Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, 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: Using Search Text in the Replacement.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 18, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365
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:
Figure 1. The Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
There is an important thing to realize about step 3. What Word actually uses in place of the ^& characters is what it found, not just what is in the Find What box. This means that if the Find What box contains wild card characters or if your search is case insensitive (finding, for example, both "Betty Boop" and "betty boop"), then what Word uses as a replacement is what it actually found in the search process. This makes ^& quite a powerful tool in your use of Find and Replace.
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, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Using Search Text in the Replacement.
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!
You can use Word's Find and Replace capabilities to replace text (like an asterisk) with a footnote. This tip explains ...
Discover MoreOne change introduced in Word 2010 was the new navigation pane that is used for simple searching of information. This ...
Discover MoreNeed to find all the instances of a particular word and change the formatting of those instances? It's easy to do using ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, 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:
Comments