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...

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What is six more than 9?

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.

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