Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 5, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Sam has a document that contains some tables in which he wants to delete some rows. The rows contain specific text, which he can certainly delete by using Find and Replace, but he wants to delete the entire rows that contain that text.
There is no way to do this (delete rows) using the normal Find and Replace features of Word. Instead, you need to use a macro that will find the text and then delete the entire row. Here is a relatively simple macro that will do the job:
Sub DeleteRowWithSpecifiedText() Dim sText As String sText = InputBox("Enter text for Row to be deleted") Selection.Find.ClearFormatting With Selection.Find .Text = sText .Wrap = wdFindContinue End With Do While Selection.Find.Execute If Selection.Information(wdWithInTable) Then Selection.Rows.Delete End If Loop End Sub
This macro first displays an input box that asks the user to specify the text to be searched for. It then starts searching for all instances of that text. If an instance is found, then the selection is checked to make sure it is within a table. If it is, then the entire row is deleted and the macro moves on to the next occurrence.
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 (3838) 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: Finding and Deleting Rows.
The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!
Need to search for information in a table? Word allows you to easily limit your search to an entire column or row, as ...
Discover MoreIn order to provide a finishing touch to your document, you may want to replace mundane X marks with fancier check marks. ...
Discover MoreMacros are created for all sorts of purposes in creating, editing, and processing documents. You might want to use a ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2022-06-27 12:19:09
Allen,
Could this code be modified to delete the specified text in the first row only of the table?
To be clear, only delete the first row of a table if it contains the specific text - not any other row that might contain the text.
Thank you so much for your help!
A.
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.
Comments