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: Moving Through a Table in a Macro.

Moving Through a Table in a Macro

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 9, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


There may be times when you want to move the insertion point from cell to cell in a table. (Under the control of your macro, of course). If you are developing a VBA macro, this is done with the Move method, in the following manner:

Selection.Move Unit:=wdCell, Count:=1

In this case, the insertion point moves forward by one cell. If you want to instead move backward, just change the value used for Count:

Selection.Move Unit:=wdCell, Count:=-1

In either case, the insertion point moves to the beginning of the next or previous cell. When moving forward, the insertion point moves left to right, top to bottom through a table. If moving backward, the movement is from right to left, bottom to top. When the beginning or end of the table is reached, the command has no further effect.

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 (13201) 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: Moving Through a Table in a Macro.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Automatically Selecting Words

When editing a document, Word normally selects entire words as you use the mouse to select text. This tip explains why ...

Discover More

Making Short Work of Menu Names

If your menu bar has become cluttered due to different add-ins you've added, you can free up space by shortening the menu ...

Discover More

Meaningless Text

Need to quickly put some text into a document, even if that text is essentially meaningless? Here's how to put this type ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Occurrences of a Text String within a Document

You may have a need to find out how many times a certain text string occurs within a document. You can find out manually ...

Discover More

Determining an Integer Value

One of the math functions you can use in your macros is the Int function. It provides a way for you to derive an integer ...

Discover More

Determining the Week of the Year

If you are working with dates in a macro, you may need to determine which week of the year a date falls within. This can ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is seven less than 7?

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.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.