Excel vba тип variant

Excel VBA Variant Data Types

In VBA, we have different types of Variable data types. We use them when we need to specify some certain kind of input to be given. Suppose, for the whole number we use Integer, for the text we use String and for lengthy data set we use Long data type. And there are some more data types that we use different types of variable declaration. But what if I tell you that we can define all these variables in a single Data type. For that purpose, we have VBA Variant where we can define any type of variable which we want.

VBA Variant is as easy as using other data types. For defining any kind of variable use any name or alphabet to name it and then we choose data type which we want. Let’s see an example where we will see how a variable can be declared using Integer data type.

As we can see in the above screenshot, for Integer data type variable, we can use number ranging from -32768 to +32767. But if we choose a variant here instead of Integer, then it will work same as Integer but there will not be any limit as data type Variant consists of all kind of variable formation in it.

And Variant can be used as shown below.

How to Declare Variant Data Type in Excel VBA?

We will summarize the whole process of declaring variables in VBA by using VBA Variant. Let’s see an example where we will use traditional data types for declaring variables first.

You can download this VBA Variant Excel Template here – VBA Variant Excel Template

Steps to Declare Variant Data Type

Follow the below steps to declare Variant Data Type in Excel by using VBA code.

Step 1: Go to the VBA window, under the Insert menu tab select Module as shown below.

Step 2: Now write the subprocedure for VBA Variant in any name as you want. We have used the name which can define the process which uses.

Code:

Sub VBA_Variant1()

End Sub

Step 3: Now define a variable where we can store or print any kind of text or name. For that, we need to use a string data type.

Code:

Sub VBA_Variant1()

Dim Name As String

End Sub

Step 4: Now define another variable where we can store or print any data. For that, we will again use a String data type.

Code:

Sub VBA_Variant1()

Dim Name As String
Dim DoB As String

End Sub

Step 5: Now define another variable where we can store some numbers. For that, we will use an integer data type.

Code:

Sub VBA_Variant1()

Dim Name As String
Dim DoB As String
Dim Age As Integer

End Sub

Step 6: And at last, we will declare another variable where we will be storing lengthy number using datatype Long

Code:

Sub VBA_Variant1()

Dim Name As String
Dim DoB As String
Dim Age As Integer
Dim RollNo As Long

End Sub

So basically here, we will be creating a database which will be having the name of a student, Date of Birth, Age, and Roll No. Now to complete this process, we will assign the values to each of the variables which we defined above.

Step 7: So we will declare the name of the student as Ashwani whose date of birth is 02 Sept 1990 and age is 29 and whose roll number is 16238627 in his certification exam as shown below.

Code:

Sub VBA_Variant1()

Dim Name As String
Dim DoB As String
Dim Age As Integer
Dim RollNo As Long

Name = "Ashwani"
DoB = "02-09-1990"
Age = 29
RollNo = 16238627

End Sub

Please note, the value where we will use String data type are quoted in inverted commas as they as in Text. Now to print these values we can use Msgbox or Debug.Print.
Debug print is the best way here, as we have multiple values for which if we use Msgbox then we need to use separated msgbox to see the output. So, to avoid that, we will use Debug.Print

Step 8: Use Debug.Print function and write all the variable which we defined above separated by Commas as shown below.

Code:

Sub VBA_Variant1()

Dim Name As String
Dim DoB As String
Dim Age As Integer
Dim RollNo As Long

Name = "Ashwani"
DoB = "02-09-1990"
Age = 29
RollNo = 16238627

Debug.Print Name, DoB, Age, RollNo

End Sub

Step 9: To see the output, open the Immediate Window from the View menu list. Or we can use a short cut key as Ctrl + G to get this window.

Step 10: Run the code by pressing the F5 function key or click on the Play button located below the menu list.

We will see, all the variable which we have declared above, we are able to see the values stored in each of the variables.

Step 11: Now we will replace each variables String, Integer and Long with Variant data type as shown below.

Code:

Sub VBA_Variant1()

Dim Name As Variant
Dim DoB As Variant
Dim Age As Variant
Dim RollNo As Variant

Name = "Ashwani"
DoB = "02-09-1990"
Age = 29
RollNo = 16238627

Debug.Print Name, DoB, Age, RollNo

End Sub

Step 12: Again run the code. We will the same output as we got using different variable data type with the Variant data type.

And if we compare the output, then both outputs are the same.

Pros & Cons of Excel VBA Variant

• We can replace most of the data types with a single data type Variant.
• VBA Variant is easy as using Integer or Long or String data types for declaring variables.
• This saves time in thinking which type of data type we need to choose for variable declaration.
• For each different data, we will get the same output by using a Variant data type as we could get using traditional variables.
• We cannot use some certain types of variable data type such Double if we want to replace this with Variant.

Things to Remember

• Use double quote (Inverted commas) if you want to declare text using Variant or any other data types.
• We can choose any name to declare variable using Variant, as we used to perform with other types of data types.
• VBA Variant has the limitation where cannot use IntelliSense list, which has inbuilt functions.
• VBA always suggests the best possible data types we could declare of any type of data.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to VBA Variant. Here we discuss how to declare Variant Data Type in Excel using VBA code along with practical examples and downloadable excel template. You can also go through our other suggested articles –

1. VBA Workbook Open
2. VBA Get Cell Value
3. VBA Length of String
4. VBA XML

Excel VBA Variant Data Type

Variant Data Type in VBA is a universal data type that can hold any data type, but while assigning the data type, we need to use the word “Variant.”

We all know how important variables are in VBA projects. Once the variable is declared, we need to assign a data type to the declared variables. Data type assignment in VBAData type is the core character of any variable, it represents what is the type of value we can store in the variable and what is the limit or the range of values which can be stored in the variable, data types are built-in VBA and user or developer needs to be aware which type of value can be stored in which data type. Data types assign to variables tells the compiler storage size of the variable.read more depends on what kind of data we need to assign to the declared variables.

For example, look at the below code.

In the above code, we declare the variable as “IntegerNumber.“ We assigned the data type as “Integer.“

Before assigning the data type to the variable, we should be aware of the limitations of the variable. For example, since we have assigned the data type Integer, my variable can hold the numbers from -32768 to 32767.

Anything more than the data type limit will cause an error. So, if we want to store more than 32767 values, we need to assign the different data types which can hold more than 32767.

To overcome this limitation, we have a universal data type, “Variant.” This article will show you the complete guide on a Variant data type.

How to Declare Variant Data Type?

We can declare the variant data type as the usual data type, but while assigning the data type, we need to use the word “Variant.”

Code:

Sub Variant_Example1()

    Dim MyNumber As Variant

End Sub

It makes the variable work any data now. We can assign any numbers, strings, dates, and many other things.

Below is the demonstration of the same.

Code:

 Sub Variant_Example1()

     Dim MonthName As Variant
     Dim MyDate As Variant
     Dim MyNumber As Variant
     Dim MyName As Variant

     MonthName = "January"
     MyDate = "24-04-2019"
     MyNumber = 4563
     MyName = "My Name is Excel VBA"

End Sub

We have assigned a date, number, and string to the above variable. So, the Variant data type allows us not to worry about what kind of data we will store or assign.

As soon as we declare a variable as a “Variant.” While coding, we don’t have to worry about our data type somewhere in the middle of the project. It makes the variable work flexibly to our needs. We can probably carry out our operations in the project with a single variable.

VBA Variant Doesn’t Require Explicit Way

The general procedure to declare a VBA variable is first to name it and then assign the data type. Below is an example of the same.

It is the explicit way of declaring the variable. However, when we declare the Variant data type, we do not need to declare them explicitly. Rather, we can name the variable and leave out the data type part.

Code:

Sub Variant_Example1()

    Dim MyNumber

End Sub

In the above code, we have named the variable “MyNumber,” but after naming it, we have not assigned any data type.

I have left out As [Data Type Name] part because the moment we ignore the data type assignment part, the variable becomes variant.

Things to Remember

Even though the “Variant” data type is flexible with the data, we will store it, but this is not the popular data type. Looks strange but is TRUE. People avoid using this data type unless there is any specific reason to use it. Below are some of the reasons for avoiding the use of variants.

• It ignores all the data mismatch errors.
• The variant data type limits us from accessing the IntelliSense list.
• VBA always guesses the best possible data type and assigns it accordingly.
• In the case of the Integer data type limit, the variant data type does not notify us when it crosses 32767 limits.

Recommended Articles

This article is a guide to VBA Variant. Here, we discuss how to declare and use the Variant data type, which is universal and holds any data type in VBA except fixed-length string data. You can learn more about VBA from the following articles: –

• VBA DoEvents
• Refresh Pivot Table using VBA Code
• Class Modules in VBA
• VBA Outlook