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: Transposing Two Characters.

Transposing Two Characters

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 19, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


1

I generally call myself "fumble fingers" when I do it, but it happens nonetheless. I'm typing along, and all of a sudden I notice that I have transposed two characters in a word. For instance, I type form instead of from. Unfortunately, AutoCorrect can't be programmed to correct my mistake, since both form and from are valid words.

If you find yourself doing this, the following macro will be of interest. It can be used to provide a command left out of Word—that of transposing two characters. All you need to do is position the insertion point between two characters you want to transpose and then issue the macro.

Sub TransposeCharacters()
    With Selection
        .MoveLeft Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1, Extend:=wdExtend
        .Cut
        .MoveRight Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
        .Paste
        .MoveLeft Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
    End With
End Sub

This macro is made more valuable if you assign it to a keyboard shortcut, as described in other issues of WordTips. Once this is done, you can fumble your fingers all you want, and then transpose the characters without ever removing your fingers from the keyboard.

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 (10606) 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: Transposing Two Characters.

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

Age Calculation with Fields

People don't normally think of using fields to do any calculations. Even so, you can use fields to perform a simple ...

Discover More

Working with Record Numbers

Want to keep track of various rows in a data table through the use of record numbers? Here are some options and ...

Discover More

Comparing Strings

When writing a macro, a common task is the need to compare two strings. You can do this by "normalizing" the strings, as ...

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)

Removing Duplicates in Word

If you have information in Word such as e-mail addresses or part numbers, your document might include duplicates. This ...

Discover More

Slowing Down Mouse Selection

We've all experienced the problem: You start selecting a large block of text using the mouse, and before you know it the ...

Discover More

Inserting a Non-Breaking Space

In Word a non-breaking space will help you keep two words together on the same line. Here's two different ways that you ...

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 three more than 1?

2021-01-08 15:39:16

Andrew

I do this without clobbering the Clipboard like this (assuming just the two characters to be transposed are selected):

With Selection
.Text = .Characters(2).Text & .Characters(1).Text
End With

Andy.


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.