Estimated reading time at 200 wpm: 4 minutes
Yes – it’s true. I don’t need to know how to write code for Macros, when I have paid geniuses who can do the work. BTW some people don’t even know what a ‘macro’ is and they’ll be thinking of microscopes. If you’re one of those types, you should save your time for Instagram or engagement with your mirror.
Whether or not you agree our Fat Disclaimer applies
Right – so after distracting myself with expected BS, the issue was that if you do Research using AI (like Gemini), it will produced reference lists that refer to superscript text in the body of the research. The reference lists almost invariably contain title of the source and a hyperlink written out after it. Long hyperlinks distort WordPress pages. If you have 30 or so references and you’re lazy like me, you don’t want to be manually converting text to hyperlinks with CTRL K. But if you’re not like me – which is quite likely – then you sit there and spend 30 to 60 minutes doing it. You have freedom of individual choice in a so-called free and democratic society.
So I needed a solution. After some experimentation with Autohotkey and Python scripts I realised that wasn’t going well. So the idea I generated for Claude.ai was to create a Macro. This worked like a lovely dream first time! One shot – one kill – that’s the way I like it. And for those who don’t know this is not the first time I’ve used AI for macros. Jeeez!
I make my notes on this site so I can find them if needed any time. It may help some poor suffering soul out there.
The Macro
Sub ConvertGeminiReferences()
'
' Converts selected Gemini references to hyperlinks
' Removes numbering, extracts URL, makes description text clickable
'
Dim selectedText As String
Dim lines() As String
Dim i As Integer
Dim description As String
Dim url As String
Dim regEx As Object
Dim matches As Object
' Check if text is selected
If Selection.Type = wdSelectionIP Then
MsgBox "Please select the references text first", vbInformation
Exit Sub
End If
' Get selected text
selectedText = Selection.Text
' Split into lines
lines = Split(selectedText, vbCr)
' Create regex object
Set regEx = CreateObject("VBScript.RegExp")
regEx.Global = True
' Delete current selection
Selection.Delete
' Process each line
For i = LBound(lines) To UBound(lines)
If Len(Trim(lines(i))) > 0 Then
' Add line break if not first line
If i > LBound(lines) Then
Selection.TypeParagraph
End If
' Remove leading numbering (e.g., "1. ", "2. ")
regEx.Pattern = "^\s*\d+\.\s*"
lines(i) = regEx.Replace(lines(i), "")
' Pattern to extract description and URL
' Matches text followed by optional comma/period, then http(s) URL
regEx.Pattern = "^(.*?)[,.]?\s*(https?://\S+)"
If regEx.Test(lines(i)) Then
Set matches = regEx.Execute(lines(i))
If matches.Count > 0 Then
description = Trim(matches(0).SubMatches(0))
url = Trim(matches(0).SubMatches(1))
' Remove trailing punctuation from URL
url = Replace(url, ")", "")
url = Replace(url, "]", "")
url = Replace(url, "¶", "")
' Insert as hyperlink
ActiveDocument.Hyperlinks.Add _
Anchor:=Selection.Range, _
Address:=url, _
TextToDisplay:=description
Else
' No match, insert as plain text
Selection.TypeText lines(i)
End If
Else
' No URL found, insert as plain text
Selection.TypeText lines(i)
End If
End If
Next i
Set regEx = Nothing
End Sub
The Instructions
HOW TO INSTALL THE WORD MACRO
==============================
Method 1: Quick Install (Copy/Paste)
-------------------------------------
1. Open Word
2. Press Alt+F11 (opens VBA Editor)
3. In the Project pane, find "Normal" (your default template)
4. Right-click on "Normal" → Insert → Module
5. Open ConvertGeminiReferences.bas in Notepad
6. Copy ALL the code
7. Paste into the empty module window in VBA Editor
8. Press Alt+Q to return to Word
Method 2: Import File
---------------------
1. Open Word
2. Press Alt+F11
3. File → Import File
4. Select ConvertGeminiReferences.bas
5. Press Alt+Q to return to Word
ASSIGN A KEYBOARD SHORTCUT
---------------------------
1. In Word, go to File → Options → Customise Ribbon
2. Click "Keyboard shortcuts: Customise..." button at bottom
3. In Categories, scroll down and select "Macros"
4. In Macros list, select "ConvertGeminiReferences"
5. Click in "Press new shortcut key" box
6. Press your preferred shortcut (e.g., Ctrl+Shift+L)
7. Click "Assign"
8. Click "Close"
HOW TO USE
----------
1. Select your Gemini references in Word
2. Press your assigned shortcut (e.g., Ctrl+Shift+L)
3. References convert to hyperlinks instantly
ADVANTAGES OVER AUTOHOTKEY
---------------------------
- Runs natively in Word (more reliable)
- No external program needed
- Faster execution
- Better error handling
- Works even if Word loses focus
What’s next
Why are you still here? Nothing is next.
