How to mimic CTRL (CMD) + 6 (remove fields) in all sections of a document (headers, footers...)

elocution · #1 12-08-2018, 06:07 AM

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I have searched but I haven't found the answer to this. I apologize in advance if I didn't find something that was already here.

So, my problem is this: I have many word documents with INCLUDETEXT fields that pull data from a single file through bookmarks. Everything works very well, but I'd like to automate as much as possible the process of cleaning up the Word files before distributing them. I want to remove all fields and bookmarks and keep just the plain values.

I know almost nothing of VBA programming even if I program in other languages.

For the moment, I'm using these macros found online.

The first one updates all fields:

Code:

Public Sub UpdateAllFields()
  Dim rngStory As Word.Range
  Dim lngJunk As Long
  Dim oShp As Shape
  lngJunk = ActiveDocument.Sections(1).Headers(1).Range.StoryType
  For Each rngStory In ActiveDocument.StoryRanges
    'Iterate through all linked stcories
    Do
      On Error Resume Next
      rngStory.Fields.Update
      Select Case rngStory.StoryType
        Case 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
          If rngStory.ShapeRange.Count > 0 Then
            For Each oShp In rngStory.ShapeRange
              If oShp.TextFrame.HasText Then
                oShp.TextFrame.TextRange.Fields.Update
              End If
            Next
          End If
        Case Else
          'Do Nothing
        End Select
        On Error GoTo 0
        'Get next linked story (if any)
        Set rngStory = rngStory.NextStoryRange
      Loop Until rngStory Is Nothing
    Next
End Sub

While the second one deletes all the bookmarks left in the document:

Code:

Sub BookmarkKiller()
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
With ActiveDocument
  While .Bookmarks.Count > 0
    .Bookmarks(1).Delete
  Wend
End With
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

What I'm left with at this point is all the updated fields without the bookmarks.

Manually, I now select all (CMD+A) (I'm on a Mac) and remove the fields (CMD+6) for the main section, then the header, then the footer.

As I have really a lot of files this is very boring and I'd love to automate this process but still I haven't find a macro that works.

The last step would be to automate all the process on many files at the same time, but I guess this is a different and more general question.

Thank you very much for any help!!!

macropod · #2 12-08-2018, 09:25 PM

You probably don't want to delete all fields, especially those in headers & footers. For example, if the document contains page numbering in the header/footer, every page will likely end up numbered '1' as a result. Likewise, a Table of Contents would cease to work as would hyperlinks to web pages, etc. Furthermore, unlinking all fields makes future document maintenance far more difficult.

If you want to 'harden' a document for distribution, simply save it as a PDF and distribute that.

elocution · #3 12-11-2018, 06:15 AM

Thank you, but that's exactly what I need. To "harden" the Word file.
I need to distribute Word files as other people down the line need to edit them, but I don't want to give them all my macros, because then they will start to use them by themself and mess up everything.

Is is THAT hard to mimic CTRL(CMD)+6 in all sections?
You're right about page numberings, I hadn't thought about that.

Thank you.

macropod · #4 12-11-2018, 02:42 PM

Removing fields in a document has no effect on any macros it contains. Although macros and fields can interact, the two are entirely different and serve different purposes. If you want to distribute a document for editing without macros, simply save it in the .docx format before distribution.

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