Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 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: Finding and Changing Word's Internal Commands.

Finding and Changing Word's Internal Commands

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 6, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365


2

When you are developing macros, you may want to replace one of the built-in commands used by Word with your own macro code. In order to do this, you must find out the name used by Word to refer to the built-in commands. You can do so by following these steps:

  1. Display the Developer tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click the Macros tool, in the Code group. Word displays the Macros dialog box.
  3. Using the Macros In drop-down list, select Word Commands. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Macros dialog box.

  5. Using the command list, locate and select the command you want to edit. Once selected, the name should appear not only in the list of commands, but also in the Macro Name box at the top of the dialog box.
  6. Now, if you want to change the command, continue on with the rest of these steps:

  7. Using the Macros In drop-down list (the same one you used in step 3), select where you want your edited command saved. The command name (the one you selected in step 4) should still appear in the Macro Name box at the top of the dialog box.
  8. Click on Create. Word starts the VBA Editor and shows the program instructions that make up the built-in command.
  9. Make your changes to the command.
  10. Close the Editor window by clicking on the Close icon in the upper-right corner of the window.
  11. Save your changes, if prompted.

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 (8027) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Finding and Changing Word's Internal Commands.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Reducing Word's CPU Load

A series of options for checking the CPU load of your Word document.

Discover More

Changing Axis Tick Marks

Create a chart in Excel, and you may find that the tick marks shown on the axes in the chart aren't to your liking. It is ...

Discover More

Vertical Lines in Word

Lines can help to organize the data on a page or make certain points clearer. Word provides several different ways you ...

Discover More

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!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Saving Changes when Closing

If you write a macro that makes changes to a document, you may want that macro to save those changes. There are several ...

Discover More

Running Macros from Macros

Need to run one macro from within another macro? You can easily do it by using the Run method of the Application object, ...

Discover More

Passing Parameters to Functions

Functions can be used to perform repetitive tasks and return values to your main program. You can also pass values to a ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five more than 0?

2021-11-07 06:07:12

Kiwerry

Interesting, thanks Allen
Unfortunately not available in the other Office components - or, at least, not accessible using the method.


2021-11-07 05:40:35

Doug B

I'm wondering if you change a built-in Word command, do you not run the risk of your work being overwritten during future Word updates?


This Site

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.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.