Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: Using a Macro to Change the Formatting of All Instances of a Word.
It is not uncommon to use repeating design elements in a document. For instance, you may want all occurrences of a particular word to appear in bold italics, at a certain point size. While you can certainly do the formatting by hand, it is much more efficient to allow a macro to do the work for you. By handling the formatting in this way, you don't need to worry about remembering how the word should appear. This macro, FormatWords, is an example of such a macro.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: 
Sub FormatWords()
Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
With Selection.Find
.Text = "Warning!"
.Replacement.Text = ""
.Replacement.Font.Bold = True
.Replacement.Font.Italic = True
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.MatchWholeWord = True
End With
Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
End Sub
When you run this macro, it searches for all occurrences of the word Warning (followed by an exclamation point) and changes the formatting on it so the word is bold and italics.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9537) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Using a Macro to Change the Formatting of All Instances of a Word.
Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!
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2015-04-29 10:15:12
Martin
Allen, many thanks for your tip. This is very helpful!
Could this macro also search for words that are in italics and change the formatting of all identical (non-italic) words into italics?
This would be a helpful tool to highight defined terms in a 500 page document. The document starts with a list of 400 words in italics followed by their meanings in regular formatting. On the following pages of the document, all previously defined terms have regular formatting. I am looking for an easy way to change the formatting of all defined terms into italics, so it is instantly clear that these words have a special meaning. Ideally, it could be avoided to list all 400 defined words in the macro. Many thanks again!
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