An Eventful Week

Welcome to May! This last week has been rather eventful around the Wyatt household for two reasons.

First, those who have subscribed to the newsletter for a while know that we live in the Southwest corner of Wyoming. Despite living here for the past decade, we have decided that it is time to move, once again. This time it is because the high altitude here (6,700 ft.) has an adverse effect on my wife's health. So, we have decided to move to Mesquite, Nevada, a small border town at a much lower elevation (1,600 ft.). We figure that dropping almost a mile in altitude should help.

In preparation for the move, on Wednesday our house in Wyoming was placed under contract. That means that if all goes well, we should be moved in about four weeks. That leads me to the second big event this past week. The same day that the house went under contract was our 50th wedding anniversary. (Yes, I'm getting *that* old.) I count it a singular blessing to be able to spend my life with my love and my best friend. We are hoping that this move will help prolong our years together as time inexorably moves on. So, Wednesday was a rather significant day for us.

I will keep you up to date about the move, as there is still much to do to make the plan a reality.

My best to you and I hope you enjoy the tips in this week's newsletter.

—Allen

WordTips (ribbon) for 2 May 2026

Displaying the Number of Replacements Made

When you are creating a macro to find and replace information, you may want to keep track of how many replacements were made. This tip looks at how you can get the count you want.

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(Thanks to Michael Avidan (MVP) for contributing to this tip.)

Using Multiple References to a Single Comment

Find yourself repeating the same comment over and over? Here's a couple of ways you can save some typing by simply referring to the first instance of the comment you repeat.

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These Autos are Amazing!

Word provides four "auto" tools that can make developing documents faster, easier, and more consistent. When you put AutoText, AutoComplete, AutoCorrect, and AutoFormat to work for you, you've harnessed some serious tools. Uncover the secrets of these tools!

What Changes Did I Make In that Template?

When you make changes that affect a template, Word usually asks you if you want to save those changes when you exit the program. If you see such a question and you don't remember making changes, then you should be wary.

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Importing a Text File and Inserting after a Bookmark

Word macros are a great way to automate some of the ways in which you create documents. If you have a need to insert the contents of a file within the current document, on a regular basis, then a macro can be a great help. Here are some ideas on how to approach the problem.

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WordTips YouTube Channel

Do you like to learn visually? Make sure you check out the WordTips YouTube channel. New videos are added weekly. (I typically try to add them on Tuesdays and Thursdays.)

New video: Getting Rid of a Text Box, but Not the Text
Text boxes are designed to hold text. (Makes sense, right?) If you want to get rid of a text box, yet still keep the text, there are two approaches you can take.

New video: Searching for Formatted Text
The Find and Replace tool in Word is very powerful. You can use it to search not only for text but for the formatting that may be applied to text. This Quick Tip explains how you can search for just the formatting you need.

Help Wanted

This section is for those having problems making Word behave. If Word is giving you fits, feel free to submit your own Help Wanted question.

If you have a solution for the problems below, click the link after the problem to send us your answer. (All responses become the sole property of Sharon Parq Associates, Inc., and can be used in any way deemed appropriate.) If your response is used in a future issue, you will be credited for your contribution to the answer.

Changing the Type of a Section Break

I have a document that has 30+ section breaks within it. Most of these are continuous section breaks, but I want them all to be next page breaks. I know I can delete the section breaks I want to change and insert the desired type, but I'm wondering if there is a way to change the break type directly. That way I won't lose any section formatting, as I would when deleting a section break.
—Marissa Villanova (provide an answer for this Help Wanted question)

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