How to find and select text in a document?

mkhuebner · #1 02-04-2014, 12:33 AM

I'm trying to create a Word 2010 macro that finds, selects, and reformats a single word in my document starting from the current cursor position. During recording of the macro, I've tried to use Find in the menu (Ctrl-F) but nothing is recorded in my macro for the find operation even though the cursor moves and highlights the found word. I've tried using the code below but that is also not moving the current cursor position to this word. Can somebody tell me how to record a Find text operation in a Word macro or else tell me what the correct VBA code is to do this? Thanks in advance!

Selection.Find.Text = "Synposis"
Selection.Find.Execute
Selection.Style = ActiveDocument.Styles("Body Text")
Selection.Font.Bold = wdToggle

macropod · #2 02-04-2014, 06:53 PM

Your code suggests you want to toggle the bold attribute for 'Synopsis' in the 'Body Text' Style, not simply make it all bold or all not bold. In that case, you could use a macro like:

Code:

Sub Demo()
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Dim Rng As Range
With Selection
  Set Rng = .Range
  With .Find
    .ClearFormatting
    .Replacement.ClearFormatting
    .Text = "Synopsis"
    .Replacement.Text = "^&"
    .Style = "Body Text"
    .Forward = True
    .Wrap = wdFindStop
    .Format = True
    .MatchCase = True
    .MatchWholeWord = True
    .MatchWildcards = False
    .MatchSoundsLike = False
    .MatchAllWordForms = False
    .Execute
  End With
  Do While .Find.Found
    .Font.Bold = wdToggle
    .Collapse wdCollapseEnd
    .Find.Execute
  Loop
End With
Rng.Select
Set Rng = Nothing
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

If, however, you wish to make all such text bold, the macro could be made much more efficient and simplified to:

Code:

Sub Demo()
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
With Selection
  With .Find
    .ClearFormatting
    .Replacement.ClearFormatting
    .Text = "Synopsis"
    .Replacement.Text = "^&"
    .Style = "Body Text"
    .Replacement.Font.Bold = True
    .Forward = True
    .Wrap = wdFindStop
    .Format = True
    .MatchCase = True
    .MatchWholeWord = True
    .MatchWildcards = False
    .MatchSoundsLike = False
    .MatchAllWordForms = False
    .Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
  End With
End With
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

If you want to make the font not bold instead, change:
.Replacement.Font.Bold = True
to:
.Replacement.Font.Bold = False

mkhuebner · #3 02-04-2014, 07:02 PM

Thanks. Does the code have to be this complicated? All I want to do is find the next word "Synopsis" after the current cursor position and change it's style to Body Text and make it bold face.

macropod · #4 02-04-2014, 07:26 PM

No, it doesn't 'have' to be so complicated, but leaving out some parameters might lead to unexpected results ...

Re:

Quote:

change it's style to Body Text and make it bold face

That's not what the code I posted does. Based on what you had posted, the code I posted looks for 'Synopsis' that is already in the 'Body Text' Style. Furthermore, you can't re-format only a single word of many in a paragraph with the 'Body Text' Style, as that Style is a paragraph Style. Of course, that doesn't matter if 'Synopsis' is the only word in the paragraphs concerned.

As for changing the font to bold, if 'Synopsis' is the only word in the paragraphs concerned, you'd do better to change the 'Body Text' Style's font to bold than to override the Style format. Similarly, if 'Synopsis' is only one word of many in a paragraph, you'd do better to apply the 'Strong' character Style to 'Synopsis' than to override the Style format. For example:

Code:

Sub Demo()
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
With Selection
  With .Find
    .ClearFormatting
    .Replacement.ClearFormatting
    .Text = "Synopsis"
    .Replacement.Text = "^&"
    .Forward = True
    .Wrap = wdFindStop
    .Format = True
    .MatchCase = True
    .MatchWholeWord = True
    .MatchWildcards = False
    .MatchSoundsLike = False
    .MatchAllWordForms = False
    .Replacement.Style = "Body Text"
    .Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
    .Replacement.Style = "Strong"
    .Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
  End With
End With
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

mkhuebner · #5 02-04-2014, 07:29 PM

Is there any way to generate this code using Word's macro recording mode? When I tried to do a Find "Synopsis" operation, no VBA code was generated.

macropod · #6 02-04-2014, 07:34 PM

Basic code produced using the macro recorder:

Code:

Sub Macro1()
'
' Macro1 Macro
'
'
  Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
  Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
  Selection.Find.Replacement.Style = ActiveDocument.Styles("Body Text")
  With Selection.Find
    .Text = "Synopsis"
    .Replacement.Text = "^&"
    .Forward = True
    .Wrap = wdFindContinue
    .Format = True
    .MatchCase = True
    .MatchWholeWord = True
    .MatchByte = False
    .MatchWildcards = False
    .MatchSoundsLike = False
    .MatchAllWordForms = False
  End With
  Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
End Sub

mkhuebner · #7 02-04-2014, 07:47 PM

How did you get it to record a Find text string operation?

macropod · #8 02-04-2014, 07:50 PM

By inputting the parameters you see recorded into the Find/Replace dialogue...

mkhuebner · #9 02-04-2014, 08:04 PM

It's recording ok now. I had to use keyboard commands to select the Find operation instead of the mouse.

Thanks for all your help!

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