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Object variable or With block variable not set

An invalid object variable is being referenced. This error can occur for several reasons:

  • A variable was declared without specifying a type. If a variable is declared without specifying a type, it defaults to type Object.

    For example, a variable declared with Dim x would be of type Object; a variable declared with Dim x As String would be of type String.

    Tip

    The Option Strict statement disallows implicit typing that results in an Object type. If you omit the type, a compile-time error will occur. See Option Strict Statement.

  • You are attempting to reference an object that has been set to Nothing.

  • You are attempting to access an element of an array variable that wasn't properly declared.

    For example, an array declared as products() As String will trigger the error if you try to reference an element of the array products(3) = "Widget". The array has no elements and is treated as an object.

  • You are attempting to access code within a With...End With block before the block has been initialized. A With...End With block must be initialized by executing the With statement entry point.

Note

In earlier versions of Visual Basic or VBA, this error was also triggered by assigning a value to a variable without using the Set keyword (x = "name" instead of Set x = "name"). The Set keyword is no longer valid in Visual Basic .Net.

To correct this error

  1. Set Option Strict to On by adding the following code to the beginning of the file:

    Option Strict On

    When you run the project, a compiler error will appear in the Error List for any variable that was specified without a type.

  2. If you don't want to enable Option Strict, search your code for any variables that were specified without a type (Dim x instead of Dim x As String) and add the intended type to the declaration.

  3. Make sure you aren't referring to an object variable that has been set to Nothing. Search your code for the keyword Nothing, and revise your code so that the object isn't set to Nothing until after you have referenced it.

  4. Make sure that any array variables are dimensioned before you access them. You can either assign a dimension when you first create the array (Dim x(5) As String instead of Dim x() As String), or use the ReDim keyword to set the dimensions of the array before you first access it.

  5. Make sure your With block is initialized by executing the With statement entry point.

See also

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