VB & VBA in a Nutshell: The Language

Option Compare Statement

Syntax

Option Compare {Binary | Text | Database}

Description

Sets the default method for comparing string data.

Rules at a Glance

• When Option Compare isn't used in a module, the default comparison method is binary.

• When Option Compare is used, it must appear at the start of the module's declarations section, before any procedures.

• Binary comparison—the default text comparison method in Visual Basic—uses the internal binary code of each character to determine the sort order of the characters. For example "A" < "a".

• Text comparison uses the locale settings of the current system to determine the sort order of the characters. Text comparison is case insensitive. For example "A" = "a".

• Database comparison is only for use in Microsoft Access. Strings are compared based on the sort order defined by the international settings stored in the database engine.