{{QBDLDATE:05-20-2022}}
{{QBDLTIME:23:16:40}}
The {{KW|SPACE$}} function returns a {{KW|STRING}} consisting of a number of space characters.


{{PageSyntax}}
:''result$'' = '''SPACE$({{Parameter|count&}})'''


{{Parameters}}
* {{Parameter|count&}} is the number of space characters to repeat. Cannot use negative values!


''Usage:''
* Semicolons can be used to combine spaces with text [[STRING]] or numerical values.
* [[Concatenation]] using + can be used to combine [[STRING]] text values only.
* Spaces are often used to erase previous text PRINTs from the screen.
* The function result can also be used to [[GET]] and [[PUT]] a number of bytes as zero characters: bytes$ = SPACE$(numbytes)
* Spaces can also be made using [[SPC]], [[CHR$]](32) or [[STRING$]](n%, 32).


''Differences between QB64 and QB 4.5:''
* '''QB64''' can use [[LONG]] values for count up to 2,147,483,647 while '''QB 4.5''' could only use [[INTEGER]] values up to 32,767.


''Example 1:'' How to space text in a [[PRINT]] statement using SPACE$ with string [[concatenation]].
{{CodeStart}}
{{Cl|FOR...NEXT|FOR}} count% = 0 {{Cl|FOR...NEXT|TO}} 3
    {{Cl|PRINT}} "abc" + {{Cl|SPACE$}}( count% ) + "def"
{{Cl|FOR...NEXT|NEXT}} count%
{{CodeEnd}}
{{OutputStart}}abcdef
abc def
abc  def
abc   def
{{OutputEnd}}


''Example 2:'' In [[SCREEN]] 0 SPACE$ can be used to change the background color to make an American flag.
{{CodeStart}}
 USA flag centered on screen with thin horizontal red & white stripes
' blue corner field with randomly twinkling stars
{{Cl|CLS}}
{{Cl|LOCATE}} 25, 1
{{Cl|PRINT}} "Press any key to stop twinkling";
{{Cl|COLOR}} , 4
z = 15
{{Cl|FOR...NEXT|FOR}} x = 5 {{Cl|TO}} 19          '13 red & white stripes (x =5 to 21 for 15 stripes)
    {{Cl|IF...THEN|IF}} z = 15 {{Cl|THEN}} z = 4 {{Cl|ELSE}} z = 15
    {{Cl|COLOR}} , z
    {{Cl|LOCATE}} x, 15
    {{Cl|PRINT}} {{Cl|SPACE$}}(55)
{{Cl|NEXT}} x
{{Cl|FOR...NEXT|FOR}} x = 5 {{Cl|TO}} 11          'blue field in upper left quadrant (x = 5 to 13 to hold all 50 stars)
    {{Cl|COLOR}} 15, 1            'sits above 4th white stripe
    {{Cl|LOCATE}} x, 15
    {{Cl|PRINT}} {{Cl|SPACE$}}(23)
{{Cl|NEXT}} x
DO
    stop$ = {{Cl|INKEY$}}
    {{Cl|FOR...NEXT|FOR}} x = 5 {{Cl|TO}} 10 {{Cl|STEP}} 2  '39 stars staggered across blue field (50 stars if x = 5 to 12)
        w = 16
        {{Cl|FOR...NEXT|FOR}} y = 1 {{Cl|TO}} 6      '5 rows of 6 stars
            r = {{Cl|INT}}({{Cl|RND}} * 6)
            {{Cl|IF...THEN|IF}} r = 0 {{Cl|THEN}} z = 31 {{Cl|ELSE}} z = 15
            {{Cl|IF...THEN|IF}} stop$ = "" {{Cl|THEN}} {{Cl|COLOR}} z {{Cl|ELSE}} {{Cl|COLOR}} 15
            {{Cl|LOCATE}} x, w
            w = w + 4
            {{Cl|PRINT}} "*";
        {{Cl|NEXT}} y
        w = 18
        {{Cl|FOR...NEXT|FOR}} y = 1 {{Cl|TO}} 5      '5 rows of 5 stars
            r = {{Cl|INT}}({{Cl|RND}} * 6)
            {{Cl|IF...THEN|IF}} r = 0 {{Cl|THEN}} z = 31 {{Cl|ELSE}} z = 15
            {{Cl|IF...THEN|IF}} stop$ = "" {{Cl|THEN}} {{Cl|COLOR}} z {{Cl|ELSE}} {{Cl|COLOR}} 15
            {{Cl|LOCATE}} x + 1, w
            w = w + 4
            {{Cl|PRINT}} "*";
        {{Cl|NEXT}} y
    {{Cl|NEXT}} x
    w = 16
    {{Cl|FOR...NEXT|FOR}} y = 1 {{Cl|TO}} 6          '1 row of 6 stars
            r = {{Cl|INT}}({{Cl|RND}} * 6)
            {{Cl|IF...THEN|IF}} r = 0 {{Cl|THEN}} z = 31 {{Cl|ELSE}} z = 15
        {{Cl|IF...THEN|IF}} stop$ = "" {{Cl|THEN}} {{Cl|COLOR}} z {{Cl|ELSE}} {{Cl|COLOR}} 15
        {{Cl|LOCATE}} x, w
        w = w + 4
        {{Cl|PRINT}} "*";
    {{Cl|NEXT}} y
    t = {{Cl|TIMER}}
    {{Cl|DO...LOOP|DO}} {{Cl|WHILE}} t + .2 >= {{Cl|TIMER}}: {{Cl|LOOP}}
{{Cl|LOOP}} {{Cl|WHILE}} stop$ = ""
{{Cl|COLOR}} 7, 0
{{Cl|END}}
{{CodeEnd}}{{small|Code by Solitaire}}
:''Explanation:'' In [[SCREEN]] 0, the background color is only placed with the the printed text and spaces. [[CLS]] can color the entire screen.


{{PageSeeAlso}}
* [[PRINT]], [[PRINT USING]]
* [[STRING$]], [[CLS]]
* [[SPC]], [[TAB]]


{{PageNavigation}}