Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Passing Parameters to Functions.

Passing Parameters to Functions

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 3, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


When you create your own functions, it is often helpful to pass parameters to the function. These parameters can be used either as data that you want the function to act upon or as settings used to control how the function does its work. How you pass parameters to functions is illustrated in the following macros:

Sub Macro1()
    Dim A As Double

    A = 12.3456
    MsgBox A & "     " & Round(A)
End Sub
Function Round(X As Double) As Double
    Round = Int(X + 0.5)
End Function

This simple macro (Macro1) assigns a value (12.3456) to the variable A. It then displays, in a message box, that number and the result of passing the number to the Round function; the output is 12.3456 and 12. Notice that the parameter should be passed to the function within parentheses.

Also notice that the function does not use the same variable name as it was passed. (The variable A is passed to the function when it is invoked; within the function this value is referred to by the variable name X.) This is because VBA reassigns the value of X (what the function needs) so it matches the value of A (what the program is passing to the function).

VBA allows you to specify multiple parameters to be passed to a function. The parameters simply need to be separated by commas in both the declaration of the function and whenever the function is called. The important thing to remember in passing parameters to functions is that your program must pass the same number of parameters as the function expects, and the parameters must be of matching types and in the proper order.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12962) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Passing Parameters to Functions.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Mixing Column Formats On a Page

Want to switch the number of columns used for your text, in the middle of a page? You can do this very easily by ...

Discover More

Setting the AutoRecover Directory

When you are using Word, it normally saves temporary AutoRecover files that reflect the latest state of your document. If ...

Discover More

Quickly Moving Your Table

For those who love to use the mouse during editing, you can use the little critter to help move your tables to exactly ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Determining the Week of the Year

If you are working with dates in a macro, you may need to determine which week of the year a date falls within. This can ...

Discover More

Highlight Words from a Word List

Do you need to highlight certain words in a document, and aren't quite sure how to go about it? Using the techniques ...

Discover More

Determining an ANSI Value

You may need to determine the numeric value of a character in a macro. You can do that using the Asc function, described ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is eight more than 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

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.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.