XL: Error When You Concatenate String and Numeric Values

ID: Q154873

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a
Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition
Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you concatenate (join) several pieces of information together in a Microsoft Excel macro, the following error message may appear:

Run-time Error '13':
Type mismatch

CAUSE

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

You use the plus sign, instead of the ampersand (&), as the concatenation operator in a macro.

-and-

You concatenate a text string and a numeric value.

WORKAROUND

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/

To work around this problem, use either of the following methods.

Method 1: Use the Ampersand Operator Instead of the Plus Sign


   Sub Concatenate()

      Dim part1 ' Declare variable.
      Dim part2 ' Declare variable.
      part1 = "abc"
      part2 = 123
      MsgBox part1 & part2

   End Sub

Method 2: Assign the Numeric Variable to a String Value


   Sub Concatenate()

      Dim part1 ' Declare variable.
      Dim part2 ' Declare variable.
      part1 = "abc"
      part2 = "123"
      MsgBox part1 + part2

   End Sub

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

Use the ampersand operator to connect or concatenate two or more values to produce one text value. Use the plus operator to perform addition on two or more numeric values. Although you can use the plus sign for concatenation, using the ampersand eliminates ambiguity.

REFERENCES

Microsoft Excel 97

For more information about concatenation, click the Office Assistant, type "concatenating," click Search, and then click to view "Calculation operators in formulas."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If Microsoft Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q120802 Office: How to Add/Remove a Single Office Program or Component

Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

Q179216 OFF98: How to Use the Microsoft Office Installer Program

Excel 7.0

For more information about concatenation operators in Microsoft Excel version 7.0, click Answer Wizard on the Help menu and type:

concatenation operators

Excel 5.0

For more information about concatenation operators in Microsoft Excel version 5.0, click the Search button in Help and type:

concatenation

Additional query words: vba xl97


Keywords          : kbdta PgmOthr KbVBA xlvbmigrate 
Version           : WINDOWS: 5.0, 5.0c, 7.0, 7.0a, 97; MACINTOSH: 5.0, 5.0a, 98
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: July 2, 1999