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Q149319: FIX: String/Currency Conversion Broken with Sci. Notation

Article: Q149319
Product(s): Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
Version(s): WINDOWS:4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbVBp kbVBp400bug kbOSWin98fix kbGrpDSVB kbDSupport
Last Modified: 05-JUN-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual Basic Standard Edition, 32-bit, for Windows, version 4.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition, 16-bit, for Windows, version 4.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition, 32-bit, for Windows, version 4.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition, 16-bit, for Windows, version 4.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition, 32-bit, for Windows, version 4.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

Visual Basic 4.0 will sometimes return an incorrect value when converting a
string to a currency value if the string contains a large number represented
using scientific notation.

CAUSE
=====


RESOLUTION
==========

To work around the problem, append zeroes to the end of the string to be
converted. This will cause the correct result. For example, instead of using
Print 1.7e7@, use Print 1.7000000000e7@. Nine zeroes will fix the problem in the
worst case. The smaller the exponent, the fewer zeroes need to be added to
obtain correct behavior.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the products listed above. This
problem has been fixed in Microsoft Windows 98.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Steps to Reproduce
------------------

1. Start Visual Basic or, if it is already running, choose New Project from the
  File menu.

2. Insert this line of code into the Form_Load event:

        Private Sub Form_Load()
           Stop
        End Sub

3. Select Start from the Run menu, or press the F5 key to start the application.

4. Switch to the Debug window, enter Print 1.7e7@, and press the ENTER key. You
  will see the incorrect value of 7798.8435 instead of the correct 17000000.
  Using Print 1.7000000000e7@ instead will cause the correct response.

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbVBp kbVBp400bug kbOSWin98fix kbGrpDSVB kbDSupport 
Technology        : kbVBSearch kbAudDeveloper kbVB400Search kbVB400 kbVB16bitSearch
Version           : WINDOWS:4.0
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix

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