WD: GetText$ Encloses Fields in Pipe (Veritical Bar) Characters

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1

SYMPTOMS

If you use the GetText$() WordBasic function to return a text string that contains a field in Word for Windows, and field codes are turned on, GetText$() may return the field text enclosed in pipe characters (|). For example, GetText$() might return the following string for a SYMBOL field:

   |Symbol 255|

WORKAROUND

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   Sub Main
      FileNewDefault
      x$ = String$(55, "x")
      Insert X$
      StartOfDocument
      CharRight 5
      InsertField .Field = "symbol 255"
      Result$ = CleanString$(GetText$(0, 30))
      Insert Result$
   End Sub

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the versions of Microsoft Word listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

GetText$() does not return hidden text that is not displayed, even though Word counts hidden characters when determining the range of text to return. Although GetText$() can be handy if you need to return document text without changing the selection, special document elements such as fields, tables, and page breaks within the specified range can produce unpredictable results.

For information about how to do this in Word 97, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q161691
   TITLE     : Extraneous Characters Returned With ViewFieldCodes On