Embedding Left( ) into FindFirst criteria...

[patjones]

This is not a question, but rather an informational post about something I just solved. My issue was that I'm trying to use

rst.FindFirst (str1 & " = '" & txtLastNameSearch.Value & "'")
 

My goal was to search through a table with a field fldNameLast, but only compare the leftmost int1 characters in this field to my text box value (txtLastNameSearch.Value). So originally I tried something like

 str1 = "Left([fldNameLast],int1)" 

But the VB compiler complained about the use of int1 (which is set earlier in the code). After playing around with it for a while, I settled on

 str1 = "Left([fldNameLast]," & int1 & ")"

And this works very well, at least for all the values of txtLastNameSearch.Value that I've tried so far. Seems like the main rule is to keep variables outside the quotes...

[Rabbit]

Thanks for sharing. What you ran into was a variable scope issue. Not all forms and functions can see every other forms' and functions' variables, which can be confusing to the uninitiated. Hopefully this will help other potential readers with problems.