BUG: Compiler Error with Left Function When Devshll.dll Is Referenced

View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q276560

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Left string function in Visual Basic and your project contains a reference to Microsoft Visual C++ Shared Objects (Devshl.dll), you may receive the following compiler error message:

Wrong number of arguments or invalid property assignment

This does not occur when you use a form module, but may occur when you use a standard or class module.

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CAUSE

The compiler seems to resolve the Left function in Devshl.dll instead of in the VBA library. Because Left is a property of the Application and Window objects in Devshl.dll, you receive an error when you call Left as a function.

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RESOLUTION

Fully qualify the call to the Left function, as in the following example:

Sub foot()

    Dim s As String
    s = "skdfhshfsdlkf"
    s = VBA.Left(s, 3) 'Fully qualified
    
End Sub

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

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MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Problem

In Visual Basic version 6.0, create a new Standard EXE project. Form1 is created by default.
Add a class module to the project.

Add the following code to the class module:

Sub foot()
    Dim s As String
    s = "skdfhshfsdlkf"
    s = Left(s, 3)
End Sub

Set a reference to Visual C++ Shared Objects (Devshl.dll).
Press CTRL+F5 to start the application with full compile. You receive the error message listed in the "Symptoms" section.

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