& "strings separated by " _
& "the line continuation " _
& "character."
formtemplate]])| Example of convention | Description |
| Sub, If, ChDir, Recordset, Time, FontSize | Words in bold with the initial letter capitalized are language-specific words with special meaning to Visual Basic. These can be functions, keywords, methods, objects, operators, properties, or statements. |
| DblClick, TransferText | Names of events and actions appear with the initial letter capitalized. Concatenated names may contain other capital letters. Note that only Microsoft Access uses actions. |
| expr, path | In syntax, text in italic indicates placeholders for information you supply. |
| [color] | In syntax, items inside brackets are optional. |
| Example of convention | Description | |
| {While | Until} | In syntax, braces and a vertical bar indicate a mandatory choice between two or more items. You must choose one of the items unless all of the items also are enclosed in brackets. | |
| helpfile, pv | In syntax, named arguments are bold and italic. | |
| Dim dbs As Database | This font is used for code. | |
| acNormal | Intrinsic constants consist of a word or words that begin with an initial capital letter, preceded by a prefix that indicates which type library they reside in. For example, here are some of the prefixes used for intrinsic constants in Microsoft Office applications. | |
| Prefix | Type library | |
| mso | Microsoft Office | |
| vb | Visual Basic | |
| ac | Microsoft Access | |
| xl | Microsoft Excel | |
| wd | Microsoft Word | |
| pp | Microsoft PowerPoint | |
| ol | Microsoft Outlook | |
| db | DAO | |
| ENTER, CTRL, ALT, F2 | Small capital letters are used for the names of keys. The key names correspond to the names on the IBM Personal Computer keyboard. Other computers may use different names for keys. | |
| ALT+F1 | A plus sign (+) between key names indicates a combination of keys. For example, ALT+F1 means hold down the ALT key while pressing the F1 key. | |
| varX = MsgBox("Concatenate " _ & "strings separated by " _ & "the line continuation " _ & "character." | The line-continuation character ( _) consists of a space and an underscore. It indicates that the code before and after the line-continuation character should appear on one continuous line. | |
| CreateForm([database[,formtemplate]]) | In syntax, an arrow indicates line continuation. |