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How to replace soft returns with hard returns in Word?

Author Tech Support Last modified

If you want to format a Word document by replacing manual line breaks (soft returns) with paragraph marks (hard returns) in it. How can you do to replace soft returns with hard returns in Word quickly? This tutorial will show you several ways to convert soft returns to hard returns.

Tip: To display paragraph marks (Hard return symbol), manual line breaks (Soft return symbol) and other hidden formatting symbols in Word, click the "Show/Hide" button in the "Home" tab.

Show/Hide button on the ribbon

Replace soft returns with hard returns using Find and Replace function

Instead of manually replacing soft returns (manual line breaks) with hard returns (paragraph marks) one by one, you can use the "Find and Replace" function for a quicker and more efficient solution.

  1. In a Word document, click "Home" > "Replace" to open the "Find and Replace" window.
    Tip: Alternatively, press Ctrl + H to open the "Find and Replace" window.
  2. Click the "More" button to expand the "Search Options".
  3. Place the cursor in the "Find what" box, then select "Manual Line Break" from the "Special" drop-down list.
    Find and Replace window with More button clicked to show more Search Options, cursor placed in the Replace with box, and Manual Line Break selected from the Special drop-down list
  4. Place the cursor in the "Replace with" box, then select "Paragraph Mark" from the "Special" drop-down list.
    Find and Replace window with More button clicked to show more Search Options, cursor placed in the Find what box, and Paragraph Mark selected from the Special drop-down list
  5. Click "Replace All".

Replace soft returns with hard returns using Kutools for Word

The easiest way to convert soft returns (manual line breaks) to hard returns (paragraph marks) is by using Kutools for Word. With just one click, you can quickly complete the conversion without manually replacing each break.

Kutools for Word, equipped with AI 🤖, offers over 100 handy features to simplify your tasks.
  • To convert all soft returns to hard returns in a document: Click "Kutools" > "Convert" > "Manual Line Breaks to Paragraph Marks".
  • To convert soft returns to hard returns from a section of the document: Select the section first, then click "Kutools" > "Convert" > "Manual Line Breaks to Paragraph Marks".
    Convert Manual Line Breaks to Paragraph Marks option on the Kutools tab on the ribbon

After using the "Manual Line Breaks to Paragraph Marks" utility, all soft returns will be converted to hard returns instantly.

Document with soft returns
Arrow
Document with soft returns converted to hard returns
Kutools for Word is the ultimate Word add-in that streamlines your work and boosts your document processing skills. Get It Now!

If you want to replace hard returns with soft returns, please visit: replace hard returns with soft returns in Word.

Replace soft returns with hard returns using VBA code

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You can use a VBA code to replace soft returns (manual line breaks) with hard returns (paragraph marks) quickly.

  1. Press Alt + F11 in Word to open the "Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications" window.
  2. Click "Insert" > "Module", then copy and paste the following VBA code into the module window: 
    Sub ReplaceMLBwithPM()
Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
With Selection.Find
.Text = "^l"
.Replacement.Text = "^p"
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.Format = False
.MatchCase = False
.MatchWholeWord = False
.MatchByte = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchWildcards = False
.MatchFuzzy = False
End With
Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
End Sub
  3. Click the "Run" button Run button or press F5 to execute the VBA code.

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