Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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: Controlling Repagination in Macros.

Controlling Repagination in Macros

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 25, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


Ken asked if there is a way to turn off automatic repagination of a Word document while a macro is running. It turns out, in fact, that there are two ways you can handle this.

The first method is to use the Pagination property of the Options object. You can set this property to either True or False, as follows:

Options.Pagination = False

This property is the same as setting the Enable Background Repagination option in the General section of the Advanced options (in the Word Options dialog box). If the property is set to False, then Word does not perform any background repagination. You can later set the property to True to turn the feature back on.

The second method for handling automatic repagination is to simply turn off screen updating. If your macro does quite a bit of slicing and dicing on the document, this is always a good idea, anyway, as it stops Word from trying to update the display. In some cases, the speed improvement for your macro can be dramatic if you turn off screen updating. You control screen updating in this manner:

Application.ScreenUpdating = False

Again, the ScreenUpdating property can be set to either True or False. If set to False, screen updating is turned off. If you turn it off, you should always set ScreenUpdating to True before ending your macro.

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 (9233) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Controlling Repagination in Macros.

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

Workaround for Multiple Rows of Worksheet Tabs

If you've got a lot of worksheets in your workbook, you may want to display their tabs in to rows at the bottom of the ...

Discover More

Unwanted Data Changes

The AutoCorrect feature in Excel can change some of your data in ways you don't like. If you discover this is happening, ...

Discover More

Moving a Table Column

Want to move a column in a table very easily? You can do so by using the same editing techniques you are already using.

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 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Determining if Caps Lock is On

If your macro needs to determine the status of the Caps Lock key, you need the code in this tip. Just use the Information ...

Discover More

Quickly Clearing Array Contents

An array of variables is a powerful element of VBA programming. If you want to clear what is stored in an array, here's a ...

Discover More

Highlight Words from a Word List

Do you need to highlight certain words in a document, and aren't quite sure how to go about it? Using the techniques ...

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 5 - 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


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.