Find and replace (WinXP OXP)

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A couple of times lately I have need to use the find and replace function in Word.

This function when first introduced, way back when, proved to be an absolute gem for those us needing to replace many items in large documents.

When trying to use this function it is taking the word/phrase typed into the Find field and putting it in the Replace field therefore rendering it pretty useless! If I try to overtype in the Replace field this is then transposed into the Find field .

Has anyone come across this “added feature” before? If so how can I fix it?

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You might need to repair your installation. I haven’t used XP, but that behavior makes no sense whatsoever and can’t be by design. Unless you’re trying change the formatting… maybe in that case Word is trying to be helpful by ensuring that you replace with the same text you found?

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Phil,
I run OfficeXP on XP and thats not the way FAR works on my machine.

Out of curiosity is the ‘No Formatting’ button enabled? Sometimes search conditions can hang around.
If you haven’t saved any macros/etc in your Normal.dot you could try killing it, A corrupting Normal.. can do some pretty weird things to Word

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Frank

I don’t know what you mean by “No Formatting”

I couldn’t find any reference to this in the FAR.

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Hi Phil,
When you bring up the Find/Replace dialog box, click “More”. Near the bottom, there is a button that has the words “No formatting”. It should be greyed out unless you’re searching or replacing formatting. Also, directly under the Find box & the Replace box, you type of formatting, if any, will be listed. If there is any formatting, press the button. If the behavior persists, try the steps listed in post 197827.
Cheers,

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Thanks Phil

Completely missed the No Formatting button. Probably because it is greyed out

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If you bring up the Find and Replace form you’ll see a row of 5 buttons at the bottom of the form
If you click the More button you get an extended form appearing which includes the replace section.
You’ll find the No Formatting button here.

If there is no formatting left over from a previous operation this button should be greyed out.

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