Highlighter

The purpose of this Microsoft Word Tips & Microsoft Word Help page is to publish my custom Highlighter Tool template add-in for Word.

The add-in will hopefully offer a solution to the problem of odd and often too dark highlighter colors available with the standard Word highlighter tool.

Highlighter Tool add-in employs a Userform to provide a simple interface you can use to apply a range of "subdued" font shading to your text.

Unfortunately the add-in does not act as a painter like the built-in highlighter tool.

You must select the text you want to apply shading to and then click the desired shading color.
Use the "None" command to remove previously applied font shading to selected text
Use "Remove All" command to clear all font shading from your document.

Note: It is important to remember that Highlighter Tool applies "shading" to text. While it may be more pleasing to the eye and easier to read, it is not "highlighting" in the sense that Word uses that term. It will not react as expected in a "find and replace" operation or be recognized as highlighting in a VBA procedure.

I have provided eight subdued colors in the basic add-in. If you know a little about VBA you can easily change these colors or add your own. The range of actual shades that you can create and apply to your text is practically endless. The colored "buttons" on the Userform are simply label controls with a .backcolor property applied that matches the font shading .backcolor applied in the document. You can add new controls (and associated code) or modify the exiting controls and code.

The back color of the label controls are set in the Userform_Initalize event:

VBA Script:

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Private Sub Userform_Initialize() 
Me.Label1.BackColor = 10092543 'Or wdColorLightYellow or RGB(255, 255, 153)
Me.Label2.BackColor = wdColorLightGreen
'Add any remaining labels. The color value can be a constant value if exits (e.g., wdColorRed,
'a long value, or a RGB {red, green, blue) value as shown in above. 
End Sub

The shading is applied to the selected text with a Label_Click event. The BackgroundPattern color is simply set to the same value as the control back color. Again constants, longs, or RGB values can be used.

VBA Script:

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Private Sub yourLabelName_Click()
Selection.Font.Shading.BackgroundPatternColor = RGB(163, 209, 255)
End Sub

Highlighter Tool was developed using Word 2003 and includes a simply toolbar interface. The add-in is fully functional in Word 2007/2010 and the toolbar commands propogate in the Add-Ins tab custom toolbar group.

Word 2003 Toolbar

highlighter 4

Word 2007/2010

An auxiliary macro is provided to help you determine the long or RGB value of any custom color. Simply click the "Color Data" command to determine information on any constant or custom color you wish to identify. Color data information is returned via VBA msgbox as shown below:

Download: Highlighter Tool

For more on template add-ins and how to load them, see: Organizing Your Macros/Template Add-ins at: Installing Macros

That's it! I hope you have found this tips page useful and informative.

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Highlighter Tool Add-In(A Microsoft Word Help & Tip page by Gregory K. Maxey)

Highlighter Tool Add-In
(A Microsoft Word Help & Tip page by Gregory K. Maxey)