Word replace all mac

Find and replace text

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  1. Go to Home > Replace.

  2. Enter the word or phrase you want to replace in Find what.

  3. Enter your new text in Replace with.

  4. Choose Replace All to change all occurrences of the word or phrase. Or, select Find Next until you find the one you want to update, and then choose Replace.

  5. To specify only upper or lowercase in your search, select More > Match case. There are several other ways to search in this menu.

Match case

For other options, see Find and replace text

Find and replace basic text

In the upper-right corner of the document, in the search box Enter text to search for in the document, type the word or phrase that you want to find, and Word will highlight all instances of the word or phrase throughout the document.

To replace found text:

  1. Select the magnifying glass, and then select Replace.

    The Replace option is highlighted in the Search box

  2. In the Replace With box, type the replacement text.

  3. Select Replace All or Replace.

    Tips: 

    • You can also open the basic Find and Replace pane with the keyboard shortcut CONTROL + H.

    • When you replace text, it’s a good idea to select Replace instead of Replace All. That way you can review each item before replacing it.

You can find text with special formatting, such as bold or highlight, by using the Format menu.

  1. Select View > Navigation Pane.

    On the View tab, Navigation Pane is checked

  2. In the Navigation Pane, select the magnifying glass.

  3. Select Settings Screenshot of gear, and then select Advanced Find & Replace.

    In the Find and Replace box, Advanced Find and Replace is highlighted

    Notes: 

    • Select the arrow at the bottom of the Find and Replace dialog box to show all options.

    • Shows how to open the Format popup menu

  4. On the Format menu, select the option that you want.

    Shows the Format options

    If a second dialog box opens, select the options that you want, and then select OK.

  5. In the Find and Replace dialog box, select Find Next or Find All.

You can find and replace text with special formatting, such as bold or highlight, by using the Format menu.

  1. Select View > Navigation Pane.

    On the View tab, Navigation Pane is checked

  2. In the Navigation Pane, select the magnifying glass.

  3. Select Settings Screenshot of gear, and then select Advanced Find & Replace.

    In the Find and Replace box, Advanced Find and Replace is highlighted

  4. At the top of the dialog box, select Replace.

    Notes: 

    • Select the arrow at the bottom of the Find and Replace dialog box to show all options.

    • Shows how to open the Format popup menu

  5. On the Find what box, type the text that you want to find.

  6. On the Format menu, select the formatting that you want to find.

    Shows the Format options

    If a second dialog box opens, select the options that you want, and then select OK.

  7. Select in the box next to Replace with.

  8. On the Format menu, select the replacement formatting. If a second dialog box appears, select the formats that you want, and then select OK.

  9. Select Replace, Replace All, or Find Next.

  1. Select View > Navigation Pane.

  2. In the Navigation Pane, select the magnifying glass.

  3. Select Settings Screenshot of gear, and then select Advanced Find & Replace.

    In the Find and Replace box, Advanced Find and Replace is highlighted

    Notes: 

    • Select the arrow at the bottom of the Find and Replace dialog box to show all options.

    • Shows how to open the Format popup menu

  4. On the Special menu, select the special character that you want to find.

    Find special characters

  5. Select Find Next.

  1. Select View > Navigation Pane.

    On the View tab, Navigation Pane is checked

  2. In the Navigation Pane, select the magnifying glass.

  3. Select Settings Screenshot of gear, and then select Advanced Find & Replace.

    In the Find and Replace box, Advanced Find and Replace is highlighted

    Notes: 

    • Select the arrow at the bottom of the Find and Replace dialog box to show all options.

    • Shows how to open the Format popup menu

  4. At the top of the Find and Replace dialog box, select Replace and then select in the Find What box, but don’t type anything there. Later, when you select a special character, Word will automatically put the character code in the box for you.

    Note: Select the arrow at the bottom of the Find and Replace dialog box to show all options.
    Shows how to open the Format popup menu

  5. On the Special menu, select the special character that you want to find.

  6. Select in the Replace with box.

  7. On the Special menu, select the special character that you want to use as a replacement.

  8. Select Replace or Find Next.

  1. Select View > Navigation Pane.

    On the View tab, Navigation Pane is checked

  2. In the Navigation Pane, select the magnifying glass.

  3. Select Settings Screenshot of gear, and then select Advanced Find & Replace.

    In the Find and Replace box, Advanced Find and Replace is highlighted

  4. Select the Use wildcards check box.

    If you don’t see the Use wildcards check box, select Down arrow for more options.

  5. Select the Special menu, select a wildcard character, and then type any additional text in the Find what box.

    Using wildcards in the Find and Replace dialog box

  6. Select Find Next.

    Tips: 

    • To cancel a search in progress, press The Command button.+ PERIOD.

    • You can also enter a wildcard character directly in the Find what box instead of selecting an item from the Special pop-up menu.

    • To search for a character that’s defined as a wildcard character, type a backslash () before the character. For example, type ? to find a question mark.

    • You can use parentheses to group the wildcard characters and text and to indicate the order of evaluation. For example, search for <(pre)*(ed)> to find «presorted» and «prevented.»

    • You can search for an expression and use the n wildcard character to replace the search string with the rearranged expression. For example, type (Newman) (Belinda) in the Find what box and 2 1 in the Replace with box. Word will find «Newman Belinda» and replace it with «Belinda Newman.»

  7. To replace found text:

    1. Select the Replace tab, and then select the Replace with box.

    2. Select Special, select a wildcard character, and then type any additional text in the Replace with box.

    3. Select Replace All, Replace, or Find Next.

      Tip: When you replace text, it’s a good idea to select Replace instead of Replace All. That way you can confirm each replacement to make sure that it’s correct.

You can refine a search by using any of the following wildcard characters.

To find

Use this

For example

Any single character

?

s?t finds «sat» and «set.»

Any string of characters

*

s*d finds «sad» and «started.»

One of the specified characters

[ ]

w[io]n finds «win» and «won.»

Any single character in this range

[-]

[r-t]ight finds «right» and «sight» and «tight.»

Ranges must be in ascending order.

Any single character except the characters inside the brackets

[!]

m[!a]st finds «mist» and «most» but not «mast.»

Any single character except characters in the range inside the brackets

[!x-z]

t[!a-m]ck finds «tock» and «tuck» but not «tack» or «tick.»

Ranges must be in ascending order.

Exactly n occurrences of a character or expression

{ n}

fe{2}d finds «feed» but not «fed.»

At least n occurrences of a character or expression

{ n,}

fe{1,}d finds «fed» and «feed.»

A range of occurrences of a character or expression

{ n, n}

10{1,3} finds «10,» «100,» and «1000.»

One or more occurrences of a character or expression

@

lo@t finds «lot» and «loot.»

The beginning of a word

<

<(inter) finds «interesting» and «intercept» but not «splintered.»

The end of a word

>

(in)> finds «in» and «within,» but not «interesting.»

Word for the web lets you find and replace basic text. You can match case or fine whole words only. For more varied options, open your document in Word for the desktop.

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Akanksha Soni

It once happened with me when I wrote the spelling of Messenger as ‘Messanger’ in the whole article, but before I could realize the mess, I had already finished the piece. Now I knew how to find the specific word in the entire article, but I didn’t know how to change them all in one go. Of course, the word was used more than 15 times, and it was simply hectic for me to change every word. Well, this was the day when I learned how to use find and replace in Word on a Mac, and I thought if you might need the same.

We are letting you know two cool methods by which you can easily find and replace in Word on Mac.

Method 1 On How To Find And Replace In Word On Mac

Step 1: Open the Microsoft Word document, where you need to make changes.

Step 2: Reach to the ‘Edit’ tab in the toolbar or top of the window.

Step 3: Locate ‘Find’ from the menu.

Step 4: Click ‘Replace’. Or you can even take a short cut over here. Hold ‘Command + Shift + H’ on the keyboard.
find and replace

Step 5: The steps above will open a new panel on the left side of the screen with two separate boxes. On the first box, type the word you want to search and on the second box, type the word you want to replace with. For example, ‘Messangar’ will be typed in the first box, whereas ‘Messenger’ will be written in the second one.

Step 6: ‘Find’ button will locate the answers you required whereas the ‘Replace’ button will replace the individual words. Select ‘Replace All,’ and all the required words will be replaced at once. (Specific text will be highlighted if you choose ‘Find Next’)
replace

Once the process is done, you will get a message stating “All done. We made ‘ ‘ replacements.”

Method 2 On How To Find And Replace In Word On Mac (In Format)

Step 1: Open the Microsoft Word document, where you need to make changes.

Step 2: Reach to the ‘Edit’ tab in the toolbar or top of the window.

Step 3: Locate ‘Find’ from the menu

Step 4: Instead of finding Replace, locate and click ‘Advanced File And Replace

Step 5: Now, here, various options will appear on the screen.
advance file and replace

Step 6: Choose ‘Format’ here and select ‘Font’ from the drop-down menu.

Step 7: Here, you are free to choose any format in terms of size, color, and other styles. Click ‘OK’ and the selected word will transform itself into a new stylized font. You can choose to Replace all, replace or find next (specific text will be highlighted).

And this way, you can find and replace the specific word easily and even you get to change the shape and font of the word using this method.

Conclusion

The above methods are right described for finding and replacing in word on Mac, and one can free themselves from the situation of ‘Messangar’ to ‘Messenger’ without a glitch. Also, check:

  • How to remove password from Word document?
  • 63 Best MS word shortcut keys for productivity
  • Easiest way to check your spelling in Google docs

We would like to know your recommendations and queries in the comment section below. Also, if you wish to ask us anything or any technical glitch you are facing, feel free to write to us!

This tutorial shows two ways to find and replace text in Word for Mac. First, we will look at the basic method. Then, we will look at the advanced method with additional customization options.

Table of Contents:

  • Basic Method to Find and Replace Text
  • Advanced Method to Find and Replace Text

If you want to find and replace text with specific font formatting (e.g., boldness, italics), please see my previous tutorial “How to Find and Replace Font Formatting in Word for Mac.”

Watch all the steps shown here in real time!

Explore more than 200 writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac. These steps will be similar in Word 2021 for Mac, Word 2019 for Mac, and Word 2016 for Mac.

Are you on a PC? Please see “How to Find and Replace Text in Microsoft Word.”

  1. Select the Edit menu.

Edit menu in Word for Mac

Figure 1. Edit menu
  1. Select Find from the drop-down menu.

Find option in the Edit menu in Word for Mac

Figure 2. Find option
  1. Select Replace from the submenu.

Replace option in the Edit menu in Word for Mac

Figure 3. Replace option
  1. Type the text you want to find in the top text box in the Find and Replace sidebar that will appear on the left side of your screen.

Find text box in the Find and Replace sidebar in Word for Mac

Figure 4. Find text box

Pro Tip: You can also use the keyboard shortcut Control + H to open the Find and Replace sidebar.

  1. (Optional) Select the Options button and then select refinements from the drop-down menu: Whole Word Only, Ignore Case, Sounds Like, or All Word Forms.

Options menu in the Find and Replace sidebar in Word for Mac

Figure 5. Options menu

The search results will be highlighted in the sidebar and in the document.

Highlighted search results in Word for Mac

Figure 6. Highlighted search results
  1. Type the replacement text in the second text box.

Replace text box in the Find and Replace sidebar in Word for Mac

Figure 7. Replace text box
  1. Select the Replace button to make one replacement at a time.

Replace button in the Find and Replace sidebar in Word for Mac

Figure 8. Replace button
  1. (Alternative) Select the Replace All button to replace all the text at once.

Replace All button in the Find and Replace sidebar in Word for Mac

Figure 9. Replace All button
  1. If you selected Replace All, select OK in the dialog box stating how many replacements were made.

Number of replacements dialog box in Word for Mac

Figure 10. OK button
  1. Select the X to close the sidebar.

Closing X in the Find and Replace sidebar in Word for Mac

Figure 11. Closing X

Advanced Method to Find and Replace Text in Word for Mac

  1. Select the Edit menu (see figure 1).
  2. Select Find from the drop-down menu (see figure 2).
  3. Select Advanced Find and Replace from the submenu.

Advanced Find and Replace option in the Edit menu in Word for Mac

Figure 12. Advanced Find and Replace option
  1. Select the Replace tab in the Find and Replace dialog box.

Replace tab in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac

Figure 13. Replace tab
  1. Type the text you want to find in the Find what text box.

Find what text box in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac

Figure 14. Find what text box
  1. Type the replacement text in the Replace with text box.

Replace with text box in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac

Figure 15. Replace with text box
  1. Select the More button to expand the dialog box.

More button in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac

Figure 16. More button
  1. Select a direction option in the Search menu.
    • All searches the entire document.
    • Down searches below your current cursor placement.
    • Up searches above your current cursor placement.

Search menu in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac

Figure 17. Search menu
  1. (Optional) Refine your search with additional options:
    • Match case
    • Find whole words only
    • Use wildcards
    • Sounds like
    • Find all word forms
    • Match prefix
    • Match suffix
    • Ignore punctuation characters
    • Ignore white-space characters

Search options in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac

Figure 18. Search options
  1. Select Find Next to find the next occurrence of the text. Once found, select Replace to make the replacement. (See step 12 for the Replace All option.)

Replace and Find Next buttons in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac

Figure 19. Find Next and Replace buttons
  1. Select the OK button in the dialog box that appears when the search is finished.

OK button in the finished search dialog box in Word for Mac

Figure 20. OK button
  1. (Alternative) Select Replace All to make all the replacements at once.

Replace All button in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac

Figure 21. Replace All button
  1. Select OK in the dialog box reporting how many replacements were made.

OK button in the number of replacements dialog box in Word for Mac

Figure 22. OK button
  1. Select the Close button.

Close button in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac

Figure 23. Close button

Related Resources

How to Adjust the Space between Words in Word for Mac

How to Add Page Numbers in Word for Mac

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The process for using Word’s Find and Replace feature differs on MacOS and Windows.

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  • Find and Replace in Word is a tool that searches a document for a specific word or phrase.
  • You can use the tool to replace a word or phrase with another.
  • You can review each instance of a word before replacing it, or replace all instances at once.

Find and Replace is a helpful tool in Microsoft Word that searches your document for a specific word or phrase. 

You can use the tool to replace one word with another, which can be helpful in situations where you need to go back to change the spelling of a word or check a document for instances of a repeated word to avoid redundancy. For example, if you’re deep into writing a paper and realize you’ve been misspelling someone’s name (let’s say Mark when it should have been Marc), you can use Find and Replace to easily find all instances of Mark and replace it with Marc with a few clicks.

Below, we’ve outlined how to use Find and Replace in Word on macOS and Windows.

Marissa Perino is a former editorial intern covering executive lifestyle. She previously worked at Cold Lips in London and Creative Nonfiction in Pittsburgh. She studied journalism and communications at the University of Pittsburgh, along with creative writing. Find her on Twitter: @mlperino.

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Abigail Abesamis Demarest is a contributing writer for Insider based in New York. She loves a good glazed donut and nerdy deep dives into the science of food and how it’s made. 

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You’ve just finished typing a presentation that’s due in about 15 minutes. But before you can celebrate your moment of victory, you realize that you’ve spelled your client‘s name wrong and have missed the double Rs in their company name multiple times throughout your document.

Cue: An aggravated scream.

The good news is that changing these small errors is an easy fix on Office 365. You can replace as many words as you want within seconds on Microsoft Word using its super helpful Find and Replace functionality.

This article will guide you through the necessary steps to help you find and replace text in MS Word.

Ready? Let’s begin.

How to Use Microsoft Word’s Find and Replace Feature

Microsoft is one of the leading companies in the world. It’s because it prioritizes its customers and comes up with innovations that can make their lives easier and more convenient.

The Find and Replace feature on MS Word is a shining example of this effort.

You can use this feature to find specific words in your file and then replace them in case there are some last-minute changes. This can even be useful when you make mistakes in the doc while typing or want to accommodate those last-minute client changes.

We’ll show you how to replace text in Microsoft Word, depending on the computer device you use.

How to Change and Replace Text in MS Word on Windows

It’s no wonder that all Windows devices have built-in Microsoft programs considering it’s a product developed by the Microsoft company themselves. If you find yourself using the word processor often for making notes or presentations, you’ll be especially thankful for the Find and Replace functionality.

Here’s a short step-by-step guide to using the feature in MS Word on Windows devices:

Step #1 Open Microsoft Word on your Windows device.

Step #2 Click on the Home tab on your top menu bar. A secondary menu will appear on your screen.

Step #3 Select the Replace option located on the top-right-hand side of your screen. Alternatively, you can also press Ctrl + H. The Find and Replace pop-up box will appear immediately.

Step #4 Type in the phrase or word you want to locate in your Word doc in the Find what field under the Find tab.

Step #5 Click on the Replace tab on the top menu bar. Type in the word you want to update in the Replace with field.

On clicking on the Replace button, the changes you want will be made one by one in the Word doc. However, if you want to update all fitting instances at once, you can click on Replace All instead.

Microsoft Word will give you a confirmation of the replacements made in your Word doc. It’ll look something like this:

How to Change and Replace Text in MS Word on Mac

Now that we’ve covered Windows, let’s see how you can use the Find and Replace feature on a MacBook. Here’s how to proceed in MS Word when you’re using an iOS device:

Step #1 Open the Microsoft Word document on your Mac.

Step #2 Take your cursor towards the top of your screen until you see your Mac’s top toolbar. Click on the Edit tab. A dropdown menu will appear.

Step #3 Click on Find from the displayed menu options. You’ll typically see a Replace… option on your screen.

But if you don’t, simply press Shift + Command + H on your keyboard. A side navigation bar will appear on the left-hand side of your computer screen.

Step #4 Enter the word or phrase you want to replace in the doc in the Search for… field.

Once you’ve finished typing the incorrect word or phrase, type in the right word or phrase that you want to replace the incorrect one with in the Replace with… field.

Step #5 Click on the Find tab to locate the matches. Once you’re sure the match is right and highlighting the words you want to change, select Replace. This will replace every individual match one by one.

Again, if you click on the Replace All button, all the matching words and phrases will be changed at once.

After the changes are made, you’ll see an “All Done” message just below the Replace and Replace All buttons that indicate the replacement of the intended word or phrase.

Advanced Find and Replace Features: Everything You Need to Know

You can take this whole shebang of replacing words and phrases to the next level thanks to Microsoft Word’s Advanced Find and Replace option. In other words, you can use the Advanced settings to simplify the process further and make the results even more accurate.

Follow the previously stated steps to open the Find and Replace pop-up box. On it appears on your screen, click on More.

You’ll immediately see a slew of additional options like Match case, Use wildcards, Match prefix, Match suffix, and so on. Here’s how the Advanced Find and Replace settings look like:

Each one of these has its own unique functions. Let’s discuss them in more detail below:

Find whole words only

If you check on the Find whole words only box, MS Word will treat your search term as an entire word and won’t look for your search term within other words.

Example: If you’re searching for the word “stand,“ the search feature won’t show you the word “standard.”

Use wildcards

Use wildcards is one of the more advanced search options that allows you to use question marks, brackets, asterisks, and other similar symbols to modify your search.

You see, a wildcat is a short string of characters – or a character – that represents multiple characters in a search.

Example: <(int)*(net)>

Sounds like (English)

As the name suggests, the Sounds like option finds similar-sounding words to your search term. This is best for finding homonyms and words that have varying spellings.

Example: This is common for words that have both UK and US variants. For instance, you can have both “colours” and “colors” on a document.

Find all word forms (English)

This option allows you to look for the word you searched for, along with other instances that are either plural or in a different tense.

Example: If you search for the word “be” after enabling the Find all word forms option, you’ll also find the words “are“ and “is“ highlighted as they are the different tense forms of “be.”

Match prefix and Match suffix

Checking off the Match prefix or Match suffix fields will limit your search to words that have the same beginning or the same ending, respectively.

Example: Suppose you enable Match prefix. When you search for the word “love,” Microsoft Word will find the words “love“ and “lovely.“ However, you won’t find the word “beloved“ highlighted in the search results as it’s a suffix of love.

Ignore punctuation characters and Ignore white-space characters

Again, this search option is self-explanatory. It tells Microsoft Word not to take up spaces, periods, hyphens, and similar attitudes into consideration.

Example: After clicking on the search options, when you type in “color block”, you’ll also see “color-block.”

When to Use the Find and Replace Feature of Microsoft Word

The whole point of the Find and Replace function in Microsoft Word is to allow MS Word users to search for target text – whether it’s a specific word, a type of formatting, or a string of wildcard characters – and replace them with whatever you want.

Typically, here’s why you should use this feature:

  • When you want to maintain absolute consistency in your document
  • When you want to speed up typing and formatting tasks
  • When you realize last-minute mistakes and want to find and then replace your errors
  • When you’re writing a document that includes words with varying spellings. For instance, if you typically follow US English, and are typing a doc according to the rules of UK English, the Find and Replace feature would be super helpful to identify and change spelling errors.
  • Adding special characters to words
  • editing partial words and phrases
  • Correcting words that you may have misspelled in a hurry. For instance, if you type “h?t” instead of “hat” and enable Use wildcards, you’ll find it highlighted in your search.
  • Eliminating extra spaces
  • Changing the separator character in numerals
  • Reversing currency symbols

Concluding Thoughts

As you may have realized, the Find and Replace feature of Microsoft is a lifesaver, to say the least.

It can help you save tons of time, which would otherwise have been wasted in looking for errors and then replacing them. Whether you are a student, an intern, or the CEO of a company, this is a functionality that we all can be very thankful for.

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