Replace Function (Visual Basic)

Article
11/18/2006

Returns a string in which a specified substring has been replaced with another substring a specified number of times.

Public Function Replace(
   ByVal Expression As String,
   ByVal Find As String,
   ByVal Replacement As String,
   Optional ByVal Start As Integer = 1,
   Optional ByVal Count As Integer = -1,
   Optional ByVal Compare As CompareMethod = CompareMethod.Binary
) As String

Parameters

Expression
Required. String expression containing substring to replace.

Find
Required. Substring being searched for.

Replacement
Required. Replacement substring.

Start
Optional. Position within Expression where substring search is to begin. If omitted, 1 is assumed.

Count
Optional. Number of substring substitutions to perform. If omitted, the default value is –1, which means "make all possible substitutions."

Compare
Optional. Numeric value indicating the kind of comparison to use when evaluating substrings. See Settings for values.

Settings

The Compare argument can have the following values.

Constant	Description
Binary	Performs a binary comparison
Text	Performs a textual comparison

Return Value

Replace returns the following values.

If	Replace returns
Find is zero-length or Nothing	Copy of Expression
Replace is zero-length	Copy of Expression with no occurrences of Find
Expression is zero-length or Nothing, or Start is greater than length of Expression	Nothing
Count is 0	Copy of Expression

Exceptions

Exception type	Error number	Condition
ArgumentException	5	Count < -1 or Start <= 0.

See the "Error number" column if you are upgrading Visual Basic 6.0 applications that use unstructured error handling. (You can compare the error number against the Number Property (Err Object).) However, when possible, you should consider replacing such error control with Structured Exception Handling Overview for Visual Basic.

Remarks

The return value of the Replace function is a string that begins at the position specified by Start and concludes at the end of the Expression string, with the substitutions made as specified by the Find and Replace values.

Example

This example demonstrates the Replace function.

Dim TestString As String = "Shopping List"
' Returns "Shipping List".
Dim aString As String = Replace(TestString, "o", "i")

Requirements

Namespace: Microsoft.VisualBasic

Module: Strings

Assembly: Visual Basic Runtime Library (in Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll)

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