Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. 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: Getting User Input in a Dialog Box.
If you need to get input from a user under control of a macro, one method you can use is to employ the InputBox function. This function displays a dialog box and allows the user to type a response. The result is a string, returned to your macro, which you can then process and use.
The syntax for the InputBox function is as follows:
sMyString = InputBox(sPrompt, sTitle, sDefault)
There are three parameters you can use with InputBox, although only the first one is absolutely required. In this syntax, sPrompt is the text you want displayed as the user prompt, sTitle is the text to display in the title bar of the dialog box, and sDefault is the default text string offered to the user in the dialog box. The user can edit or accept the default string, as desired.
As an example, the following code lines can be used to display a dialog box and ask the user for his or her name:
sPrompt = "Please check your name and make any corrections" sTitle = "Name Entry" sDefault = "John Doe" sUserName = InputBox(sPrompt, sTitle, sDefault)
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 (6202) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Getting User Input in a Dialog Box.
The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!
Want to know the absolute value of a number? It's easy to derive in VBA by using the Abs function.
Discover MoreTypographical measurements are often expressed in points. There are several formatting settings that, when accessed ...
Discover MoreWhen you distribute documents to other people, you may want those documents to have associated macros that the reader can ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. 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: 
Comments