ID: Q178769
The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications includes a number of constants that you can use in code to represent certain "untypeable" characters, such as tabs, line feeds, and carriage returns. This article contains information about using these constants and information about problems that you may encounter when you use them.
The constants are listed in the following table.
Constant Definition
-------------------------------------------------------------------
vbBack A backspace character [Chr(8)]
vbCr A carriage return [Chr(13)]
vbCrLf A carriage return and line feed [Chr(13) + Chr(10)]
vbLf A linefeed [Chr(10)]
vbNewLine A platform-specific new line character, either
[Chr(13) + Chr(10)] or [Chr(13)]
vbNullChar A null character of value 0 [Chr(0)]
vbNullString A string of value 0 [no Chr code]; note that this is
not the same as ""
vbTab A tab character [Chr(9)]
You can use these constants anywhere in Visual Basic code where you want
them to appear. For example, you can use them to display a multiline
message in a message box as in the following example:
MsgBox "Hello" & vbCr & "World!"
Make sure that you do not enclose the constants within quotation marks; if
you do, the constant appears in the text string instead of the character it
represents.
When you use these constants, you may notice the following problems.
vbBack vbCrLf
For example, this behavior occurs if you execute the following line of
code:
ActiveCell.Value = "AAA" & vbBack & "BBB"
The cell displays the following value:
AAA[square character]BBB
You can remove the square character by manually editing the cell.
ActiveCell.Value = "AAA" & vbNullChar & "BBB"
the cell displays only "AAA."
ActiveCell.Value = "AAA" & vbLf & "BBB"
the cell displays the value:
AAA
BBB
If you execute following line of code:
ActiveCell.Value = "AAA" & vbNullString & "BBB"
the cell displays the following value:
AAABBB
because vbNullString creates a string of value 0 (the string has no length, so nothing appears in the cell).
All of the constants listed in this article work correctly when used in a MsgBox, with just two exceptions.
MsgBox "AAA" & vbBack & "BBB"
the message box displays the message:
AAABBB
Keywords : xlvbahowto xlvbainfo
Version : MACINTOSH:98
Platform : MACINTOSH
Issue type : kbinfo
Last Reviewed: February 5, 1998