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: Checking for a Text Selection Length.
There are numerous times when you are writing macros when you will need to determine if the user has made a selection. There are numerous ways you can do this in a macro. The following code illustrates one possible method for accomplishing this in VBA. It sets the value of a flag, InSelection, to True if there is currently a selection. Otherwise InSelection is set to False.
InSelection = False If Selection.Type=wdSelectionIP Then Inselection=True End If
Or, If you prefer:
Inselection=(Selection.Type=wdSelectionIP)
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12175) 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: Checking for a Text Selection Length.
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2016-04-18 21:21:23
Av
What about
if selection.start <>selection.end
?
2014-05-07 13:12:34
awyatt
Seems that it is best to NOT check the length. Instead, use the following code:
Inselection = False
If Selection.Type = wdSelectionIP Then
Inselection = True
End If
Or, if you prefer:
Inselection = (Selection.Type = wdSelectionIP)
-Allen
2014-05-07 12:50:05
Marc Hichens
I can confirm that the code also does not work in Word 2010. When nothing is selected (flashing cursor), the selected range has a length of 1. When 1 character is highlighted, the selected range also has a length of 1.
I am looking for a technique to check whether any text is highlighted prior to proceeding with the remainder of the code.
2012-12-16 15:01:49
Moshe Flam
In any case this does not work for word 2003 (and I suspect doesnt work for all versions) - When nothing selected, the first letter after the cursor is returned, so you get Len(Selection) = 1 and not zero.
2012-10-06 05:22:37
Rod Grealish
The code fragment
InSelection = False
If Len(Selection) > 0 Then InSelection = True
could be written as
InSelection = Len(Selection) > 0
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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: 
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