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This Microsoft Word Tips & Microsoft Word Help page demonstrates a method that you can use to create "custom" table cell "OnEnter, OnChange and OnExit" events using VBA procedures.   You can download a demonstration document using the link at the end of the page.

While the examples I show here may appear simplistic, implementing this method in a practical application requires extensive planning, thought and work; and a fairly good understanding VBA. I feel that the potential benefit of real time evaluation of user entered data in certain applications may be worth the extra time, thought and effort.

Before going any further I want to give some credit where credit is due. The "master key" to the entire method is a relatively simple (now simple to me at least) procedure to monitor a range object for change. I was introduced to that method by Jeff Vandervoort and first applied it in my Content Control Custom Events tips page. Jeff participates in the Microsoft Office Word for Developers forum and without his skills and his willingness to share the fruits of those skills this tips page would not be published. I would also like to thank Jason Frost Simpson, a regular in the VBA Express forum, for suffering eye strain to read my unconventionally structured code and providing valuable suggestions for improvement.

Meet the Events

The cell events are defined as follows:

• OnEnter. The event fires when the user clicks in or selects text in a single monitored table cell.
• OnChange. The event fires when the user alters (adds or deletes) text from the cell range.
• OnExit. The event fires when the user exists the monitored cell (or selects text that extends beyond the monitored cell range).

For the demonstration I will be using a Word 2010 document containing three tables.

Note. The illustrations in this tips page may or may not reflect the appearance or arrangement of the actual demonstration document.

The first demonstration utilizes a singe cell table and illustrates all three events.

• When the user clicks in the cell (OnEnter event), the active cell monitor detects the event and the cell text is automatically revised.

• When the user types (OnChange event), the active cell monitor detects each change event. In this example the monitor compares each change to a fix length condition.  If the user attempts to type more than 40 characters the fixed length condition is met. The monitor alerts the user and restricts the user from entering any more text.

• When the user exits the cell (OnExit event) the active cell monitor detects the event and the cell content is automatically revised.

The basic demonstration should illustrate a solution to a common request. "How can I limit the amount of text a user can enter into a table cell?"  You will of course have to change the action on each event to suit your particular need.

In Table 2 below:

• Row 1 indicates active cell range monitor and OnChange event character limits  for the respective column.
• Row 2 provides an example of the character limit met.
• Column 2 should illustrate that if you use proportional fonts, it is not possible to set a limit that  "fills" the cell range. Notice that the 25 "i" characters in the second column fit but don't fill the cell while the 25 "w" characters exceed the column width and continue to the next line.
• Column 3 illustrates that if you use a proportional font like "Courier New," you can set a limit that fills the allotted space.

With thought and planning you can take advantage of the events to perform real time processing of data user enter into table cells. Table 3 below illustrates a small excerpt from a invoice template that I have developed. Calculation are performed automatically in real time as the user changes quantity or price.

You can download the complete demonstration document here: Table Cell Change Events Demo

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

This page was last updated on March 09, 2021

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