A to Z of Excel Functions: The BAHTTEXT Function
17 October 2016
Welcome back to our regular A to Z of Excel Functions blog. Today we look at the BAHTTEXT function.
The BAHTTEXT function
Every now and then we unveil a pearl of a function, one that will rock your world and make you wonder how you ever lived without it. Today’s function is probably not going to be on that list for those outside of Thailand.
This function converts a number to Thai text and adds a suffix of "Baht". You can change the Baht format to a different style in the Excel desktop application by using Regional and Language Options (Windows Start menu, Control Panel).
The BAHTTEXT function employs the following syntax to operate:
BAHTTEXT(number)
The BAHTTEXT function has the following argument only:
- number: this is required and represents a number you want to convert to text, or a reference to a cell containing a number, or a formula that evaluates to a number.
I have to be honest, I am not quite sure why Microsoft has singled out Thai for this special treatment – especially as there is no equivalent to do this in English.
For the record (and probably of more relevance than the above for many), back in Newsletter 33 (August 2015), we did actually enlighten readers how VBA code could be used to convert numbers to text by using the user defined function SpellNumber. To create this function, open the Visual Basic Editor in Excel (ALT + F11) and paste in the following code:
Option Explicit
'Main Function
Function SpellNumber(ByVal MyNumber)
Dim Dollars, Cents, Temp
Dim DecimalPlace, Count
ReDim Place(9) As String
Place(2) = " Thousand "
Place(3) = " Million "
Place(4) = " Billion "
Place(5) = " Trillion "
' String representation of amount.
MyNumber = Trim(Str(MyNumber))
' Position of decimal place 0 if none.
DecimalPlace = InStr(MyNumber, ".")
' Convert cents and set MyNumber to dollar amount.
If DecimalPlace > 0 Then
Cents = GetTens(Left(Mid(MyNumber, DecimalPlace + 1) & _
"00", 2))
MyNumber = Trim(Left(MyNumber, DecimalPlace - 1))
End If
Count = 1
Do While MyNumber <> ""
Temp = GetHundreds(Right(MyNumber, 3))
If Temp <> "" Then Dollars = Temp & Place(Count) & Dollars
If Len(MyNumber) > 3 Then
MyNumber = Left(MyNumber, Len(MyNumber) - 3)
Else
MyNumber = ""
End If
Count = Count + 1
Loop
Select Case Dollars
Case ""
Dollars = "No Dollars"
Case "One"
Dollars = "One Dollar"
Case Else
Dollars = Dollars & " Dollars"
End Select
Select Case Cents
Case ""
Cents = " and No Cents"
Case "One"
Cents = " and One Cent"
Case Else
Cents = " and " & Cents & " Cents"
End Select
SpellNumber = Dollars & Cents
End Function
' Converts a number from 100-999 into text
Function GetHundreds(ByVal MyNumber)
Dim Result As String
If Val(MyNumber) = 0 Then Exit Function
MyNumber = Right("000" & MyNumber, 3)
' Convert the hundreds place.
If Mid(MyNumber, 1, 1) <> "0" Then
Result = GetDigit(Mid(MyNumber, 1, 1)) & " Hundred "
End If
' Convert the tens and ones place.
If Mid(MyNumber, 2, 1) <> "0" Then
Result = Result & GetTens(Mid(MyNumber, 2))
Else
Result = Result & GetDigit(Mid(MyNumber, 3))
End If
GetHundreds = Result
End Function
' Converts a number from 10 to 99 into text.
Function GetTens(TensText)
Dim Result As String
Result = "" ' Null out the temporary function value.
If Val(Left(TensText, 1)) = 1 Then ' If value between 10-19...
Select Case Val(TensText)
Case 10: Result = "Ten"
Case 11: Result = "Eleven"
Case 12: Result = "Twelve"
Case 13: Result = "Thirteen"
Case 14: Result = "Fourteen"
Case 15: Result = "Fifteen"
Case 16: Result = "Sixteen"
Case 17: Result = "Seventeen"
Case 18: Result = "Eighteen"
Case 19: Result = "Nineteen"
Case Else
End Select
Else ' If value between 20-99...
Select Case Val(Left(TensText, 1))
Case 2: Result = "Twenty "
Case 3: Result = "Thirty "
Case 4: Result = "Forty "
Case 5: Result = "Fifty "
Case 6: Result = "Sixty "
Case 7: Result = "Seventy "
Case 8: Result = "Eighty "
Case 9: Result = "Ninety "
Case Else
End Select
Result = Result & GetDigit _
(Right(TensText, 1)) ' Retrieve ones place.
End If
GetTens = Result
End Function
' Converts a number from 1 to 9 into text.
Function GetDigit(Digit)
Select Case Val(Digit)
Case 1: GetDigit = "One"
Case 2: GetDigit = "Two"
Case 3: GetDigit = "Three"
Case 4: GetDigit = "Four"
Case 5: GetDigit = "Five"
Case 6: GetDigit = "Six"
Case 7: GetDigit = "Seven"
Case 8: GetDigit = "Eight"
Case 9: GetDigit = "Nine"
Case Else: GetDigit = ""
End Select
End Function
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We’ll continue our A to Z of Excel Functions soon. Keep checking back – there’s a new blog post every other business day.
