Forum Discussion

Berliner77's avatar
Berliner77
Copper Contributor
Apr 16, 2026

Default search scope in "find and replace"

Hi all, is there any way to make the search scope in the "fine and replace" menu (under "more") default to "all"? I have files with text boxes and the only way to make sure they are included is with "all", so every time I have to change it manually... Many thanks ahead!

 

word

4 Replies

  • gmaxey's avatar
    gmaxey
    Copper Contributor
    May 04, 2026

    You can create a macro and assign the shortcut ctrl+h to it:

    Sub ScratchMacro()

Dim oDlg As Dialog

Selection.Collapse wdCollapseEnd

Set oDlg = Dialogs(wdDialogEditFind)

With Selection.Find

.ClearFormatting

.Wrap = wdFindContinue

End With

oDlg.Display

lbl_Exit:

Exit Sub

End Sub

     

  • Stefan_Blom's avatar
    Stefan_Blom
    MVP
    May 04, 2026

    When you perform a find on the selection, there will be a specific search direction. As far as I know, there is no workaround for this.

  • Stefan_Blom's avatar
    Stefan_Blom
    MVP
    Apr 16, 2026

    Which version of Word are you running? In Word for Windows, "All" is the default in the Find & Replace dialog box. If you have recently changed the setting, in a previous search, you can exit and restart Word to restore the default. 

     

    • Berliner77's avatar
      Berliner77
      Copper Contributor
      Apr 17, 2026

      Thank you for your answer. So, you are correct, turns out I was doing one other thing before ctrl+h which seems to break the "all"-default: I usually replace by selecting the word or number I need to replace so it automatically shows up in the "find what" field. Apparently this cancels the default. I know I can manually copy the word, deselect it and then paste it in the window, but that wouldn't be more efficient than manually selecting "all". Might there be a way to enjoy the automatic copy-and-paste while keeping the "all" default?