Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Keeping a Replace Operation Displayed.

Keeping a Replace Operation Displayed

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 30, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

When Sarra uses the Find and Replace feature in Word and clicks on the Replace button, Word makes the change and automatically moves to the next occurrence of whatever she is searching for. She would like the program to make the change and not move to the next occurrence, but keep visible where the change was made.

If you use the Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box, then there is no way to do this; clicking the Replace button does the replace and automatically displays the next occurrence of whatever you are searching. There is, however, a rather simple workaround. Follow these general steps:

Copy the replacement text to the Clipboard.
Use Ctrl+F to find the first match, then press Esc to get rid of the dialog box. (What you were searching for should still be selected.)
Press Ctrl+V. Word replaces the selected text with the replacement text in the Clipboard.
Press Ctrl+Pg Dn.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 as many times as desired.

This isn't the only workaround, however. You can also follow these similar steps:

Copy the replacement text to the Clipboard.
Use Ctrl+F to find the first match, then press Esc to get rid of the dialog box. (What you were searching for should still be selected.)
Press Ctrl+V. Word replaces the selected text with the replacement text in the Clipboard.
Press Shift+F4 to repeat the last find operation.
Press F4 to repeat the last edit operation.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 as many times as desired.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10600) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Keeping a Replace Operation Displayed.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Updating the Spelling Exclusion List Automatically

Want to add words easily to the spelling exclusion list? Here's a macro that can make the task completely painless.

Discover More

Changing the Line between Text and Footnotes

When your document includes footnotes, Word adds a line between the main text and those footnotes so that they are ...

Discover More

Changing the Cycling Sequence for the F4 Cell Reference Shortcut

When editing a formula, the F4 shortcut key can be helpful. It may not, however, be helpful in all instances. This tip ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Replacing the Space between the Last Two Words of Each Paragraph

Some replacement tasks can seem daunting, but Word provides some great tools for making just about any replacement you ...

Discover More

Replacing Highlighted Words

The Find and Replace capabilities of Word are quite powerful. Knowing how to find and replace highlighted text can be a ...

Discover More

Changing Decimal Commas to Decimal Points

If you have a document that was produced in a country where decimal commas are used instead of decimal points, you may be ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is one more than 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.