VAL( )

Topic group Related topics

Returns the number at the beginning of a character string.

Syntax

VAL(<expC>)

<expC>

The character expression that contains the number.

Description

Use VAL( ) to convert a string that contains a number into an actual number. Once you convert a string to a number, you can perform arithmetic operations with it.

If the character string you specify contains both letters and numbers, VAL( ) returns the value of the entire number to the left of the first nonnumeric character. If the string contains a nonnumeric character other than a blank space in the first position, VAL( ) returns 0. For example, VAL("ABC123ABC456") returns 0, VAL("123ABC456ABC") returns 123, and VAL(" 123") also returns 123.