Item
Returns a specific member of a Collection object, either by position or by key.
Syntax: object.Item( index )
- object
- required An object expression that evaluates to a Collection object.
- index
- required An expression that specifies the position of a member of the collection. If a numeric expression, index must be a number from 1 to the value of the collection’s Count property. If a string expression, index must correspond to the key argument specified when the member referred to was added to the collection.
If index is a number that does not match the position of any member of the collection, run-time error 9 (Subscript out of range) occurs. If index is a string that does not match the key of any member, run-time error 5 (Invalid procedure call or argument) occurs. If index is neither a number nor a string, an error also occurs.
To test for a key without raising an error, use Exists.
Item is the default member of a Collection object. Therefore, the following lines of code are equivalent:
Dim MyCollection As New Collection
Debug.Print MyCollection(1)
Debug.Print MyCollection.Item(1)
Key comparison is governed by the KeyCompareMode property.
Example
This example uses the Item method to retrieve a reference to an object in a collection. Assuming Birthdays is a Collection object, the following code retrieves references to the objects representing Bill Smith’s birthday and Adam Smith’s birthday, using the keys "SmithBill" and "SmithAdam" as the index arguments.
The first call explicitly specifies the Item method; the second does not. Both calls work because Item is the default member of a Collection object.
Dim SmithBillBD As Object
Dim SmithAdamBD As Object
Dim Birthdays As Collection
' ... assume Birthdays has been populated ...
Set SmithBillBD = Birthdays.Item("SmithBill")
Set SmithAdamBD = Birthdays("SmithAdam")