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dude15000-3052 avatar image
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dude15000-3052 asked DSPatrick edited

Why is the header search functionality different when viewing vs editing a Word document?

If I'm in a Word document in 'View' mode the search bar in the header seems to have limited functionality. If the document is in 'Edit' mode, full search functionality appears. I'm specifically trying to utilize searching for acronyms we have setup for Microsoft Search.

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ChelseaWu-MSFT avatar image
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ChelseaWu-MSFT answered ChelseaWu-MSFT commented

Hi @dude15000-3052, thank you for posting in the Q&A forum.

Per my test, if we use a user account with at least Edit permission on a Word document, the global Search Box will automatically hide when switching to View mode.
But if we use a user account with no Edit permission on the Word document, the global Search Box will not be available at all.

So the conclusion is, Search function availability has something to do with user permissions instead of mode when using Word Online, and it sure will not affect what you have setup or customized for search function in your tenant.


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This seems like a strange dependency/behavior.

Wouldn't it make more sense if the global search box was persistent regardless the user's permissions or document mode?

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Not really. You may consider it as a restriction on what users can access when they have limited privileges. For example, the global Search Box will hide from all external users regardless of their permissions in the tenant.
One thing for sure, this behavior cannot be changed from our end and is by design, but still, it does not affect the overall Search function in your environment.

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