Split Text and number IN VBA - vba

Question

I have column header which I want to split
Heading
XA 2009
WW YY 2010
XXA 2011
I Want output like
XA,
WW YY,
XXA
Earlier I was using find function in excel which was working fine
=MID("XA 2009",1,FIND(" ","XA 2009",FIND(" ","XA 2009")+1)-1)
OUTPUT AS XA,
WW YY
Now requirement has change to code in vba
I was trying to use Instr() instead of find as it is not working in VBA
Mid("XA 2009", 1, InStr(1, "XA 2009", " ", InStr(1, "XA 2009", "2")) - 1)
Now the output is XA,
WW instead of WW YY.
Can anyone suggest what I am doing wrong. I am pretty new to vba.
I Want output like
XA,
WW YY,
XXA
I am using excel 2013

Answer 1

First, see in the answer for the following SO question, the general approach and prerequisites for using Regex search in VBA:
How to use Regular Expressions (Regex) in Microsoft Excel both in-cell and loops
Now, as for your specific requirement, try the following pattern:
(\D*)\s+\d*\s+(\D*)\s+\d*\s+(\D*)\s+\d*
It will work for your precise example, but if you need the input string to be a bit more general you might need to modify the pattern.
Some explanations:
\D* will match one or more non numerical text characters ("alpha character")
\s+ will match at least one space character
\d* will match one or more numerical digits
the (parenthesis) are for grouping sets of results, so I used them to surround what you wish to extract from the input string.
If for example you know for sure that there's only one white-space character you can use:
[\s]
So the pattern might look like:
(\D*)[\s]\d*[\s](\D*)[\s]\d*[\s](\D*)[\s]\d*
Also, this is a great tool for online pattern testing:
https://regex101.com/
This is the solution for your edited requirement:
In the VBA editor, go to tools=>references, find and select the checkbox next to "Microsoft VBScript Regular Expressions 5.5", press ok
add this code to "ThisWorkbook" module:
Private Sub solution()
Dim regEx As New RegExp
Dim strPattern As String
Dim myInput As Range
Dim myOutput As Range
Set myInput = ActiveSheet.Range("A1")
Set myOutput = ActiveSheet.Range("A2")
strPattern = "(\D*)[\s]\d*[\s](\D*)[\s]\d*[\s](\D*)[\s]\d*"
strInput = myInput.Value
With regEx
.Global = True
.MultiLine = True
.IgnoreCase = False
.Pattern = strPattern
End With
If regEx.test(strInput) Then
ActiveSheet.Range("A2") = regEx.Replace(strInput, "$1, $2, $3")
End If
End Sub

Answer 2

You probably had that formula in a specific cell, right? I think the following should do:
Range("yourcell").FormulaR1C1 = "=MID("XA 2009",1,FIND(" ","XA 2009",FIND(" ","XA 2009")+1)-1)"
Just replace "yourcell" with the cell number you had the formula in. So if you had it in cell A1, for example, it should be Range("A1")