Bring back the object browser in Word 2013

Question

In previous Word versions there was a very handy feature called "object browser" that allowed you to quickly navigate a document. Here is a very simple explanation of what it does: http://www.upstarts.net/article18.htm and it looked like this:

That menu is gone. (It has been somewhat changed: you can use the search/navigation pane for browsing pictures and tables, but not field codes or headings or other objects. Alt+Ctrl+Home doesn't work either.) The browse next and previous are available for the Quick Access Toolbar via the "All Commands" listing, but the orb with the menu isn't.

Is there any way to bring it back? Maybe invocking the menu with a VBA keystroke?

Thanks!

Solution 1

There is a simpler way to browse by objects which aren't listed by default in the dropdown menu next to the search box in the Navigation pane. Within the drop down next to the search box, select "Go To", and then within the "Find and Replace" dialogue box, select the "Go To" tab. On this tab there's a list on the left where you can select the object type, and then Previous/Next buttons. If you added Previous/Next buttons to your Quick Access Toolbar, you can select the browse object type in this window, close it, and then use the buttons in your toolbar to keep browsing. Certainly not as simple/elegant as the previous version with buttons at the bottom of the vertical scroll bar, but it gets the job done.

The screenshot below shows these steps. Note that simply pressing Ctrl+G does all the hassles, so you don't need to open the "Go To" dialog box via Navigation panel.

Solution 2

Since I used to browse through comments only, I wrote a macro (see below) and assigned it to Ctrl+Alt+Home.

I haven't found the original form to display for Ctrl+Alt+Home. If you need to select objects to browse through you can write a macro which would set the appropriate target.

Sub resetBrowser()
   Application.Browser.Target = wdBrowseComment
End Sub

Comments

[Admin]

Have you tried the keyboard shortcut Alt+Ctrl+Home?

[Admin]

I should've stated in the post that the shortcut doesn't work - sorry! I fixed it now.

[s_a]

Nice solution. It got me thinking about replacing that menu with a ribbon tab for browsing, if I have enough time.

[s_a]

As I said in the post, It [the menu that existed prior to wd2013] has been somewhat changed: you can use the search/navigation pane for browsing pictures and tables, but not field codes or headings or other objects. Thanks, though.

[s_a]

I've downgraded to Office 2010, so I can't test to see how your proposal works out. It does sound as if it should work. I'm sorry.

[Ramhound]

Since the tools are hidden you should provide more information on how to find them. Users unfamilar with Word will have trouble finding them since you didn't provide any information.