Cleaning up RTF text

calendar_today Asked Aug 21, 2008
thumb_up 6 upvotes
history Updated April 14, 2026

Direct Answer

I would use a hidden RichTextBox, set the Rtf member, then retrieve the Text member to sanitize the RTF in a well-supported way. Then I would use manually inject the desired…. This is a prose walkthrough, ranked #17th of 32 by community upvote score, from 2008.


The Problem (Q-score 8, ranked #17th of 32 in the Word VBA archive)

The scenario as originally posted in 2008

I’d like to take some RTF input and clean it to remove all RTF formatting except ul b i to paste it into Word with minor format information.

The command used to paste into Word will be something like:
oWord.ActiveDocument.ActiveWindow.Selection.PasteAndFormat(0) (with some RTF text already in the Clipboard)

{rtf1ansideff0{fonttbl{f0fnilfcharset0 Courier New;}}
{colortbl ;red255green255blue140;}
viewkind4uc1pardhighlight1lang3084f0fs18 The company is a global leader in responsible tourism and was ul the first major hotel chain in North Americaulnone  to embrace environmental stewardship within its daily operationshighlight0par

Do you have any idea on how I can clean up the RTF safely with some regular expressions or something? I am using VB.NET to do the processing but any .NET language sample will do.

Why community consensus is tight on this one

Across 32 Word VBA entries in the archive, the accepted answer here holds niche answer (below median) status — meaning voters are unusually aligned on the right fix.


The Verified Solution — niche answer (below median) (+6)

Verbal answer — walkthrough without a code block

Note: the verified answer is a prose walkthrough. If you need a runnable sample, check Word VBA entries ranked in the top 10 of the same archive.

I would use a hidden RichTextBox, set the Rtf member, then retrieve the Text member to sanitize the RTF in a well-supported way. Then I would use manually inject the desired formatting afterwards.


When to Use It — vintage (14+ years old, pre-2013)

Ranked #17th in its category — specialized fit

This pattern sits in the 68% tail relative to the top answer. Reach for it when your scenario closely matches the question title; otherwise browse the Word VBA archive for a higher-consensus alternative.

What changed between 2008 and 2026

The answer is 18 years old. The Word VBA object model has been stable across Office 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 365, and 2024/2026 LTSC, so the pattern still compiles. Changes that might affect you: 64-bit API declarations (use PtrSafe), blocked macros in downloaded files (Mark-of-the-Web), and the shift toward Office Scripts for web-first workflows.

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Frequently Asked Questions

This is a below-median answer — when does it still fit?
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Answer score +6 vs the Word VBA archive median ~4; this entry is niche. The score plus 8 supporting upvotes on the question itself (+8) means the asker and 5 subsequent voters all validated the approach.

The answer has no code block — how do I turn it into a snippet?
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Use the walkthrough above as a checklist, then open a top-10 Word VBA archive entry for a concrete starting template you can adapt.

This answer is 18 years old. Is it still relevant in 2026?
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Published 2008, which is 18 year(s) before today’s Office 2026 build. The Word VBA object model has had no breaking changes in that window. Three things to re-test: (1) blocked macros on downloaded files (Mark-of-the-Web), (2) 64-bit API declarations (PtrSafe, LongPtr), (3) any shift toward Office Scripts for web scenarios.

Which Word VBA pattern ranks just above this one at #16?
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The pattern one rank above is “Editing Microsoft Word Documents Programmatically”. If your use case overlaps, compare both before committing.

Data source: Community-verified Q&A snapshot. Q-score 8, Answer-score 6, original post 2008, ranked #17th of 32 in the Word VBA archive. Last regenerated April 14, 2026.

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