Fix Word Find Function Skipping Headers and Footers When Searching

When you press Ctrl+F in Word to find a word or phrase, the search often ignores text located in headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, or text boxes. This happens because Word’s default Find scope only searches the main body of the document. The Find feature does not automatically include these document parts unless you change a specific setting. This article explains how to configure the Find and Replace dialog to search headers and footers and other non-body locations, and what to do if the search still misses content.

Why Word Skips Headers and Footers in a Standard Search

Word’s Navigation Pane, which appears when you press Ctrl+F, is designed for quick searches of the main document body. It does not scan headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, or text boxes. This is a deliberate design choice to keep the search fast for typical body-text lookups.

The full Find and Replace dialog accessed with Ctrl+H or Ctrl+G offers a broader search scope. Within that dialog, the Search option defaults to Down (from the cursor position to the end of the document) or Up (from the cursor to the beginning). Neither option includes headers or footers. Only when you set Search to All does Word expand the search to every part of the document, including headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, and text boxes.

Another reason Word may skip headers and footers is that those sections are hidden. If you have collapsed the header or footer area or if the document is in a view that does not display them, Word may not index them during a search. Ensuring headers and footers are visible before searching helps avoid missed results.

Steps to Make Word Find Text in Headers and Footers

Follow these steps to configure Word’s search to include headers, footers, and other non-body document parts.

1. Open the Find and Replace dialog
   Press Ctrl+H on your keyboard. This opens the Find and Replace dialog box with the Replace tab selected. If you only want to find text, click the Find tab inside the dialog. You can also press Ctrl+G to open the Go To tab and then switch to Find.
2. Expand the dialog to show search options
   Click the More >> button at the bottom left of the dialog. This reveals additional search settings, including the Search drop-down menu and check boxes for formatting options.
3. Set the search scope to All
   In the expanded dialog, locate the Search drop-down menu. Click it and select All. The All option tells Word to search the entire document, including headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, and text boxes. The default options Down and Up only search the main body.
4. Enter the text you want to find
   Type the word or phrase you are looking for in the Find what text box. Make sure there are no extra spaces or special characters unless you intend to search for them.
5. Run the search
   Click Find Next to step through each occurrence. Word now highlights matches in headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, and text boxes. If you want to see all matches at once, click Reading Highlight and then Highlight All. This temporarily highlights every occurrence across the entire document, including headers and footers.

Alternative Method Using Ctrl+F Navigation Pane

If you prefer using the Navigation Pane, you can still find text in headers and footers, but only after you open the Find and Replace dialog. The Navigation Pane alone does not support the All search scope. To use it, first perform the steps above to set Search to All in the Find and Replace dialog. Then close the dialog. Press Ctrl+F to open the Navigation Pane. The results list now includes matches from headers and footers because the scope remains set to All until you change it back.

Ensure Headers and Footers Are Visible

If Word still does not find text in headers or footers, check that those sections are not hidden. Double-click the top or bottom margin of any page to open the header or footer area. If the area is collapsed, Word may skip it during search. You can also go to View > Print Layout to ensure headers and footers are displayed. In Draft view, headers and footers are not visible and may be excluded from search.

If Word Still Has Issues After Changing the Search Scope

Word Finds the Text but Does Not Show It in the Navigation Pane

After setting Search to All, the Find and Replace dialog highlights matches in headers and footers. However, the Navigation Pane may still show zero results if you open it afterward. This is a known behavior: the Navigation Pane only refreshes its result count from the main body. To see the matches, use the Find and Replace dialog’s Find Next button or the Reading Highlight feature. The Navigation Pane is not reliable for counting matches in headers and footers.

Word Does Not Search Footnotes or Endnotes

Setting Search to All also covers footnotes and endnotes. If you still cannot find text there, open the Find and Replace dialog, click More, and ensure the Find whole words only and Match case check boxes are cleared. These options can narrow the search too much. Also verify that the footnotes or endnotes are not in a language that Word’s proofing tools ignore. Go to Review > Language > Set Proofing Language and ensure the correct language is selected for the footnote text.

Word Skips Text Boxes and Shapes

Text inside floating text boxes or shapes is included only when Search is set to All. If you have a text box that is anchored to a header or footer, the All scope should find it. If the text box is inline with text, it is already part of the main body and will be found with any scope. For floating text boxes not anchored to headers or footers, they are still searched with All. If Word misses them, try selecting the text box manually and checking the text for hidden formatting like white font color.

Find and Replace Scope Comparison: Default vs All

Item	Default Scope (Down/Up)	All Scope
Main document body	Yes	Yes
Headers and footers	No	Yes
Footnotes and endnotes	No	Yes
Text boxes and shapes	No (floating only)	Yes
Comments	No	No

Note that Word comments are never included in any Find scope. To search comments, use the Review tab and the Show Comments feature.

You can now use the Find and Replace dialog with Search set to All to locate any text in headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, and text boxes. After you complete your search, remember to reset the Search option back to Down or Up to avoid unexpected results in future searches. For power users, consider using the VBA Find method with the .Wrap = wdFindContinue parameter to automate searches across all document parts.