Reversing Type

There may be a time when you want to "reverse" the type in a particular paragraph. For instance, you may want the paragraph to show as white text on a black background. This can be done easily using both the Patterns tab of the Borders and Shading dialog box and the Font dialog box. If you want to do it in one easy step, however, you can use this VBA macro:

Sub Reverse()
    Selection.StartOf Unit:=wdParagraph, Extend:=wdMove
    Selection.MoveEnd Unit:=wdParagraph
    Selection.ParagraphFormat.Shading.BackgroundPatternColorIndex = wdBlack
    Selection.Font.ColorIndex = wdWhite
End Sub

All you need to do is place the insertion point somewhere within the paragraph, and then run the macro. As with most any macro, you can assign it to a toolbar button or a shortcut key so you can use it quickly.

Of course, the only real reason to use a macro such as this is if you don't use styles and templates for your documents. If you do, then you should accomplish the same functionality by simply defining a style that shows the paragraph in "reverse" type. Whenever you apply the style, the paragraph appears in the desired format.