Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. 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: Editing an AutoText Entry.

Editing a Building Block Entry

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 17, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021

Other issues of WordTips have focused on the Building Block feature of Word. Once you have defined your Building Block entries, you might need to edit them later. There is no special editing feature for Building Block entries in Word, however. The best way to edit a Building Block entry is to follow these general steps:

Insert the Building Block entry in a document.
Make your changes to the text or graphic that you inserted.
Select the text or graphic that you want in the Building Block entry.
Add the Building Block entry, using the same name as before.

When you perform these steps, Word asks you if you want to redefine your existing Building Block entry. When you respond positively, Word replaces the old (incorrect) entry with the new (edited) entry.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11694) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Editing an AutoText Entry.

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

Word Freezes when Updating Styles

If you have problems with Word freezing at times, it can be very frustrating. Here are a couple of things you can check ...

Discover More

Choosing SUBSTITUTE or REPLACE

If you need to modify information in a text string, two common functions you can use are SUBSTITUTE and REPLACE. This tip ...

Discover More

Listing the Settings in a Template

Templates allow you to define and collect many formatting settings that control how your documents appear. Getting a ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Creating a Building Block

Creating custom Building Block entries is not only extremely helpful, but very easy. This tip explains how.

Discover More

Storing Building Block Entries with a Document

Building Blocks can provide quite a bit of flexibility and power in a document. If you want to share Building Blocks with ...

Discover More

Moving Building Blocks

Building blocks are a sort of "extended" AutoText introduced in Word 2007. As you work with building blocks, you may ...

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 8 - 5?

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.