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: Printing a Bookmark List.

Printing a Bookmark List

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 18, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365


1

Word provides a very powerful bookmark facility that allows you to assign names to either individual positions in your document or to text selections. As you work more with Word, and particularly in long documents, it would be helpful to periodically print a list of bookmarks. Unfortunately, Word does not provide an automatic method of printing bookmarks, as it does with other document-related information. The quickest way to print a bookmark list is to just insert the list in your document and then print it. The following VBA macro inserts the bookmark list at the insertion point:

Sub BkMkList1()
    Dim J as Integer

    Selection.TypeParagraph
    Selection.InsertBreak Type:=wdColumnBreak
    Selection.TypeText Text:="Bookmark list for "
    Selection.TypeText Text:=ActiveDocument.Name
    Selection.TypeParagraph

    For J = 1 To ActiveDocument.Bookmarks.Count
        Selection.TypeText Text:=Chr(9)
        Selection.TypeText Text:=ActiveDocument.Bookmarks(J).Name
        Selection.TypeParagraph
    Next J
    Selection.InsertBreak Type:=wdColumnBreak
End Sub

When you run the macro, a heading indicating the name of the file will be inserted, followed by each bookmark in the file. These will be in alphabetic order. The bookmark list has a column break before it and after it, as well. You can then print out the single page that contains the bookmark list. When you are done printing, you can delete the bookmark list.

You should note that the macro will print all the bookmarks in the document, including any system-generated bookmarks. If you want to exclude those, then you can use a slightly modified version of the macro, like this:

Sub BkMkList2()
    Dim J as Integer

    Selection.TypeParagraph
    Selection.InsertBreak Type:=wdColumnBreak
    Selection.TypeText Text:="Bookmark list for "
    Selection.TypeText Text:=ActiveDocument.Name
    Selection.TypeParagraph

    For J = 1 To ActiveDocument.Bookmarks.Count
        With ActiveDocument.Bookmarks(J)
            If Left(.Name, 1) <> "_" Then
                Selection.TypeText Text:=Chr(9)
                Selection.TypeText Text:=.Name
                Selection.TypeParagraph
            End If
        End With
    Next J
    Selection.InsertBreak Type:=wdColumnBreak
End Sub

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 (8880) 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: Printing a Bookmark List.

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

Using the Style Area

The style area is an esoteric feature of Word that allows you to easily see the styles applied to the paragraphs in your ...

Discover More

Selecting a Bookmark in a Macro

Bookmarks can be very handy in a document. Word provides a VBA command you can use to easily select any of those bookmarks.

Discover More

Searching for Tabs

Tabs don't normally show up in your printed document, but Word allows you to still search for them. All you need to do is ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Preserving Bookmarks During Replace Operations

When you do a search and replace operation in Word, it is possible that you could inadvertently wipe out a bookmark or ...

Discover More

Reusing a Bookmark

Bookmarks in Word are just like bookmarks used in paper books, any given bookmark may be reused to mark a new location. ...

Discover More

Random OLE Bookmarks

Word has an irritating habit of placing unwanted bookmarks in a document that you've been editing for a while. These ...

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 eight less than 8?

2021-09-18 05:07:58

Ken Endacott

A useful addition is to print out the bookmark followed by the first 30 characters of the bookmarked text . The modified macro is:

Sub BkMkList3()
Dim J As Integer

Selection.TypeParagraph
Selection.InsertBreak Type:=wdColumnBreak
Selection.TypeText Text:="Bookmark list for "
Selection.TypeText Text:=ActiveDocument.Name
Selection.TypeParagraph

For J = 1 To ActiveDocument.Bookmarks.Count
Selection.TypeText Text:=Chr(9)
Selection.TypeText Text:=ActiveDocument.Bookmarks(J).Name & _
Chr(9) & Left(ActiveDocument.Bookmarks(J).Range.Text, 30)

Selection.TypeParagraph
Next J
Selection.InsertBreak Type:=wdColumnBreak
End Sub


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.