Excel VBA get complete textbox value

Question

I am new to VBA. I have a textbox that is being populated by bar code scanner using Excel. There are different values on the form, for example:

608001F
608001
001IN

I need to check if the code contains 'F' and then do a certain action, otherwise do another action. I do this on Textbox_Change() function, which is causing the 608001 code to be triggered first. How can I make it trigger the code with the 'F' in it first?

My code looks like this (edited for brevity, so excuse if any syntax errors):

Private Sub TextBox1_Change()
Value = TextBox1.Value
If Value <> "" Then
    If (Len(Value) = 7 And Right(Value, 1) = "F") Then
        ActiveCell.Value = Value
        ActiveSheet.Cells(ActiveCell.Row + 1, 1).Select
        TextBox1.Value = ""
        TextBox1.Activate
    ElseIf (Len(Value) = 6 Or (Len(Value) = 5 And (Right(Value, 2) = "IN" Or Right(Value, 2) = "EM"))) Then
        ActiveCell.Value = Value
        Selection.Offset(0, 1).Select
        TextBox1.Value = ""
        TextBox1.Activate
    Else
        'Do nothing
    End If
End Sub

EDIT

I decided to clarify what is happening better. When using the _Change() function, the condition when I reach character 6 is fulfilled first, meaning the the code is seen as 608001 instead of 608001F as should be the case.

Answer 1

Something like this perhaps then? EDITED after better understanding the problem (see reply comments below):

Private m_previousBarcodeString As String
Private m_isFirstBarcodeEntered As Boolean

Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
    m_isFirstBarcodeEntered = True

    ' Some test data only. You don't need to use the rest of this
    ' method code below as you have a barcode scanner.
    Dim barcodesArray(2) As String
    barcodesArray(0) = "608001F"
    barcodesArray(1) = "608001"
    barcodesArray(2) = "001IN"

    Dim barcodeIndex As Integer
    Dim barcodeCount As Long
    Dim charIndex As Integer
    Dim charCount As Integer
    barcodeCount = UBound(barcodesArray)

    For barcodeIndex = 0 To barcodeCount
        charCount = Len(barcodesArray(barcodeIndex))

        For charIndex = 1 To charCount
            TextBox1.Text = TextBox1.Text & Mid(barcodesArray(barcodeIndex), charIndex, 1)
        Next charIndex

        TextBox1.Text = ""
    Next barcodeIndex
End Sub

Private Sub TextBox1_Change()
    If (m_isFirstBarcodeEntered = True) Then
        m_isFirstBarcodeEntered = False
    Else
        If Len(TextBox1.Text) = 0 Then
            MsgBox "Was '" & m_previousBarcodeString & "' ending in 'F'?: " & _
            UCase(isValidBarcode(m_previousBarcodeString))
        Else
            m_previousBarcodeString = TextBox1.Text
        End If
    End If
End Sub

Private Function isValidBarcode(ByVal singleBarcodesString As String) As Boolean
    isValidBarcode = False

    If Len(singleBarcodesString) = 7 Then
        If UCase(Right(singleBarcodesString, 1)) = "F" Then
            isValidBarcode = True
        End If
    End If
End Function

Answer 2

After clarifying with OP, the problem is this:

• The string is not typed by the user manually, but by a code scanner which "works as a person" typing letter by letter;
• The inserted string might trigger a wrong part of the code without being still finished.

A possible solution coming to my mind is a timer which is waiting for the code scanner to write the code into the box, then running the code. Basically:

Declare a global variable

... to remember if the countdown has started yet or not.

Dim started As Boolean

Write your code into another macro

... add the standard code to a macro which is not related to a Change event:

Private Sub TextBox1_Change_Personal() '<-- not triggered if TextBox1 is changed!
Value = TextBox1.Value
If Value <> "" Then
    If (Len(Value) = 7 And Right(Value, 1) = "F") Then
        ActiveCell.Value = Value
        ActiveSheet.Cells(ActiveCell.Row + 1, 1).Select
        TextBox1.Value = ""
        TextBox1.Activate
    ElseIf (Len(Value) = 6 Or (Len(Value) = 5 And (Right(Value, 2) = "IN" Or Right(Value, 2) = "EM"))) Then
        ActiveCell.Value = Value
        Selection.Offset(0, 1).Select
        TextBox1.Value = ""
        TextBox1.Activate
    Else
        'Do nothing
    End If
    started = False '<-- reset control variable for next code
End Sub

Activate the macro after 3 seconds

... when the code scanner will start writing into the textbox, you "activate a countdown" (basically, you schedule your personal macro to start in 3 seconds). So, before the 3 seconds run, the code scanner will have finished to write the code and you don't fall into the same mistake.

Private Sub TextBox1_Change()
    If started = False Then
        Application.OnTime TimeSerial(Hour(Now()), Minute(Now()),Second(Now())+3), "TextBox1_Change_Personal"
        started = True '<-- deactivating control variable to avoid re-scheduling each time
    End If
End Sub

Of course, the 3 seconds are a mock value; your code scanner might be much faster in writing the value into the box (in that case, decrease to 1 second for example) or slower (in that case, increase to 5 seconds for example).

Final (should work) code

Dim started As Boolean
Private Sub TextBox1_Change()
    If started = False Then
        Application.OnTime TimeSerial(Hour(Now()), Minute(Now()),Second(Now())+3), "TextBox1_Change_Personal"
        started = True '<-- deactivating control variable to avoid re-scheduling each time
    End If
End Sub
Private Sub TextBox1_Change_Personal() '<-- not triggered if TextBox1 is changed!
    Value = TextBox1.Value
    If Value <> "" Then
        If (Len(Value) = 7 And Right(Value, 1) = "F") Then
            ActiveCell.Value = Value
            ActiveSheet.Cells(ActiveCell.Row + 1, 1).Select
            TextBox1.Value = ""
            TextBox1.Activate
        ElseIf (Len(Value) = 6 Or (Len(Value) = 5 And (Right(Value, 2) = "IN" Or Right(Value, 2) = "EM"))) Then
            ActiveCell.Value = Value
            Selection.Offset(0, 1).Select
            TextBox1.Value = ""
            TextBox1.Activate
        Else
            'Do nothing
        End If
        started = False '<-- reset control variable for next code
    End Sub

Answer 3

If I understood your problem, it seems you don't want the Change event to be triggered until you don't give some sort of confirmation to say "I finished inserting the value".

In that case, what I might suggest is to write the code using a " " separator (i.e. until you don't press SpaceBar to confirm the successful insertion, nothing happens). In order to reach this, all you need is adding two new lines of code (see edit below):

Private Sub TextBox1_Change()
Value = TextBox1.Value
If Value <> "" Then
If Right(Value,1) = " " Then '<-- new line
    If (Len(Value) = 7 And Right(Value, 1) = "F") Then
        ActiveCell.Value = Value
        ActiveSheet.Cells(ActiveCell.Row + 1, 1).Select
        TextBox1.Value = ""
        TextBox1.Activate
    ElseIf (Len(Value) = 6 Or (Len(Value) = 5 And (Right(Value, 2) = "IN" Or Right(Value, 2) = "EM"))) Then
        ActiveCell.Value = Value
        Selection.Offset(0, 1).Select
        TextBox1.Value = ""
        TextBox1.Activate
    Else
        'Do nothing
    End If
 End If '<-- new line
 End If
End Sub

Like that, your code will work like this:

1) You write 608001...

Before: The Len() = 6 condition was triggered so you didn't have the time to eventually type the F in;

Now: waiting for user confirmation

2) You write 608001F...

Before: The Len() = 7 would have been triggered, but you didn't have the time to type the last char F;

Now: waiting for user confirmation

3) Press SpaceBar --> the code starts running and you will not confuse the 6 char string with the 7 char string any longer. Please note that pressing the SpaceBar means "I'm submitting my barcode". Which means, you can replace the SpaceBar character with any other of the Chr() collection (Enter, a number, a letter etc.).

Answer 4

You can use the InStr()function to find if a character exists in the string, the function returns 0 if the character doesn't exist. Then simply check if the return value is greater than 0.

This simple example should give you a clue.

Sub lookForF()

    Dim inVal As String

    inVal = Range("A4").Value

    If InStr(1, inVal, "F") > 0 Then

        'Your code here when F exists
    Else

        'Your code here for other case

    End If

End Sub

Answer 5

Is it so that the string below is all in the same, single textbox?

608001F
608001
001IN

If so, use the SPLIT() function, passing in vbcrlf in order to get an array of each barcode, each line of text & loop through them.

If you're meaning the textbox only holds one of those codes at a time and 608001 replaces 608001F, then use a private variable in order to store the previous textbox value.

Private m_earlierBarcodeVal As String

Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
    m_earlierBarcodeVal = TextBox1.Text
End Sub

Private Sub TextBox1_Change()
    MsgBox "Old value= " & m_earlierBarcodeVal & vbCrLf & _
    "New value= " & TextBox1.Text

    m_earlierBarcodeVal = TextBox1.Text
End Sub