Replace Function

Description

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

Syntax

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

The Replace function syntax has these parts:

Part	Description
expression	Required. String expression containing substring to replace.
find	Required. Substring being searched for.
replacewith	Required. Replacement substring.
start	Optional. Position within expression where substring search is to begin. If omitted, 1 is assumed. Must be used in conjunction with count.
count	Optional. Number of substring substitutions to perform. If omitted, the default value is -1, which means make all possible substitutions. Must be used in conjunction with start.
compare	Optional. Numeric value indicating the kind of comparison to use when evaluating substrings. See Settings section for values. If omitted, the default value is 0, which means perform a binary comparison.

Settings

The compare argument can have the following values:

Constant	Value	Description
vbBinaryCompare	0	Perform a binary comparison.
vbTextCompare	1	Perform a textual comparison.

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.
replacewith 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.

The following example uses the Replace function to return a string:

Dim MyString
MyString = Replace("XXpXXPXXp", "p", "Y")	' A binary comparison starting at the beginning
							' of the string. Returns "XXYXXPXXY". 
MyString = Replace("XXpXXPXXp", "p", "Y",	' A textual comparison starting at position 3. 
							' Returns "YXXYXXY". 3, -1, 1)