
MyString2 = MyString2 & MyString1
MyString1 = Left(MyString2, Len(MyString2)-Len(MyString1))
MyString2 = Mid(MyString2, Len(MyString1) + 1)
Using the temporary variable should be the faster of the two methods, so if you are doing this in a large loop, use that method; however, for one or a small number of swaps, the time difference should be negligible.
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2021 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
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: 
Comments