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: Determining if Caps Lock is On.

Determining if Caps Lock is On

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 27, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

When you are creating a macro, you may have a need to know if the Caps Lock key is engaged. (For instance, you may want to warn a user to turn the Caps Lock key off.) If you have this need, the following VBA macro code determines the status of the Caps Lock key, and warns you accordingly:

If Selection.Information(wdCapsLock) Then
    Print "The Caps Lock key is on"
Else
    Print "The Caps Lock key is off"
End If

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 (733) 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: Determining if Caps Lock is On.

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

Reversing Type

Most text appears black on white, not white on black. If you want to change this so that your type is reversed, here's a ...

Discover More

Understanding the Document Map

The Document Map is a handy way to view the overall organization of your document as you are working with it. It is like ...

Discover More

Modifying Behavior of the Open Dialog Box

The Open dialog box is one that few of us think about, but you can control how it behaves with a little bit of macro ...

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)

Determining if a File Exists

Your macro may need to know if a particular file exists. This is easy to figure out using the Dir command, and even ...

Discover More

Screen Flip Flop with VBA

Word allows users to conveniently work with multiple documents at the same time. When writing macros, you may need to ...

Discover More

Counting Characters in a Selection with VBA

Need to figure out the number of characters in a range of selected text? Here's how to do it in VBA.

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 five minus 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

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.