See Also Example
Reinitializes the elements of fixed arrays and deallocates dynamic-array storage space.
Syntax
Erase arrayname [, arrayname] . . .
Remarks
The argument arrayname is the name of the array to be erased. It is important to know whether an array is fixed (ordinary) or dynamic because Erase behaves differently depending on the type of array. For fixed arrays, no memory is recovered. Erase sets the elements of a fixed array as follows:
| Type of array | Effect of Erase on fixed-array elements |
| Fixed numeric array | Sets each element to zero |
| Fixed string array (variable-length) | Sets each element to zero-length ("") |
| Fixed string array (fixed-length) | Sets each element to zero |
| Fixed Variant array | Sets each element to Empty |
| Array of user-defined types | Sets each element as if it were a separate variable |
| Array of objects | Sets each element to the special value Nothing |
For dynamic arrays, Erase frees the memory used by the array. Before your program can refer to the dynamic array again, it must redeclare the array variable's dimensions using a ReDim statement.
Dim Statement
ReDim Statement
In this example, a two-dimensional array is created, filled, and erased. When the Erase statement is executed, zeros replace the contents of each element, but no memory space is recovered. To try this example, paste the code into the Declarations section of a form. Then press F5 and click the form.
Static Sub Form_Click ()
Dim I As Integer, J As Integer ' Declare Variables.
Dim Total As Long
Dim Matrix(50, 50) As Integer ' Create 2-D integer array.
For I = 1 To 50
For J = 1 To 50
Matrix(I, J) = J ' Put some values into array.
Next J
Next I
Erase Matrix ' Erase array.
Total = 0 ' Initialize total counter.
For I = 1 To 50
For J = 1 To 50
Total = Total + Matrix(I, J) ' Sum elements after Erase
Next J ' to make sure all are set
Next I ' to zero.
Msg = "An array has been created, filled, and erased. When the "
Msg = Msg & "Erase statement was executed, zeros replaced the "
Msg = Msg & "previous contents of each element. The total of "
Msg = Msg & "all elements is now " & Total & ", "
Msg = Msg & "demonstrating that all elements have been cleared."
MsgBox Msg ' Display message.
End Sub