“Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.” – Pablo Picasso.

 
 
This post provides a complete guide to using the VBA Sub. I also cover VBA functions which are very similar to Subs.

If you want some quick information about creating a VBA Sub, Function, passing parameters, return values etc. then check out the quick guide below.

If you want to understand all about the VBA Sub, you can read through the post from start to finish or you can check out the table of contents below.

 
 

Quick Guide to the VBA Sub

Sub	Example
Sub Cannot return a value.
Function Can return a value or object. Can run as Worksheet function.
Create a sub	Sub CreateReport() End Sub
Create a function	Function GetTotal() As Long End Function
Create a sub with parameters	Sub CreateReport(ByVal Price As Double) Sub CreateReport(ByVal Name As String)
Create a function with parameters	Function GetTotal(Price As Double) Function GetTotal(Name As String)
Call a sub	Call CreateReport ' Or CreateReport
Call a function	Call CalcPrice ' Or CalcPrice
Call a sub with parameters	Call CreateReport(12.99) CreateReport 12.99
Call a function with parameters	Call CalcPrice(12.99) CalcPrice 12.99
Call a function and retrieve value (cannot use Call keyword for this)	Price = CalcPrice
Call a function and retrieve object	Set coll = GetCollection
Call a function with params and retrieve value/object	Price = CalcPrice(12) Set coll = GetCollection("Apples")
Return a value from Function	Function GetTotal() As Long     GetTotal = 67 End Function
Return an object from a function	Function GetCollection() As Collection     Dim coll As New Collection     Set GetCollection = coll End Function
Exit a sub	If IsError(Range("A1")) Then      Exit Sub End If
Exit a function	If IsError(Range("A1")) Then      Exit Function End If
Private Sub/Private Function (available to current module)	Private Sub CreateReport()
Public Sub/Public Function (available to entire project)	Public Sub CreateReport()

 
 

Introduction

The VBA Sub is an essential component of the VBA language. You can also create functions which are very similar to subs. They are both procedures where you write your code. However, there are differences and these are important to understand. In this post I am going to look at subs and functions in detail and answer the vital questions including:

• What is the difference between them?
• When do I use a sub and when do I use a function?
• How do you run them?
• Can I return values?
• How do I pass parameters to them?
• What are optional parameters?
• and much more

 
 
Let’s start by looking at what is the VBA sub?

 
 

What is a Sub?

In Excel VBA a sub and a macro are essentially the same thing. This often leads to confusion so it is a good idea to remember it. For the rest of this post I will refer to them as subs.

A sub/macro is where you place your lines of VBA code. When you run a sub, all the lines of code it contains are executed. That means that VBA carries out their instructions.

 
 
The following is an example of an empty sub

Sub WriteValues()

End Sub

 
 
You declare the sub by using the Sub keyword and the name you wish to give the sub. When you give it a name keep the following in mind:

• The name must begin with a letter and cannot contain spaces.
• The name must be unique in the current workbook.
• The name cannot be a reserved word in VBA.

 
 
The end of the Sub is marked by the line End Sub.

 
 
When you create your Sub you can add some code like the following example shows:

Sub WriteValues()
    Range("A1") = 6
End Sub

 
 

What is a Function?

A Function is very similar to a sub. The major difference is that a function can return a value – a sub cannot. There are other differences which we will look at but this is the main one.

You normally create a function when you want to return a value.

 
 
Creating a function is similar to creating a sub

Function PerformCalc()

End Function

 
 
It is optional to add a return type to a function. If you don’t add the type then it is a Variant type by default. This means that VBA will decide the type at runtime.

 
 
The next example shows you how to specify the return type

Function PerformCalc() As Long

End Function

 
 
You can see it is simple how you declare a variable. You can return any type you can declare as a variable including objects and collections.

 
 

A Quick Comparison

Sub:

1. Cannot return a value.
2. Can be called from VBA\Button\Event etc.

Function

1. Can return a value but doesn’t have to.
2. Can be called it from VBA\Button\Event etc. but it won’t appear in the list of Macros. You must type it in.
3. If the function is public, will appear in the worksheet function list for the current workbook.

 
Note 1: You can use “Option Private Module” to hide subs in the current module. This means that subs won’t be visible to other projects and applications. They also won’t appear in a list of subs when you bring up the Macro window on the developer tab.

Note 2:We can use the word procedure to refer to a function or sub
 
 

Calling a Sub or Function

When people are new to VBA they tend to put all the code in one sub. This is not a good way to write your code.

It is better to break your code into multiple procedures. We can run one procedure from another.

Here is an example:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Main()
    
    ' call each sub to perform a task
    CopyData
    
    AddFormulas
    
    FormatData

End Sub

Sub CopyData()
    ' Add code here
End Sub

Sub AddFormulas()
    ' Add code here
End Sub

Sub FormatData()
    ' Add code here
End Sub

 
 
You can see that in the Main sub, we have added the name of three subs. When VBA reaches a line containing a procedure name, it will run the code in this procedure.

We refer to this as calling a procedure e.g. We are calling the CopyData sub from the Main sub.

There is actually a Call keyword in VBA. We can use it like this:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Main()
    
    ' call each sub to perform a task
    Call CopyData
    
    Call AddFormulas
    
    Call FormatData

End Sub

 
 
Using the Call keyword is optional. There is no real need to use it unless you are new to VBA and you feel it makes your code more readable.

If you are passing arguments using Call then you must use parentheses around them.

For example:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Main()
    
    ' If call is not used then no parentheses
    AddValues 2, 4
    
    ' call requires parentheses for arguments
    Call AddValues(2, 4)
End Sub

Sub AddValues(x As Long, y As Long)

End Sub

 
 

How to Return Values From a Function

To return a value from a function you assign the value to the name of the Function. The following example demonstrates this:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Function GetAmount() As Long
    ' Returns 55
    GetAmount = 55
End Function

Function GetName() As String
    ' Returns John
    GetName = "John"
End Function

 
 
When you return a value from a function you will obviously need to receive it in the function/sub that called it. You do this by assigning the function call to a variable. The following example shows this:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub WriteValues()
    Dim Amount As Long
    ' Get value from GetAmount function
    Amount = GetAmount
End Sub

Function GetAmount() As Long
    GetAmount = 55
End Function

 
 
You can easily test your return value using by using the Debug.Print function. This will write values to the Immediate Window (View->Immediate window from the menu or press Ctrl + G).

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub WriteValues()
    ' Print return value to Immediate Window
    Debug.Print GetAmount
End Sub

Function GetAmount() As Long
    GetAmount = 55
End Function

 
 

Using Parameters and Arguments

We use parameters so that we can pass values from one sub/function to another.

The terms parameters and arguments are often confused:

• A parameter is the variable in the sub/function declaration.
• An argument is the value that you pass to the parameter.

 

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub UsingArgs()

    ' The argument is 56
    CalcValue 56
    
    ' The argument is 34
    CalcValue 34

End Sub

' The parameter is amount
Sub CalcValue(ByVal amount As Long)

End Sub

 
 

Here are some important points about parameters:

• We can have multiple parameters.
• A parameter is passed using either ByRef or ByVal. The default is ByRef.
• We can make a parameter optional for the user.
• We cannot use the New keyword in a parameter declaration.
• If no variable type is used then the parameter will be a variant by default.

 
 

The Format of Parameters

Subs and function use parameters in the same way.

The format of the parameter statement is as follows:

' All variables except arrays
[ByRef/ByVal]  As [Variable Type]

' Optional parameter - can only be a basic type
[Optional] [ByRef/ByVal] [Variable name] As <[Variable Type] = 

' Arrays
[ByRef][array name]() As [Variable Type]

 
 

Here are some examples of the declaring different types of parameters:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
' Basic types

Sub UseParams1(count As Long)
End Sub

Sub UseParams2(name As String)
End Sub

Sub UseParams3(amount As Currency)
End Sub

' Collection
Sub UseParamsColl(coll As Collection)
End Sub

' Class module object
Sub UseParamsClass(o As Class1)
End Sub

' Variant
' If no type is give then it is automatically a variant
Sub UseParamsVariant(value)
End Sub

Sub UseParamsVariant2(value As Variant)
End Sub

Sub UseParamsArray(arr() As String)
End Sub

 
 

You can see that declaring parameters looks similar to using the Dim statement to declare variables.

 
 

Multiple Parameters

We can use multiple parameters in our sub/functions. This can make the line very long

Sub LongLine(ByVal count As Long, Optional amount As Currency = 56.77, Optional name As String = "John")

 
 

We can split up a line of code using the underscore (_) character. This makes our code more readable

Sub LongLine(ByVal count As Long _
            , Optional amount As Currency = 56.77 _
            , Optional name As String = "John")

 
 

Parameters With a Return Value

This error causes a lot of frustration with new users of VBA.

If you are returning a value from a function then it must have parentheses around the arguments.

The code below will give the “Expected: end of statement” syntax error.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub UseFunction()
    
    Dim result As Long
    
    result = GetValue 24.99
    
End Sub


Function GetValue(amount As Currency) As Long
    GetValue = amount * 100
End Function

 
 

 
 
We have to write it like this

result = GetValue (24.99)

 
 

ByRef and ByVal

Every parameter is either ByRef or ByVal. If no type is specified then it is ByRef by default

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
' Pass by value
Sub WriteValue1(ByVal x As Long)

End Sub

' Pass by reference
Sub WriteValue2(ByRef x As Long)

End Sub

' No type used so it is ByRef
Sub WriteValue3(x As Long)

End Sub

 
 
If you don’t specify the type then ByRef is the type as you can see in the third sub of the example.

The different between these types is:

ByVal – Creates a copy of the variable you pass.
This means if you change the value of the parameter it will not be changed when you return to the calling sub/function

ByRef – Creates a reference of the variable you pass.
This means if you change the value of the parameter variable it will be changed when you return to the calling sub/function.

 
 
The following code example shows this:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Test()

    Dim x As Long

    ' Pass by value - x will not change
    x = 1
    Debug.Print "x before ByVal is"; x
    SubByVal x
    Debug.Print "x after ByVal is"; x

    ' Pass by reference - x will change
    x = 1
    Debug.Print "x before ByRef is"; x
    SubByRef x
    Debug.Print "x after ByRef is"; x

End Sub

Sub SubByVal(ByVal x As Long)
    ' x WILL NOT change outside as passed ByVal
    x = 99
End Sub

Sub SubByRef(ByRef x As Long)
    ' x WILL change outside as passed ByRef
    x = 99
End Sub

 
 
The result of this is:
x before ByVal is 1
x after ByVal is 1
x before ByRef is 1
x after ByRef is 99

 
 
You should avoid passing basic variable types using ByRef. There are two main reasons for this:

1. The person passing a value may not expect it to change and this can lead to bugs that are difficult to detect.
2. Using parentheses when calling prevents ByRef working – see next sub section

 
 

A Little-Known Pitfall of ByRef

There is one thing you must be careful of when using ByRef with parameters. If you use parentheses then the sub/function cannot change the variable you pass even if it is passed as ByRef. 

In the following example, we call the sub first without parentheses and then with parentheses. This causes the code to behave differently.

 
 
For example

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Test()

    Dim x As Long

    ' Call using without Parentheses - x will change
    x = 1
    Debug.Print "x before (no parentheses): "; x
    SubByRef x
    Debug.Print "x after (no parentheses): "; x

    ' Call using with Parentheses - x will not change
    x = 1
    Debug.Print "x before (with parentheses): "; x
    SubByRef (x)
    Debug.Print "x after (with parentheses): "; x

End Sub

Sub SubByRef(ByRef x As Long)
    x = 99
End Sub

 
 
If you change the sub in the above example to a function, you will see the same behaviour occurs.

However, if you return a value from the function then ByRef will work as normal as the code below shows:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub TestFunc()

    Dim x As Long, ret As Long

    ' Call using with Parentheses - x will not change
    x = 1
    Debug.Print "x before (with parentheses): "; x
    FuncByRef (x)
    Debug.Print "x after (with parentheses): "; x
    
    ' Call using with Parentheses and return - x will change
    x = 1
    Debug.Print "x before (with parentheses): "; x
    ret = FuncByRef(x)
    Debug.Print "x after (with parentheses): "; x


End Sub

Function FuncByRef(ByRef x As Long)
    x = 99
End Function

 
 

As I said in the last section you should avoid passing a variable using ByRef and instead use ByVal.

This means

1. The variable you pass will not be accidentally changed.
2. Using parentheses will not affect the behaviour.

 
 

ByRef and ByVal with Objects

When we use ByRef or ByVal with an object, it only affects the variable. It does not affect the actual object.

If we look at the example below:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub UseObject()
    
    Dim coll As New Collection
    coll.Add "Apple"
    
    ' After this coll with still reference the original
    CollByVal coll
    
    
    ' After this coll with reference the new collection
    CollByRef coll
    
End Sub

Sub CollByVal(ByVal coll As Collection)
    
    ' Original coll will still reference the original
    Set coll = New Collection
    coll.Add "ByVal"

End Sub

Sub CollByRef(ByRef coll As Collection)
    
    ' Original coll will reference the new collection
    Set coll = New Collection
    coll.Add "ByRef"

End Sub

 
 

When we pass the coll variable using ByVal, a copy of the variable is created. We can assign anything to this variable and it will not affect the original one.

When we pass the coll variable using ByRef, we are using the original variable. If we assign something else to this variable then the original variable will also be assigned to something else.

You can see find out more about this here.

 
 

Optional Parameters

Sometimes we have a parameter that will often be the same value each time the code runs. We can make this parameter Optional which means that we give it a default value.

It is then optional for the caller to provide an argument. If they don’t provide a value then the default value is used.

In the example below, we have the report name as the optional parameter:

Sub CreateReport(Optional reportName As String = "Daily Report")

End Sub

 
 
If an argument is not provided then name will contain the “Daily Report” text

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Main()
    
    ' Name will be "Daily Report"
    CreateReport
    
    ' Name will be "Weekly Report"
    CreateReport "Weekly Report"

End Sub

 
 

The Optional parameter cannot come before a normal parameter. If you do this you will get an Expected: Optional error.

 
 
When a sub/function has optional parameters they will be displayed in square parentheses by the Intellisense.

In the screenshot below you can see that the name parameter is in square parentheses.

 

A sub/function can have multiple optional parameters. You may want to provide arguments to only some of the parameters.

There are two ways to do this:
If you don’t want to provide an argument then leave it blank.

A better way is to use the parameter name and the “:=” operator to specify the parameter and its’ value.

The examples below show both methods:

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub Multi(marks As Long _
            , Optional count As Long = 1 _
            , Optional amount As Currency = 99.99 _
            , Optional version As String = "A")
            
    Debug.Print marks, count, amount, version
    
End Sub


Sub UseBlanks()

    ' marks and count
    Multi 6, 5
    
    ' marks and amount
    Multi 6, , 89.99
    
    ' marks and version
    Multi 6, , , "B"
    
    ' marks,count and version
    Multi 6, , , "F"

End Sub

Sub UseName()

    ' marks and count
    Multi 12, count:=5
    
    ' marks and amount
    Multi 12, amount:=89.99
    
    ' marks and version
    Multi 12, version:="B"
    
    ' marks,count and version
    Multi 12, count:=6, version:="F"

End Sub

 
 
Using the name of the parameter is the best way. It makes the code more readable and it means you won’t have error by mistakenly adding extra commas.

wk.SaveAs "C:\Docs\data.xlsx", , , , , , xlShared
    
wk.SaveAs "C:\Docs\data.xlsx", AccessMode:=xlShared

 
 

IsMissing Function

We can use the IsMissing function to check if an Optional Parameter was supplied.

Normally we check against the default value but in certain cases we may not have a default.

We use IsMissing with Variant parameters because it will not work with basic types like Long and Double.

' https://excelmacromastery.com/
Sub test()
    ' Prints "Parameter not missing"
    CalcValues 6
    
    ' Prints "Parameter missing"   
    CalcValues
    
End Sub

Sub CalcValues(Optional x)

    ' Check for the parameter
    If IsMissing(x) Then
        Debug.Print "Parameter missing"
    Else
        Debug.Print "Parameter Not missing"
    End If

End Sub

 
 

Custom Function vs Worksheet Function

When you create a function it appears in the function list for that workbook.

 
 
Have a look at the function in the next example.

Public Function MyNewFunction()
    MyNewFunction = 99
End Function

 
 
If you add this to a workbook then the function will appear in the function list. Type “=My” into the function box and the function will appear as shown in the following screenshot.

 
 

If you use this function in a cell you will get the result 99 in the cell as that is what the function returns.

 
 

Conclusion

The main points of this post are:

• Subs and macros are essentially the same thing in VBA.
• Functions return values but subs do not.
• Functions appear in the workbook function list for the current workbook.
• ByRef allows the function or sub to change the original argument.
• If you call a function sub with parentheses then ByRef will not work.
• Don’t use parentheses on sub arguments or function arguments when not returning a value.
• Use parentheses on function arguments when returning a value.

 
 

What’s Next?

Free VBA Tutorial If you are new to VBA or you want to sharpen your existing VBA skills then why not try out the The Ultimate VBA Tutorial.

Related Training: Get full access to the Excel VBA training webinars and all the tutorials.

(NOTE: Planning to build or manage a VBA Application? Learn how to build 10 Excel VBA applications from scratch.)