Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 2, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021
Lorraine often works with transcripts of interviews. Interviewers will ask interviewees to spell out their names. When she types these up, she needs to insert dashes between letters to show they are being spelled, as in J-O-H-N D-O-E. Lorraine wonders if there is a way to select the name and then run a macro to capitalize the name and insert the requisite dashes between letters.
Macros are very well suited for doing this type of text processing. In fact, there are probably a dozen or so ways you could approach the problem in your macro. The following is a rather simple way to do it:
Sub CapDashNames() Dim sTemp As String Dim sName As String Dim J As Integer sTemp = UCase(Selection.Range.Text) ' Make all uppercase If Len(sTemp) > 1 Then sName = "" For J = 1 To Len(sTemp) - 1 ' Add new character to name sName = sName & Mid(sTemp, J, 1) If Mid(sTemp, J, 1) >= "A" And Mid(sTemp, J, 1) <= "Z" Then ' Add a dash if character was a letter sName = sName & "-" Else ' Character added was not a letter If Mid(sName, Len(sName) - 1, 1) = "-" Then ' If there is a dash just before non-letter, ' get rid of it sName = Left(sName, Len(sName) - 2) sName = sName & Mid(sTemp, J, 1) End If End If Next J ' Add final character sName = sName & Right(sTemp, 1) Selection = sName End If End Sub
Basically, the macro steps through whatever you've selected and adds a dash after each alphabetic character. If that dash is then followed by a non-alphabetic character, then the dash is removed. (That way you don't, for example, end up with a dash before or after a space.)
In order to use the macro, simply select the name you want to modify, and then run the macro.
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1354) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021.
Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!
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