Replacing without Automatically Finding

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 21, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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, 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

Repaginating in a Macro

When creating a macro that extensively processes a document, you may need to periodically force Word to repaginate the ...

Discover More

Backing Up Custom Dictionaries

The custom dictionary used in Excel contains the information you decide relative to spelling. After a while, you might ...

Discover More

Using a Formula to Replace Spaces with Dashes

If you need a formula to change spaces to some other character, the SUBSTITUTE function fits the bill. Here's how to use it.

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)

Pay Attention to Case when Searching for ASCII Codes

Word allows you to search for specific ASCII codes in a document. If you use codes to search for alphabetic characters, ...

Discover More

Count of Underlined or Struck-Through Words

When working with documents (particularly those prepared by others) it is not unusual to need to count words that possess ...

Discover More

Selectively Find and Replace Page Borders

Using Find and Replace you can both find and replace graphics in your document. Replacing graphics selectively is a bit ...

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 5 + 9?

2024-05-23 13:00:44

Lynne Skilken

There is a way, using the Word Tip "Keeping Replace Operation Displayed".

2024-05-23 12:27:46

Lynne Skilken

Is there a way to write a macro to do this? I tried recording a macro, but although Escape closes the Find/Replace box, Undo is grayed out. Undo is a great workaround __ is there a way to include it in a macro?

2018-11-05 10:14:25

Andrew

Since I can never (ever) remember Shift-F5 when I need it, I've developed the following finger macro: ^Z^Y - i.e., undo what I just did and then redo it, with the side effect that it leaves me at the place of the last edit.

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.