Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Searching and Replacing Graphics.

Searching and Replacing Graphics

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 3, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


1

Word allows you to search not just for text, but also for special characters that normally do not print. One of these special characters is a marker indicating where a picture is inserted in your document. To search for graphics, follow these steps:

  1. Press Ctrl+F. Word displays the Find tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
  2. Click on the More button, if it is available. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The expanded Find tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.

  4. Make sure the Find What box is empty and the cursor is located in the box.
  5. Click on Special, then choose Graphic. Word inserts ^g in the Find What box.
  6. Set other searching parameters, as desired.
  7. Click on Find Next.

Unfortunately, while you can search for graphics, you cannot easily replace one graphic with another. There is a way to work around this, however. You can replace one graphic with another by following these steps:

  1. Click on the new graphic; the one you want to serve as a replacement for the old graphics.
  2. Press Ctrl+C. Word copies the graphic to the Clipboard.
  3. Press Ctrl+H. Word displays the Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
  4. Click on the More button, if it is available. (See Figure 2.)
  5. Figure 2. The expanded Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.

  6. Make sure the Find What box is empty and the cursor is located in the box.
  7. Click on Special, then choose Graphic. Word inserts ^g in the Find What box.
  8. Make sure the Replace With box is empty and the cursor is located in the box.
  9. Click on Special, then choose Clipboard Contents. Word insert ^c in the Replace With box.
  10. Click on the Replace All button.
  11. When the replacements are complete, click on Cancel.

If the graphic you copied in step 2 was originally inserted with the "Link to File" option selected, the graphic inserted by the replace command will also have this attribute. Likewise, if you resize the graphic before performing these steps, the graphic inserted by the replace command will retain the dimensions of the resized graphic.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (397) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Searching and Replacing Graphics.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

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2022-10-05 23:51:21

sunny wong

Thanks Allen,

How to fix only first Graphics replaced for a Word exported from Adobe Acrobat?

The Find and Replace reports six Replacement done.
However, only the first graphics was replaced.
Remaining Graphics were not replaced..

Same Find and Replace done second time reports no more graphics found..


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