Call/Argument Error with Asc() - Delete "unnecessary" lines in MSWord 2007 - vba

Question

Final Update: It has been resolved in an answer below. Thanks!
Probelm has been NOT been resolved :-(. The script does not interact well with MSword Fields.
Goal: Delete lines in MSWord 2007 that contain any number of spaces, tabs, and the obvious pilcrow (paragraph mark).
Steps Taken: I googled it and found this forum.
I then found this in a samble of a book on google and tried to modify it.
The modified is below:
Dim oPara As Word.Paragraph
Dim var
Dim SpaceTabCounter As Long
Dim oChar As Word.Characters
For Each oPara In ActiveDocument.Paragraphs
If Len(oPara.Range) = 1 Then
oPara.Range.Delete
Else
SpaceTabCounter = 0
Set oChar = oPara.Range.Characters
For var = 1 To oChar.Count
Select Case Asc(oChar(var)) ' ' ' ' 'ERROR is here
Case 32, 9
SpaceTabCounter = SpaceTabCounter + 1
End Select
Next
If SpaceTabCounter + 1 = Len(oPara.Range) Then
' paragraph contains ONLY spaces
oPara.Range.Delete
End If
End If
Next
The issue is that I get an error at "Select Case Asc(oChar(var))" half way down the code.
"Run-time error '5': Invalid procedure call or argument"
I'm new to VBA and...I can't figure this out. Please send your love!
Thanks
The error is still occuring.
Code as it stands now:
Dim oPara As Word.Paragraph
Dim var
Dim SpaceTabCounter As Long
Dim oChar As Word.Characters
For Each oPara In ActiveDocument.Paragraphs
If Len(oPara.Range) = 1 Then
oPara.Range.Delete
Else
SpaceTabCounter = 0
Set oChar = oPara.Range.Characters
For var = 1 To oChar.Count
Select Case Asc(oChar(var).Text) 'modified this line: added ".Text"
Case 32, 9
SpaceTabCounter = SpaceTabCounter + 1
End Select
Next
If SpaceTabCounter + 1 = Len(oPara.Range) Then
' paragraph contains ONLY spaces
oPara.Range.Delete
End If
End If
Next

Answer 1

When your code comes across a content control field, it reads the first character in the paragraph as an empty string. This behavior can be observed by checking the oChar.First.Text field in the local variables window. Asc() will throw an error when passed an empty string. This can be easily reproduced by running this procedure.
Sub throwError5()
Debug.Print Asc("")
End Sub
You will need to test the value of oChar(var) to ensure it is not an empty string prior to returning its ASCII value.
Option Explicit
Sub deleteEmptyParagraphs()
Dim oPara As Word.Paragraph
Dim var
Dim SpaceTabCounter As Long
Dim oChar As Word.Characters
For Each oPara In ActiveDocument.Paragraphs
If Len(oPara.Range) = 1 Then
oPara.Range.Delete
Else
SpaceTabCounter = 0
Set oChar = oPara.Range.Characters
For var = 1 To oChar.Count
If oChar(var) <> "" Then ' stops Asc from throwing runtime error 5
Select Case Asc(oChar(var)) ' no more errrors!
Case 32, 9
SpaceTabCounter = SpaceTabCounter + 1
End Select
End If
Next
If SpaceTabCounter + 1 = Len(oPara.Range) Then
' paragraph contains ONLY spaces
oPara.Range.Delete
End If
End If
Next
End Sub
I don't work with the Word object model often, so I have no idea why the fields' first character is an empty string. Please note that my comment about having to call oChar(index).Text was wrong. Text is the default property of a characters item.