InStr function
Summary
Position of substring.
Syntax
InStr([ start ], string1, string2, [ compare ])
The InStr function syntax has these arguments:
Part
Description
startOptional. Numeric expression that sets the starting position for each search. If omitted, search begins at the first character position. If start contains Null, an error occurs. The start argument is required if compare is specified.
string1Required. String expression being searched.
string2Required. String expression sought.
compareOptional. Specifies the type of string comparison. If compare is Null, an error occurs. If compare is omitted, the Option Compare setting determines the type of comparison. Specify a valid LCID (LocaleID) to use locale-specific rules in the comparison.
Part
Description
startOptional. Numeric expression that sets the starting position for each search. If omitted, search begins at the first character position. If start contains Null, an error occurs. The start argument is required if compare is specified.
string1Required. String expression being searched.
string2Required. String expression sought.
compareOptional. Specifies the type of string comparison. If compare is Null, an error occurs. If compare is omitted, the Option Compare setting determines the type of comparison. Specify a valid LCID (LocaleID) to use locale-specific rules in the comparison.
Example
Example
This example uses the InStr function to return the position of the first occurrence of one string within another.
Dim SearchString, SearchChar, MyPos
SearchString ="XXpXXpXXPXXP" ' String to search in.
SearchChar = "P" ' Search for "P".
' A textual comparison starting at position 4. Returns 6.
MyPos = Instr(4, SearchString, SearchChar, 1)
' A binary comparison starting at position 1. Returns 9.
MyPos = Instr(1, SearchString, SearchChar, 0)
' Comparison is binary by default (last argument is omitted).
MyPos = Instr(SearchString, SearchChar) ' Returns 9.
MyPos = Instr(1, SearchString, "W") ' Returns 0.
This example uses the InStr function to return the position of the first occurrence of one string within another.
Dim SearchString, SearchChar, MyPos
SearchString ="XXpXXpXXPXXP" ' String to search in.
SearchChar = "P" ' Search for "P".
' A textual comparison starting at position 4. Returns 6.
MyPos = Instr(4, SearchString, SearchChar, 1)
' A binary comparison starting at position 1. Returns 9.
MyPos = Instr(1, SearchString, SearchChar, 0)
' Comparison is binary by default (last argument is omitted).
MyPos = Instr(SearchString, SearchChar) ' Returns 9.
MyPos = Instr(1, SearchString, "W") ' Returns 0.