The Select Browse Object

And Why Does It Change?

The Select Browse Object is a very powerful feature in Word. It allows you to browse your document by objects. Those objects include Comments, Edits, Endnotes, Fields, Footnotes, Graphics, Headings, Pages, Sections, Tables, and the Last Find Command.

The Select Browse Object can be found along the vertical scroll bar located on the right hand side of your document. It is the round dot located between the double up and double down arrows. See below image of the Select Browse Object Menu.

If you prefer to Browse your document using keystrokes, Ctrl + G will open the GoTo dialog box where it is possible to select one of the objects and also choose whether you want to look for the Next or Previous object in your document. For my example of Browsing Objects, the keystrokes would be Ctrl + G, Alt + O, G, Alt + T , Esc.

Figure 1: Select Browse Object Menu

When you click on the round dot between the double arrows the Select Browse Object menu displays. At that point you can select the object you wish to browse. For instance, if I want to browse through my document to review all graphics, I would click on the icon associated with graphics. (In Figure 1, the graphics icon is the picture icon located on the second row, second one from the right.)

Once I have selected the object I want to browse (graphic), the double up and double down arrows will then move my cursor from one graphic to another. To browse to the Next or Previous graphic using keystrokes, I use Ctrl + PageDown for Next Object or Ctrl + PageUp for Previous Object.

When I open a document or create a new one, the default browse method is by Page. Once I have browsed by any of the other objects listed in the menu, the arrows will change color to indicate that they are associated to some other browsing method. However, at times it would be nice to be able to browse both by Page, as well as by the remaining graphics without changing the Select Browse Object selection.

For instance, I may be looking through my document for a particular phrase. I start a Find on the phrase. After locating the first instance of the phrase, I close out of the Find dialog box. Now, I can use Ctrl + PageDown to navigate to the next instance(s). Eventually, I reach a page that contains several instances of the phrase, but I want to jump to the next page, thereby skipping the remaining phrases located on that page. However, if I use the Select Browse Object to jump to the next page, I will change the properties of the Select Browse Object from Find to Page.

To work around this issue, I have created two macros that have shortcut keystrokes assigned to them. Note that, if you prefer, it is also possible to overwrite the Ctrl + PageUp and Ctrl + PageDown keystrokes to ensure that they always browse by page.

You can follow the steps in Graham Mayor's, fellow MVP, article for help installing these macros in your template: Guide for Installing Macros.

Below are the two macros that I use to allow me to browse by page:

Sub PageDownKey()
   Dim ObjectSetting As Variant

   'Collect the Current Browse Method
   ObjectSetting = Application.Browser.Target

   'Move the cursor to the top of the next page
   Application.Browser.Target = wdBrowsePage
   Application.Browser.Next    

   'Reset back to Previous Brows Method
   Application.Browser.Target = ObjectSetting
End Sub

Sub PageUpKey()
   Dim ObjectSetting As Variant  
  
   'Collect the Current Browse Method
   ObjectSetting = Application.Browser.Target

   'Move the cursor to the top of the previous page
   Application.Browser.Target = wdBrowsePage
    Application.Browser.Previous

   'Reset back to Previous Browse Method
   Application.Browser.Target = ObjectSetting
End Sub

To assign a macro to a keyboard command after the macro has been written, follow these steps:

1. From the View menu, select Toolbars, select Customize (Alt + V, T, C)
   
   
2. The Customize Dialog box will open.
   
   
3. Click the Keyboard button. (Alt + K)
   
   
4. The Customize Keyboard Dialog Box will now display.
   
   
5. Select Macros from the Categories column. (Alt + C, M, M)
   
   
6. Locate and highlight the desired macro in the Macros column. (Alt + O, P ) (Repeat pressing the P until PageDown is selected)
   
   
7. Click into the Press New Shortcut Key textbox. (Alt + N)
   
   
8. Press the keystrokes you want assigned to the macro. Be sure to check whether the keystrokes are already assigned to an existing command. For instance, if you press Ctrl + S, the Currently assigned to field will display "FileSave." If you assign this new macro to that keystroke, you will overwrite the current File Save command. However, if you never use Ctrl + S to save your work, overwriting it should not make a difference to you. If the keystrokes are not already used by Word, “ [unassigned] “ will be displayed in the Currently assigned to field.
   
   
   
   Figure 2: Customize Keyboard Dialog Box
   
   
9. Since I use Ctrl + S, I press the backspace key to find another keystroke combination to assign to my macro.
   
   
10. Once I have determined the keystrokes I want to use, I click the Assign Button (Tab + Enter)
    
    
11. Click the Close Button (Esc)
    
    
12. Repeat Steps 6-10 for any remaining macros.

Once you've finished, close out of the Customize dialog box.