Determining the Upper Bounds of an Array

If you program macros, you already know that you can define arrays of variables that are used to store similar data. For instance, the array sClassNames() could be used to hold the names of individuals in your school class. Consider the following, which defines the array:

Dim sClassNames(29) As String

This particular code specifies that the array can hold 30 string values, using the subscripts 0 through 29.

At some point you may have a subroutine or function that needs to know how many elements have been defined for an array. One built-in VBA function that comes in handy for determining this is UBound. This function returns a value that indicates the upper bound (the largest subscript) that can be used with the array. For instance, consider the following usage:

iClassSize = UBound(sClassnames)

When you run this code, iClassSize is set to the value 29. Why? Because 29 is the largest subscript that can be used in the sClassNames() array—it represents the upper bound for the array.

If your arrays have more than one dimension, you can add another argument to the UBound function to specify for which dimension you want the upper bound:

iHighSide = UBound(cPayGrade, 2)

This example sets iHighSide equal to the upper bound for the second dimension of the cPayGrade() array.