Returns the numbers contained in a string as a numeric value of appropriate type.
Syntax
Val( string )
The required stringargument is any valid string expression.
Remarks
The Val function stops reading the string at the first character it can't recognize as part of a number. Symbols and characters that are often considered parts of numeric values, such as dollar signs and commas, are not recognized. However, the function recognizes the radix prefixes &O (for octal) and &H (for hexadecimal). Blanks, tabs, and linefeed characters are stripped from the argument.
The following returns the value 1615198:
Val(" 1615 198th Street N.E.")
In the code below, Val returns the decimal value -1 for the hexadecimal value shown:
Val("&HFFFF")
Note: The Val function recognizes only the period (.) as a valid decimal separator. When different decimal separators are used, as in international applications, use CDbl instead to convert a string to a number.
Query example
|
Expression |
Results |
|
SELECT DateofSale,val(DateofSale) AS testVal FROM ProductSales; |
Return the values from "DateofSale" and leading numeric characters from the values of field "DateofSale" in the column testVal. Val() will stop reading the string at the first non-numeric character. |
VBA example
Note: Examples that follow demonstrate the use of this function in a Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) module. For more information about working with VBA, select Developer Reference in the drop-down list next to Search and enter one or more terms in the search box.
This example uses the Val function to return the numbers contained in a string.
Dim MyValue
MyValue = Val("2457") ' Returns 2457.
MyValue = Val(" 2 45 7") ' Returns 2457.
MyValue = Val("24 and 57") ' Returns 24.
