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: Getting Bookmark Information in VBA.

Getting Bookmark Information in VBA

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated August 18, 2020)

Assuming the insertion point is located within a bookmark, John wonders how he can use VBA to discover the name of that bookmark and to select all the text within the bookmark.

There are a couple of tricks to keep in mind when working with bookmarks. First, it is best not to assume that the insertion point is within a bookmark. Instead, you can verify if it is within a bookmark by using the following code:

BkMkCount = Selection.Bookmarks.Count

When executed, BkMkCount will contain a value indicating the number of bookmarks. If you are expecting only a single bookmark, then you can verify that the variable is equal to 1 before you proceed with your code.

If you want to figure out the name of the bookmark, then you can use the following:

BkMkName = Selection.Bookmarks(1).Name

If you then want to select all the text in the bookmark, use the following:

Selection.Bookmarks(1).Select

To bring all these concepts together you can use a structure such as the following:

BkMkCount = Selection.Bookmarks.Count
If BkMkCount = 1 Then
    With Selection.Bookmarks(1)
        BkMkName =.Name
        .Select
    End With
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 (12251) 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: Getting Bookmark Information 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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Introducing the Organizer

The Organizer is a great tool for, well, organizing the information stored in your templates. This tip introduces the ...

Discover More

Invalid Names when Opening Workbook

Don't you hate opening a workbook and seeing error messages? If you see a message that some "invalid names" were detected ...

Discover More

Modifying Behavior of the Open Dialog Box

The Open dialog box is one that few of us think about, but you can control how it behaves with a little bit of macro ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Finding Cross-References to Specific Bookmarks

Word allows you to create a cross-reference to several different types of content in your documents. For instance, you ...

Discover More

Protecting Bookmarks

Bookmarks are a great boon in developing and working with documents--"until someone deletes them. When it comes to ...

Discover More

Seeing Where Bookmarks Are

Bookmarks can be great for referencing and finding portions of your document. If you want to easily see where the ...

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 five more than 2?

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.