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Absolute value is a mathematical term used to describe the distance of a number from 0 on the number line. Examples of absolute value calculations would be |−5| = 5, |2| = 2, and |−11| = 11. In each example, the absolute value of a negative number is the same as the positive version of the number. The absolute value calculation is a tool used to determine the magnitude of a number regardless of its sign.
The absolute value of a number represents the distance between the number and zero.
To calculate absolute values in VBA, you can use the Abs function.
Here is one common way to use this function in practice:
Sub FindAbsoluteValue()
Dim i As Integer
For i = 2 To 10
Range("B" & i) = Abs(Range("A" & i))
Next i
End Sub
This particular example calculates the absolute value of each cell in the range A2:A10 and displays them in the range B2:B10.
The following example shows how to calculate absolute values in VBA in practice.
Example: How to Calculate Absolute Values in VBA
Suppose we have the following list of values in Excel:
Suppose we would like to calculate the absolute value of each cell in column A and display them in column B.
We can create the following macro to do so:
Sub FindAbsoluteValue()
Dim i As Integer
For i = 2 To 10
Range("B" & i) = Abs(Range("A" & i))
Next i
End Sub
When we run this macro, we receive the following output:
Column B now displays the absolute value of each value in column A.
Notice that each of the positive values in column A remained positive in column B.
Also notice that each of the negative values in column A were converted to positive in column B.