Edit

Share via

Returning an Object from a Collection (Word)

  • Article

The Item method returns a single object from a collection. The following example sets the docFirst variable to a Document object that represents the first document in the Documents collection.

Sub SetFirstDoc() 
    Dim docFirst As Document 
    Set docFirst = Documents.Item(1) 
End Sub

The Item method is the default method for most collections, so you can write the same statement more concisely by omitting the Item keyword.

Sub SetFirstDoc() 
    Dim docFirst As Document 
    Set docFirst = Documents(1) 
End Sub

Named Objects

Although you can usually specify an integer value with the Item method, it may be more convenient to return an object by name. The following example switches the focus to a document named Sales.doc.

Sub ActivateDocument() 
    Documents("Sales.doc").Activate 
    MsgBox ActiveDocument.Name 
End Sub

The following example selects the text marked by the first bookmark in the active document.

Sub SelectBookmark() 
    ActiveDocument.Bookmarks(1).Select 
    MsgBox Selection.Text 
End Sub

Not all collections can be indexed by name. To determine the valid collection index values, see the collection object topic.

Predefined Index Values

Some collections have predefined index values that you can use to return single objects. Each predefined index value is represented by a constant. For example, you specify a WdBorderType constant with the Borders property to return a single Border object.

The following example adds a single 0.75-point border below the first paragraph in the selection.

Sub AddBorderToFirstParagraphInSelection() 
    With Selection.Paragraphs(1).Borders(wdBorderBottom) 
        .LineStyle = wdLineStyleSingle 
        .LineWidth = wdLineWidth300pt 
        .Color = wdColorBlue 
    End With 
End Sub

Support and feedback

Have questions or feedback about Office VBA or this documentation? Please see Office VBA support and feedback for guidance about the ways you can receive support and provide feedback.