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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Using SUMIF with Text Parameters

The SUMIF function is supposed to work just fine doing comparisons with text values. This isn't a hard-and-fast rule, ...

Discover More

Using Older Spelling and Grammar Checking

If you prefer the older spelling and grammar checking process used in Word, then you will find this tip helpful. It only ...

Discover More

Setting Up an Array with Fields

One of the more esoteric ways to display data is with an "array," which is like a miniature inline table. This tip ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies 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

Converting Paragraphs to Comments

Want to pull text from a bunch of paragraphs and stuff that text into comments? It's easy to do using the macro presented ...

Discover More

Clearing the Undo Stack in a Macro

When writing a macro, you may need a way to clear the undo stack. This can be done with a single command, as described in ...

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 9 - 3?

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.