LBound Function

This page is specific to the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) Language Reference for Office 2010.

Returns a Long containing the smallest available subscript for the indicated dimension of an array.

Syntax

LBound(arrayname[, dimension])

The LBound function syntax has these parts:

Part	Description
arrayname	Required. Name of the array variable; follows standard variable naming conventions.
dimension	Optional; Variant (Long). Whole number indicating which dimension's lower bound is returned. Use 1 for the first dimension, 2 for the second, and so on. If dimension is omitted, 1 is assumed.

Remarks

The LBound function is used with the UBound function to determine the size of an array. Use the UBound function to find the upper limit of an array dimension.

LBound returns the values in the following table for an array with the following dimensions:

Statement	Return Value
LBound(A, 1)	1
LBound(A, 2)	0
LBound(A, 3)	-3

The default lower bound for any dimension is either 0 or 1, depending on the setting of the Option Base statement. The base of an array created with the Array function is zero; it is unaffected by Option Base.

Arrays for which dimensions are set using the To clause in a Dim, Private, Public, ReDim, or Static statement can have any integer value as a lower bound.

Example

This example uses the LBound function to determine the smallest available subscript for the indicated dimension of an array. Use the Option Base statement to override the default base array subscript value of 0.

Dim Lower
Dim MyArray(1 To 10, 5 To 15, 10 To 20)     ' Declare array variables.
Dim AnyArray(10)
Lower = Lbound(MyArray, 1)     ' Returns 1.
Lower = Lbound(MyArray, 3)    ' Returns 10.
Lower = Lbound(AnyArray)    ' Returns 0 or 1, depending on
    ' setting of Option Base.