Forcing cross-references to ignore bookmark names

[YossiD]

I have these commands in a Word macro (Word 2013):

    Selection.InsertCrossReference ReferenceType:="Heading", _
        ReferenceKind:=wdNumberNoContext, ReferenceItem:=Step, _
    Selection.TypeText Text:=vbTab
    Selection.InsertCrossReference ReferenceType:="Heading", _
        ReferenceKind:=wdContentText, ReferenceItem:=Step, InsertAsHyperlink:=True _
        , IncludePosition:=False        InsertAsHyperlink:=True, IncludePosition:=False

For each Heading in a document, these commands print the heading number followed by a tab followed by the heading text. Like this:

‎1 This is a first level heading with bookmark
‎2 This a first level heading without bookmark

Some of the headings are bookmarked, and in those cases the cross-references use the bookmark names rather than generic references. Like this:

{ REF FirstLevelHeadingwBM \n \h }       { REF FirstLevelHeadingwBM \h }

For headings that are not bookmarked, the cross-references look like this:

{ REF_Ref157949988 \n \h }       { REF _Ref157949988 \h }

Since I might delete some of the bookmarks at a later time, I want the macro to only use the generic Refs and to never use the bookmark names. How can I modify the code to prevent using the bookmark names as Refs in the cross-references?

Also, is there a simple way to get the \* charformat switch incorporated in the cross-references, or would I need to add them using separate statements?

[augustllee]

To ensure that only generic references are used, we can leverage the fact that bookmarks have a specific structure. By checking if the heading's name starts with "_Ref", we can determine if it's a generic reference.

VB.Net
Sub InsertCrossReferences()
    Dim Heading As Heading
    
    For Each Heading In ActiveDocument.Headings
        Selection.InsertCrossReference ReferenceType:="Heading", _
            ReferenceKind:=wdNumberNoContext, ReferenceItem:=Heading.Name, _
            InsertAsHyperlink:=True, IncludePosition:=False
        Selection.TypeText Text:=vbTab
        
        ' Check if the heading name is a generic reference
        If Left(Heading.Name, 4) <> "_Ref" Then
            ' If not, use generic reference
            Selection.InsertCrossReference ReferenceType:="Heading", _
                ReferenceKind:=wdContentText, ReferenceItem:=Heading.Name, _
                InsertAsHyperlink:=True, IncludePosition:=False
        Else
            ' If it's a generic reference, use the existing cross-reference
            Selection.InsertCrossReference ReferenceType:="Heading", _
                ReferenceKind:=wdContentText, ReferenceItem:=Heading.Name, _
                InsertAsHyperlink:=True, IncludePosition:=False
        End If
    Next Heading
End Sub

[Baylee Marqu]

To ensure that only generic references are used, we can leverage the fact that bookmarks have a specific structure. By checking if the heading's name starts with "_Ref", we can determine if it's a generic reference.

VB.Net
Sub InsertCrossReferences()
    Dim Heading As Heading
    
    For Each Heading In ActiveDocument.Headings
        Selection.InsertCrossReference ReferenceType:="Heading", _
            ReferenceKind:=wdNumberNoContext, ReferenceItem:=Heading.Name, _
            InsertAsHyperlink:=True, IncludePosition:=False
        Selection.TypeText Text:=vbTab
        
        ' Check if the heading name is a generic reference
        If Left(Heading.Name, 4) <> "_Ref" Then
            ' If not, use generic reference
            Selection.InsertCrossReference ReferenceType:="Heading", _
                ReferenceKind:=wdContentText, ReferenceItem:=Heading.Name, _
                InsertAsHyperlink:=True, IncludePosition:=False
        Else
            ' If it's a generic reference, use the existing cross-reference
            Selection.InsertCrossReference ReferenceType:="Heading", _
                ReferenceKind:=wdContentText, ReferenceItem:=Heading.Name, _
                InsertAsHyperlink:=True, IncludePosition:=False
        End If
    Next Heading
End Sub

Oh thank you for your reply, I have fixed it thank you very much.