KB171488 - FIX: Val Function Recognizes System Decimal Symbol

Article ID: 171488

Article Last Modified on 11/18/2003

Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 Learning Edition
Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 Professional Edition
Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 Enterprise Edition

This article was previously published under Q171488

SYMPTOMS

In Visual Basic 5.0, the Val function recognizes the system Decimal Symbol when converting numbers contained in a string as a numeric value. This behavior is contrary to earlier versions of Visual Basic and to the Visual Basic 5.0 Documentation.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This bug has been fixed in Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 2.

For more information on the Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 2, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

170365 INFO: Visual Studio 97 Service Packs - What, Where, and Why

For a list of the Visual Basic 5.0 bugs that were fixed in the Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 2, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

171554 INFO: Visual Basic 5.0 Fixes in Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 2

MORE INFORMATION

The Help topic for the Val function states the following:

The Val function recognizes only the period (.) as a valid decimal separator. When different decimal separators can be used, for example, in international applications, use CDbl instead to convert a string to a number.

When the system Decimal separator is a period (.), the Val function returns the expected results:

                        Returns...
                        ----------
   Val("1.2")             1.2
   Val("1,2")             1

However, with Microsoft Visual Basic version 5.0, when the system Decimal separator is a symbol other than a period (.), the Val function will recognize the system Decimal separator instead of the period (.) as documented. The following table illustrates the results of the Val function when the Decimal separator is set to a comma (,):

                        Returns...     But Should Return...
                        ----------     --------------------
   Val("1.2")             1            1,2
   Val("1,2")             1,2          1

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

In the Regional Settings section of the Windows Control Panel, set the Decimal Symbol to a comma (,).
Start a new "Standard EXE" project in Visual Basic.

Add the following code to the Load event of Form1.

       Debug.Print Val("1.2")
       Debug.Print Val("1,2")

Press the F5 key to run the project.
The Immediate Window shows the following.
```
      1
      1,2
						
```

The expected results are:

      1,2
      1

Additional query words: intl

Keywords: kbbug kbfix kbvbp500sp2fix kbvs97sp2fix KB171488