Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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: Controlling the Italic Text Attribute.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 10, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365
Word allows a rich set of formatting attributes for text in a document. You can control the italic attribute in your macros by setting the value of the italic property. The syntax if you are using VBA is as follows:
Selection.Font.Italic = toggle
where toggle is either False (turns off the italic attribute) or True (turns on the italic attribute).
If you omit a toggle value, the statement will simply change the current setting of the italic attribute—italic text becomes non-italic and vice-versa.
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12501) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Controlling the Italic Text Attribute.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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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