Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Printing Personalized Copies of a Document.

Printing Personalized Copies of a Document

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 16, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021


Mahmud asked for a way to print personalized copies of a document. He started with a list of names in a regular text file, one per line, and he wanted to print one copy of the current Word document for each of those names. Further, he wanted the person's name placed in the header of the document.

The process to perform such a task is fairly straightforward: open the text file, grab a name, put it in the header, and then print the document. Another name is grabbed, and the process is repeated until there are no more names in the file. The following macro implements such a process:

Sub PutNamesInHeader()
    Dim sName As String

    Open "c:/names.txt" For Input As #5
    Do While Not EOF(5)
        ' get the name
        Line Input #5, sName

        ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = _
          wdSeekCurrentPageHeader
        Selection.WholeStory
        Selection.Delete
        Selection.TypeText Text:=sName

        ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = _
          wdSeekMainDocument
        ActiveDocument.PrintOut
    Loop

    Close #5

    ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = _
      wdSeekCurrentPageHeader
    Selection.WholeStory
    Selection.Delete
    ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = _
      wdSeekMainDocument
End Sub

The tricky part of the macro is using the .SeekView property to specify which story in the document you want to work with. As implemented here, the .SeekView property is used repeatedly to switch between the header area and the main document. After the loop (grabbing names and printing) is completed, the header area is cleared and the .SeekView is switched back to the main document.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (4366) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Printing Personalized Copies of a Document.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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