Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 5, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
Mia often edits documents containing run-on sentences. Invariably these are two sentences that are currently joined by a comma. Mia wants to replace the comma with a period and then capitalize the first letter of the next word. Doing this manually gets repetitive and time-consuming, so she would like to create a macro and a keyboard shortcut to handle the process.
You could actually record a macro to handle this type of edit. Put your insertion point to the left of the comma and start the macro recorder. You can then perform these steps:
You can now stop the macro recorder. The macro could be assigned to a shortcut key or added to the Quick Access Toolbar. If you examine the macro, you will find that it looks similar to the following:
Sub FixRunOn() Selection.MoveRight Unit:=wdCharacter, _ Count:=1, Extend:=wdExtend Selection.TypeText Text:="." Selection.MoveRight Unit:=wdCharacter, _ Count:=1 Selection.MoveRight Unit:=wdCharacter, _ Count:=1, Extend:=wdExtend Selection.Range.Case = wdUpperCase End Sub
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 (10558) 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: Dealing with Run-On Sentences.
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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2019-02-25 14:19:41
Malcolm Patterson
Step 6 can also be performed by pressing SHIFT+F3, which toggles the case of selected text from lowercase to initial cap to all caps and back to lowercase. If text is not selected but the cursor is within a word, then that word's case changes. (I generally prefer a key combination to a mouse click.)
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