VBA Function - Call, Return Value, & Parameters - Automate Excel (2023)

FAQs

How do you return a value from a VBA function? ›

Sub procedures DO NOT Return a value while functions may or may not return a value. Sub procedures CAN be called without a call keyword. Sub procedures are always enclosed within Sub and End Sub statements.

Return a value if a given value exists in a certain range by using a formula. Please apply the following formula to return a value if a given value exists in a certain range in Excel. 1. Select a blank cell, enter formula =VLOOKUP(E2,A2:C8,3, TRUE) into the Formula Bar and then press the Enter key.

Macros just perform textual substitution. They can't return anything - they are not functions.

Go to the VBA Editor (Alt + F11) and double-click the name of the spreadsheet that contains the cell that will change or just right-click the worksheet tab and click View Code. In the window that opens, select Worksheet from the left drop-down menu and Change from the right drop-down menu.

The IF-THEN-ELSE statement is a built-in function in Excel that is categorized as a Logical Function. It can be used as a VBA function (VBA) in Excel. As a VBA function, you can use this function in macro code that is entered through the Microsoft Visual Basic Editor.

VBA Sub vs Function: Key Differences

A sub performs a task but does not return a value. A function returns a value of the tasks performed. Subs can be recalled from anywhere in the program and in multiple types. Functions are called by a variable.

To call a Sub procedure from another procedure, type the name of the procedure and include values for any required arguments. The Call statement is not required, but if you use it, you must enclose any arguments in parentheses. Use a Sub procedure to organize other procedures so they are easier to understand and debug.

What is the difference between subroutine and function? ›

Functions are similar to subroutines, except that they return a value. A function commonly carries out some calculations and reports the result to the caller. Subroutines perform a task but do not report anything to the calling program.

VBA supports both dynamic as well as static arrays. Static arrays do not change the size. Dynamic arrays size can be changed any time between the runtime. The lower bound of the dynamic array remains unaffected.

Arrays, Static Vs Dynamic:

There are 2 main types of arrays you can use in VBA, Static and Dynamic. Static arrays have a fixed size. you will not be able to change the size of the array later in your code. On the other hand the size of a dynamic array can change.

The XLOOKUP function searches a range or an array, and then returns the item corresponding to the first match it finds. If no match exists, then XLOOKUP can return the closest (approximate) match. *If omitted, XLOOKUP returns blank cells it finds in lookup_array.

What is AutoFill? Excel has a feature that helps you automatically enter data. If you are entering a predictable series (e.g. 1, 2, 3…; days of the week; hours of the day) you can use the AutoFill command to automatically extend the sequence.

In C++14, you can just use auto as a return type.

The function that can automatically return the value in cell c77 is Min(). The min () function in an Excel sheet automatically returns the item with the lowest value. The min() function is also used to find the item with the lowest value in an iterable or given set of data or arrays automatically.

The return and print statements are equally important for programming. If you just want to execute a simple function that returns a value, the return statement will be enough. In case you want to return a value but also have to print it to the terminal, you need to use the print() method.

Excel Event code makes this possible and it is easier than you think. Event code can run a macro based on a drop-down list, event code is VBA code stored in a worksheet module or workbook module.

How do I auto populate a cell based on a value entered in another cell using a table? ›

You can't run a Excel VBA Macro without opening the File that contains the macro. If you want you can launch the excel application in hidden mode and then run the macro after opening the file in hidden mode from a VBS file.

Automatically refresh data at regular intervals

Click a cell in the external data range. On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click Refresh All, and then click Connection Properties. Click the Usage tab. Select the Refresh every check box, and then enter the number of minutes between each refresh operation.

Speed versus size The main benefit of using macros is faster execution time. During preprocessing, a macro is expanded (replaced by its definition) inline each time it's used. A function definition occurs only once regardless of how many times it's called.

You can use the OR operator with the VBA IF statement to test multiple conditions. When you use it, it allows you to test two or more conditions simultaneously and returns true if any of those conditions are true. But if all the conditions are false only then it returns false in the result.

To assign a macro that you pass arguments to a button, shape, image, or any object, you first right-click that object and click Assign Macro and then type the name of the macro and the argument, following the pattern described in the above examples, and then click OK. 'show_msg "I clicked a button!"'

A subroutine does not have to return a value, but when it does, it sends back the value with the RETURN instruction. The calling program receives the value in the REXX special variable named RESULT. A function must return a value.

A macro is defined with the pre-processor directive. Macros are pre-processed which means that all the macros would be processed before your program compiles. However, functions are not preprocessed but compiled.

Any logic may use both macros and subroutines. The main difference is in the way they are used. Only subroutines can be used when you need to pass arguments, get a return value, or activate the independent execution of logic. Only macros can be used when defining run-time interface parameters.

How do you call a method using parameters? ›

To call a method in Java, simply write the method's name followed by two parentheses () and a semicolon(;). If the method has parameters in the declaration, those parameters are passed within the parentheses () but this time without their datatypes specified.

To create a named range using VBA, you need to use the “Names” property further with the “Add” method. In add method, you have arguments to define the name that you wish to give to the range and specify the address of the range (make sure to use the dollar sign with the address to freeze the range).

You can pass an argument by value if you include the ByVal keyword in the procedure's declaration. Arguments passed by value consume from 2–16 bytes within the procedure, depending on the argument's data type.

The only drawback to using subroutines is that the overhead associated with them can at times hamper the performance of a time critical application.

Subroutines make programs shorter as well as easier to read and understand, because they break program code into smaller sections. You can test procedures or functions separately, rather than having to test the whole program. This makes programs easier to debug.

Disadvantages of Static Array

In case more static data space is declared than needed, there is waste of space. In case less static space is declared than needed, then it becomes impossible to expand this fixed size during run time.

Compared to linked lists, dynamic arrays have faster indexing (constant time versus linear time) and typically faster iteration due to improved locality of reference; however, dynamic arrays require linear time to insert or delete at an arbitrary location, since all following elements must be moved, while linked lists ...

In VBA, to loop through an array you can use the For Loop (For Next). And to write this loop code you need to know the size of the array (upper and lower bound) so that you can use both as the counter for the loop. Basically, for loop will start from the first element of the array and loop up to the last.

Dynamic Arrays are resizable arrays that calculate automatically and return values into multiple cells based on a formula entered in a single cell. Through over 30 years of history, Microsoft Excel has undergone many changes, but one thing remained constant - one formula, one cell.

Why do we use dynamic array? ›

A dynamic array is a random access, variable-size list data structure that allows elements to be added or removed. It is supplied with standard libraries in many modern programming languages. Dynamic arrays overcome a limit of static arrays, which have a fixed capacity that needs to be specified at allocation.

A static array variable holds a value of type, array. A dynamic array variable holds a pointer to an array value. Thanks to automatic pointer dereferencing and automatic index padding, there is very little difference in the code that you write to use either type of array.

dynamically allocated arrays

To dynamically allocate space, use calls to malloc passing in the total number of bytes to allocate (always use the sizeof to get the size of a specific type). A single call to malloc allocates a contiguous chunk of heap space of the passed size.

We shall have to make an array of size n dynamically and take n numbers one by one, then find the sum. To make the array we can use malloc() or calloc() function which is present inside the stdlib. h header file. The value of n is also provided as input through stdin.

To return a value from a function, you must include a return statement, followed by the value to be returned, before the function's end statement. If you do not include a return statement or if you do not specify a value after the keyword return, the value returned by the function is unpredictable.

function firstFunction() { // do something return "testing 123"; } var test = firstFunction(); // this will grab you the return value from firstFunction(); alert(test); You can make this call from another function too, as long as both functions have same scope. Save this answer. Show activity on this post.

Some functions don't return a significant value, but others do. It's important to understand what their values are, how to use them in your code, and how to make functions return useful values.

Functions in C++ can return a reference as it's returns a pointer. When function returns a reference it means it returns a implicit pointer.

Return statements in many programming languages allow a function to specify a return value to be passed back to the code that called the function.

How are functions called How does it return a value? ›

A return is a value that a function returns to the calling script or function when it completes its task. A return value can be any one of the four variable types: handle, integer, object, or string. The type of value your function returns depends largely on the task it performs.