Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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 if Caps Lock is On.

Determining if Caps Lock is On

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated December 3, 2016)

When you are creating a macro, you may have a need to know if the Caps Lock key is engaged. (For instance, you may want to warn a user to turn the Caps Lock key off.) If you have this need, the following VBA macro code determines the status of the Caps Lock key, and warns you accordingly:

If Selection.Information(wdCapsLock) Then
    MsgBox "The Caps Lock key is on"
Else
    MsgBox "The Caps Lock key is off"
End If

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 (11995) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Determining if Caps Lock is On.

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...

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