Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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: Using Search Text in the Replacement.

Using Search Text in the Replacement

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 24, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

Word has a very powerful search-and-replace function. There may be times when you want to simply add something to your document in a number of different locations. You can use the search-and-replace feature to help you. For instance, you may want to replace all occurrences of Betty Boop with Ms. Betty Boop, Esq. To do this, follow these steps:

Press Ctrl+H. Word displays the Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.

In the Find What box, enter Betty Boop (what you want to search for).
In the Replace With box, enter Ms. ^&, Esq. (Word will use the text in the Find What box—what you entered in step 2—in place of the ^& characters.)
Click on Find Next.
Make replacements 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 (12393) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Using Search Text in the Replacement.

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

Controlling Display of the Status Bar

The status bar is used to display all sorts of information about the document on which you are working. Depending on your ...

Discover More

Non-Printing Hyperlinks

Karen is having problems getting hyperlinks to print in a document on her home computer. There are only a limited number ...

Discover More

Displaying Shortcut Keys in ScreenTips

ScreenTips can appear with or without shortcut keys displayed in them. Here's how to control whether they appear or not.

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Copying Found Items to a New Document

Word allows you to use its searching capabilities to easily find multiple items in a document. What if you want to copy ...

Discover More

Highlighting Found Text

When searching for text, Word can helpfully highlight all instances of what is found. If you want that highlighting to be ...

Discover More

Applying a Character Style to Bracketed Text

Word has a powerful Find and Replace capability. It is even more powerful if you turn on its wildcard capability. Here's ...

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 seven more than 7?

2018-11-26 02:36:24

Andreas

"Word will use the text in the Find What box—what you entered in step 2—in place of the ^& characters"
It is actually better than that: Word will use the found text, not what was entered in Step 2. Often this is the same, but not when wildcard searches are enabled and not when 'Match case' is unchecked.

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.