word-vba-reserved-words

name	word-vba-reserved-words
description	Detect and avoid Microsoft Word / VBA reserved words in identifiers.
license	CC-BY-4.0

Word/VBA Reserved Words – Naming Safety Skill

Purpose

Help developers avoid case-insensitive identifier collisions in Word VBA.

Collision Categories

VBA keywords & operators
Dim, If, Select, Function, ByVal, And, Or, Not, Set, Let, New, With, etc.

Built-in VBA function names
InStr, Left, Right, Mid, Len, Date, Time, Now, Format, Replace, Split, Join, Trim, etc.

Word object model names
Document, Documents, Paragraph, Paragraphs, Range, Selection, Table, Tables, Cell, Cells, Row, Rows, Column, Columns, Bookmark, Bookmarks, Style, Styles, Section, Sections, HeaderFooter, Field, Fields, Shape, Shapes, InlineShape, InlineShapes, ContentControl, ContentControls, Comment, Comments, Revision, Revisions, Find, Replacement, MailMerge, Footnote, Endnote, Hyperlink, ListFormat, PageSetup, Font, ParagraphFormat, Borders, Shading, Window, Pane, View, Options, Template, FormField, Variable, AutoText, etc.

VBA/Word SQL and special keywords
Name, Text, Value, Type, Index, Count, Item, Add, Delete, Open, Close, Save, Print, Execute, etc.

Special characters/symbols
Spaces, ', ", ., !, ?, *, +, -, =, <, >, #, %, $, &, @, \, /, ^, ~, {}, [], ().

Word and VBA treat names case-insensitively; reusing these terms as identifiers often leads to compile or runtime errors.

Procedure

Priority: Complete Steps 1–4 in order. Step 5 is optional and should be considered only when explicitly requested.

Step 1: Identify Reserved Words (Priority)

1. Scan identifiers in the current context (variables, procedure names, module names, bookmark names, content control tags, and macro names).
2. Flag exact case-insensitive matches to reserved words and report each occurrence with the specific line number and file name.
3. Partial-match guidance: Identifiers that contain a reserved word as a complete substring (e.g., DocumentPath, RangeStart) should be noted as potential concerns, but only exact or very obvious collisions require immediate action. Use judgment based on context.

Step 2: Suggest Safe Replacements

4. Propose descriptive, context-specific names:
   • Document → docTarget or docReport
   • Range → rngSelection or rngParagraph
   • Selection → selCurrent or rngSelected
   • Table → tblData or tblSummary
   • Cell → celTarget or celValue
   • Name → sDocName or sBookmarkName
   • Text → sBodyText or sContent

Step 3: Apply Naming Conventions (After renaming)

5. Ensure correct formatting:
   • Use CamelCase (no spaces or special characters).
   • Optionally apply Leszynski/Reddick-style type/object prefixes (e.g., strName, lngCount, dtmStart, docMain, rngTarget).

Step 4: Handle Existing Objects

6. If renaming VBA objects already in use, prefer renaming the object rather than attempting workarounds; clear, descriptive names prevent subtle bugs and improve maintainability.

Step 5: Repository Analysis (Optional)

7. (Optional) Run a repository scan when requested to list offenders and propose bulk renames.

Common Offenders (teach by example)

• Word object names used as identifiers: Document, Range, Selection, Table, Cell, Row, Column, Style, Section, Field, Comment, Bookmark, Shape
• Generic property names: Name, Text, Value, Type, Index, Count
• VBA keywords: date, time, now, format, replace
• VBA functions used as names: instr, left, right, mid, len, trim

Naming Recommendations

Word-specific prefixes:

Prefix	Meaning	Example
doc	Document	docReport, docTemplate
par	Paragraph	parFirst, parSummary
rng	Range	rngHeader, rngBody
tbl	Table	tblData, tblPricing
cel	Cell	celTotal, celName
sty	Style	styCustom, styTitle
sec	Section	secCover, secAppendix
bkm	Bookmark	bkmIntro, bkmSignature
shp	Shape	shpLogo, shpArrow
fld	Field	fldDate, fldAuthor
cc	Content Control	ccStatus, ccSummary

General rules:

• ✅ Prefer descriptive, specific names: docInvoice, rngHeaderText, tblEmployees.
• ✅ Use CamelCase; consider type/object prefixes (str, lng, dtm, doc, rng) for clarity.
• ❌ Avoid reserved words and special characters in any identifier.
• ❌ Avoid generic names like Data, Info, Temp when they collide with object model terms.

Example Prompts (to trigger this skill)

• "Scan this Word VBA module and flag any reserved-word variable names."
• "Suggest safe replacements for variables named Document and Range."
• "Check my Word macro for identifiers that collide with the Word object model."
• "Rename bookmark names that use reserved words like Name or Text."

References

• Microsoft: Word object model overview
• Microsoft: VBA language keywords & reserved identifiers
• Microsoft: Naming conventions for VBA
• Allen Browne: Problem names & reserved words