Error When You Concatenate String and Numeric Values

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View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q154873

SYMPTOMS

When you concatenate (join) several pieces of information together in a Microsoft Excel macro, the following error message may appear:

Run-time Error '13':
Type mismatch

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CAUSE

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

You use the plus sign, instead of the ampersand (&), as the concatenation operator in a macro.

-and-
You concatenate a text string and a numeric value.

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Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language that is being demonstrated and with the tools that are used to create and to debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific requirements. To work around this problem, use either of the following methods.

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Method 1: Use the Ampersand Operator Instead of the Plus Sign

   Sub Concatenate()

      Dim part1 ' Declare variable.
      Dim part2 ' Declare variable.
      part1 = "abc"
      part2 = 123
      MsgBox part1 & part2

   End Sub

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Method 2: Assign the Numeric Variable to a String Value

   Sub Concatenate()

      Dim part1 ' Declare variable.
      Dim part2 ' Declare variable.
      part1 = "abc"
      part2 = "123"
      MsgBox part1 + part2

   End Sub

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

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MORE INFORMATION

Use the ampersand operator to connect or concatenate two or more values to produce one text value. Use the plus operator to perform addition on two or more numeric values. Although you can use the plus sign for concatenation, using the ampersand eliminates ambiguity.

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REFERENCES

Microsoft Excel 97

For more information about concatenation, click the Office Assistant, type "concatenating," click Search, and then click to view "Calculation operators in formulas."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If Microsoft Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

120802 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/120802/EN-US/ ) Office: How to Add/Remove a Single Office Program or Component

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Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

179216 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/179216/EN-US/ ) OFF98: How to Use the Microsoft Office Installer Program

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Excel 7.0

For more information about concatenation operators in Microsoft Excel version 7.0, click Answer Wizard on the Help menu and type:

concatenation operators

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Excel 5.0

For more information about concatenation operators in Microsoft Excel version 5.0, click the Search button in Help and type:

concatenation

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APPLIES TO

Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition
Microsoft Excel 95 Standard Edition
Microsoft Excel 5.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft Excel 98 for Macintosh

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kbbug kberrmsg kbpending KB154873

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Retired KB Content Disclaimer

This article was written about products for which Microsoft no longer offers support. Therefore, this article is offered "as is" and will no longer be updated.

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