How do you format text/strings in VBA? - vba

Question

In the code below, I take some input parameters, either text or a cell, and combine them to form one string using the formatting I need. I need to make Task_Name bold, as well as text like "Lead :". I know you cannot make text in a variable bold, but how do I go about this? This cell I'm storing the value in is eventually used in a Word mail merge.
I need to format part of a string. In the code below, I need to make Task_Name, "Lead : ", etc. all bold.
Function GENERATE_STAFFING_SECTION(Task_Name, Lead_By, Members, Instructions)
Dim tmpSection As String
If Len(Task_Name > 0) And Len(Lead_By) > 0 And Len(Members) > 0 And Len(Instructions) > 0 Then
tmpSection = vbLf _
& Task_Name _
& vbLf & "Lead : " & Lead_By _
& vbLf & "Ambassadors : " & Members _
& vbLf & "Instructions : " & Instructions _
& vbLf
Else
tmpSection = ""
End If
GENERATE_STAFFING_SECTION = tmpSection
End Function
Also, I know it's not the cleanest code, so if there are any other suggestions for improving it, they are most welcome.
Thanks!

Answer 1

You can't add anything to the string directly to make the cell have bold characters.
Once you've written the string out to the cell, you'll need to go back and reprocess the cell.
For example:
With ActiveCell.Characters(Start:=11, Length:=6).Font
.Name = "Arial"
.FontStyle = "Bold"
.Size = 10
.Strikethrough = False
.Superscript = False
.Subscript = False
.OutlineFont = False
.Shadow = False
.Underline = xlUnderlineStyleNone
.ColorIndex = xlAutomatic
End With
This snippet will set only a portion of the cell to bold.
EDIT:
This code could be used to implement the above and give you what you want.
It could be written better, but should give you an idea of what you've got to write:
Public Sub FormatOuput()
Dim i As Integer
'Format Task_name
i = InStr(1, ActiveCell.Text, vbLf)
MakeBold 1, i
'Format 'Lead'
MakeBold i + 1, 4
'Format 'Ambassadors'
i = InStr(i + 1, ActiveCell.Text, vbLf)
MakeBold i+1, 11
'Format 'Instructions'
i = InStr(i + 1, ActiveCell.Text, vbLf)
MakeBold i+1, 10
End Sub
Public Sub MakeBold(startPos As Integer, charCount As Integer)
With ActiveCell.Characters(start:=startPos, length:=charCount).Font
.Name = "Arial"
.FontStyle = "Bold"
.Size = 10
.Strikethrough = False
.Superscript = False
.Subscript = False
.OutlineFont = False
.Shadow = False
.Underline = xlUnderlineStyleNone
.ColorIndex = xlAutomatic
End With
End Sub