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: Controlling Repagination in Macros.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 22, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Ken asked if there is a way to turn off automatic repagination of a Word document while a macro is running. It turns out, in fact, that there are two ways you can handle this.
The first method is use the Pagination property of the Options object. You can set this property to either True or False, as follows:
Options.Pagination = False
This property is the same as setting the Background Repagination option on the General tab of the Options dialog box. (In some versions of Word you can only see this option if you first switch to Normal view.) If the property is set to False, then Word does not perform any background repagination. You can later set the property to True to turn the feature back on.
The second method for handling automatic repagination is to simply turn off screen updating. If your macro does quite a bit of slicing and dicing on the document, this is always a good idea, anyway, as it stops Word from trying to update the display. In some cases, the speed improvement for your macro can be dramatic if you turn off screen updating. You control screen updating in this manner:
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Again, the ScreenUpdating property can be set to either True or False. If set to False, screen updating is turned off. If you turn it off, you should always set ScreenUpdating to True before ending 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 (1710) 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: Controlling Repagination in Macros.
Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!
If you need to determine a random value in a macro, you can do so using the Rnd function. This tip presents the syntax ...
Discover MoreNeed to create a directory from within a macro? You can do it using a single command line, as detailed in this tip.
Discover MoreWhen creating macros, you often need to offer a series of choices to a user. This tip demonstrates how easy it is to ...
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 © 2026 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