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: Determining a Paragraph's Style in VBA.

Determining a Paragraph's Style in VBA

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 21, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365


Word allows you to use styles to format both paragraphs and individual characters in your document. These styles can greatly simplify the consistent application of formatting across an entire document. If you are writing a VBA macro, you may have a need to determine the name of the style applied to a particular paragraph. You can do that by using the Style property with a Paragraph object, as follows:

sParStyle = ActiveDocument.Paragraphs(J).Style

When this line is executed, sParStyle (a string variable) will contain the name of the style used on the document paragraph specified by the index value J. In other words, if J has a value of 5, then sParStyle will contain the name of the style used for the fifth paragraph in the document. (When counting paragraphs, don't forget that "empty" paragraphs are also significant. Paragraphs, in Word, are determined by each press of the Enter key.)

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 (11363) 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: Determining a Paragraph's Style in VBA.

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

Symbols for Non-Printing Characters

Displaying non-printing characters can help you better understand the formatting and contents of your documents. What do ...

Discover More

Automatically Capitalizing Day Names

When you enter a day name into a cell, Excel automatically capitalizes it. If you want to modify this behavior, follow ...

Discover More

Quick Screen Clear

Do you work with a lot of open windows at the same time? If so, you'll love this way to easily focus on only one of those ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Changing Built-in Word Commands

Want to replace Word's internal commands with your own macros? It's easy to do if you know the key discussed in this tip.

Discover More

Determining the Upper Bounds of an Array

When working with variables in a macro, you may need to know the upper boundary dimension for an array. This can be ...

Discover More

Counting Words the Old Fashioned Way

One way to specify word count is to count characters and divide by five. If you still need this old-fashioned way of ...

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 five more than 0?

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.

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.