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: Appending to a Non-Document Text File.

Appending to a Non-Document Text File

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 28, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

When working with text files, you may want to add information to an existing file, rather than creating a new text file from scratch. To do this, all you need to do is open the file for Append rather than Output. The following code shows this process:

Open "MyFile.Dat" For Append As #1
For J = 1 to NewValues
    Print #1, UserVals(OrigVals + J)
Next J
Close #1

When the file is opened for Append mode, any new information is added to the end of the file, without disturbing the existing contents.

Make sure you use this only on non-document text files, however. If you attempt this on a document file (meaning you change "MyFile.Dat" to something like "MyFile.Doc", and that is an existing document file), then there is a very real chance that the document will be corrupted and you will not be able to read it in Word any more.

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 (11138) 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: Appending to a Non-Document Text File.

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

Repeating Table Rows with Manual Page Breaks

Need to make sure part of a table is on one page and part on another? The way to do so is not to use manual page breaks, ...

Discover More

Deleting a Bookmark

Create a bookmark and you may, at some future point, need to delete that bookmark. It's easy to do, as described in this tip.

Discover More

Calculating Expressions

Word can do some simple calculations for you, if you add a little-known tool to your toolbar. Here's how to add and use ...

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 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Getting a List of Folder Contents

There are a variety of methods you can use to get a list of files into a Word document. This tip examines a couple of ...

Discover More

Grabbing the MRU List

The MRU (most recently used) list informs you which documents were the last to be opened and edited in Word. You can ...

Discover More

Using Seek In a Macro

When processing non-document text files in a macro, you have a wide range of commands available for your use. One of ...

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 7 - 7?

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.