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: Determining How Many Styles are Available.

Determining How Many Styles are Available

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 5, 2021)

You can determine the number of styles available in a document (when creating a VBA macro) by using the Count property with the Styles object. This is done using the following syntax:

x = ActiveDocument.Styles.Count

where x is the variable you can then use in other VBA macro lines. Note that this function indicates how many have been defined, not how many of those are actually in use. This means that built-in styles are also counted. If you want to exclude built-in styles, you can do an actual iterative count of the styles in this manner:

x = 0
For Each objStyle in ActiveDocument.Styles
    If Not objStyle.BuiltIn Then x = x + 1
Next objStyle

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 (13190) 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: Determining How Many Styles are Available.

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

Deleting Menu Items

Excel allows you to customize your menus so that they contain the commands you want on them. If you later want to delete ...

Discover More

Printing Odd or Even Pages

When you print a worksheet, Excel normally prints all the pages or a consecutive series of pages that you specify. If you ...

Discover More

Generating a Unique ID Number

If you are keeping track of people or things within Excel, you may want to devise unique ID numbers you can use for those ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Automating a Two-Column Section

If you need to routinely apply two-column formatting in the middle of a document, you can automate the process by using a ...

Discover More

Determining How Many Windows are Open

You can open multiple documents at the same time in Word, and each document occupies its own document window. Here's a ...

Discover More

Determining the Size of a File

When processing a document using a macro, you may need to know the precise size of a particular file. The way you figure ...

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 three more than 4?

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.