Here is an alternative single liner ( almost ## ) type solution to the last post. It was much simpler than I expected, and ends up much shorter than these solutions of mine usually do. (## There was a small snag, not solved yet, which means I have to do it in 2 code lines for now. I may take a look at that later here: https://excelfox.com/forum/showthrea...ll=1#post16655 )

Solution explanation.
Part 1. Background
This is all to do with
_ “my”** ____arrOut()=Index(ArrIn(), Rws(), Clms()) ______ type solutions, ( https://www.excelforum.com/excel-new...ml#post4571172 )
and also
_ using the Match in a similar way – ( some time ago I obsessed with trying out Application.Match where the first argument is an array, in a similar way to those of those array arguments Rws() and Clms() in Index. I got so obsessed I littered a sub forum with over long posts until they deleted them all and limited the post size to stop me doing it again. With hindsight, not a bad thing to do, as I could not see the wood for the trees back then. I can now, and its not at all difficult to understand, so I really don’t need all that crap anymore. Let me call that for now “my” **
________arrOut() = Match(arrArg1(), arrIn() , 0 ) ___ type solution.
( ** I use the word “my” lightly. – I learnt all this stuff from looking at stuff from Rick Rothstein and snb. ( I am not sure if they “invented it” , or got it from other peoples stuff. if I added anything “new” , it might be some of my detailed explanations, which whilst I don’t know if they are correct, they seem to be a valid theory as they go a long way to explain the results ) )


Here is a quick demo of how
_ my ____arrOut()=Match(arrArg1(), arrIn() , 0 ) ____ works
Ordinarily, or most usually the first argument is just one thing that you are looking for. As far as I know all documentation tells you that the way Match in Excel works is, ( simplified ) :
_... you look in the second argument array of things for the thing in the first argument, and , assuming you find it, return the position along where it is, pseudo like
_____ Match( b , { a, b, c } , 0 ) = 2
In the practice we sometimes, ( not always ) , find that things in Excel will work with array arguments and return a corresponding array of outputs. So taking that last example, pseudo like
_____ Match( {b, a} , { a, b, c } , 0 ) = {2, 1}

So that is a bit of theory out of the way. ( I have done a fuller explanation in a few places of how the Application.Index with Look Up Rows and Columns Arguments as VBA Arrays works in a few places
https://excelfox.com/forum/showthrea...ll=1#post16455
https://www.excelforum.com/excel-new...ml#post4571172 )



Part 2. Here is my solution examples
Refering to the first long macro below:

Rem1 is just making some stuff I need for the demo. I use the string example of “ZAC” as per the original OP example http://www.eileenslounge.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=38460 . For reasons given in the next bit, I make an array of the 26 Ascii Code numbers for the capital alphabet characters, A, B. C ….Z , Asskeys() = { 65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81 ,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90 }
My array of the weights values, Weights(), for the characters will be the same size as Asskeys() and will have the corresponding weight value for each of the 26 characters in the same order.
Once again it will be clear why later. For now, the point is to have arrays of the same size with related things in the same order
Code:
 ' '   Ascii Code       65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90
' '                     A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
' Let Weights() = Array(1, 5, 3, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, 6, 4, 5, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 2)
Rem 2
I found a way on the internet to turn my string example into an array of single characters, which is what I will be feeding into my Match as first argument. ( Unfortunately it does not return in each element the character, but rather its Ascii Code. But for my purposes that’s just as good.

Rem 3 Match
This is the Match bit, and it tells me the position along where I find the three Ascii Code numbers of “ZAC” in the Ascii Code array, Asskeys()
We get from match here, a 3 element array, MtchRes(), of the position along, of the characters in “ZAC” in the array Asskeys(). We have organised that the array of weights is organised in the same order, so this will also be the position along of the corresponding weight number in the array of weights, Weights().
In the example we should have then an array like {26, 1, 3} _ ( if you have followed the logic so far, you can see this is like a pseudo Alphabet position of the characters, Z , A , and C __ (But don’t get confused with Ascii codes, which is pseudo like the official position of characters, and defined by some world standard, that Excel knows about. As example, capital A is listed as Ascii code 65, lowercase a is listed as 97 )

Rem 4 Index
The 3 element array of the position along, of the characters in “ZAC” in the array Asskeys(), is effectively the Clms() array we need for a __arrOut()=Index(ArrIn(), Rws(), Clms())__type solution, where the look up array, arrIn() , will be the weights array, Weights()
The returned array from Index , arrOut(), will be an array, of 3 numbers, which are the weight numbers for the example string “ZAC”.

Rem 5
Finally we simply sum the elements of the found weight values, as per the original OP request.
Code:
Sub AssKeys()
Rem 1 Make the arrays and other hard coded things for the demo
Dim AssKeys(1 To 26) As Long
Dim Eye As Long
    For Eye = 65 To 90 Step 1
     Let AssKeys(Eye - 64) = Eye
    Next Eye
' OR
'  Dim AssKeys() As Variant: Let AssKey() = Array(65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90)
Dim Weights() As Variant:
 '   Ascii Code       65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90
 '                     A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
 Let Weights() = Array(1, 5, 3, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, 6, 4, 5, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 2)
Dim ZAC As String
 Let ZAC = "ZAC" ' This is a demo example text string
Rem 2 String to array
Dim arrZAC() As Byte: Let arrZAC() = StrConv(ZAC, vbFromUnicode) ' https://stackoverflow.com/questions/13195583/split-string-into-array-of-characters
Rem 3 Match
Dim MtchRes() As Variant
 Let MtchRes() = Application.Match(arrZAC(), AssKeys(), 0)
Rem 4 Index
Dim arrOut() As Variant
 Let arrOut() = Application.Index(Weights(), 1, MtchRes())
Rem 5
Dim Some As Long: Let Some = Application.Sum(arrOut())
End Sub
Here the shortening possibilities

Code:
Sub BeautifulAsskeys()
Rem 1 Make the arrays and other hard coded things for the demo
'Dim Asskeys(1 To 26) As Long
'Dim Eye As Long
'    For Eye = 65 To 90 Step 1
'     Let Asskeys(Eye - 64) = Eye
'    Next Eye
' OR
'  Dim AssKeys() As Variant: Let AssKey() = Array(65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90)
'Dim Weights() As Variant:
' '   Ascii Code       65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90
' '                     A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
' Let Weights() = Array(1, 5, 3, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, 6, 4, 5, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 2)
'Dim ZAC As String
' Let ZAC = "ZAC" ' This is a demo example text string
Rem 2 String to array
Dim arrZAC() As Byte: Let arrZAC() = StrConv("ZAC", vbFromUnicode) ' https://stackoverflow.com/questions/13195583/split-string-into-array-of-characters
Rem 3 Match
'Dim MtchRes() As Variant
' Let MtchRes() = Application.Match(arrZAC(), Asskeys(), 0)
' Let MtchRes() = Application.Match(StrConv(ZAC, vbFromUnicode), Asskeys(), 0)' this does not work
Rem 4 Index
'Dim arrOut() As Variant
' Let arrOut() = Application.Index(Weights(), 1, MtchRes())
Rem 5
Dim Some As Long: Let Some = Application.Sum(Application.Index(Array(1, 5, 3, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, 6, 4, 5, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 2), 1, Application.Match(arrZAC(), Array(65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90), 0)))
End Sub
'
Sub AsKeys()                                                       '  http://www.eileenslounge.com/viewtopic.php?p=297288#p297288
Dim arrZAC() As Byte: Let arrZAC() = StrConv("ZAC", vbFromUnicode) ' https://stackoverflow.com/questions/13195583/split-string-into-array-of-characters
Dim Some As Long: Let Some = Application.Sum(Application.Index(Array(1, 5, 3, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, 6, 4, 5, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 2), 1, Application.Match(arrZAC(), Array(65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90), 0)))
End Sub






** I use the word “my” lightly. – I learnt all this stuff from looking at stuff from Rick Rothstein and snb. ( I am not sure if they “invented it” , or got it from other peoples stuff. if I added anything “new” , it might be some of my detailed explanations, which whilst I don’t know if they are correct, they seem to be a valid theory as they go a long way to explain the results