CallByName

Calls a method, or reads or writes a property, on an object — looked up by name at run time.

Syntax: CallByName( object , procname , calltype [ , args … ] )

object
required Object. The object whose member is to be invoked.
procname
required String. The name of the method or property to invoke on object.
calltype
required A VbCallType value indicating the kind of member: vbMethod, vbGet, vbLet, or vbSet.
args
optional The arguments to pass to the method, Property Get, Property Let, or Property Set.

The return value is a Variant containing whatever the call returned. For methods that return nothing, or for property assignments, the result is Empty.

Note BETA 1034

When the member called raises an error itself with a constant number, as in Err.Raise 380, or with the Error statement, CallByName raises error -2147352567 (&H80020009), Exception occurred., not that number. VB6 raises the member’s own number. A number the member passes in a variable, as in Err.Raise Number, and a run-time error such as a division by zero arrive unchanged.

Common Errors

Error When
438 (&H1B6), Object doesn’t support this property or method object has no member named procname, or none of the kind calltype names
procname is a zero-length string
-2147467259 (&H80004005), Unspecified error calltype is not one of the VbCallType values (3, vbMethod + vbGet, is accepted)
object is Nothing
-2147352562 (&H8002000E), Invalid number of parameters. the number of args is not the number the member takes, or a read-only property is assigned
-2147352559 (&H80020011), Does not support a collection. args are given to a property that takes none
-2147352567 (&H80020009), Exception occurred. the member raises an error of its own, such as Add of a Dictionary given a key it holds
the member raises an error of its own, such as a Dictionary’s CompareMode set when it has items
94 (&H5E), Invalid use of Null procname or calltype is Null

Note BETA 1034

When procname is a zero-length string, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 450 (&H1C2), Wrong number of arguments or invalid property assignment, instead.

Note BETA 1034

When calltype is not one of the VbCallType values (3, vbMethod + vbGet, is accepted), VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 438 (&H1B6), Object doesn’t support this property or method, instead.

Note BETA 1034

When object is Nothing, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 5 (&H5), Invalid procedure call or argument, instead.

Note BETA 1034

When the number of args is not the number the member takes, or a read-only property is assigned, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 450 (&H1C2), Wrong number of arguments or invalid property assignment, instead.

Note BETA 1034

When args are given to a property that takes none, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 451 (&H1C3), Property let procedure not defined and property get procedure did not return an object, instead.

Note BETA 1034

When the member raises an error of its own, such as Add of a Dictionary given a key it holds, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 457 (&H1C9), This key is already associated with an element of this collection, instead.

Note BETA 1034

When the member raises an error of its own, such as a Dictionary’s CompareMode set when it has items, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 5 (&H5), Invalid procedure call or argument, instead.

Example

These three calls use CallByName to operate on a control by name. The first sets its MousePointer property to the crosshair cursor, the second reads the same property back out, and the third invokes the Move method to reposition the control.

Dim Result As Variant
CallByName Text1, "MousePointer", vbLet, vbCrosshair
Result = CallByName(Text1, "MousePointer", vbGet)
CallByName Text1, "Move", vbMethod, 100, 100

See Also