Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Converting Numbers to Strings.
You already know that you can use variables in your macros and that there are two very basic types of variables: string variables (containing characters) and numeric variables (containing numeric values). You can quickly and easily convert a number into a string. This is done with the Str() function. The syntax for using this function is:
A = Str(B)
In this syntax, if B is a numeric value equal to 5, then when completed, the string in A will be " 5"; if B is -4, then A would be "-4". Notice the leading space when converting positive numbers. This may not provide satisfactory results for some subroutines. Instead, you should create a function that returns a stripped-down version of the string. The following function does just that:
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: 
Function ToNum(X as Variant) as String
Dim A as String
A = Ltrim(Str(X))
ToNum = A
End Function
The reason that the value passed to the function (X) is defined as a Variant is that you can then pass any type of numeric value.
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7066) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Converting Numbers to Strings.
Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!
The Open dialog box is one that few of us think about, but you can control how it behaves with a little bit of macro ...
Discover MoreIf your macro needs to determine the status of the Caps Lock key, you need the code in this tip. Just use the Information ...
Discover MoreDo you need to copy, within a macro, a range of pages? Because pages can be so fluid in Word, this can be a bit tricky. ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2013-08-19 07:59:35
Bryan
Why reinvent the wheel? CStr does the same as ToNum. Or if you want to change the format (perhaps set a decmial), you can use Format instead.
The whole thing is generally superfluous anyway; there aren't a lot of circumstances where you HAVE to coerce a number to be a string. For instance, "Total : " & Number will give you the same result as "Total : " & CStr(Number).
Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments