One of the ways to improve writing is through keeping the number of duplicate words at a minimum. There are also times when we mistype words but the processor does not detect or correct them because they are accepted by the built-in dictionary. This is why we make use of the Find and Replace function. This is a useful command that makes it easy for us to locate any word or blocks of text and modify the found entries. Working with the content of the document is now easier because of this function. There are also options here that can help you further including replacing with highlighting.
Find and replace MS Word has the ability to spot any text or a string of characters in a snap. The user has the option to replace the text into a new one. This is easily understood by even novice computer owners and users because of the friendly interface and self-explanatory dialog box. What most do not know however is that this is not only used to locate text as this can go beyond the basics so that the Word users can obtain a flexible tool when they are working with the content of their files as well as its formatting.
Normally, Find and Replace command is used to spot the first instance of characters or text within the document. By clicking on the Find Next button, this will move to the next instance in the opened document. Nevertheless, you have the choice to find all the instances in just a single click. This will definitely save you time and the tedious clicking routine. What Word will do is that it will highlight the text that you are searching for so you can view your document at a glance and figure out where the occurrences are. This makes it easier for you to replace with highlighting.
So let us say that you want to remove the duplicate text or perhaps you only want to use a particular word or strings of characters once, in the document, this feature will highlight duplicate text for easy spotting. To begin using this Find and Replace Microsoft Word feature, go to the Find dialog box which you can easily access by pressing CTRL+F on your keyboard. Enter the text that you do not want to be duplicated. Under the Find What box, you will see the “Highlight All Items Found In” option. By clicking on the checkbox, the drop-down list will be available. Select the area of the document that you would like for the tool to go over. You can simply leave it to the default setting which is the Main Document.
Then, you can click on the Find All button. You will see that every single instance of the word or character string is highlighted. Now, you can decide whether to replace with highlighting or just highlight duplicate text and just leave them as they are. Replace with highlighting can help you be certain that you are replacing the right text of blocks of it so that your document will be as effective as you want it to be.
John Abrams is a technical expert, he has written technical blogs, manuals and reviews for many websites such as office.com/setup