WD97: ErrMsg If AutoText String Exceeds 255 Characters

ID: Q171129

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

You may receive the following Visual Basic for Applications error when you use the AutoTextEntries property to create AutoText entries:

   Run-time error '5854': String parameter too long.

CAUSE

By design, this error message occurs when the text string is longer than 255 characters.

WORKAROUND

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   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/

To work around this problem, modify the macro to insert the text string into the document, select it, add the selection as an AutoText entry, and then remove the text string. The following sample Visual Basic for Application macro demonstrates this procedure:

   Sub AutoTextEntryExample()
      Dim sATName As String
      Dim sATEntry As String
      Dim sATNewEntry As AutoTextEntry

      ' Sample AutoText Entry Name.
      sATName = "ExampleAutoTextEntryName"
      ' Sample AutoText Entry Text of 500 characters.
      sATEntry = String(500, "A")

      If Documents.Count = 0 Then Documents.Add
      If Len(sATEntry) < 256 Then
         ' If the length of the text is less than 256 characters,
         ' add it as a new AutoText Entry.
         Selection.Range.Collapse
         Set sATNewEntry = NormalTemplate.AutoTextEntries.Add _
         (Name:=sATName, Range:=Selection.Range)
         sATNewEntry.Value = sATEntry
      Else
         ' If the length of the text is greater than 255 characters,
         ' insert it into the active document and add it as a new
         ' AutoText Entry.
         With Selection.Range
            .Collapse
            .Text = sATEntry
            .Select
            NormalTemplate.AutoTextEntries.Add _
               Name:=sATName, Range:=Selection.Range
            .Delete
         End With
      End If
   End Sub

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q173707
   TITLE     : OFF97: How to Run Sample Code from Knowledge Base Articles

REFERENCES

For more information about getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q163435
   TITLE     : VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for
               Applications

Additional query words: wordcon vb vba vbe

Keywords          : kberrmsg kbdta kbdtacode OffVBA kbmacroexample word8 kbautotext word97 
Version           : 97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb
Solution Type     : kbnofix

Last Reviewed: April 4, 1999