Creating Multiple Blank Documents in One Step

There are times when Larry absolutely needs to create four or more new blank documents. He wonders if there is a way to create four new blank documents (it would be nice to input how many blank documents needed) at once.

There are a few ways you can approach this problem. If all you want to do is create four new documents, all based on the Normal template, the easiest way is to simply press Ctrl+N four times. (Actually, you can hold down the Ctrl key and press N four times.) The result is four blank documents, ready to be used.

If your documents need to be based on a different template than the Normal template, then it is best to use a macro. The following macro prompts the user for how many documents should be created, and then creates them based on the BusinessReport template.

Sub NewDocuments()
    Dim Answer As Variant
    Dim iNewDocs As Integer
    Dim J As Integer

    Answer = InputBox("How many new documents?")
    iNewDocs = CInt(Answer)
    For J = 1 to iNewDocs
        Documents.Add Template:="BusinessReport", NewTemplate:=False, _
          DocumentType:=wdNewBlankDocument
    Next J
End Sub

The macro could be assigned to a shortcut key or to a button on a toolbar, ready to create your documents. You could also take a slightly different approach with the same code. Create a new document based on the desired template (such as the BusinessReport template), and then add this macro to the template:

Sub AutoOpen()
    Dim Answer As Variant
    Dim iNewDocs As Integer
    Dim J As Integer

    Answer = InputBox("How many more docs?", "Doc Count")
    iNewDocs = CInt(Answer)
    For J = 1 To iNewDocs
        Documents.Add Template:="BusinessReport", NewTemplate:=False, _
          DocumentType:=wdNewBlankDocument
    Next
End Sub

Save the document under a name such as "MultipleDocs.doc." The basis of the macro is the same as the previous one. The difference is the name given to the macro. Since it uses the special AutoOpen name, then whenever the MultipleDocs document is subsequently opened, the macro is automatically run and the user is asked how many additional documents to create.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11236) 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: Creating Multiple Blank Documents in One Step.