Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Quickly Clearing Array Contents.

Quickly Clearing Array Contents

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 12, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


If you have done any programming in VBA, you know the value of using variable arrays to store information. It is not uncommon to start working with large arrays in your macros. For instance, you might declare a 100-element string array, as follows:

Dim MyText(99) As String

As your macro executes, information can be stored and restored in the elements of the array. At some time, you may want to erase all the information in the array. One classic way of doing this is using a For ... Next loop to step through each array element, as follows:

For J = 0 To 99
    MyText(J) = ""
Next J

When the looping is complete, everything has been erased from the array. A quicker way of accomplishing the same task is to use the ERASE function, as follows:

Erase MyText

Once executed, this single line sets each element of the MyText array back to an empty string. If the array is numeric, then each element of the array is set to zero.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7657) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Quickly Clearing Array Contents.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing the Bullet Type

When you apply bullet formatting to paragraphs, Word allows you to choose from a variety of different bullets. If you ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of "Copy of"

When you save a read-only workbook file under a new name, Excel automatically adds "copy of" to the beginning of that ...

Discover More

Hanging Indent Shortcut

You can use the menu commands to adjust the indent applied to a paragraph. If you want to format a hanging indent, Word ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Swapping Two Numbers

When developing a macro, you may need to swap the values in two variables. It's simple to do using the technique in this tip.

Discover More

Declaring Variables

Declaring variables in a macro is good programming practice. Here's how to do it and how to make sure they are all declared.

Discover More

Converting Numbers to Strings

VBA is great at working with both strings and numbers. At some point you may have a number you need to convert to a ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five more than 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.