Apply Math to all Numerical Values Embedded in Text With VBA & Regular Expressions
What This VBA Code Does
This VBA code will use the power of Regular Expressions to parse through text and pluck all numerical values out of the text. It then allows you to manipulate these numbers (ie apply mathematical operations) and place the modified numbers back into the text.
Based on your specific needs, you may need to adjust the regular expression rule.
Search & Modify Numbers Only
Sub ModifyNumbersInText()
'PURPOSE: Add 30 to all numerical values in a given text
'SOURCE: www.TheSpreadsheetGuru.com/the-code-vault
Dim txt As String
Dim NumbersFound As String
Dim NumberArray As Variant
txt = "I want 50 peaches and 25 walnuts"
'Use Regular Expressions to pull out numbers
Set objRegEx = CreateObject("VBScript.RegExp")
objRegEx.IgnoreCase = True
objRegEx.Global = True
objRegEx.Pattern = "\d+" 'grab one or more digits
If objRegEx.Test(txt) Then
Set Result = objRegEx.Execute(txt)
If Result.Count > 0 Then
For Each Match In Result
NumbersFound = NumbersFound & ";" & Match.Value
Next Match
End If
End If
'Create Array out of Numbers Found
NumbersFound = Right(NumbersFound, Len(NumbersFound) - 1)
NumberArray = Split(NumbersFound, ";")
'Find/Replace (add 30)
For x = LBound(NumberArray) To UBound(NumberArray)
txt = Replace(txt, NumberArray(x), NumberArray(x) + 30)
Next x
'Output result
MsgBox txt
End SubHandle Numbers with Commas (ie “1,000”)
Sub ModifyNumbersInText()
'PURPOSE: Divide all numbers in text by 1,000 (handles commas within numbers)
'SOURCE: www.TheSpreadsheetGuru.com/the-code-vault
Dim txt As String
Dim NumbersFound As String
Dim orgNumberArray As Variant
Dim newNumberArray As Variant
txt = "I want 1,000 peaches and 25,000 walnuts"
'Use Regular Expressions to pull out numbers
Set objRegEx = CreateObject("VBScript.RegExp")
objRegEx.IgnoreCase = True
objRegEx.Global = True
objRegEx.Pattern = "(?:^|\s)((?:\d*\.)?\d+|\d{1,3}(?:,\d{3})*(?:\.\d+)?)(?!\S)" 'grab one or more digits
If objRegEx.Test(txt) Then
Set Result = objRegEx.Execute(txt)
If Result.Count > 0 Then
For Each Match In Result
NumbersFound = NumbersFound & ";" & Match.Value
Next Match
End If
End If
'Create Array out of Numbers Found
NumbersFound = Right(NumbersFound, Len(NumbersFound) - 1)
orgNumberArray = Split(NumbersFound, ";")
'Remove Commas and Create Array
NumbersFound = Replace(NumbersFound, ",", "")
newNumberArray = Split(NumbersFound, ";")
'Find/Replace
For x = LBound(orgNumberArray) To UBound(orgNumberArray)
txt = Replace(txt, Trim(orgNumberArray(x)), Trim(newNumberArray(x)) / 100 & "K")
Next x
'Output result
MsgBox txt
End SubUsing VBA Code Found On The Internet
Now that you’ve found some VBA code that could potentially solve your Excel automation problem, what do you do with it? If you don’t necessarily want to learn how to code VBA and are just looking for the fastest way to implement this code into your spreadsheet, I wrote an article (with video) that explains how to get the VBA code you’ve found running on your spreadsheet.
Getting Started Automating Excel
Are you new to VBA and not sure where to begin? Check out my quickstart guide to learning VBA. This article won’t overwhelm you with fancy coding jargon, as it provides you with a simplistic and straightforward approach to the basic things I wish I knew when trying to teach myself how to automate tasks in Excel with VBA Macros.
Also, if you haven’t checked out Excel’s latest automation feature called Power Query, I have put together a beginner’s guide for automating with Excel’s Power Query feature as well! This little-known built-in Excel feature allows you to merge and clean data automatically with little to no coding!
How Do I Modify This To Fit My Specific Needs?
Chances are this post did not give you the exact answer you were looking for. We all have different situations and it’s impossible to account for every particular need one might have. That’s why I want to share with you: My Guide to Getting the Solution to your Problems FAST! In this article, I explain the best strategies I have come up with over the years to get quick answers to complex problems in Excel, PowerPoint, VBA, you name it!
I highly recommend that you check this guide out before asking me or anyone else in the comments section to solve your specific problem. I can guarantee that 9 times out of 10, one of my strategies will get you the answer(s) you are needing faster than it will take me to get back to you with a possible solution. I try my best to help everyone out, but sometimes I don’t have time to fit everyone’s questions in (there never seem to be quite enough hours in the day!).
I wish you the best of luck and I hope this tutorial gets you heading in the right direction!
After 10+ years of creating macros and developing add-ins, I've compiled all the hacks I wish I had known years ago!
Keep Learning
Chris Newman
Chris is a finance professional and Excel MVP recognized by Microsoft since 2016. With his expertise, he founded TheSpreadsheetGuru blog to help fellow Excel users, where he shares his vast creative solutions & expertise. In addition, he has developed over 7 widely-used Excel Add-ins that have been embraced by individuals and companies worldwide.