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: Creating a Directory.

Creating a Directory

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 9, 2026)

If you need to, you can create a directory using VBA. This is done with the MkDir command, and is a holdover from the same command in earlier versions of BASIC. The syntax is:

MkDir DirName

where DirName is the full pathname of the directory you want to create. If you do not use a string variable to specify the directory name, then DirName must be enclosed in quotes. You might want to use this command if you want to create a directory where you can store temporary files you are building with your macro.

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 (12482) 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: Creating a Directory.

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. ...

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