PowerPoint find & replace next arrow keeps resetting to beginning without going through all found items

Question

In PowerPoint, when trying to advance through all found words in Find & Replace window, the "next" arrow gets stuck at a certain result (e.g., 30 of 337) and goes back up to an earlier slide (e.g., 2 of 337) and will not proceed through the rest no matter how many times I try to advance through. It also doesn't advance to the next found word even if I manually click into a later slide.

Answer 1

Hi CJ,

From your description, it appears that the Find and Replace feature in PowerPoint is not progressing through all search results as expected. Instead, when selecting Find Next, the search repeatedly jumps back to an earlier occurrence (for example, from result 30 of 337 back to 2 of 337) and does not continue through the remaining matches. Under normal circumstances, PowerPoint should advance through each occurrence sequentially.

1. Save a copy of the presentation, then close and reopen PowerPoint before testing again.
2. Determine whether the issue is specific to the presentation:
   • Create a new blank presentation.
   • Add several text boxes containing the same word or phrase.
   • Use Find Next to verify whether PowerPoint can move through all occurrences correctly.
3. If the issue occurs only in the affected presentation, try copying the slides into a new presentation in small groups and test the Find feature after each batch. This may help identify whether a particular slide or object is causing the behavior.
4. Open PowerPoint in Safe Mode:
   • Press Windows + R.
   • Type powerpnt /safe and press Enter.
   • Open the presentation and test the Find feature again.
   If the issue does not occur in Safe Mode, it may be related to a COM add-in. You can then disable add-ins by going to File > Options > Add-ins > Manage: COM Add-ins > Go and testing again.
5. Try opening the presentation in PowerPoint for the web: If your slide deck is stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, please open the same file in PowerPoint for the web and test the Find feature there.
6. Check for Office updates by navigating to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now. Installing the latest updates can often resolve unexpected application behavior.
7. If the issue persists, perform a repair of your Microsoft 365 installation:
   • Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps
   • Select Microsoft 365
   • Choose Modify
   • Run Quick Repair first, and if needed, follow with Online Repair.
   • Reference: Repair an Office application | Microsoft Support

I hope the information above helps point us in the right direction. If you have any questions, concerns, or updates after trying these steps, please feel free to let me know. I'll be happy to continue assisting you.

Warm regards.