Replacing without Automatically Finding

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 8, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365

Shlomit uses InDesign more than he uses Word, and some of the behavioral differences between the two are rather frustrating to him. For instance, in InDesign, Shlomit can use Find and Replace to replace something without automatically advancing to the next occurrence of what he is finding. This allows him to visually look at the replacement just made to make sure there are no problems. In Word, when he clicks Replace in the Find and Replace dialog box, Word makes the replacement, but automatically finds the next occurrence. So, if Shlomit wants to check what was just done, he has to go back (sometimes many pages) to find the replacement point. This is very frustrating to him, so he wonders if there is a way to make Word not do the next find after he clicks on Replace.

There is, unfortunately, no setting or way to do this in Word; the behavior is native to InDesign, but not to Word. There is a workaround, which may allow you to accomplish what you want, but it is clunky, at best.

Click Replace in the Find and Replace dialog box, as normal.
Immediately hit the Esc key, which closes the Find and Replace dialog box.
Press Shift+F5. This causes Word to return to the place where the previous edit was performed. (The place at which the replacement was made.)
Once you are satisfied with the replacement, press Ctrl+H, which again displays the Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
Click Find Next.

This brings you to the next suggested replacement, where you can continue moving forward with your editing.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13580) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365.

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

Picking Up Where You Left Off

Need a quick way to get back to a where you previously edited? Here's a shortcut that will serve you well.

Discover More

Using AutoText

AutoText is a timesaving feature that allows you to assign a word, phrase, paragraph, or graphic to a mnemonic name. Type ...

Discover More

Centering Your Worksheet

Got just a small amount of worksheet data to print out? It might look better on the printed page if you center it. Excel ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Changing Formatting for a Portion of Found Text

The Find and Replace capabilities of Word are quite powerful. If you want to change the formatting of just a part of text ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of Trailing Spaces in Footnotes and Endnotes

The Find and Replace tool can get rid of trailing spaces in paragraphs quite nicely. If those spaces are at the end of ...

Discover More

Replacing a Colon in a Sequence

Sometimes you'll run across the need to replace a very specific sequence of characters in your document. It is for these ...

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 9 + 7?

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.