Abs (function)

Syntax Abs (expression)
Description Returns the absolute value of expression.
Comments If expression is Null , then Null is returned. Empty is treated as 0 . The type of the result is the same as that of expression, with the following exceptions:
  • If expression is an Integer that overflows its legal range, then the result is returned as a Long . This only occurs with the largest negative Integer :
    Dim a As Variant
    Dim i As Integer
    i = -32768
    a = Abs(i)      'Result is a Long.
    i = Abs(i)      'Overflow!
  • If expression is a Long that overflows its legal range, then the result is returned as a Double . This only occurs with the largest negative Long :
    Dim a As Variant
    Dim l As Long
    l = -2147483648
    a = Abs(l)      'Result is a Double.
    l = Abs(l)      'Overflow!
  • If expression is a Currency value that overflows its legal range, an overflow error is generated.
Example This example assigns absolute values to variables of four types and displays the result. 
Sub Main()
  s1% = Abs(-10.55)
  s2& = Abs(-10.55)
  s3! = Abs(-10.55)
  s4# = Abs(-10.55)
  MsgBox "The absolute values are: " & s1% & "," & s2& & "," & s3! & "," & s4#
End Sub
See Also Sgn (function).