Converting Numbers to Text

There are times when you need to spell numbers out. For instance, you may want to spell out "1234" as "one thousand two hundred thirty-four." Word has no built-in function that will do the conversion for you, so you are left to create a macro that will handle the conversion.

The following macro, BigCardText, will convert any number between 0 and 999,999,999. To use it, simply place the insertion point either within the number you want to convert or just to the right of the number (if it is a single digit).

Sub BigCardText()
    Dim sDigits As String
    Dim sBigStuff As String

    sBigStuff = ""

    ' Select the full number in which the insertion point is located
    Selection.MoveLeft Unit:=wdWord, Count:=1, Extend:=wdMove
    Selection.MoveRight Unit:=wdWord, Count:=1, Extend:=wdExtend

    ' Store the digits in a variable
    sDigits = Trim(Selection.Text)

    If Val(sDigits) > 999999 Then
        If Val(sDigits) <= 999999999 Then
            sBigStuff = Trim(Int(Str(Val(sDigits) / 1000000)))
            ' Create a field containing the big digits and
            ' the cardtext format flag
            Selection.Fields.Add Range:=Selection.Range, _
              Type:=wdFieldEmpty, Text:="= " + sBigStuff + " \* CardText", _
              PreserveFormatting:=True

            ' Select the field and copy it
            Selection.MoveLeft Unit:=wdWord, Count:=1, Extend:=wdExtend
            sBigStuff = Selection.Text & " million "
            sDigits = Right(sDigits, 6)
        End If
    End If
    If Val(sDigits) <= 999999 Then
        ' Create a field containing the digits and the cardtext format flag
        Selection.Fields.Add Range:=Selection.Range, _
          Type:=wdFieldEmpty, Text:="= " + sDigits + " \* CardText", _
          PreserveFormatting:=True

        ' Select the field and copy it
        Selection.MoveLeft Unit:=wdWord, Count:=1, Extend:=wdExtend
        sDigits = sBigStuff & Selection.Text

        ' Now put the words in the document
        Selection.TypeText Text:=sDigits
        Selection.TypeText Text:=" "
    Else
        MsgBox "Number too large", vbOKOnly
    End If
End Sub

When using the macro, make sure that the number you are converting does not contain extraneous information, such as dollar signs or commas. When you run BigCardText, the macro checks to see if the selected number is over one million. If it is, it first works on the portion above one million, converting it to words. Then, the value below one million is converted. The final, full wording is put together and pasted back into the document, ready for use.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (203) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Converting Numbers to Text.