Find and Replace in a Column or Row

Summary: You can use Word's searching capabilities to search just the information in a table column or row. The trick is to make sure you select the area you want searched, and then change the setting of the Search drop-down list in the Find and Replace dialog. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, and Word 2003.)

If you do a lot of work with tables, you may need to find and replace information in a column or row of a table without affecting anything else in the table. You can do this by remembering that Word allows you to limit a search to text you select, so simply select the column or row you want to search before you instigate the search. In other words, these are the steps:

Select the table column or row in which you want to search.
Press Ctrl+H or choose Replace from the Edit menu. Word displays the Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
Enter what you want to search for and what you want to replace it with, using the controls in the dialog box to modify the search and replace just the way you want.
Make sure the Search drop-down list is set to Down or Up, according to your needs. You may need to click on More to see the Search drop-down list. (If you have Search set to All, then Word may think you want to search outside the bounds you defined by selecting a row or column in step 1.)
Click on Find Next or Replace All, as desired.

Tip #1610 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

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Find and Replace in a Column or Row