Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 29, 2015)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Evelyn is looking for a way to add hyphens to phrases that were originally typed in without the phrases. For instance, if the phrase "we are having a bigger and better than ever sale this week" is typed in, Evelyn may want it to instead read "we are having a bigger-and-better-than-ever sale this week." The hyphens that denote the phrase need to replace all the spaces that were previously between the words in the phrase.
The quickest solution is to simply select the words in the phrase (bigger and better than ever) and use Find and Replace to replace all the spaces with dashes. Of course, this involves several steps, and if you face this scenario quite often, you should consider a macro to do the actual replacing. The following macro, for instance, will automate the task:
Sub MakePhrase() If Selection.Type <> wdSelectionIP Then Selection.Find.ClearFormatting Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting With Selection.Find .Text = " " .Replacement.Text = "-" .Forward = True .Wrap = wdFindStop .Format = False .MatchCase = False .MatchWholeWord = False .MatchWildcards = False .MatchSoundsLike = False .MatchAllWordForms = False End With Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll End If End Sub
The macro first checks to make sure that a selection has been made. If so, then all the spaces in the selection are replaced with dashes. To make the macro handier, simply assign it to a shortcut key. Then, when you need to hyphenate a phrase, simply select the words and press the shortcut key.
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 (343) 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: Adding Hyphens to Phrases.
Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!
Need to swap two adjacent paragraphs? Your editing arsenal can include a command to do this is you use the macro in this tip.
Discover MoreHeadings form the outline of your document and hopefully give it an easy-to-follow organization. If you want to share ...
Discover MoreOne of the most common symbols that can be added to a document is the copyright mark. This tip examines several ways you ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments