VBA Code

Style Object

A style represents either a built-in style or a user defined style.

Get the Column Number of the selection

This only works for selections, not for ranges.

With Dialogs(wdDialogFormatColumns) 
   Debug.Print . ColumnNo 
End With 

Styles Collection

You can use the Styles property to return the Styles collection.

Dim objStyle As Style 
For Each objStyle In ActiveDocument.Styles 

Next objStyle 

If you want to modify styles in a template, use the OpenAsDocument method to open the template as a document
Use Styles(index), where index is a style name, a wdBuiltinStyle constant or index number

Dim oStyle As Style 
ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal") = oStyle; 

Dim objStyle As Style 
Set objStyle = ActiveDocument.Styles("Color") 

If you are using the style name it must match the spelling and spacing of the style name exactly, but not necessarily its capitalization.

Dim objStyle As Style 
Set objStyle = ActiveDocument.Styles(wdBuiltInStyle.wdStyleNormal) 

Dim objStyle As Style 
Set objStyle = ActiveDocument.Styles(1) 

The style index number represents the position of the style in the alphabetically sorted list of style names.
Note that Styles(1) is the first style in the alphabetic list.

Description Property

objStyle.Description 

Default Property

In VBA the default property is NameLocal ??

sName = objStyle 
sName = objStyle.NameLocal 

Built-in Property

InUse Property

This property does not tell you whether a style is currently being used but rather tells you if the style is available to be used.
Built-in styles that have not been modified (or applied to any text) in this document will have this property set to False.
User defined styles will always have this property set to True.

Public Sub ListStylesCurrentlyAppliedToText() 
Dim objstyle As Style 
Dim sstylelist As String 
   sstylelist = "Styles in use:" & vbCr 

   For Each objstyle In ActiveDocument.Styles 
       If objstyle.InUse = True Then 
           With ActiveDocument.Content.Find 
               .ClearFormatting 
               .Text = "" 
               .Style = objstyle 
               .Execute Format:=True 
               If .Found = True Then 
                   sstylelist = sstylelist & objstyle.NameLocal & vbCr 
               End If 
           End With 
       End If 
   Next objstyle 
   Call MsgBox(sstylelist) 
End Sub 

BaseStyle Property

ActiveDocument.Styles(1).BaseStyle 

Copies all the styles from the attached template to the document

objDocument.UpdateStyles 

Dim objStylesCol As Styles 
   Set objStylesCol = objDocument.Styles 

Do not rely on the default members !!!

Dim objStyle As Word.Style 
   objStyle.NameLocal = "Style Name" 

It is possible to redefine a style based on changes that are made to a portion of text that has been formatted with that style.

objStyle.AutomaticallyUpdate = True | False 

Every style object of type wdStyleTypeParagraph has a ParagraphFormat object that represents the paragraph form settings for that style

If (objParagraph.Format.Style Like "Heading [0-9]") Then 
End If 

VBA - Accessing Styles

Document Styles Collection

The Styles collection is available from the Document object. It is not available from the Template object.

Modifying a style within a Template

The Styles collection is available from the Document object. It is not available from the Template object.
If you want to modify styles in a template, use the OpenAsDocument method to open the template as a document

The following changes the formatting of Heading 1 in the template attached to this document

With ActiveDocument.AttachedTemplate.OpenAsDocument 
   .Styles(wdheading1).Font.Name = "Arial" 
   .Close SaveChanges:=wdSaveOptions.wdsavechanges 
End With 

OrganizerCopy method

You can use this method to copy styles between documents and templates
Copies the specified AutoText entry, toolbar, style, or macro project item from the source document or template to the destination document or template.

Application.OrganizerCopy Source:=ActiveDocument.Name, _ 
                          Destination:="C:\Templates\Template1.dot", _ 
                          Name:="SubText", _ 
                          Object:=wdOrganizerObject.wdOrganizerObjectStyles 

Source - String. The document or template file name that contains the item you want to copy.
Destination - String. The document or template file name to which you want to copy an item.
Name - String. The name of the AutoText entry, toolbar, style, or macro you want to copy.
Object - WdOrganizerObject. The kind of item you want to copy.

If the style named "SubText" exists in the active document, this example copies the style to C:\Templates\Template1.dot.

Dim styleLoop As Style 

For Each styleLoop In ActiveDocument.Styles 
    If (styleLoop = "SubText") Then 
        Application.OrganizerCopy Source:=ActiveDocument.Name, _ 
                                  Destination:="C:\Templates\Template1.dot", _ 
                                  Name:="SubText", _ 
                                  Object:=wdOrganizerObject.wdOrganizerObjectStyles 
    End If 
Next styleLoop 

This example copies all the AutoText entries in the template attached to the active document to the Normal template.

Dim atEntry As AutoTextEntry 

For Each atEntry In ActiveDocument.AttachedTemplate.AutoTextEntries 
    Application.OrganizerCopy.Source:=ActiveDocument.AttachedTemplate.FullName, _ 
                              Destination:=NormalTemplate.FullName, _ 
                              Name:=atEntry.Name, _ 
                              Object:=wdOrganizerObject.wdOrganizerObjectAutoText 
Next atEntry 

VBA - Creating Styles

Styles.Add Method

Use the Add method to create a new user-defined style and add it to the Styles collection.

ActiveDocument.Styles.Add Name:="New Style 1", _ 
                          Type:=wdStyleType.wdStyleTypeParagraph 

Paragragh Styles

This example creates a new paragraph style called "New Paragraph Style 1"

Dim objStyle As Style 
Set objStyle = ActiveDocument.Styles.Add(Name:="New Paragraph Style 1", _ 
                                         Type:=wdStyleType.wdStylesParagraph) 

With objStyle 
   .Font.Bold 
   .Font.Italic 
   .Font.Name 
   .Font.Size = 14 
End With 

Character Styles

This example creates a new character style called "New Character Style 1"

Dim objStyle As Style 
Set objStyle = ActiveDocument.Styles.Add(Name:="New Character Style 1", _ 
                                         Type:=wdStyleType.wdStyleTypeCharacter) 

Styles based on existing styles

A style can be based on another style

Dim objStyle As Style 
Set objStyle = ActiveDocument.Styles.Add Name:="newstyle", _ 
                                         Type:=wdStyleType.wdStyleTypeParagraph 
objStyle.BaseStyle = "Chapter" 

A Style object includes the following attributes:

ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").AutomaticallyUpdate = False 
ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").BaseStyle = "" 
ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").NextParagraphStyle = "Normal" 
ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").NoSpaceBetweenParagraphsOfSameStyle = False 

• Font

ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").Font.Name = "Arial" 
ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").Font.Size = 12 
ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").Font.Bold = False 
ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").Font.Italic = False 
ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").Font.Underline = False 
ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").Font.TextColor.RGB = RGB(200, 200, 200) 

• Paragraph

If (objStyle.Type = wdStyleType.wdStyleTypeParagraph) Then 
   objStyle.ParagraphFormat.Alignment = wdParagraphAlignment.wdAlignParagraphLeft 
End If 

• Tabs

ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").ParagraphFormat.TabStops 

• Borders

ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").Borders 

• Language

ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").LanguageID 

• Frame

ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").Frame 

• Numbering

ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").LinkToListTemplate _
      
                                ListTemplate:= ListGalleries(wdListGalleryType.wdBulletGallery).ListTemplates(1), _ 
                                ListLevelNumber:=1 

• Shortcut Keys

VBA - Applying Styles

To apply a style to a range, paragraph, or multiple paragraphs, set the Style property to a user-defined or built-in style name.

objRange.Style = Normal 
Selection.Range.Style = "My New Style" 

F4 - Repeat

If you use this line then F4 cannot be used to repeat the style

Application.Selection.Style = sStyleName 

Instead use the wdDialogFormatStyle dialog box

Dim dlgStyle As Word.Dialog 
dlgStyle = Application.Dialogs(Word.wdWordDialog.wdDialogFormatStyle) 
dlgStyle.Name = sStyleName 
dlgStyle.Execute() 

VBA - Updating Styles

UpdateStyles Method

You can use the UpdateStyles method to update the styles in the active document to match the style definitions in the attached template.

ActiveDocument.UpdateStyles 

UpdateStylesOnOpen Property

True is the styles are to be updated every time the document is opened

Documents("My Report.doc").UpdateStylesOnOpen = False 

VBA - Copying Styles

Document.CopyStylesFromTemplate

ActiveDocument.CopyStylesFromTemplate(template) 

template - the name of the template to use

When styles are copied across any existing styles in the document with the same name are redefined.
All existing styles are left unchanged.

VBA - Paragraph Character Linking

LinkStyle Property

Sets or returns a Variant that represents a link between a paragraph and a character style.
When a character style and a paragraph style are linked, the two styles take on the same character formatting.

This example creates and formats a new character style, and then it links the character style to the built-in heading style "Heading 1" so that the "Heading 1" style takes on the character formatting of the newly added style.

Sub LinkHeadStyle() 
    Dim styChar1 As Style 

    Set styChar1 = ActiveDocument.Styles.Add(Name:="Heading 1 Characters", _ 
                                             Type:=wdStyleTypewdStyleTypeCharacter) 
    With styChar1 
        .Font.Name = "Verdana" 
        .Font.Bold = True 
        .Font.Shadow = True 
        With .Font.Borders(1) 
            .LineStyle = wdLineStyle.wdLineStyleDot 
            .LineWidth = wdLineWidth.wdLineWidth300pt 
            .Color = wdColor.wdColorDarkRed 
        End With 
    End With 
    ActiveDocument.Styles("Heading 1").LinkStyle = ActiveDocument.Styles("Heading 1 Characters") 

    With ActiveDocument.Content 
        .InsertParagraphAfter 
        .InsertAfter "New Linked Style" 
        .Select 
    End With 

    Selection.Collapse Direction:=wdCollapseDirection.wdCollapseEnd 
    Selection.Style = ActiveDocument.Styles("Heading 1") 
End Sub 

VBA - Styles and Formatting Task Pane

Options

Keep track of formatting

Application.Options.FormatScanning = False 

Mark formatting inconsistencies

Application.Options.ShowFormatError = False 

Show Drop-Down

Sets or returns a WdShowFilter constant that represents the styles and formatting displayed in the Styles and Formatting task pane.

ActiveDocument.FormattingShowFilter = wdShowFilter.wdShowFilterStylesAll 

VBA - Printing Document Headings

Creates a new document with Heading XX style paragraphs from the active document

Public Sub PrintHeadings 
Dim objParagraph As Paragraph 
Dim objRange As Range 
Dim objDocumentA As Document 
Dim objDocumentB As Document 
Dim iLevel As Integer 
Dim iMaxLevel As Integer 

iMaxLevel = InputBox("Enter Maximum level for Heading style: ") 
If (iMaxLevel = 0) Then Exit Sub 

Set objDocumentA = Application.ActiveDocument 
Set objDocumentB = Documents.Add(objDocumentA.AttachedTemplate.Name) 
With objDocumentB.PageSetup 
   .TopMargin - InchesToPoints(0.25) 
   .BottomMargin - InchesToPoints(0.25) 
   .LeftMargin - InchesToPoints(0.25) 
   .RightMargin - InchesToPoints(0.25) 
End With 

Set objRange = objDocumentB.Range 
For Each objParagraph In objDocumentA.Paragraphs 
   iLevel = 0 
   If objParagraph.Format.Style Like "Heading [0-9]" Then 
      iLevel = Val(Mid(objParagraph.Format.Style,8)) 
      If (iLevel > 0) And (iLevel <- iMaxLevel) Then 
         objRange.Collapse wdCollapseDirection.wdCollapseEnd 
         objRange.Text = String(iLevel - 1), vbTab) & Format(iLevel) & ") " & objParagraph.Range.Text 
     End If 

' delete any annoying page breaks
   Selection.Find.ClearFormatting 
   Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting 
   With Selection.Find 
      .Text = "^m" 
      .Replacement.Text = "" 
      .Forward = True 
   End With 
   Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplace.wdReplaceAll 
End Sub 

VBA - Used Styles

List all styles in a document

Public Sub ListAllStyles() 
Dim objstyle As Word.Style 

   For Each objstyle In ActiveDocument.Styles 
     'Call MsgBox(objstyle.NameLocal)
      Selection.TypeText Text:=objstyle.NameLocal 
      Selection.TypeParagraph 
   Next objstyle 
End Sub 

Public Sub ListAllCustomStyles() 
Dim objstyle As Word.Style 

   For Each objstyle In ActiveDocument.Styles 
      If (objstyle.BuiltIn = False) Then 
        Selection.TypeText Text:=objstyle.NameLocal 
        Selection.TypeParagraph 
      End If 
   Next objstyle 
End Sub 

Creates a new document with Heading XX style paragraphs from the active document

Public Sub UsedStyles 
Dim arAllStyles() As String 
Dim arUsedStyles() As String 
Dim lTotalParagraphs As Long 
Dim objParagraph As Paragraph 
Dim sPreviousStyle As String 
Dim iarraycount As Integer 
Dim icount As Integer 
Dim itotalusedstyles As Integer 

lTotalParagraphs = ActiveDocument.Paragraphs.Count 
ReDim arAllStyles(lTotalParagraphs) 

For Each objParagraph In ActiveDocument.Paragraphs 
   arAllStyles(iarraycount) = objParagraph.Style.Name 
   iarraycount := iarraycount + 1 
Next objParagraph 

'sort the array alphabetically

ReDim arUsedStyles(lTotalParagraphs) 

sPreviousStyle = "" 
For icount = 1 to lTotalParagraphs 
   If (arAllStyles(icount) <> sPreviousStyle) 
      itotalusedstyles = itotalusedstyles + 1 
      If (UBound(arUsedStyles) > itotalusedstyles) Then 
         ReDim Preserve arUsedStyles(itotalusedstyles) 
      End If 

      arUsedStyles(itotalusedstyles) = arAllStyles(itotalusedstyles) 
      sPreviousStyle = arAllStyles(itotalusedstyles) 
   End If 
Next icount 

Document.Add 
For icount = 1 To UBound(arStyles) 
   Selection.InsertAfter arAllStyles(icount) & vbCr 
   Selection.Collapse wdCollapseDirection.wdCollapseEnd 
Next icount 
End Sub 

VBA - Style Sheet

Style Definition

Font

Paragraph

Tabs

Borders

Language

Frame

Numbering

Shortcut Key

VBA - BUG Visibility Property

objStyleVisibility Property

This property actually does the opposite to what it says.
ActiveDocument.Styles("").Visibility = True 'will hide the style
ActiveDocument.Styles("").Visibility = False 'will show the style

objStyleVisibility Property

Although this property should not really be used it can be useful to hide and show a list of styles in the Styles and Formatting task pane.
However if you run either of the following lines of code all the heading styles in your document will have a list style associated with them

ActiveDocument.Styles("Article / Section").Visibility = False 
ActiveDocument.Styles("Article / Section").Visibility = True 

The code can be used in conjunction with any of the following "select styles to show" options "Recommended, In Use, In Current Document"