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 August 26, 2025)
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...

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