Macro Won't Limit Replacements to a Selection

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 28, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

Roger recently updated from Word 2007 to Word 2019. In Word 2007 he created a macro that would, for text he selected, replace all hard returns with a space. It worked great, making the changes in just the selection. In Word 2019 it does the replacement not just in the selected text, but in the whole document. His macro has the .Wrap property of the Find object set to wdFindAsk, but it seems to be ignored. Roger wonders why the macro doesn't work the same in Word 2019 as it did in Word 2007.

This is, flat out, a bug in Word. It was first noticed in Word 2010, and has yet to be corrected by Microsoft. The problem is the use of wdFindAsk. Until such point as Microsoft decides to fix the problem (so that wdFindAsk works as it should), the only solution is to change the .Wrap property to wdFindStop, which causes the Find and Replace operation to stop at the end of the selected text.

There are also workarounds you can implement. The easiest would be to have your macro ask the user, before doing the Find and Replace operation, if just the selection should be affected or if the entire document should be affected. Based on the response, you could set the .Wrap property to wdFindStop or wdFindContinue, as appropriate. A different workaround that approximates the correct behavior of wdFindAsk can be found at this web page:

https://blogs.msmvps.com/wordmeister/2013/01/03/bug-word-2013-wdfindask/

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13795) applies to Microsoft Word 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.

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

Making Backup Copies

When you save your documents, Word doesn't normally make backups of your files. If you want the program to do that, it ...

Discover More

Quickly Removing Table Borders

Insert a table in your document and Word assumes that you want borders around the table and its cells. Here's a shortcut ...

Discover More

Changing the Line between Text and Footnotes

When your document includes footnotes, Word adds a line between the main text and those footnotes so that they are ...

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)

Detecting the Beginning of a Sentence in a Macro

Macros can make life easier, as they provide a fast and efficient way of processing text in a document. Such is the case ...

Discover More

Deleting a Macro

Macros are often created to accomplish a specific task, after which they are no longer needed. If you need to delete a ...

Discover More

Converting Inches to Points

Typographical measurements are often expressed in points. There are several formatting settings that, when accessed ...

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 five more than 9?

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.