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: Moving the Insertion Point in a Macro.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 6, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
VBA allows you to use commands to move the insertion point up, down, left, and right within your document. You do this by using the MoveUp, MoveDown, MoveLeft, and MoveRight methods. You must then specify the type of units you want to move, as well as how many. The basic syntax is as follows:
Selection.direction Unit:=units, Count:=num, Extend:=extension
where direction is one of the methods (MoveUp, MoveDown, MoveLeft, or MoveRight). If you are using the MoveUp or MoveDown methods, you can use units of wdLine, wdParagraph, wdWindow, or wdScreen. If you are using the MoveLeft or MoveRight methods, you can use units of wdCharacter, wdWord, or wdSentence. The num setting indicates how many of the units you want to move the insertion point. The extension value is either wdMove (if you only want to move the insertion point) or wdExtend (if you want to enlarge the selection by your movement).
As an example, let's say you want to move the insertion point to the right by five characters. The proper command to do this would be the following:
Selection.MoveRight Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=5, Extend:=wdMove
If you instead want to move the insertion point up two paragraphs, and select the text from the current insertion point location to the new one, you would use the following line:
Selection.MoveUp Unit:=wdParagraph, Count:=2, Extend:=wdExtend
You can similarly construct other movement commands for your macro.
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 (784) 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: Moving the Insertion Point in a Macro.
Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!
Want a list of all the commands available in Word? You can get one easily by following these steps.
Discover MoreBookmarks are quite helpful in a document. You may want to transfer the contents of a bookmark into a macro variable in ...
Discover MoreNeed to figure out a date a certain number of days, weeks, months, or years in the future? It's easy to do using the ...
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.
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:
Comments