How to replace hard returns with soft returns in Word?
When formatting a Word document, you may need to replace paragraph marks (hard returns) with manual line breaks (soft returns) to improve text flow. Manually making these changes can be time-consuming, but there are efficient ways to automate the process. This guide will introduce three simple methods to quickly convert hard returns to soft returns in Word.
Tip: To make paragraph marks (), manual line breaks (
) and other hidden formatting symbols visible, click the Show/Hide button in the Home tab.

Replace hard returns with soft returns using the Find and Replace function
Instead of manually replacing hard returns (paragraph marks) with soft returns (manual line breaks), you can use the Find and Replace function to do this efficiently.
- 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.
- Click the More button to expand the Search Options.
- Place the cursor in the Find what box, then select Paragraph Mark from the Special drop-down list.
- Place the cursor in the Replace with box, then select Manual Line Break from the Special drop-down list.
- Click Replace All.
Replace hard returns with soft returns using Kutools for Word
The easiest way to convert hard returns (paragraph marks) to soft returns (manual line breaks) is by using Kutools for Word. With just one click, you can efficiently convert paragraph marks across the entire document or a selected section.
- To convert all hard returns to soft returns in a document: Click Kutools > Convert > Paragraph Marks to Manual Line Breaks.
- To convert hard returns to soft returns from a section of the document: Select the section first, and then click Kutools > Convert > Paragraph Marks to Manual Line Breaks.
After applying the Convert Paragraph Marks to Manual Line Breaks tool, your document will be updated as shown below.
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Replace hard returns with soft returns using VBA code
You can use VBA to quickly replace hard returns (paragraph marks) with soft returns (manual line breaks) in a Word document.
- Press Alt + F11 in Word to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.
- Click Insert > Module, then copy and paste the following VBA code into the Module window:
- Click the Run button
or press F5 to execute the VBA code.
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