API reference · Arrays

DimCounter

Probe array dimensions with UBound, up to the implementation's fixed limit of ten.

FunctionArrays→IntegerSource L59

Signature#

Function DimCounter(ByVal vArr As Variant) As Integer

Parameters#

Parameter	VBA type	Default	Description
`vArr`	`Variant`ByVal	Required	Variant to inspect. Scalars and arrays whose first dimension cannot be queried return zero.

Returns#

Integer. Returns 1 through 9 when the next UBound dimension probe fails. Returns 0 for non-arrays, unallocated dynamic arrays, and arrays for which all ten dimension probes succeed.

Example#

SEE THE TRANSFORMATIONCount dimensions, not elements

Before

transactions2D · 3 × 2

Rows 1..3 · Columns 1..2

row / col	1	2
1	Empty	Empty
2	Empty	Empty
3	Empty	Empty

Additional input

vector1D · (3,)

Indices 0..2 · one dimension

0	1	2
100	250	80

After

Dimension countsValues / state

No array dimensions

Item	Value
transactions	2
vector	1
scalar 100	0

The matrix contains six Empty cells. The vector has three elements; the scalar is not an array.

Shaded headers are array indices, not data. Quoted cells are text. Values shown are derived from the source, not an Excel execution.

Sub ExampleDimCounter()
    Dim a As New Arrays
    Dim transactions As Variant
    Dim vector As Variant

    ReDim transactions(1 To 3, 1 To 2)
    vector = VBA.Array(100, 250, 80)
    Debug.Print a.DimCounter(transactions) ' Expected: 2
    Debug.Print a.DimCounter(vector)       ' Expected: 1
    Debug.Print a.DimCounter(100)          ' Expected: 0
End Sub

Behavior and edge cases#

The function first checks IsArray, then calls UBound with dimension numbers 1 through LTOTALDIMCHECK, whose value is 10.
On the first failed probe it clears the error and returns the preceding dimension count. It does not count elements or inspect nested array values.
An array of row arrays has one outer dimension, even when every element contains another array.
If all ten probes succeed, execution reaches End Function without assigning a result. The actual return is therefore 0, not 10. Do not use this routine to identify arrays of rank ten or higher.
No lower or upper bound is changed.

Performance#

At most ten UBound probes: O(1) time under the fixed limit and O(1) auxiliary storage.

View implementation

Function DimCounter(ByVal vArr As Variant) As Integer
    'Returns the number of dimensions in an array

    Dim lDim            As Long
    Dim lDim_checker    As Long
    Dim iDim            As Long

    If Not IsArray(vArr) Then
        DimCounter = 0
        Exit Function
    End If

    For iDim = 1 To LTOTALDIMCHECK
        On Error Resume Next
        lDim_checker = UBound(vArr, iDim)
        If Err <> 0 Then
            Err.Clear
            On Error GoTo 0
            DimCounter = iDim - 1
            Exit Function
        End If
    Next iDim
End Function