How to: Collapse Ranges or Selections in Documents

If you are working with a Range or Selection object, you might want to change the selection to an insertion point before inserting text, to avoid overwriting existing text. Both the Range and Selection objects have a Collapse method, which makes use of the WdCollapseDirection enumeration values:

• wdCollapseStart collapses the selection to the beginning of the selection. This is the default if you do not specify an enumeration value.

• wdCollapseEnd collapses the selection to the end of the selection.

Applies to: The information in this topic applies to document-level projects and application-level projects for Word 2007 and Word 2010. For more information, see Features Available by Office Application and Project Type.

To collapse a range and insert new text

1. Create a Range object that consists of the first paragraph in the document.

   The following code example can be used in a document-level customization.

   Dim rng As Word.Range = Me.Paragraphs(1).Range
   

   Word.Range rng = this.Paragraphs[1].Range; 
   

   The following code example can be used in an application-level add-in. This code uses the active document.

   Dim rng As Word.Range = Me.Application.ActiveDocument.Paragraphs(1).Range
   

   Word.Range rng = this.Application.ActiveDocument.Paragraphs[1].Range;
   

2. Use the wdCollapseStart enumeration value to collapse the range.

   rng.Collapse(Word.WdCollapseDirection.wdCollapseStart)
   

   rng.Collapse(Word.WdCollapseDirection.wdCollapseStart); 
   

3. Insert the new text.

   rng.Text = " New Text "
   

   rng.Text = " New Text ";
   

4. Select the Range.

   rng.Select()
   

   rng.Select();
   

If you use the wdCollapseEnd enumeration value, the text is inserted at the beginning of the following paragraph.

rng.Collapse(Word.WdCollapseDirection.wdCollapseEnd)

rng.Collapse(Word.WdCollapseDirection.wdCollapseEnd);

You might expect that inserting a new sentence would insert it before the paragraph marker, but that is not the case because the original range includes the paragraph marker. For more information, see How to: Exclude Paragraph Marks When Creating Ranges.

Document-Level Customization Example

To collapse a range in a document-level customization

• The following example shows the complete method for a document-level customization. To use this code, run it from the ThisDocument class in your project.

  Dim rng As Word.Range = Me.Paragraphs(1).Range
  
  rng.Collapse(Word.WdCollapseDirection.wdCollapseStart)
  
  rng.Text = " New Text "
  rng.Select()
  

  Word.Range rng = this.Paragraphs[1].Range; 
  
  rng.Collapse(Word.WdCollapseDirection.wdCollapseStart); 
  
  rng.Text = " New Text ";
  rng.Select();
  

Application-Level Add-in Example

To collapse a range in an application-level add-in

• The following example shows the complete method for an application-level add-in. To use this code, run it from the ThisAddIn class in your project.

  Dim rng As Word.Range = Me.Application.ActiveDocument.Paragraphs(1).Range
  
  rng.Collapse(Word.WdCollapseDirection.wdCollapseStart)
  
  rng.Text = " New Text "
  rng.Select()
  

  Word.Range rng = this.Application.ActiveDocument.Paragraphs[1].Range;
  
  rng.Collapse(Word.WdCollapseDirection.wdCollapseStart);
  
  rng.Text = " New Text ";
  rng.Select();
  

See Also

Tasks

How to: Insert Text into Word Documents

How to: Define and Select Ranges in Documents

How to: Retrieve Start and End Characters in Ranges

How to: Exclude Paragraph Marks When Creating Ranges

How to: Extend Ranges in Documents

How to: Reset Ranges in Word Documents