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: Understanding the While...Wend Structure.

Understanding the While...Wend Structure

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 1, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

Macros in Word are written in a language called VBA. Like other programming languages, VBA includes certain programming structures that are used to control how the program executes. One of these structures is the While...Wend structure. This structure has the following syntax:

While condition
    program statements
Wend

When a macro is executing and this structure is encountered, the language tests whatever condition you have defined. You can see examples of conditions in many of the macros used in WordTips. If the condition is true, then the program statements between the While and Wend statements are executed. If the condition is not true, execution of the macro continues with the program line following the Wend statement. If the condition is true when Wend is encountered, the macro will loop back up to the While statement and keep executing the loop until the condition becomes false.

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 (11518) 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: Understanding the While...Wend Structure.

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

First Value Less Than or Equal to 100

If you need to evaluate a row of values to meet specific criteria, then you'll appreciate the discussion in this tip. It ...

Discover More

Deleting Rows Containing Struck-Through Text

Excel makes it easy to delete rows in a worksheet, but it can be more difficult to figure how to delete rows if you only ...

Discover More

Overriding Automatic Numbering of Tables

Word lets you add automatic numbering to different elements of your document. It does not, however, allow much ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Determining the Day of the Year

Need to find out the day of the year for a particular date? It's easy to do if you are using a macro. All you need to do ...

Discover More

Quickly Clearing Array Contents

An array of variables is a powerful element of VBA programming. If you want to clear what is stored in an array, here's a ...

Discover More

Understanding Functions

Do some macro programming in VBA and you'll quickly find out that you can use functions to extend the power and ...

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 two less than 9?

2021-11-04 22:20:37

Tomek

Correction:
You can also exit loop in the middle, e.g., using "If condition Then Exit Do"

2021-11-04 22:13:58

Tomek

The While...Wend loop is not very flexible. it is better to use Do ... Loop in case you need additional logic within the loop. In one form:
Do While condition
... program statements ...
Loop
it is essentially the same.
However the condition test can come at the beginning (Do While condition or Do Until condition)
or at the end (Loop {While | Until} condition.

You can also exit loop in the middle, e.g., using "If condition Then Exit Loop"

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.