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 the Size of a File.

Determining the Size of a File

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 10, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


One of the nice things about writing macros is that you have the ability to do just about anything you can do using the regular Basic language. For instance, you may want to open and process some file within a macro. Before doing so, you might want to know how large that file is. You can figure this out using the FileLen function in VBA. It returns the length of a specific file, in bytes. You don't even have to open the file first; just provide a file name, and FileLen does the rest. The following is an example:

lFLen = FileLen("TargetFile.txt")

This code determines the length of the TargetFile.txt file, and assigns that value to lFLen. The value returned is a long integer.

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 (820) 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 the Size of a File.

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

Printing an Outline

Outlining is a great way to develop the content of your document. If you need to, you can even print the outline and only ...

Discover More

Countering Compressed Columns

If you open a workbook and find that the width of some of your columns has been changed, the discovery can be ...

Discover More

Printing a List of Building Blocks

Building Blocks are a great way to semi-automate the creation of common documents. At some point you may want to get a ...

Discover More

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!

More WordTips (menu)

Determining Word Frequency

How to construct a word frequency list.

Discover More

Determining How Many Windows are Open

You can open multiple documents at the same time in Word, and each document occupies its own document window. Here's a ...

Discover More

Selecting a Bookmark in a Macro

Bookmarks can be very handy in a document. Word provides a VBA command you can use to easily select any of those bookmarks.

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 5 - 3?

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.