Question

I have documents in which I need to find the text “MM” followed by three integers and compile that into a list. Each document has different sets of numbers, but it always follows this format.

Can I utilize a MS-Word VBA code to do something like this? If so… how?

Answer 1

I think i have just the thing for you to highlight these patterns without macros or coding required.

use the find and replace dialog in WORD and configure it like so:

The magic is this expression:

<MM[0-9]{3}>

see more syntax here:
http://www.gmayor.com/replace_using_wildcards.htm

I did it here in Word 2010 and it works perfectly.

picks up
MM123
MM232
and skips
MM2f1
MM2323

Edit: if you’re trying to compile it into a separate list in addition to highlighting it in the doc, I’d suggest you save a copy of the doc as a plaintext file, then write a really simple shell script or console application to grab the strings you’re looking for.