WD98: Troubleshooting Variables and Data Types

ID: Q183829

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

SUMMARY

This article offers suggestions for using variables and data types in Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications in the applications listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

When declaring variables, the default data type is Variant. Programmers should ideally specify specific data types and not use the Variant data types. Variant data types consume more memory, do not offer the same performance as specific data types, and can promote errors in programming logic.

Make sure variables are properly declared. Consider the following example:

   Dim oVar1, oVar2 As Object

This syntax may appear to be declaring two Object variables, but in this case oVar1 is being implicitly declared as a Variant (the default data type) and oVar2 is being explicitly declared as an Object. The following code will produce two Object variables:

   Dim oVar1 As Object
   Dim oVar2 As Object

   -or-

   Dim oVar1 As Object, oVar2 As Object

For more information about dimensioning variables, from the Visual Basic Editor, click the Office Assistant, type "Declaring Variables," click Search, and then click to view "Declaring Variables."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If the Assistant is not able to answer your query, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q176476
   TITLE     : OFF: Office Assistant Not Answering Visual Basic Questions

REFERENCES

For more information about getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q163435
   TITLE     : VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for
               Applications

Additional query words: wordcon vba vbe vb tshoot declaration declaring dimension Byte Boolean Integer Long Currency Single Double Decimal Date String

Keywords          : kbdta kbdtacode OffVBA kbmacroexample macword98 
Version           : MACINTOSH:98
Platform          : MACINTOSH
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: April 7, 1999