Item

Returns the string captured by one capture group, by its position or by its name.

Syntax: object.Item ( pItemIndex )

object: required An object expression that evaluates to a SubMatches.
pItemIndex: required A Variant. A number is the zero-based position of the group: the first group is 0 and the last is Count - 1. A value that is not numeric is the name of a group.

Returns a String. The property is read-only.

Remarks

Item is the default member of the class, so sm(0) is the same as sm.Item(0).

pItemIndex is taken as a position when IsNumeric returns True for it, and as a name otherwise.

A position below 0, or not below Count, raises run-time error vbObjectError + 9 with the message Requested item not found in SubMatches collection.

A name is the one given to a group in the pattern, written (?<name>...). Item returns the string of the first group that has that name. Letter case counts: sm("YEAR") does not find a group named year. A name that no group has returns an empty string and raises no error.

An empty result has three possible causes: a group that took no part in the match, a group that captured no characters, and a name that no group has.

Example

Dim re As New RegExp
re.Pattern = "(?<year>\d{4})-(?<month>\d{2})"

Dim matches As MatchCollection
Set matches = re.Execute("2026-10")

Dim sm As SubMatches
Set sm = matches(0).SubMatches
Debug.Print sm(0)             ' 2026
Debug.Print sm.Item("month")  ' 10
Debug.Print Len(sm("day"))    ' 0

This example asks for a position that the collection does not have.

Dim re As New RegExp
re.Pattern = "(\d+)"

Dim matches As MatchCollection
Set matches = re.Execute("a1")

Dim sm As SubMatches
Set sm = matches(0).SubMatches

On Error Resume Next
Debug.Print sm(1)
Debug.Print Err.Number & ": " & Err.Description  ' -2147221495: Requested item not found in SubMatches collection

Item

Remarks

Example

See Also