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Thread: WORD VBA to create block text

  1. #1

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    Exclamation WORD VBA to create block text

    I have reached an impasse with my limited VBA skills and ask if anybody can figure out this task.

    Simply stated, I need to remove all formatting from copied and pasted text into a new document, and to have all text be in one big block of text . If there are text boxes that can be deleted and text copied into the body of the text that would be fantastic -- I also need paragraph spacing to be removed and appended to the end of the previous line of text. I have attached photos of what I need below. It isn't too pertinent that the text be the same format, but if possible to make it 12pt and non-bold italics or underlined that would be fantastic.

    I can't seem to get it all to work and I find myself just doing it the hard way anyways. Any help is appreciated, and thank you in advance.

    What it looks like upon copy paste:

    Name:  Sample 1.jpg
Views: 785
Size:  44.9 KB

    What I need it to look like after running Macro:

    Name:  Sample 2.jpg
Views: 611
Size:  49.2 KB

  2. #2
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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    Hi,

    Your pictures does not really tell me much, they are not even from the same text.

    how are you supposed to handle the lists?
    i do not see textboxes will they contain some text within the line they are located?
    what if there is a picture in there or a table?
    i see a heading in the top picture do you just omit that?

    what you really need to do is do this yourself and then come back here with each little problem you get one at a time because converting documents is not a simple process, its possible its something i am very good at but i know there are literally hundreds of scenarios that pop up with just 1 document and you want this process completely automated?

    its a big task and i can help and i am pretty sure others here will too but you need to start this yourself and come back with any problems you face...

    show us some code....
    Yes!!!
    Working from home is so much better than working in an office...
    Nothing can beat the combined stress of getting your work done on time whilst
    1. one toddler keeps pressing your AVR's power button
    2. one baby keeps crying for milk
    3. one child keeps running in and out of the house screaming and shouting
    4. one wife keeps nagging you to stop playing on the pc and do some real work.. house chores
    5. working at 1 O'clock in the morning because nobody is awake at that time
    6. being grossly underpaid for all your hard work


  3. #3

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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    Fair enough, I guess I'm just having issues stringing all the words together. To be honest, I'm extremely rusty on VBA code and have used it chiefly in Excel.

    With the request about the text boxes aside, do you have a simple fix that can simply string all text into a giant block of text (no paragraphs or bullets)? That would suffice for the purposes of what I need, I would be able to do any formatting code with the recording function I believe.

    Thank in advance if you can help.

  4. #4
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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    im a bit rusty with the VBA on word.

    but i would do it something like this

    id first ignore all the text and get all the objects converted like bullets, tables, and anything else that is in there, create a sub for each one.

    so for example bullet lists. Create a sub to loop through the list pull out the text of each one and then simply join it all together however you want and then use this sub in your MAIN loop that proccess or goes through the document looking for things to change.

    lets say you want to remove all pictures, just add in your MAIN IF a picture is found just delete it etc etc...

    what you will be left with is a very messy document with text and spaces all over the place, now all you need to do is change all tab stops to spaces, change all double spaces to single spaces (setup a recursive loop for that, just check every space in front and if its a space delete it and recal the recursive funtion) something like that, and then finally make sure there is a space after each fullstop.....

    This job requires a step by step process, it might take a while to finish but once its done watching it work is quite satisfying.. just add some screen updates so you can watch it
    Yes!!!
    Working from home is so much better than working in an office...
    Nothing can beat the combined stress of getting your work done on time whilst
    1. one toddler keeps pressing your AVR's power button
    2. one baby keeps crying for milk
    3. one child keeps running in and out of the house screaming and shouting
    4. one wife keeps nagging you to stop playing on the pc and do some real work.. house chores
    5. working at 1 O'clock in the morning because nobody is awake at that time
    6. being grossly underpaid for all your hard work


  5. #5
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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    can you post a sample document for converting?
    preferably with a already converted document for comparison

    the images are not adequate to test with
    i do my best to test code works before i post it, but sometimes am unable to do so for some reason, and usually say so if this is the case.
    Note code snippets posted are just that and do not include error handling that is required in real world applications, but avoid On Error Resume Next

    dim all variables as required as often i have done so elsewhere in my code but only posted the relevant part

    come back and mark your original post as resolved if your problem is fixed
    pete

  6. #6

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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    Quote Originally Posted by westconn1 View Post
    can you post a sample document for converting?
    preferably with a already converted document for comparison

    the images are not adequate to test with
    Attached is a copy of the example I'm using for manipulation, and below is the code I've come up with that works to get rid of bullets, but the issue is that each paragraph is bigger or smaller than the next/last, so I just need to identify the selections differently I suppose to recognize each paragraph and string them along into a block of text; like one big run on sentence/ paragraph.

    Sub Remove_Bullets()

    ' Removes bullets from copied and pasted text

    Selection.Range.ListFormat.RemoveNumbers NumberType:=wdNumberParagraph
    End Sub
    Sub Stringaling()

    ' To stitch all paragraphs into block text

    Selection.TypeBackspace
    Selection.TypeText Text:=" "
    Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine

    Selection.TypeBackspace
    Selection.TypeText Text:=" "
    Selection.MoveUp Unit:=wdLine, Count:=1
    Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine

    Selection.TypeBackspace
    Selection.TypeText Text:=" "
    End Sub

    ExampleDelete.docx
    ExampleDelete2.docx
    Last edited by IGPOD; Nov 18th, 2017 at 01:18 AM. Reason: wrong document attached

  7. #7

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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    Example Document to convert:
    ExampleDelete.docx

    Example Document after manipulations:
    ExampleDelete2.docx
    Last edited by IGPOD; Nov 18th, 2017 at 01:17 AM. Reason: wrong file attached

  8. #8

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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    So, I kinda got things moving along in this... but it's not perfect. It's about 85% accurate. I'd still like to have to not do any manual manipulations as some documents would be tens of thousands of words. Any alterations would be greatly appreciated.

    Code:
    Sub Combine_Para()
    
        Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
        Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
        With Selection.Find
            .Text = "^p"
            .Replacement.Text = " "
            .Forward = True
            .Wrap = wdFindAsk
           
        End With
        Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
    End Sub
    Also, if anybody can throw in additional code to omit any words under 4 characters long would be fantastic!

  9. #9
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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    Nice we have some code albeit a little vague, looks like a recorded macro or at least parts of one....

    for this to work on any document your going to have to get your hands a little dirtier and start using the objects within word...

    for example

    documents, paragraphs, sentences etc, this way you dont need to know how big the document is.

    Code:
    For Each oPara In ActiveDocument.Paragraphs
       If oPara.Range.ListFormat.ListType = WdListType.wdListBullet Then
          'You just found a bullet do something with it
       End If
    Next

    here a LINK which i think you will like, it has a quick and easy way to remove paragraph markers, spaces etc.

    and here is the word documentation in case you feel like studying MSDN

    let me know if your having a problem with this code and the links but its pretty straight forward
    Yes!!!
    Working from home is so much better than working in an office...
    Nothing can beat the combined stress of getting your work done on time whilst
    1. one toddler keeps pressing your AVR's power button
    2. one baby keeps crying for milk
    3. one child keeps running in and out of the house screaming and shouting
    4. one wife keeps nagging you to stop playing on the pc and do some real work.. house chores
    5. working at 1 O'clock in the morning because nobody is awake at that time
    6. being grossly underpaid for all your hard work


  10. #10
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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    omit any words under 4 characters
    you can try like
    Code:
    For Each wd In Selection.Words
        Debug.Print wd.Text   ' not required, just handy to see what is going on, when testing
        If Not wd.Text = vbCr And wd.Characters.Count < 4 Then wd.Delete
    Next
    i prevented this from deleting paragraph markers, as you are already doing this and with this method, it will join the preceding and following words into a single word, so no good, although an extra line could incorporate this in the same routine
    Code:
    For Each wd In Selection.Words
        Debug.Print wd.Text   ' not required, just handy to see what is going on, when testing
        if wd.text = VbCr then wd.text = " "
        If  wd.Characters.Count < 4 Then wd.Delete
    Next
    i do my best to test code works before i post it, but sometimes am unable to do so for some reason, and usually say so if this is the case.
    Note code snippets posted are just that and do not include error handling that is required in real world applications, but avoid On Error Resume Next

    dim all variables as required as often i have done so elsewhere in my code but only posted the relevant part

    come back and mark your original post as resolved if your problem is fixed
    pete

  11. #11

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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    After inserting your code, it solved the issue with the extra spaces in the document, however words such as: The, who, and, has etc. are still present in the document and I can't figure out why. Also, some words have been attached to other words -- presumably because there was an omission and no space. I've attached the pictures below.

    Thank you for being patient as I try to learn this stuff.

    Before running your code above:
    Name:  Example100.jpg
Views: 522
Size:  42.2 KB

    After running your code above:
    Name:  Example101.jpg
Views: 525
Size:  61.6 KB
    Last edited by IGPOD; Nov 18th, 2017 at 11:14 PM. Reason: easier read

  12. #12

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    Exclamation Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    I think what is going on is with the portion of the code that reads:

    Code:
    For Each wd In Selection.Words
        Debug.Print wd.Text   ' not required, just handy to see what is going on, when testing
        if wd.text = VbCr then wd.text = " "
        If  wd.Characters.Count < 5 Then wd.Delete ' I changed "4" to "5" and it fixed the issue with the 3 letter words still being present.
    Next


    The code is deleting punctuation marks of all kinds -- which is okay for this code however, it is not leaving a space after deletion of punctuation so words are being fused together.

    How can I get that to not fuse? I know the answer has to be simple but I can't see it.

  13. #13
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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    i think that in some cases each word may include the trailing space, this may not apply if the word is followed by a punctuation mark rather than a space, the punctuation mark becomes a separate word, this includes hyphens and web addresses
    this can easily be determined using either
    Code:
    s=0 
    if right(wd.text, 1) = " " then s = 1  ' only checks for a space at the end of the string
    If  wd.Characters.Count < 4 + s Then wd.Delete
    'or
    if not len(trim(wd.text)) = wd.characters.count then

    you could have a helper function to not delete certain punctuation
    Code:
    Function ispunctuation(w As String) As Boolean
    Dim s As String
    s = "!@#$<>_-://,."   ' add anything else you like to the string, the :// will work for :, / and :// as in http://
    If InStr(s, w) > 0 Then ispunctuation = True: exit function
    'you could also test here for any other short words you might want to keep
    End Function
    call like
    Code:
    If Not ispunctuation(wd.Text) And wd.Characters.Count < 5 Then wd.Delete
    i do my best to test code works before i post it, but sometimes am unable to do so for some reason, and usually say so if this is the case.
    Note code snippets posted are just that and do not include error handling that is required in real world applications, but avoid On Error Resume Next

    dim all variables as required as often i have done so elsewhere in my code but only posted the relevant part

    come back and mark your original post as resolved if your problem is fixed
    pete

  14. #14

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    Exclamation Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    How and where do I place the function into the VB Editor and make sure the code uses it as a parameter. I tried placing it within and calling it, but I think I am doing something wrong because I keep getting errors.

    Below is the code I'm using, it works independently at ridding the document of all formatting, but runs into the word fusing issue still:

    Code:
    Sub reduce_words()
    
    ActiveDocument.StoryRanges(wdMainTextStory).Select ' for some reason I still have
    'to manually select the text as this line will not select 
    'the entire text within the document like it does with other codes I use?
    For Each wd In Selection.Words
        Debug.Print wd.Text   ' not required, just handy to see what is going on, when testing
        If wd.Text = vbCr Then wd.Text = " "
        If wd.Characters.Count < 5 Then wd.Delete
        Next
        
    End Sub
    Last edited by IGPOD; Nov 19th, 2017 at 02:03 AM. Reason: ease of read

  15. #15
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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    How and where do I place the function into the VB Editor
    you can place the function in any module, probably the easiest is just after your sub, not in the sub

    ActiveDocument.StoryRanges(wdMainTextStory).Select ' for some reason I still have
    'to manually select the text as this line will not select
    it works correctly when i test it here
    i do my best to test code works before i post it, but sometimes am unable to do so for some reason, and usually say so if this is the case.
    Note code snippets posted are just that and do not include error handling that is required in real world applications, but avoid On Error Resume Next

    dim all variables as required as often i have done so elsewhere in my code but only posted the relevant part

    come back and mark your original post as resolved if your problem is fixed
    pete

  16. #16

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    Exclamation Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    Whenever I run the macro it still fuses words together regardless of the function. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.

    Example Document:
    ExampleDelete.docx

    Code inserted into VB Editor:
    Code:
    Sub reduce_words()
    ActiveDocument.StoryRanges(wdMainTextStory).Select
    
    For Each wd In Selection.Words
        Debug.Print wd.Text   ' not required, just handy to see what is going on, when testing
        If wd.Text = vbCr Then wd.Text = " "
        If wd.Characters.Count < 5 Then wd.Delete
        Next
        
    End Sub
    Function ispunctuation(w As String) As Boolean
    Dim s As String
    s = "!@#$<>_-://,."   ' add anything else you like to the string, the :// will work for :, / and :// as in http://
    If InStr(s, w) > 0 Then ispunctuation = True: Exit Function
    'you could also test here for any other short words you might want to keep
    End Function
    What it looks like after running code:
    Name:  Example101.jpg
Views: 485
Size:  61.6 KB

    What I would prefer it to look like:
    Name:  Example102.jpg
Views: 491
Size:  60.7 KB

    Did I apply the function incorrectly? I'm sure I goofed up somewhere.

  17. #17
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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    I'm sure I goofed up somewhere
    quite right, you are not calling the function at all, see the last line of post #13
    i do my best to test code works before i post it, but sometimes am unable to do so for some reason, and usually say so if this is the case.
    Note code snippets posted are just that and do not include error handling that is required in real world applications, but avoid On Error Resume Next

    dim all variables as required as often i have done so elsewhere in my code but only posted the relevant part

    come back and mark your original post as resolved if your problem is fixed
    pete

  18. #18

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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    So I've been toying around with this for a couple days and the only thing that I could get to work was to go into the macro recorder and have it create a process to eliminate periods, commas etc.

    After doing this I didn't run into the same issues with as many word fusions. Below is a picture of what it looks like now after code.


    Here is the result:
    Name:  2017-11-20.jpg
Views: 523
Size:  65.3 KB

    Here is the Code: (If you can lean it down, I will know how to in the future: teaching moment)

    Code:
    :afrog::afrog::afrog::afrog::afrog:
    
    Sub Recon()
    ' Deletes periods and commas and adds a space to end of paragraphs
        Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
        Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
        With Selection.Find
            .Text = "^p"
            .Replacement.Text = " "
            .Forward = True
            .Wrap = wdFindContinue
            .Format = False
            .MatchCase = False
            .MatchWholeWord = False
            .MatchWildcards = False
            .MatchSoundsLike = False
            .MatchAllWordForms = False
        End With
        Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
        Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
        Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
        With Selection.Find
            .Text = ":"
            .Replacement.Text = ""
            .Forward = True
            .Wrap = wdFindAsk
            .Format = False
            .MatchCase = False
            .MatchWholeWord = False
            .MatchWildcards = False
            .MatchSoundsLike = False
            .MatchAllWordForms = False
        End With
        Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
        With Selection.Find
            .Text = ","
            .Replacement.Text = ""
            .Forward = True
            .Wrap = wdFindAsk
            .Format = False
            .MatchCase = False
            .MatchWholeWord = False
            .MatchWildcards = False
            .MatchSoundsLike = False
            .MatchAllWordForms = False
        End With
        Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
        With Selection.Find
            .Text = "."
            .Replacement.Text = ""
            .Forward = True
            .Wrap = wdFindAsk
            .Format = False
            .MatchCase = False
            .MatchWholeWord = False
            .MatchWildcards = False
            .MatchSoundsLike = False
            .MatchAllWordForms = False
        End With
        Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
        With Selection.Find
            .Text = ";"
            .Replacement.Text = ""
            .Forward = True
            .Wrap = wdFindAsk
            .Format = False
            .MatchCase = False
            .MatchWholeWord = False
            .MatchWildcards = False
            .MatchSoundsLike = False
            .MatchAllWordForms = False
        End With
        Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
        Call reduce_words
        
    End Sub
    
    Sub reduce_words()
    ActiveDocument.StoryRanges(wdMainTextStory).Select
    
    For Each wd In Selection.Words
        Debug.Print wd.Text   ' not required, just handy to see what is going on, when testing
        
        If wd.Text = vbCr Then wd.Text = "  "
        
        If wd.Characters.Count < 5 Then wd.Delete
        
        Next
        
    End Sub
    and yes, I know it is ugly, but I'm learning

  19. #19
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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    you could make a loop to reduce the amount of code
    this should process all the characters listed in the array
    you can add any additional characters if some others need to be replaced

    Code:
        myarr= array(";", ":", ".", ",")
    Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
        With Selection.Find
            .Text = "^p"
            .Replacement.Text = " "
            .Forward = True
            .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        End With
        Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
        Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
        Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
      for i = 0 to ubound(myarr)  
        With Selection.Find
            .Text = myarr(i)
            .Replacement.Text = ""
            .Forward = True
            .Wrap = wdFindAsk
            .Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
        End With
      next
        Call reduce_words
    i do my best to test code works before i post it, but sometimes am unable to do so for some reason, and usually say so if this is the case.
    Note code snippets posted are just that and do not include error handling that is required in real world applications, but avoid On Error Resume Next

    dim all variables as required as often i have done so elsewhere in my code but only posted the relevant part

    come back and mark your original post as resolved if your problem is fixed
    pete

  20. #20
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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    Won't cover everything... but perhaps a different way?
    Code:
    Public Sub t()
        Dim wDoc As Document
        Dim wRng As Range
        
        Set wDoc = ActiveDocument
        Set wRng = wDoc.Range
        wRng.Style = "Normal"
        wRng.Bold = False
        wRng.Italic = False
        With wRng.Find
            .ClearFormatting
            .Forward = True
            .Text = vbCrLf
            .Replacement.ClearFormatting
            .Replacement.Text = " "
            .Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
        End With
        With wRng.Find
            .ClearFormatting
            .Forward = True
            .Text = vbCr
            .Replacement.ClearFormatting
            .Replacement.Text = " "
            .Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
        End With
        
        Set wDoc = Nothing
    End Sub

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    If I post a lot, it is because I am bored at work! ;D Or stuck...
    * Anything I post can be only my opinion. Advice etc is up to you to persue...

  21. #21
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    Re: WORD VBA to create block text

    since your running into problems where words are being joined together, why not as a quick fix just tell every process that changes the document to add spaces before and after the change.

    then right at the end just run a process to remove all but 1?
    Yes!!!
    Working from home is so much better than working in an office...
    Nothing can beat the combined stress of getting your work done on time whilst
    1. one toddler keeps pressing your AVR's power button
    2. one baby keeps crying for milk
    3. one child keeps running in and out of the house screaming and shouting
    4. one wife keeps nagging you to stop playing on the pc and do some real work.. house chores
    5. working at 1 O'clock in the morning because nobody is awake at that time
    6. being grossly underpaid for all your hard work


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