Sign in with Microsoft
Sign in or create an account.
Hello,
Select a different account.
You have multiple accounts
Choose the account you want to sign in with.

The following macros show how to break up a multipage document into separate files. The two macros use the page or section property of a Microsoft Word document to select and move through the document content. This code can be used in an automation scenario with Word not visible.

Summary

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language that is being demonstrated and with the tools that are used to create and to debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific requirements.

Separate File by Page

The following macro copies text one page at a time and saves that text in a new document. The macro uses the pre-defined bookmark \page and the document's built-in property of number of pages.

Sub BreakOnPage()
' Used to set criteria for moving through the document by page.
Application.Browser.Target = wdBrowsePage

For i = 1 To ActiveDocument.BuiltInDocumentProperties("Number of Pages")

'Select and copy the text to the clipboard
ActiveDocument.Bookmarks("\page").Range.Copy

' Open new document to paste the content of the clipboard into.
Documents.Add
Selection.Paste
' Removes the break that is copied at the end of the page, if any.
Selection.TypeBackspace
ChangeFileOpenDirectory "C:\"
DocNum = DocNum + 1
ActiveDocument.SaveAs FileName:="test_" & DocNum & ".doc"
ActiveDocument.Close

' Move the selection to the next page in the document
Application.Browser.Next
Next i
ActiveDocument.Close savechanges:=wdDoNotSaveChanges
End Sub


Separate File by Section

The following macro copies text one section at a time and saves that text in a new document. The macro uses the pre-defined bookmark \section to create the new document. This macro is useful for breaking up a mail merge "Merge to New Document" file.

Sub BreakOnSection()
' Used to set criteria for moving through the document by section.
Application.Browser.Target = wdBrowseSection

'A mailmerge documents ends with a section break next page.
'Subtracting one from the section count stop error message.
For i = 1 To ((ActiveDocument.Sections.Count) - 1)

'Select and copy the section text to the clipboard
ActiveDocument.Bookmarks("\Section").Range.Copy

'Create a new document to paste text from clipboard.
Documents.Add
Selection.Paste

' Removes the break that is copied at the end of the section, if any.
Selection.MoveUp Unit:=wdLine, Count:=1, Extend:=wdExtend
Selection.Delete Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
ChangeFileOpenDirectory "C:\"
DocNum = DocNum + 1
ActiveDocument.SaveAs FileName:="test_" & DocNum & ".doc"
ActiveDocument.Close
' Move the selection to the next section in the document
Application.Browser.Next
Next i
ActiveDocument.Close savechanges:=wdDoNotSaveChanges
End Sub



NOTE: When you use this code to select and copy the text content of the document, the header and footer are not retained. Styles, fonts and layout may change if the main file and the new document are from different templates, but direct formatting is maintained.


For more information about bookmarks, in the Visual Basic Editor, click Microsoft Visual Basic Help on the Help menu, type predefined in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.


For additional information about running sample code, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

212536OFF2000: How to Run Sample Code from Knowledge Base Articles

More Information

Need more help?

Want more options?

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Was this information helpful?

What affected your experience?
By pressing submit, your feedback will be used to improve Microsoft products and services. Your IT admin will be able to collect this data. Privacy Statement.

Thank you for your feedback!

×