The Error function in VBA, sometimes confused with the Err object, isn’t directly relevant to error handling. Instead, the `Error` function is used to return the error message that corresponds to a given error number.
However, when you’re handling errors in VBA, you often use the `Err` object, which gives you information about runtime errors. The `Err` object has several properties and methods, including `.Number` which gives you the error code, and `.Description` which provides the error description.
If you want to use the `Error` function to get an error description based on an error number, you can do it as follows:
Sub ExampleErrorFunction()
Dim errorNumber As Long
Dim errorDescription As String
' Example error number
errorNumber = 13 ' Type Mismatch
' Get the error description associated with the error number
errorDescription = Error(errorNumber)
' Display the error description
MsgBox "The error description for error number " & errorNumber & " is: " & errorDescription
End Sub
Keep in mind that if you pass an error number to the `Error` function that does not correspond to a defined VBA error, you will get a message stating that the application or object-defined error occurred.
To handle runtime errors, you use error handling constructs like `On Error GoTo`:
Sub ExampleErrorHandling()
On Error GoTo ErrorHandler
' Your code here that might cause errors
Dim result As Variant
result = 1 / 0 ' This will cause a divide by zero error
' If there's no error, you can skip the error handling block
GoTo CleanUp
ErrorHandler:
' Display error information from the Err object
MsgBox "An error occurred: " & Err.Number & " - " & Err.Description
CleanUp:
' Any cleanup code would go here
' Resume execution or end the sub
On Error GoTo 0 ' Clear the error handling
End Sub
For serious VBA development, it’s crucial to implement structured error handling to make your macros robust and easier to maintain.