Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 21, 2026)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Imagine that you are developing a document that uses text colors to signal special meanings to the reader. For instance, you may use red text to indicate what the user should type. If you are developing a document in which you use color within your text, it can be a real bother to use the menus over and over again to change text colors. In such an instance, it is helpful to have a macro that modifies the color automatically. You can assign the macro to a key combination or a toolbar button so you don't have to use the menus. The following macro changes the color of the currently selected text to red.
Sub MakeRed()
If Selection.Type = wdSelectionNormal Or _
Selection.Type = wdSelectionBlock Then
Selection.Font.ColorIndex = wdRed
Else
Beep
End If
End Sub
If you want to use a different color besides red, change the color assignment made in the macro. (Just change the constant wdRed to the desired color.) VBA allows you to use constants to represent colors. There are seventeen different color numbers available:
| Number | Text Color | Word Constant | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Auto | wdAuto | ||
| 1 | Black | wdBlack | ||
| 2 | Blue | wdBlue | ||
| 3 | Cyan | wdTurquoise | ||
| 4 | Green | wdBrightGreen | ||
| 5 | Magenta | wdPink | ||
| 6 | Red | wdRed | ||
| 7 | Yellow | wdYellow | ||
| 8 | White | wdWhite | ||
| 9 | Dark Blue | wdDarkBlue | ||
| 10 | Dark Cyan | wdTeal | ||
| 11 | Dark Green | wdGreen | ||
| 12 | Dark Magenta | wdViolet | ||
| 13 | Dark Red | wdDarkRed | ||
| 14 | Dark Yellow | wdDarkYellow | ||
| 15 | Dark Gray | wdGray50 | ||
| 16 | Light Gray | wdGray25 |
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (253) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.
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