Solved: Find and delete text between two areas

Hi,

If in a word document I have a table filled with data, then something else, then the word Dear whoever, how do I find the section in the middle and delete it all out. The bit in the middle may vary between 1 and 10 lines.

It looks something like this (nb Name down to Postcode is in a table). In this example it would be the data all with the X in I want to delete.

Name
Job
Company
Line1
Line2
Line3
Postcode


Mr X
Company X
X Line 1
X Line 2
X Line 3
City X
Postcode X


Dear Martin




Thanks, Mark

Why not just have a blank template to re use each time...could be filled using bookmarks from a userform...

Certainly if this is going to be an on-going operation you would be best to have that chunk bookmarked. Then you could delete it with a one-line instruction.[vba]ActiveDocument.Bookmarks("DumpChunk").Range.Delete[/vba]That being said, perhaps if you elaborate on what exactly is going on.

Why are you deleting this?
WHEN are you deleting this? On document open? When ever the user decides to? When YOU decide to?
Do you know the table number, that is, what its index number is? The third table in the document - Tables(3)? The fourth table in the document - Tables(4)?
Are the "lines" (eg. Mr X, Company X, X Line 1) actual paragraphs?

In any case, this may help. Assumption: the table in question is the first table in the document - Tables(1).[vba]Sub DumpChunk()
Dim r As Range
With Selection
.HomeKey Unit:=wdStory
With .Find
.ClearFormatting
.Text = "Dear"
.Execute
End With
.Collapse Direction:=wdCollapseStart
End With
Set r = ActiveDocument.Range( _
Start:=ActiveDocument.Tables(1).Range.End + 1, _
End:=Selection.Start - 1)
r.Delete
End Sub[/vba]What it does:

1. move Selection to start of document
2. search forward for "Dear"
3. collapse selection to its Start (just before "Dear")
4. set a Range object with Start = just after Table(1), and End = just before the Selection
5.. delete the range

Done. You may want to error trap the search for "Dear". If there IS no "Dear", there could be unwanted effects.

Note: using a Range object to make the deletion is the best way to go. By using a Range, it does not matter the size of the "chunk". One line, 10 lines - no difference. It simply deletes everything from just after the table, to just before "Dear".

Very cool.

I'm about to try out your code fumei.

At the moment I am pulling data from an SQL dB, and pasting it into a document so the user can preview it, and pass comment.

It works to the extent that the data comes in, and gets all dressed up into sexy little black number (aka a table with formatting)

My problem is that if the user realises they have selected the wrong data to comment on, and they rehit, the button to get the right set, the original "wrong" data/table doesn't get cleared properly.

See below:

[vba]Dim DataToPaste As String
DataToPaste = "" + txtData
' ActiveDocument.Sections(1).ProtectedForForms = False
' ActiveDocument.Sections(2).ProtectedForForms = True
' etc etc etc

' Method 3
' Method 1 sucked!
' Method two is being silly
' how many methods do I have to try before one "just" works !!!
' GRRRRR!

' Dim StartWord As String, EndWord As String
'StartWord = "Start word"
'EndWord = "End word"
'
'With ActiveDocument.Content.Duplicate
' .Find.Execute Findtext:=StartWord & "*" & EndWord, MatchWildcards:=True
' .MoveStart wdCharacter, Len(StartWord)
' .MoveEnd wdCharacter, -Len(EndWord)
' .Font.Bold = True ' Or whatever you want to do
'End With


Selection.GoTo What:=wdGoToSection, Which:=wdGoToFirst, Count:=2, Name:=""
Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
Selection.TypeText "?????"
Selection.TypeParagraph
Selection.TypeText (DataToPaste)
Selection.TypeParagraph
Selection.TypeText "?????"

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Dim myrange As Range
Selection.HomeKey wdStory
Selection.Find.ClearFormatting

With Selection.Find
.Execute Findtext:="?????", Forward:=True, Wrap:=wdFindStop

Set myrange = Selection.Range
myrange.End = ActiveDocument.Range.End
myrange.Start = myrange.Start + 5
myrange.End = myrange.Start + InStr(myrange, "?????") - 1
myrange.Select
End With

'''''
'' Convert The Data Retrieved into a Table
'''''

Selection.ConvertToTable Separator:="|", _
NumColumns:=7, NumRows:=16, AutoFitBehavior:=wdAutoFitFixed

With Selection.Tables(1)
.Style = "Table Grid"
.ApplyStyleHeadingRows = True
.ApplyStyleLastRow = True
.ApplyStyleFirstColumn = True
.ApplyStyleLastColumn = True
End With
Selection.Font.Name = "Verdana"
Selection.Font.Size = 9
With Selection.Tables(1)
.Style = "Table Colorful 2"
.ApplyStyleHeadingRows = True
.ApplyStyleLastRow = False
.ApplyStyleFirstColumn = True
.ApplyStyleLastColumn = False
End With
With Selection.Tables(1)
.TopPadding = CentimetersToPoints(0)
.BottomPadding = CentimetersToPoints(0)
.LeftPadding = CentimetersToPoints(0.19)
.RightPadding = CentimetersToPoints(0.19)
.Spacing = 0
.AllowPageBreaks = True
Selection.Range.HighlightColorIndex = wdNoHighlight
End With

Selection.GoTo What:=wdGoToBookmark, Name:="Comment_Slot_01"
Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
DataRetrieved = 1

' With Selection.Find
' .Execute Findtext:="?????", Forward:=True, Wrap:=wdFindStop
' Selection.Delete
' End With
'
' With Selection.Find
' .Execute Findtext:="?????", Forward:=True, Wrap:=wdFindStop
' Selection.Delete
' End With

rstData.Close
Conn.Close[/vba]
I have been struggling with:
[vba]On Error GoTo Error_ClearStage

Selection.GoTo What:=wdGoToSection, Which:=wdGoToFirst, Count:=2, Name:=""
Selection.Find.ClearFormatting

Dim myrange As Range
Selection.HomeKey wdStory
Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
With Selection.Find
.Execute Findtext:="?????", Forward:=True, Wrap:=wdFindStop

Set myrange = Selection.Range
myrange.End = ActiveDocument.Range.End
myrange.Start = myrange.Start ' + 5
myrange.End = myrange.Start + InStr(myrange, "?????") - 5
myrange.Select
End With[/vba]

As you can see by my comments, getting the range has been causing me no small amount of frustration.

I've been struggling, because the defined range will over select since the myrange.end value gets lost after pasting the first set and deleting it.


I have thought of a workaround, and why this is happening.

In fact I should stop posting, and get jiggy while the idea is fresh in my mind.

:D

Have you thought of doing this as as mailmerge?

Gerry, thanks for the code. Amended it to work with bookmarks instead of a table.

Cheers, Mark

[VBA]Sub DumpChunk()
Dim r As Range
With Selection
.GoTo What:=wdGoToBookmark, Name:="name"
With .Find
.ClearFormatting
.Text = "Dear"
.Execute
End With
.Collapse Direction:=wdCollapseStart
End With
Set r = ActiveDocument.Range( _
Start:=ActiveDocument.Bookmarks("name").Range.End, _
End:=Selection.Start - 1)
r.Delete
Selection.MoveUp Unit:=wdLine, Count:=1
End Sub[/VBA]

Bookmarks are good. They make things VERY handy to work with.

Quote:

---

Amended it to work with bookmarks instead of a table.

---

Huh??????

Is not the point getting whatver is between a specified location ("Dear") and the previous table? Now, if that range IS bookmarked fine, great, just be specific and careful about how you put content INTO the bookmark.

Your code though is odd.

You move the Selection to the bookmark. Bleeeech. Avoid using Selection if possible. However, in any case, you select the bookmark, and the assumption is that "Dear" is IN the selected bookmark.

OK. So there is a search within the selected bookmark for "Dear". It finds it, collapses to Start - that is, just BEFORE "Dear".

You set r with a Start of the end of the bookmark (which is....where exactly????), and a Start of Selection.Start - 1.

Does this not include "Dear"????? I looks like the bookmark .End is after "Dear" - how else could it find it???

So you are deleting "Dear"?

Oh, and Malcolm's suggestion re: mail merge is a good idea.