Visual Basic documentation uses the following typographic and code conventions.
| Convention | Description |
|---|---|
| Sub, If, ChDir, Print, True, Debug | Words in bold with initial letter capitalized indicate language-specific keywords. |
| Setup | Words you are instructed to type appear in bold. |
| object, varname, arglist | Italic letters indicate placeholders for information you supply. |
| [ expressionlist ] | In syntax, items inside brackets are optional. |
| { Public | Private } | In syntax, braces and a vertical bar indicate a mandatory choice between two or more items. You must choose one, and only one, of the items. |
| [ Protected | Friend ] | In syntax, a vertical bar separates alternative options. Within brackets, the alternatives are not exclusive. Within braces, the alternatives are exclusive. |
| [{ ByRef | ByVal }] | In syntax, brackets surrounding items within braces indicate that no more than one item may be included, and the items may also be omitted entirely. |
| membname1. membname2, membname3 | Subscripts differentiate multiple instances of the same placeholder. |
| membname1
... membnamen |
In syntax, ellipses indicate an indefinite number of items of the kind immediately preceding the ellipses.
In code, ellipses signify code omitted for the sake of clarity. |
| ESC, ENTER | Words in capital letters indicate key names and key sequences. |
| ALT+F1, CTRL+R | A plus sign (+) between key names indicates a combination of keys. For example, ALT+F1 means hold down the ALT key while pressing the F1 key. |
| Sample code | Description |
|---|---|
MyString = "Hello, world!" |
This font is used for code, variables, and error message text. |
' This is a comment. |
An apostrophe (') introduces code comments. |
MyVar = "This is an " _ & "example" _ & " of how to continue code." |
A space followed by an underscore ( _) at the end of line continues a line of code. |