# Naming Conventions

# Variable Names

Variables hold data. Name them after what they're used for, not after their data type or scope, using a noun. If you feel compelled to number your variables (e.g. thing1, thing2, thing3), then consider using an appropriate data structure instead (e.g. an array, a Collection, or a Dictionary).

Names of variables that represent an iteratable set of values - e.g. an array, a Collection, a Dictionary, or a Range of cells, should be plural.

Some common VBA naming conventions go thus:

For procedure-level Variables:

camelCase

Public Sub ExampleNaming(ByVal inputValue As Long, ByRef inputVariable As Long)

    Dim procedureVariable As Long
    Dim someOtherVariable As String

End Sub

For module-level Variables:

PascalCase

Public GlobalVariable As Long
Private ModuleVariable As String

For Constants:

SHOUTY_SNAKE_CASE is commonly used to differentiate constants from variables:

Public Const GLOBAL_CONSTANT As String = "Project Version #1.000.000.001"
Private Const MODULE_CONSTANT As String = "Something relevant to this Module"

Public Sub SomeProcedure()

    Const PROCEDURE_CONSTANT As Long = 10

End Sub

However PascalCase names make cleaner-looking code and are just as good, given IntelliSense uses different icons for variables and constants:

IntelliSense using different icons for constant Foo and variable Bar

# Hungarian Notation

Name them after what they're used for, not after their data type or scope.

"Hungarian Notation makes it easier to see what the type of a variable is"

If you write your code such as procedures adhere to the Single Responsibility Principle (as it should), you should never be looking at a screenful of variable declarations at the top of any procedure; declare variables as close as possible to their first usage, and their data type will always be in plain sight if you declare them with an explicit type. The VBE's Ctrl+i shortcut can be used to display a variable's type in a tooltip, too.

What a variable is used for is much more useful information than its data type, especially in a language such as VBA which happily and implicitly converts a type into another as needed.

Consider iFile and strFile in this example:

Function bReadFile(ByVal strFile As String, ByRef strData As String) As Boolean
    Dim bRetVal As Boolean
    Dim iFile As Integer

    On Error GoTo CleanFail

    iFile = FreeFile
    Open strFile For Input As #iFile
    Input #iFile, strData

    bRetVal = True

CleanExit:
    Close #iFile
    bReadFile = bRetVal
    Exit Function
CleanFail:
    bRetVal = False
    Resume CleanExit
End Function

Compare to:

Function CanReadFile(ByVal path As String, ByRef outContent As String) As Boolean
    On Error GoTo CleanFail

    Dim handle As Integer
    handle = FreeFile

    Open path For Input As #handle
    Input #handle, outContent

    Dim result As Boolean
    result = True

CleanExit:
    Close #handle
    CanReadFile = result
    Exit Function
CleanFail:
    result = False
    Resume CleanExit
End Function

strData is passed ByRef in the top example, but beside the fact that we're lucky enough to see that it's explicitly passed as such, there's no indication that strData is actually returned by the function.

The bottom example names it outContent; this out prefix is what Hungarian Notation was invented for: to help clarify what a variable is used for, in this case to clearly identify it as an "out" parameter.

This is useful, because IntelliSense by itself doesn't display ByRef, even when the parameter is explicitly passed by reference:

Which leads to...

Hungarian Done Right

Hungarian Notation originally didn't have anything to do with variable types (opens new window). In fact, Hungarian Notation done right is actually useful. Consider this small example (ByVal and As Integer removed for brevety):

Public Sub Copy(iX1, iY1, iX2, iY2)
End Sub

Compare to:

Public Sub Copy(srcColumn, srcRow, dstColumn, dstRow)
End Sub

src and dst are Hungarian Notation prefixes here, and they convey useful information that cannot otherwise already be inferred from the parameter names or IntelliSense showing us the declared type.

Of course there's a better way to convey it all, using proper abstraction and real words that can be pronounced out loud and make sense - as a contrived example:

Type Coordinate
    RowIndex As Long
    ColumnIndex As Long
End Type

Sub Copy(source As Coordinate, destination As Coordinate)
End Sub

# Procedure Names

Procedures do something. Name them after what they're doing, using a verb. If accurately naming a procedure is not possible, likely the procedure is doing too many things and needs to be broken down into smaller, more specialized procedures.

Some common VBA naming conventions go thus:

For all Procedures:

PascalCase

Public Sub DoThing()

End Sub

Private Function ReturnSomeValue() As [DataType]

End Function

For event handler procedures:

ObjectName_EventName

Public Sub Workbook_Open()

End Sub

Public Sub Button1_Click()

End Sub

Event handlers are usually automatically named by the VBE; renaming them without renaming the object and/or the handled event will break the code - the code will run and compile, but the handler procedure will be orphaned and will never be executed.

Boolean Members

Consider a Boolean-returning function:

Function bReadFile(ByVal strFile As String, ByRef strData As String) As Boolean
End Function

Compare to:

Function CanReadFile(ByVal path As String, ByRef outContent As String) As Boolean
End Function

The Can prefix does serve the same purpose as the b prefix: it identifies the function's return value as a Boolean. But Can reads better than b:

If CanReadFile(path, content) Then

Compared to:

If bReadFile(strFile, strData) Then

Consider using prefixes such as Can, Is or Has in front of Boolean-returning members (functions and properties), but only when it adds value. This conforms with the current Microsoft naming guidelines (opens new window).

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