Word allows you to create styles to define how the text in your document should appear. Besides a full list of built-in styles, Word allows you to create any custom styles that you may desire. You can later print a style sheet for your document, as described in other issues of WordTips.
What if you want a list of only custom styles, however? Word doesn't include a feature that allows you to discriminate on which styles are included in a style sheet printout. If you want a list of custom styles used in a document, you can create one by using a macro. The following macro steps through all the styles and compiles a list of those that meet both criteria (custom and being used): you can also read the ActivePrinter property
Sub PrintCustomStyles() Dim docThis As Document Dim styItem As Style Dim sUserDef(499) As String Dim iStyleCount As Integer Dim J As Integer ' Ref the active document Set docThis = ActiveDocument iStyleCount = 0 For Each styItem In docThis.Styles 'see if being used If styItem.InUse Then 'make sure not built in If Not styItem.BuiltIn Then iStyleCount = iStyleCount + 1 sUserDef(iStyleCount) = styItem.NameLocal End If End If Next styItem If iStyleCount > 0 Then ' Create the output document Documents.Add Selection.TypeText "User-defined Styles In Use" Selection.TypeParagraph For J = 1 To iStyleCount Selection.TypeText sUserDef(J) Selection.TypeParagraph Next J Selection.TypeParagraph Selection.TypeParagraph Else MsgBox "No custom styles in use." End If End Sub
Remember that there is a difference between "custom styles" and "customized styles." (A built-in style can be a customized style, if you change the default characteristics of the style.) This macro prints a list of custom styles; it completely ignores those styles that Word considers built in.
If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8339) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Printing a List of Custom Styles.
With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen.