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: Capitalizing the First Letter after a Colon.

Capitalizing the First Letter after a Colon

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated November 30, 2018)

3

Becca asked if there is a way to create a default setting so that the first letter following a colon will always be a capital letter. Unfortunately there is no built-in way to do this in Word. You can, however, create a macro that can be used to step through your document and make sure that each lowercase letter following a colon (and a space) is converted to uppercase.

Sub CapsAfterColon()
    Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
    Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
    With Selection.Find
        .Text = ": ([a-z])"
        .Replacement.Text = ": \1"
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        .Format = True
        .MatchCase = False
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchWildcards = True
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
    End With
    Selection.Find.Execute

    While Selection.Find.Found
        Selection.Range.Case = wdUpperCase
        Selection.Collapse direction:=wdCollapseEnd
        Selection.Find.Execute
    Wend
End Sub

The macro uses a wildcard search to find instances of a colon followed by a space and a lowercase letter. For each instance found, the text is converted to uppercase. The macro searches for and changes the case of all such instances in the document.

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 (3461) 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: Capitalizing the First Letter after a Colon.

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

CSV File Opens with Data in a Single Column

When you import a CSV file into an Excel worksheet, you may be surprised at how the program allocates the information ...

Discover More

Compiling a List of Students in a Course

Need to pull just a limited amount of information from a large list? Here are a few approaches you might be able to use ...

Discover More

Creating Labels

Using Word to create and print labels is a snap. All you need to do is provide the text you want on the labels, pick a ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Understanding Nonprinting Characters

Even characters that print nothing still take space in your document. Characters such as tabs, spaces, breaks, and the ...

Discover More

Adding an Optional Break

The no-width optional break is primarily used for Asian languages in Word. It can have value for English-speakers, as ...

Discover More

Repeating Actions

Need to repeat an action a whole bunch of times? You can do it a time or two using keyboard shortcuts, but you'll need a ...

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.

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

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}] 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 6 + 1?

2016-05-13 04:31:52

Emily

Both the original macro and Pam's modification have been REALLY helpful to me. Thanks!

2014-03-13 11:38:08

Pam

I believe I have figured it out! I changed it to this from what I had in the previous post:

.Text = ":" & vbTab & "([a-z])"
.Replacement.Text = ":" & vbTab & "1"

THIS seems to work!

Love your site, BTW. And I did find your "ribbon version" site as well. I think I need to take a VBA course. I can see the possibilities with this are almost endless.

2014-03-13 11:08:06

Pam

Great macro! I need this for a colon plus tab plus capitalize. I tried just replacing the space in your code with what appears to be the tab code (vbTab) but it didn't work.

.Text = ":vbTab([a-z])"
.Replacement.Text = ":vbTab1"

I am a complete novice at this, so this might not even work. But any ideas?

Thank you!

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.

Newest Tips
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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.