Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Locating the My Documents Folder.

Locating the My Documents Folder

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 2, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

When creating a macro, you may need to know the full path to the user's My Documents folder. The path can differ, based on the system and the user logged into the system. The easiest way to locate it is through the use of the Environ function, as shown here:

MsgBox Environ("userprofile") & "\My Documents"

This code line displays the full path (including the drive letter) in a message box. If you want to have the path assigned to a string variable instead, you can use this code line:

sMyPath = Environ("userprofile") & "\My Documents"

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 (222) 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: Locating the My Documents Folder.

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

Positioning a Column on the Screen

If you have static columns and dynamic columns on the screen, you may want the dynamic columns to always show a ...

Discover More

Date for Next Wednesday

When working with dates, it is often helpful to be able to calculate some date in the future based on a starting date. ...

Discover More

Determining the Hour of the Day

Need to know the current hour of the day? You can derive the information in your macros by using the Hour function, as ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Understanding the If ... End If Structure

One of the powerful programming structures provided in VBA allows you to conditionally execute commands. The If ... End ...

Discover More

Using Message Boxes

If your macro needs to communicate with a user, one simple way to do it is to use a message box. Here's how to use this ...

Discover More

Saving in Document Format from a Macro

Saving a document in a different format is easy if you are manually using the Save As command. Saving a document in an ...

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 8 + 7?

2017-02-24 16:48:35

Alicia

Hi. I've tried adding the your recommended coding to designate the user's "my documents" path, but I'm having trouble knowing where int he macro to place your String.

Here is what I have, with just the file name.

Selection.InsertFile FileName:="DraftBox.docx", Range:="", _
ConfirmConversions:=False, Link=False, Attachment:=False

Where do I incorporate your coding: sMyPath = Environ("userprofile") & "\My Documents"

Thank you!!

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.