Macro won't modify style in Word 2003

[levydav]

I'm trying to make a macro that changes all comment text to left-to-right text. I can do this manually (create comment, change style to automatically update, then apply LTR) but the macro I record doesn't make the change. Indeed, in Word 2003 it doesn't even work while I'm recording the macro.

Here's the code in Word 2003:

    Selection.Comments.Add Range:=Selection.Range
    With ActiveDocument.Styles("Comment Text")
        .AutomaticallyUpdate = True
        .BaseStyle = "Normal"
        .NextParagraphStyle = "Comment Text"
    End With
    Selection.LtrPara
    With ActiveDocument.Styles("Comment Text")
        .AutomaticallyUpdate = False
        .BaseStyle = "Normal"
        .NextParagraphStyle = "Comment Text"
    End With
    WordBasic.RejectChangesSelected

It doesn't work in Word 2007 either. The code (below) seems to basically boil down to

ActiveDocument.Styles("Comment Text").ParagraphFormat.Alignment = wdAlignParagraphLeft

Here's 2007's complete code:

    Selection.Comments.Add Range:=Selection.Range
    Selection.LtrPara
    WordBasic.FormatStyle Name:="Comment Text", NewName:="", BasedOn:="", _
        NextStyle:="", Type:=0, FileName:="", Link:=""
    With ActiveDocument.Styles("Comment Text").Font
        .Name = "Arial"
        .Size = 10
        .Bold = False
        .Italic = False
        .Underline = wdUnderlineNone
        .UnderlineColor = wdColorAutomatic
        .StrikeThrough = False
        .DoubleStrikeThrough = False
        .Outline = False
        .Emboss = False
        .Shadow = False
        .Hidden = False
        .SmallCaps = False
        .AllCaps = False
        .Color = wdColorAutomatic
        .Engrave = False
        .Superscript = False
        .Subscript = False
        .Scaling = 100
        .Kerning = 0
        .Animation = wdAnimationNone
    End With
    With ActiveDocument.Styles("Comment Text").ParagraphFormat
        .LeftIndent = InchesToPoints(0)
        .RightIndent = InchesToPoints(0)
        .SpaceBefore = 0
        .SpaceBeforeAuto = False
        .SpaceAfter = 10
        .SpaceAfterAuto = False
        .LineSpacingRule = wdLineSpaceSingle
        .Alignment = wdAlignParagraphLeft
        .WidowControl = True
        .KeepWithNext = False
        .KeepTogether = False
        .PageBreakBefore = False
        .NoLineNumber = False
        .Hyphenation = True
        .FirstLineIndent = InchesToPoints(0)
        .OutlineLevel = wdOutlineLevelBodyText
        .CharacterUnitLeftIndent = 0
        .CharacterUnitRightIndent = 0
        .CharacterUnitFirstLineIndent = 0
        .LineUnitBefore = 0
        .LineUnitAfter = 0
        .MirrorIndents = False
        .TextboxTightWrap = wdTightNone
    End With
    ActiveDocument.Styles("Comment Text").NoSpaceBetweenParagraphsOfSameStyle _
        = False
    ActiveDocument.Styles("Comment Text").ParagraphFormat.TabStops.ClearAll
    With ActiveDocument.Styles("Comment Text").ParagraphFormat
        With .Shading
            .Texture = wdTextureNone
            .ForegroundPatternColor = wdColorAutomatic
            .BackgroundPatternColor = wdColorAutomatic
        End With
        .Borders(wdBorderLeft).LineStyle = wdLineStyleNone
        .Borders(wdBorderRight).LineStyle = wdLineStyleNone
        .Borders(wdBorderTop).LineStyle = wdLineStyleNone
        .Borders(wdBorderBottom).LineStyle = wdLineStyleNone
        With .Borders
            .DistanceFromTop = 1
            .DistanceFromLeft = 4
            .DistanceFromBottom = 1
            .DistanceFromRight = 4
            .Shadow = False
        End With
    End With
    ActiveDocument.Styles("Comment Text").LanguageID = wdEnglishUS
    ActiveDocument.Styles("Comment Text").NoProofing = False
    ActiveDocument.Styles("Comment Text").Frame.Delete

Any thoughts?

[Siddharth Rout]

Welcome to the forums levydav: wave:

The reason it is not working for Word 2003 is because of this line

WordBasic.RejectChangesSelected

You are making the changes and then rejecting them. Run your code without that line and see if it works

[levydav]

Still doesn't work ...

[Siddharth Rout]

When you run the code, does it create the comment?

[levydav]

Yes, though it doesn't apply the LTR, and also leaves me sort of in record macro mode (no mouse clicks in text) - I have to restart to fix it

[Siddharth Rout]

Strange, it not only lets me edit the text but is also left aligned. Please see snapshot.

Code I used

Sub Sample()
    Selection.Comments.Add Range:=Selection.Range
    With ActiveDocument.Styles("Comment Text")
        .AutomaticallyUpdate = True
        .BaseStyle = "Normal"
        .NextParagraphStyle = "Comment Text"
    End With
    Selection.LtrPara
    With ActiveDocument.Styles("Comment Text")
        .AutomaticallyUpdate = False
        .BaseStyle = "Normal"
        .NextParagraphStyle = "Comment Text"
    End With
End Sub

SNAPSHOT

[levydav]

But not when done on a right-to-left document - try it on the attached one. I don't understand it...

[Siddharth Rout]

This is what I get.

[levydav]

Yes, same here: the comment is still right-to-left. But if you carry out the steps manually, it (and all subsequent) comments will be left-to-right:

1. Create new comment (Insert > Comment)
2. Modify comment style to automatically update (Format > Styles and formatting > down arrow next to Comment Text > Modify... > check Automatically update box > OK)
3. Format paragraph left-to-right (need to first assign button/key combination to LtrPara: Tools > Customize > Categories: All Commands > Commands: drag LtrPara to toolbar)
4. Turn off automatically update for Comment Text style
5. Delete comment

BTW, the reason why I need to do this is that I get a lot of English documents that were created on Arabic-language computers. The main text is not a problem, but writing English comments in RTL mixes up the word order.

Thanks

[westconn1]

I don't understand it...

me too, i get an empty document when i open your attachment, no code, no text

[Siddharth Rout]

Pete, You have to use the code from Post 6.

Type any word in the word document, highlight it and run the code from post 6.

[westconn1]

i must have missed the point of posting an empty document to type something into

a sample document, that demonstrates the problem, would have to of been of more value

[Siddharth Rout]

levydav, I tested it manually as well as with the code but the comment is pretty much readable. Please see this sncreenshot.

I agree that when you manually type then the words are in reverse order but after typing, if you pause for a moment, the words are automatically rearranged.

Screenshot

[levydav]

Try typing a longer sentence, then making a change in the middle of it - it starts to behave strangely and in a way you wouldn't want to deal with if you were writing a hundred comments. This is a regular headache for our editors when working with English documents that were created on Arabic-language computers.

However, doing these steps manually should fix the problem; but the macro doesn't behave the same as manually...

[Siddharth Rout]

I am sorry, I know how you feel. But I could not find a way to reverse the existing way comment behaves. Would you be interested in an alternative ?

[levydav]

The following steps will make all new comments left-to-right:

1. Create new comment (Insert > Comment)
2. Modify comment style to automatically update (Format > Styles and formatting > down arrow next to Comment Text > Modify... > check Automatically update box > OK)
3. Format paragraph left-to-right (need to first assign button/key combination to LtrPara: Tools > Customize > Categories: All Commands > Commands: drag LtrPara to toolbar)
4. Turn off automatically update for Comment Text style
5. Delete comment

But this doesn't work in a macro...

[Siddharth Rout]

Would you be interested in an alternative ?

You missed my previous post

[levydav]

I guess I don't understand what you mean by "reverse the existing way comment behaves". Do you have an alternative?

Thanks,

[Siddharth Rout]

Why not create a user form which accepts input for comment in a multiline textbox and this userform can be called by a shortcut key? That way the users can type very comfortably in the userform's textbox and when they are done, the update button will update the comment? let me know if you want to see an example?

[levydav]

Interesting solution. I think at this point, though, I'd rather just do these steps once by hand before handing articles over to the editor. I was just hoping that these steps could be included in the preparation macro that we run on all papers before giving to editors. - Thanks