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: Swapping Two Strings.

Swapping Two Strings

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 27, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


If you do any serious macro programming, there will eventually come a time when you want to swap the values in two strings. In some versions of BASIC, there are commands that handle this. VBA leave us to our own devices, however. The following technique should do the trick for most people:

TempString = MyString1
MyString1 = MyString2
MyString2 = TempString

When completed, the values in MyString1 and MyString2 have been swapped, and TempString doesn't matter, since it was intended (by this technique) as a temporary variable anyway.

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 (789) 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: Swapping Two Strings.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Adding Diagonal Borders

Borders on all sides of a cell are easy to do in Excel. You can also create diagonal borders that run right through the ...

Discover More

Formatting Canadian Postal Codes

Postal codes in Canada consist of six characters, separated into two groups. This tip explains the format and then shows ...

Discover More

Printing More than One Copy

Need to print more than a single copy of a worksheet? You can do it easily by using the printing controls provided by Excel.

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Numbers to Text, Take Three (Over a Million)

So, you need to convert a number to text that is over one million? Here is a VBA macro that will convert up to 999,999,999.

Discover More

Finding and Changing Word's Internal Commands

If you know how to create macros, you can easily create entire replacements for Word's internal commands. Here's all you ...

Discover More

Converting Text to Uppercase in a Macro

Macros are often used to process documents. If part of the processing involves making text selections uppercase, Word ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is 3 + 9?

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.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.