Environ Function code samples for VBA

Question

I am looking for some information or code samples for the Environ Function in VBA to grab the username on the current system.

@the_drow: I ask that every day I press alt+f11. I blame Spolsky. — Eric, Jun 01 '09 at 14:58
Gentlemen, I am looking to do 2 things; identify what my user name is on my PC (using the Environ Function) and once i understand that, I would like to write a statement that closes my database if the user is not me (in other words, if opened on another PC) Can you help me get started? — Marchese Il Chihuahua, Sep 20 '14 at 06:51

score 44 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 26 '17 at 12:20

44

Environ() gets you the value of any environment variable. These can be found by doing the following command in the Command Prompt:

set

If you wanted to get the username, you would do:

Environ("username")

If you wanted to get the fully qualified name, you would do:

Environ("userdomain") & "\" & Environ("username")

References

Microsoft | Office VBA Reference | Language Reference VBA | Environ Function
Microsoft | Office Support | Environ Function

edited Sep 26 '17 at 12:20

StackzOfZtuff

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answered Jun 01 '09 at 14:55

Eric

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that was exactly what I was looking for, just a little help getting started, thank you. – gary A.K.A. G4 Jun 01 '09 at 14:58
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Don't forget that Environ is one of the functions blocked in Sandbox mode: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access/HP010447361033.aspx – Fionnuala Jun 01 '09 at 16:01
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Also, don't forget that Environ is a cached copy of what the environment variable was when the parent process started. Found this out the hard way. – ErinsMatthew Feb 13 '14 at 09:51
Gentlemen, I am looking to do 2 things; identify what my user name is on my PC (using the Environ Function) and once i understand that, I would like to write a statement that closes my database if the user is not me (in other words, if opened on another PC) Can you help me get started? – Marchese Il Chihuahua 4 secs ago edit – Marchese Il Chihuahua Sep 20 '14 at 06:52

score 23 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 08 '19 at 06:41

As alluded to by Eric, you can use environ with ComputerName argument like so:

MsgBox Environ("USERNAME")

Some additional information that might be helpful for you to know:

The arguments are not case sensitive.
There is a slightly faster performing string version of the Environ function. To invoke it, use a dollar sign. (Ex: Environ$("username")) This will net you a small performance gain.
You can retrieve all System Environment Variables using this function. (Not just username.) A common use is to get the "ComputerName" value to see which computer the user is logging onto from.
I don't recommend it for most situations, but it can be occasionally useful to know that you can also access the variables with an index. If you use this syntax the the name of argument and the value are returned. In this way you can enumerate all available variables. Valid values are 1 - 255.

    Sub EnumSEVars()
        Dim strVar As String
        Dim i As Long
        For i = 1 To 255
            strVar = Environ$(i)
            If LenB(strVar) = 0& Then Exit For
            Debug.Print strVar
        Next
    End Sub

score 3 · Answer 3 · edited Aug 06 '18 at 09:04

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Some time when we use Environ() function we may get the Library or property not found error. Use VBA.Environ() or VBA.Environ$() to avoid the error.

edited Aug 06 '18 at 09:04

tuomastik

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answered Aug 06 '18 at 06:41

vanidasan

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Environ Function code samples for VBA

3 Answers3

References

Linked