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: Occurrences of a Text String within a Document.

Occurrences of a Text String within a Document

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 23, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


2

Marc is looking for the fastest, most efficient way—within a macro—to determine a count of how many times a particular text string occurs within a document. Unfortunately there is no way to do this with a simple command or two; instead you need to "step through" a document using the Find and Replace feature of Word.

First, make a temporary copy of your document so that you don't run the risk of messing up your original document. Then use a variable in your macro to count the number of times the desired text gets replaced, and increment the variable every time a replacement occurs. In the following example, the number of times will end up in the variable Replacements. You can then use the value or convert the value to a string to display it.

Sub CountReplacements
    Dim Replacements As Integer

    Replacements = 0
    Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
    Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
    With Selection.Find
        .Text = InputBox("Enter the text you want to find:")
        .Replacement.Text = InputBox("Enter the replacement text:")
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        .Format = False
        .Execute Replace:=wdReplaceOne

        Do Until Not .Found
            .Execute Replace:=wdReplaceOne
            Replacements = Replacements + 1
            Selection.MoveRight Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
        Loop

        If Replacements <> 0 Then
            MsgBox _
              "" & .Text & " has been replaced " & _
              CStr(Replacements) & " times with " & _
              .Replacement.Text
        Else
            MsgBox .Text & " was not found in the document/selection."
        End If
    End With
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 (11941) 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: Occurrences of a Text String within a Document.

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

Suppressing a Zero in a Calculated Sum

You can use fields to calculate a sum of values in a table column. Here are two ways you can modify what is displayed by ...

Discover More

Word 2010 Indexes and Special Tables (Table of Contents)

One of the finishing touches used in some types of documents are an index or a special table, such as a table of ...

Discover More

Borders Surround Lines Instead of Paragraphs

Word gives you the ability to place borders around different elements of your document. If you try to place a border ...

Discover More

Discover the Power of Microsoft Office This beginner-friendly guide reveals the expert tips and strategies you need to skyrocket your productivity and use Office 365 like a pro. Mastering software like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is essential to be more efficient and advance your career. Simple lessons guide you through every step, providing the knowledge you need to get started. Check out Microsoft Office 365 For Beginners today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Saving Changes when Closing

If you write a macro that makes changes to a document, you may want that macro to save those changes. There are several ...

Discover More

Understanding the Select Case Structure

Programming structures are an important tool used by any programmer. The VBA language used by Word's macros includes ...

Discover More

Jumping to the Start or End of a Document

When creating macros, it is often necessary to move the insertion point around the document so that text can be processed ...

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 6 - 3?

2022-11-23 06:19:28

Frix

Bonjour,
Je pense qu'il est plus simple d'utiliser la commande "Rechercher - remplacer"
Introduire la chaîne de texte particulière à rechercher puis demander "Lecture du surlignage" "Tout surligner"
Word indique alors le nombre d'éléments surlignés

Hello,
I think it is easier to use the "Find - Replace" command
Enter the particular text string to be searched and then ask for "Read highlighting" "Highlight all"
Word then shows the number of highlighted items


2018-07-21 05:59:47

Ken Endacott

The macro CountReplacements does not emulate manual Find & Replace and give a true count of text string occurrences.

Manual Find & Replace searches the whole document whereas VBA Find and Replace only searches the current story. The macro CountReplacements searches the body of the document only and not other parts such as text boxes, headers, footers. footnotes and endnotes. A more elaborate macro is needed to search the whole document.


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.