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 New Document in VBA.

Creating a New Document in VBA

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 21, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

One of the common things done during a macro is to create a new document. For instance, your macro could need the new document to hold processed text, or a different version of the document on which you are working.

To create a new document, simply include this line in your VBA macro:

Documents.Add

This creates a new document, based on the Normal template, adds it to the Documents collection, and makes the document active. This is the same as, within Word, creating a new document. If you want to create a new document based on a different template, simply use this command:

Documents.Add("MyTemplate.dotx")

Note that name of the desired template is specified. You may also find it helpful to include the full path to the template within the quote marks.

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 (12725) 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 New Document 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...

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