Find shaded text in Word and reformat as strikethrough?

[glrothman]

Hello, and thanks in advance for any guidance you can give.

I have a stack of docx files, and each has sections with a shaded background, colored as follows: Pattern: Clear (Custom Color(RGB(232,198,201)))

I would love to have a macro that will find each of those sections and format them as strikethrough text (preferably with the shading replaced by a white background, but that is NOT essential).

Word/Microsoft 365/Windows 10

What I've tried: I looked for ways to find the target text with the Find/Replace tool. I created a Style based on the shaded text, then tried to search for that style. But every time, I got a "No Results Found" message.

I'm attaching an excerpt for a document with several examples of this shading.

If you need any additional info, just let me know. Thanks again!

29279

[gmayor]

You cannot search for a style that you haven't applied to the text. However you can search for the background shading e.g.

Sub ReplaceShading()
'Graham Mayor - https://www.gmayor.com - Last updated - 05 Jan 2022
Dim oRng As Range
Set oRng = ActiveDocument.Range
With oRng.Find
.ClearFormatting
.Replacement.ClearFormatting
.Font.Shading.BackgroundPatternColor = RGB(232, 198, 201)
.Text = ""
.Replacement.Text = ""
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.Format = True
.MatchCase = False
.MatchWholeWord = False
.MatchWildcards = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
Do While .Execute
oRng.Font.StrikeThrough = True
oRng.Font.Shading.BackgroundPatternColor = wdColorAutomatic
oRng.Collapse 0
Loop
End With
Set oRng = Nothing
End Sub

[glrothman]

Thank you so much, Graham! This is precisely what I needed. Have a wonderful day.


You cannot search for a style that you haven't applied to the text. However you can search for the background shading e.g.

Sub ReplaceShading()
'Graham Mayor - https://www.gmayor.com - Last updated - 05 Jan 2022
Dim oRng As Range
Set oRng = ActiveDocument.Range
With oRng.Find
.ClearFormatting
.Replacement.ClearFormatting
.Font.Shading.BackgroundPatternColor = RGB(232, 198, 201)
.Text = ""
.Replacement.Text = ""
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.Format = True
.MatchCase = False
.MatchWholeWord = False
.MatchWildcards = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
Do While .Execute
oRng.Font.StrikeThrough = True
oRng.Font.Shading.BackgroundPatternColor = wdColorAutomatic
oRng.Collapse 0
Loop
End With
Set oRng = Nothing
End Sub

[glrothman]

Thank you so much, Graham! This is precisely what I needed. Have a wonderful day.

Graham,

The macro you wrote for me a few weeks ago was precisely what I asked for; changing a specific background shading to strikethrough. Could you please let me know what I'd need to change in order to add the strikethrough but LEAVE the shading?

Many thanks!!

Gordon

[glrothman]

Graham,

The macro you wrote for me a few weeks ago was precisely what I asked for; changing a specific background shading to strikethrough. Could you please let me know what I'd need to change in order to add the strikethrough but LEAVE the shading?

Many thanks!!

Gordon

[glrothman]

Graham,

I found the answer! I hope I haven't wasted any of your time since I posted. Take care...

Gordon

[Chas Kenyon]

Just a note that you would be far ahead as far as automation and time saving if instead of direct formatting you were using styles.
Importance of Styles in Word (http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/styles.htm#Overview)

[glrothman]

Just a note that you would be far ahead as far as automation and time saving if instead of direct formatting you were using styles.

I don't disagree! Unfortunately, I'm working with documents that have been created by a website that - at least for now - is constrained to highlighting key sections with this very specific shading (and not even using a standard color). The oddest part is that when the user selects those key sections, it appears on-screen as strikethroughs. Only in the export process is it turned into shading.