Extract acronyms, bookmarks, tracked changes and comments from Word
Introduction to DocTools ExtractData
DocTools ExtractData is an add-in for Microsoft Word.
The add-in works with Word 2007, Word 2010, Word 2013 or Word 2016 on PC.
The add-in lets you easily export / extract:
- acronyms, bookmarks, tracked changes, or comments
from the active document to a new document. The extracted data, incl. additional metadata, will be listed in a table for easy overview.
DocTools ExtractData adds a set of tools that can be accessed from the group Extract Data in the DocTools tab in the Ribbon. The DocTools tab may also contain tools from other add-ins provided by DocTools.
You will find more details about the add-in below.
FREE download - see below
The Extract Data group in the DocTools tab.
The Extract Data menu in the Extract Data group.
Find details about these commands in the More details section.
The Help menu in the Extract Data group.
DocTools ExtractData - FREE download
See also the tip about DocTools ExtractChanges Pro below - an advanced add-in for extracting insertions, deletions and comments. |
Version number:
Release date:
Supported Word versions:
1.3 (see Changelog for info about versions and changes)
August 26, 2016
Word 2007, Word 2010, Word 2013, Word 2016 on PC
How to download the add-in
- Fill in the fields to the right.*
- Click the green Download button.
- An email will be sent to the email address you specify.
Please check your spam or junk email folder if the email does not
appear within a few minutes. - Click the link in the email to download a zip file that includes the add-in.
- Install the add-in.
Installation instructions are included in the email you receive.
* Your email address will only be used to send you the download link incl. installation instructions. See Privacy Policy.
See also the tip about the Acronyms Master add-in below if you need to generate lists of acronyms and abbreviations, incl. definitions. |
DocTools ExtractChanges Pro Advanced add-in version - check it out now!
Are you editing large contracts or similar documents?
Do you want to be able to extract insertions, deletions and comments in full context and including headings and subheadings?
More details about the DocTools ExtractData features
Background
On my website www.thedoctools.com I have provided free macros for exporting / extracting acronyms, tracked changes and comments for years. The macros have been downloaded by thousands of Word users over the years. DocTools ExtractData combines improved versions of those macros in an add-in. In addition, the add-in lets you export / extract bookmarks and related data from any Word document - this is new functionality I have developed for the DocTools ExtractData add-in. As opposed to the free macros, the add-in includes a user interface in the Ribbon for easy access.
As illustrated in the Introduction section, a menu named Extract Data will be found on the DocTools tab when you have installed the DocTools ExtractData add-in. Below you will find details about the individual commands in the Extract Data menu.
About header info in extract documents
Each of the commands in the Extract Data menu creates a new document with the following data in the header:
- Full name of the source document from which the data was extracted
- Name of the document creator
- Creation date of the extract document
Extract Acronyms - about the extracted data
Some documents may contain many acronyms (i.e. words formed from the initial letters of multi-word names, e.g. VBA for "Visual Basic for Applications"). It is helpful to include the definition/full name the first time you mention an acronym. Alternatively, you may want to create a list of all the acronyms and include the definitions in the list.
The Extract Acronyms lets you create such list, ready for adding the definitions. Any word consisting of 3 or more uppercase letters will be interpreted as an acronym. The acronyms will be filled into a 3-column table. For each acronym, the table will show:
- The acronym
- An empty cell to be used for definition of the acronym
- Page number of first occurrence of the acronym
Example of extracted acronyms. The "Definitions" column can be used to add definitions of the acronyms.
See also the tip about the Acronyms Master add-in below if you need to generate lists of acronyms and abbreviations, incl. definitions. |
Extract Bookmarks - about the extracted data
The bookmarks and metadata will be filled into a 5-column table. For each bookmark, the table will show:
- An index number
- Page number where the bookmark starts
- The name of the bookmark
- The part of the document in which the bookmark is found, e.g. "Main text", "First page footer", or "Primary header"
- The bookmarked text - if the bookmarks marks a position only, the text "(Empty bookmark)" will be shown
When you select the Extract Bookmarks command, a dialog box lets you select whether you want to include hidden bookmarks in the extract. The names of hidden bookmarks start with an underscore. Hidden bookmarks are added by Word e.g. in relation to tables of contents and cross-references. More details about this will be shown in the dialog box. See the illustrations below for examples of extracts excl. and incl. hidden bookmarks.
Example of extracted bookmarks, excl. hidden bookmarks
Example of extracted bookmarks, incl. hidden bookmarks
Extract Changes - about the extracted data
The tracked changes and metadata will be filled into a 6-column table. Only insertions and deletions will be extracted. Any other type of change will be ignored. Also note that the macro will only include insertions and deletions in the main body of the document (i.e. changes in headers, footers, footnotes and endnotes will not be included).For each insertion or deletion, the table will show:
- Page number
- Line number
- The type of change
- The text that was inserted or deleted
- Name of the author who made the change
- The date the change was made
Example of extracted changes.
Extract Comments - about the extracted data
The comments and metadata will be filled into a 5-column table. The command will extract comments that have been inserted via Review tab > New Comment. For each comment the table will show:
- Page number
- The text that was commented (i.e. the scope)
- The comment itself
- Name of the author who inserted the comment
- Date when the comment was added, date format dd-MMM-yyyy
Example of extracted comments.
Acronyms Master - add-in for generating lists of acronyms and abbreviations, incl. definitions
The functionality for extracting acronyms included in the DocTools ExtractData add-in finds and extracts acronyms consisting of 3 or more letters. It does not extract any definitions.
If you are working with large documents with many abbreviations and acronyms you should have a look at the Acronyms Master add-in. I was actually working on an advanced add-in for extracting acronyms including their definitions when I found Acronyms Master developed by Alexander Becker. After having tested Acronyms Master I decided to refer to that add-in instead - it is easy to use, affordable and includes all the functionality you need.
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