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I would like to replace a "##" symbol in a document placed at multiple sites with an entire paragraph in Microsoft word. The new paragraph needs to be in a format listed below.

I tried to type in the paragraph into the "replace" area, but it doesn't allow me to set up the paragraph with the ability to skip to the next line. Please see the format of the final (paragraph) product.

Required format of the final paragraph

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

How do I accomplish this?

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1 Answer 1

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Scott asked about ^p and ^l in his comment -- because that's what you need to use. ^p is the special code for the end of a paragraph. ^l is the special code for a manual line break. You can use those special codes in either the 'Find' box or the 'Replace' box. In your case, you need to use them in the 'Replace' box. Put a ^p anywhere that you want to end a paragraph. You'll want to put one at the end of your XXXX... line, and at the end of your YYY.. line and so on.

Your replacement text should be this:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX^pYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY^pZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ^pPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP^pQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

Note that I did not put one after the last Q. You may or may not want one -- it depends on what you want to accomplish:

  1. If you are replacing only ## (just those characters) and you DO want to have an end paragraph after your last Q, then you should put a ^p after the last Q. Ex:

    This is the text of your document. ##  Your replacement is not on its own line (it's not a separate paragraph).
    

will be this after replacing:

    This is the text of your document. 
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
    YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
    ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
    PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
    QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ
      Your replacement is not on its own line (it's not a separate paragraph).

(Note that the last line starts with 2 spaces. Those originally occurred after the '##' so are still there. If you don't want them then your 'Find' text should include them after the ## so the spaces are replaced.)

  1. If you are replacing only ## (just those characters) and you DO NOT want to have a paragraph end after your last Q, then do not put a ^p after the last Q. Ex:

    This is the text of your document. 
    ##
    Your replacement is on its own line (it IS a separate paragraph).
    

will be this after replacing:

    This is the text of your document. 
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
    YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
    ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
    PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
    QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ
    Your replacement is not on its own line (it's not a separate paragraph).

Turn on the 'show hidden characters' to see paragraph marks in your document. It can be really helpful.

(A new paragraph means possibly new formatting. For example, if you have a style that puts 24pts after each paragraph, then you'll see 24pts-worth of space after it. A manual line break won't change any paragraph-dependent styling; the next line is still technically part of the same paragraph (even though it starts on a new line). So you won't see 24pts-worth of space after a manual line break.)

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