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: Dealing with Run-On Sentences.

Dealing with Run-On Sentences

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 5, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

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:

Hold down the Shift key as you press the Right Arrow key to select the comma.
Press a period. This replaces the comma with the requisite period.
Press the Right Arrow once. This should move past the space and put the insertion point just to the left of the character you want to capitalize.
Hold down the Shift key as you press the Right Arrow key to select the character.
Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
Click Change Case in the Font group.

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:

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 (10558) 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: Dealing with Run-On Sentences.

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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Displaying a Single Page

When displaying the information in your document, Word is rather flexible. It can, if you so choose, display multiple ...

Discover More

Searching Comments

Need to find that misplaced comment in your worksheet? It's easy to do using the Find and Replace capabilities of Excel.

Discover More

Understanding At Least Line Spacing

Line spacing is used to control how close lines are to each other within a paragraph. Word allows you to specify several ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Consistent Spacing

It is a good idea to make sure that the spacing following each sentence in your document is consistent. Here's a handy ...

Discover More

Inserting the Date and Time

Inserting a date and time in your document is a snap using the tools provided in Word. Just pick the command, then ...

Discover More

When to Hyphenate Your Document

Want to add a finishing touch to your printed document? Hyphenating the words in the document can make your text read ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is six minus 2?

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.)

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.