I cannot give this book enough stars. It is really excellent for someone who is relatively new to programming (and or Word) but who is motivated to make VBA work for them in Word. The first time through the book (like all software books that I use) was an attempt to try to understand how VBA works and what it can do for you. I got lost in his explanations many times and my first impression was like the reviewer above (Ovma) who gave it only 3 stars. I could understand what the Author was saying, all of the paragraphs were easy to understand but I often got lost in the differences between "strings", "Variables" "Variants" "Objects", "Methods", "Arguments" "Constants" and the different types of variables. Guy Hart-Davis seemed to explain each term quickly and then assume the reader now understood each term as he moved on and referred back to the term. It wasn't until I started back through the book the second time that I realized that because the subject is so large, he often didn't address these terms in enough detail until later chapters where he explained them in more detail.

The second complaint I had (and the negative reviewer above had) was that the Author seemed to use very few examples of macros, often only having one example per chapter. Often he would explain one element of a process or command and then show a table and say: "Here are the other 500 commands that go with this one process" I thought that this would not be enough to address the millions of commands each function in VBA used. I did notice, however, that the examples he did present in the book were types of macros that I would find extremely useful. This book is already 1200 pages and I understood his need to be brief. The trick to learning VBA for Word was not to read the examples in the book presented, but to actually type them and run them. (Math is like that too. You can't watch the teacher work a problem on the board and expect to understand it. You HAVE to work the problems!) After I did that, I realized the examples were sufficient for me to master the process and make it work for me under any particular circumstance that I needed. As it turned out, the seemingly scarcity of macro examples that I thought existed was a strength. Just about any macro a reader might need could be subsequently created merely by using Word's macro recorder and adapting the commands proferred in the example.

This book did not have a CD. The codes in the examples were not available on the Author's web site. As it turned out, I did not miss any provided code in the slightest. The examples were just plain too easy to duplicate just by typing and recording and, really, learning to become proficient at recording macros was a skill that a reader/student MUST master right off the bat if they have any expectation of becoming skilled.

This book is for Word 2000 but I have Office 2007 and the interface is different. Many times I had to use help in 2007 to see the differences with Word 2000 but I was able to overcome the confusion and this book is not outdated in that respect.

About the last 1/3rd of this book covers things that are way too advanced for me. That part is still useful because occasionally you need something obscure for code and you can find it there.

This book is written for "WORD". Largely, variables that involve integers or decimals or functions that involve complex logical code are not addressed here as it would be in a book about Excel. The idea behind VBA for word is to create input boxes or autotext type macros that make typing automatic and easy. This book will allow you to master it and it makes the subject about as easy as it could be made. It takes an extremely large confusing topic and makes it (relatively) easy for someone new both to Word (as I am) or to programming.

After I had read this book but before I had worked through any of the example macros, I decided to order "VBA Developer's Handbook, 2nd Addition" by Ken Getz and Mike Gilbert. That book claimed to have a disk with Reusable Code for "more than 300 Programming Goals" There wasn't a single usable line of code in that entire book. It covered the most obscure and worthless processes I could possibly imagine. While I'm not fond of bashing someone's 1000 page work product, I have to say, that after trying to skim that book, I realized just what an excellent book "Word 2000 Developer's Handbook" was. After that, I was more inclined to look at the text harder and realized all of the things that I thought were lacking in the text were actually there for me to master with just a slower and more detailed effort.

It took me several full days reading the book and playing with macros to get the hang of VBA as it was intended to be used. I did already have some experience with WordPerfect for DOS macro language and I already knew what IF statements and GOTO statements were and how to manipulate the 50 commands that came with that crude code to make elegant and complex autotext type macros and documents. (Before that, in the late 70's I had used Fortran in College with card readers. You talk about useless!) I still think that anyone without that type of programming experience, someone with no experience can get the hang of VBA for word with this book. In fact, this book is probably the easiest way (if not most novices only option) to get the hang of it. Probably the hardest thing about it is that the subject is so dull. You really have to have a need for it. It is much more interesting when you do and that is what would give someone who has never had any experience at all with computer code the motivation to get through the text.

This book is listed on Amazon twice! Once as "Handbook" and once as "Paperback". I have bothered to duplicate my post on both listings because I thought the book was so good.

I cannot give this book enough stars. It is really excellent for someone who is relatively new to programming (and or Word) but who is motivated to make VBA work for them in Word. The first time through the book (like all software books that I use) was an attempt to try to understand how VBA works and what it can do for you. I got lost in his explanations many times and my first impression was like the reviewer above (Ovma) who gave it only 3 stars. I could understand what the Author was saying, all of the paragraphs were easy to understand but I often got lost in the differences between "strings", "Variables" "Variants" "Objects", "Methods", "Arguments" "Constants" and the different types of variables. Guy Hart-Davis seemed to explain each term quickly and then assume the reader now understood each term as he moved on and referred back to the term. It wasn't until I started back through the book the second time that I realized that because the subject is so large, he often didn't address these terms in enough detail until later chapters where he explained them in more detail.

The second complaint I had (and the negative reviewer above had) was that the Author seemed to use very few examples of macros, often only having one example per chapter. Often he would explain one element of a process or command and then show a table and say: "Here are the other 500 commands that go with this one process" I thought that this would not be enough to address the millions of commands each function in VBA used. I did notice, however, that the examples he did present in the book were types of macros that I would find extremely useful. This book is already 1200 pages and I understood his need to be brief. The trick to learning VBA for Word was not to read the examples in the book presented, but to actually type them and run them. (Math is like that too. You can't watch the teacher work a problem on the board and expect to understand it. You HAVE to work the problems!) After I did that, I realized the examples were sufficient for me to master the process and make it work for me under any particular circumstance that I needed. As it turned out, the seemingly scarcity of macro examples that I thought existed was a strength. Just about any macro a reader might need could be subsequently created merely by using Word's macro recorder and adapting the commands proferred in the example.

This book did not have a CD. The codes in the examples were not available on the Author's web site. As it turned out, I did not miss any provided code in the slightest. The examples were just plain too easy to duplicate just by typing and recording and, really, learning to become proficient at recording macros was a skill that a reader/student MUST master right off the bat if they have any expectation of becoming skilled.

This book is for Word 2000 but I have Office 2007 and the interface is different. Many times I had to use help in 2007 to see the differences with Word 2000 but I was able to overcome the confusion and this book is not outdated in that respect.

About the last 1/3rd of this book covers things that are way too advanced for me. That part is still useful because occasionally you need something obscure for code and you can find it there.

This book is written for "WORD". Largely, variables that involve integers or decimals or functions that involve complex logical code are not addressed here as it would be in a book about Excel. The idea behind VBA for word is to create input boxes or autotext type macros that make typing automatic and easy. This book will allow you to master it and it makes the subject about as easy as it could be made. It takes an extremely large confusing topic and makes it (relatively) easy for someone new both to Word (as I am) or to programming.

After I had read this book but before I had worked through any of the example macros, I decided to order "VBA Developer's Handbook, 2nd Addition" by Ken Getz and Mike Gilbert. That book claimed to have a disk with Reusable Code for "more than 300 Programming Goals" There wasn't a single usable line of code in that entire book. It covered the most obscure and worthless processes I could possibly imagine. While I'm not fond of bashing someone's 1000 page work product, I have to say, that after trying to skim that book, I realized just what an excellent book "Word 2000 Developer's Handbook" was. After that, I was more inclined to look at the text harder and realized all of the things that I thought were lacking in the text were actually there for me to master with just a slower and more detailed effort.

It took me several full days reading the book and playing with macros to get the hang of VBA as it was intended to be used. I did already have some experience with WordPerfect for DOS macro language and I already knew what IF statements and GOTO statements were and how to manipulate the 50 commands that came with that crude code to make elegant and complex autotext type macros and documents. (Before that, in the late 70's I had used Fortran in College with card readers. You talk about useless!) I still think that anyone without that type of programming experience, someone with no experience can get the hang of VBA for word with this book. In fact, this book is probably the easiest way (if not most novices only option) to get the hang of it. Probably the hardest thing about it is that the subject is so dull. You really have to have a need for it. It is much more interesting when you do and that is what would give someone who has never had any experience at all with computer code the motivation to get through the text.

I bought this book after doing some serious VBA programming for Excel and having been in and out of software development for many years. It's tough to write a book for all users, novice and experienced. This book falls in between those two extremes.

If you've never done any programming, you'll likely be frustrated by the slow start into actual programming. Some readers will need a "Hello world" routine up front. On the other hand, if you're an experienced programmer, you'll find that 60 to 70 percent of the book is way below your level and needs. But wait a minute, we're talking about a 1200+ page book! If just 10 percent is on target for you and you can find what you need, it's a steal.

The content of the book is far, far, far beyond what Microsoft provides with built-in menus and help. Anyone who claims otherwise simply hasn't done any serious VBA programming. A large percentage of the commands and structures covered here absolutely cannot be generated by automated recording. For example, I wrote a code that scans a document, finds all the acronyms, determines whether the acronym definitions are provided, and builds and/or updates an acronym table at the end. It flags all undefined acronyms and it color-codes duplicate definitions and out-of-order definitions. It includes a toolbar for helping navigate the document. It also includes a capability for combining acronym tables from multiple sources. You have to really get immersed to code a task even as conceptually simple as this one, and this book is what you need to get through it.

The most challenging thing about being productive with VBA is the horrendously large object model. Some of the best programmers I know -- and I'm talking guided-missile engineers and the like - have turned away from VBA because the object model required too much of a learning curve. This book does a good job of laying most of the object model out in logical order. (If you're unfamiliar with the term "object model," don't be intimidated - it's not that it's all that hard to master in small steps; it's just big; and you may be able to find what you want and apply it quickly.)

The book isn't perfect: I've found two errors, but that's not bad, considering its size. Overall, it's very authoritative.

While using this book, I occasionally needed to turn elsewhere for additional information. My favorite companion book is Sams Teach Yourself Visual Basic for Applications 5, which has a strong orientation towards Excel. The bad news about both of these books is that they're getting old. I wouldn't yet call them "dated," but the authors/publishers will need to produce updated editions in the next few years. I, for one, really hope they do. That's the (selfish) reason for writing this review. I have to wonder, though, how many Word users will ever need a book this advanced.

I'm giving the book five stars, because it is, by far, the best ever written on its subject. I wouldn't want to do without it.

I'm a (relatively) beginner in VBA and I like learning by examples. Guy Hart-Davis promises dirty hands early in the book, but reading close to 200 pages before staring with codes is not my game. For me this book has too much theory. But for students or others that already has been working with VBA it's probably a great book. I will probably pick this book up later.

I bought this book because I needed to learn VBA for my job. The author does an excellent job explaining things and doesn't wander off into theory like many other books do. There are plenty of examples to learn from and after about three days of reading I had enough of an understanding of VBA to begin using the book as a reference to look up things I wanted to do. I saw another review state this book was her bible, I have to agree because this book stays by my side and has helped me learn what I needed to. If you need to learn VBA quickly and you don't have a background in programming buy this book!

The code of all programs, forms and templates are now available from the Sybex web site.

Would you like to use VBA to copy and paste? This book won't help.