MS Word Cross References and VBA

DrTribos
DrTribos used Ask the Experts™
on
Hi All

Seasons Greetings...

I have a cross reference in MS Word:  { REF _Ref344571714 \r \h }  which links to a numbered item.

What I would like to do is display the corresponding paragraph number & other reference informatoin in a VBA MsgBox...

would love some help on this one, it has been driving me nuts :-(

Cheers, S
Comment
Watch Question

Do more with

Expert Office
EXPERT OFFICE® is a registered trademark of EXPERTS EXCHANGE®
View Solutions Only
Commented:
Hi S, this code cycles through all the references in the document, and displays a number of properties that might give you what you want. It can be modified easily to display properties for a selection or a specific field:
Sub CheckXRefs()
Dim aField As Word.Field

For Each aField In ActiveDocument.Fields
    If aField.Type = wdFieldRef Then
           xref_text = "Text : " & aField.Code.Text & vbCrLf
           xref_result = "Result : " & aField.Result & vbCrLf
           xref_listlevel = "List level : " & aField.Code.Paragraphs(1).Range.ListFormat.ListLevelNumber & vbCrLf
           xref_paragraph = "Paragraph : " & ActiveDocument.Range(0, aField.Code.Paragraphs(1).Range.End).Paragraphs.Count & vbCrLf
           xref_page = "Page : " & aField.Code.Information(wdActiveEndAdjustedPageNumber) & vbCrLf
           MsgBox xref_text & xref_result & xref_listlevel & xref_paragraph & xref_page
        End If
Next aField
End Sub

Open in new window

Let me know how it goes
...Terry
GrahamSkanRetired
Top Expert 2012

Commented:
Hi Steve
The Cross Reference system uses hidden bookmarks, so you need some code like this:
Sub ReferencedText()
    Dim strRef As String
    Dim para As Paragraph
    Dim strMessage As String
    
    strRef = "_Ref344626289"
    Set para = ActiveDocument.Bookmarks("_Ref344571714").Range.Paragraphs(1)
    strMessage = para.Range.ListFormat.ListString & vbTab & para.Range.Text
    MsgBox strMessage
End Sub

Open in new window

DrTribos

Author

Commented:
Hi Terry & Graham

Thank you both for your help.  I think I'm close to getting what I need.

I'm trying to get the para text to display based on a clicked field... so was adapting Graham's suggestion and trying this:
Set para = ActiveDocument.Bookmarks(aField.Code).Range.Paragraphs(1)

Open in new window

This fails due to too much information... 
? aField.Code
 REF _Ref344627521 \n \h \t

Open in new window

Is there a way to return the reference without switches?  Otherwise I'll have to brush upon my text trimming...

Cheers, S
Python 3 Fundamentals

This course will teach participants about installing and configuring Python, syntax, importing, statements, types, strings, booleans, files, lists, tuples, comprehensions, functions, and classes.

Learn More!
DrTribos

Author

Commented:
Would this be robust? 
? mid(aField.Code, 6, 13)
_Ref344627521

Open in new window


I'm sure 6 will be fine... but can I always expect a 13 character ref?
terencino
Commented:
Hi S, in place of
aField.Code
use
Split(aField.Code, " ")(2)
This parses the code text (delimited by a space) into an array, giving you the ref number without worrying about length.
Here's some more information on the Split function and why it works
...Terry
GrahamSkanRetired
Top Expert 2012
Commented:
I think that I would split the code text into parts and look for the bookmark:
Sub ReferencedText(fld As Field)
    Dim strRef() As String
    Dim para As Paragraph
    Dim strMessage As String
    Dim i As Integer
    
    Select Case fld.Type
        Case wdFieldRef, wdFieldPageRef
            strRef = Split(Selection.Fields(1).Code.Text, " ")
            For i = 0 To UBound(strRef)
                If Left(strRef(i), 4) = "_Ref" Then
                    Set para = ActiveDocument.Bookmarks(strRef(i)).Range.Paragraphs(1)
                    strMessage = para.Range.ListFormat.ListString & vbTab & para.Range.Text
                    MsgBox strMessage
                    Exit For
                End If
            Next i
    End Select
End Sub

Open in new window

DrTribos

Author

Commented:
Thank you both.  

Terry you have answered the question and provided lots of good info - thanks.

Graham - thank you for your additional comments.  I am using nested fields so your approach will probably save me the most time.

Do more with

Expert Office
Submit tech questions to Ask the Experts™ at any time to receive solutions, advice, and new ideas from leading industry professionals.

Start 7-Day Free Trial