generate unique ID in VBA (particular format)

September 28, 2022

I want to write VBA script and add it to the button to get an random unique ID.

The sample format:

F-B829IB-BKC1
F-QLM9I4-EFCY

It should start with "F" ; "-" ; random 6 digits/letters ; "dash" ; random 4 digits/letters

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

>Solution :

Here is a function that you might be able to apply to your needs:

Function RandID() As String
    Dim pool As String
    Dim id As String
    Dim i As Long, n As Long
    
    pool = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789"
    n = Len(pool)
    id = "F-"
    For i = 1 To 11
        If i = 7 Then
            id = id & "-"
        Else
            id = id & Mid(pool, Application.WorksheetFunction.RandBetween(1, n), 1)
        End If
    Next i
    RandID = id
    
End Function

Typical output: F-I8FTLX-3E81.

These IDs are on the short side. Uniqueness isn’t guaranteed, especially if a large number of IDs are to be generated. The total number of IDs is 36^10, so you are probably safe for small-scale use.