Replace Function

This page is specific to the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) Language Reference for Office 2010.

Description

Returns a string in which a specified substring has been replaced with another substring a specified number of times.

Syntax

Replace(expression, find, replace[, start[, count[, compare]]])

The Replace function syntax has these named arguments:

Part	Description
expression	Required. String expression containing substring to replace.
find	Required. Substring being searched for.
replace	Required. Replacement substring.
start	Optional. Position within expression where substring search is to begin. If omitted, 1 is assumed.
count	Optional. Number of substring substitutions to perform. If omitted, the default value is –1, which means make all possible substitutions.
compare	Optional. Numeric value indicating the kind of comparison to use when evaluating substrings. See Settings section for values.

Settings

The compare argument can have the following values:

Constant	Value	Description
vbUseCompareOption	–1	Performs a comparison using the setting of the Option Compare statement.
vbBinaryCompare	0	Performs a binary comparison.
vbTextCompare	1	Performs a textual comparison.
vbDatabaseCompare	2	Microsoft Access only. Performs a comparison based on information in your database.

Return Values

Replace returns the following values:

If	Replace returns
expression is zero-length	Zero-length string ("")
expression is Null	An error.
find is zero-length	Copy of expression.
replace is zero-length	Copy of expression with all occurences of find removed.
start > Len(expression)	Zero-length string.
count is 0	Copy of expression.

Remarks

The return value of the Replace function is a string, with substitutions made, that begins at the position specified by start and and concludes at the end of the expression string. It is not a copy of the original string from start to finish.