Is it possible to replace soft returns with hard returns?

[rgmcfadden]

I would like to change several soft returns with hard returns using Word's
find-and-replace function. How do I do this?

 

[DeanH]

Try Find ^l (lower case L), replace with ^p (lower case P).
See http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/CleanWebText.htm for further
information.
Hope this helps
DeanH

 

[Jay Freedman]

I would like to change several soft returns with hard returns using
Word's find-and-replace function. How do I do this?

Word doesn't have "soft returns" and "hard returns" like WordPerfect. It has
automatic word wrap, manual line breaks, and paragraph breaks.

If by "soft return" you mean the automatic word wrap that occurs when the
next word won't fit at the end of the line, there is nothing you can do in
the Replace dialog because there isn't any "soft return character" there --
that's simply a function of Word's repagination calculations. You'll have to
put the cursor at the end of each line in question and press Enter.

If you mean a manual line break, inserted by Shift+Enter -- when you click
the ¶ button to display nonprinting characters, the line break appears as a
left-pointing arrow -- then you can use the code ^l (that's a caret and a
lower case ell) in the Find What box to find the manual line break and the
code ^p in the Replace With box to replace the manual line break with a
paragraph mark. You can also find these codes by clicking the More button in
the Replace dialog and clicking the Special button.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
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all may benefit.

 

[The Word Guy]

Blah blah blah ... Yeah okay .... Let's not make it complicated for heavens sake....

A soft-return in Word is when you do shift-enter and you see the black arrow pointing to the left.

A hard-return in Word is when you simply press the Enter key.

The code for the hard-return is ^p
The code for the soft-return is ^l (as stated, lowercase L)

When the line wraps, automatically, that's just a freaking line break ....

So, if you want to get rid of soft-returns in a paragraph, and replace it with a hard-return:

1. Highlight the paragraph
2. Go to find and replace (ctrl+h)
3. In the Find box, enter ^l
4. In the Replace box, enter ^p
5. Click Replace All .....

That simple .... YES it can be done .....

Same difference Word Imperfect and MS Word. Let's not insult the OP by correcting him.... You know what he's trying to do ...

TWG