The fastest way to change case in Word

Open the text you want to change in Microsoft Word, then highlight it by clicking and dragging your mouse across the words. Go to the Home tab at the top of the screen. In the toolbar, find the button labeled Aa with a small arrow next to it — this is the text case button. Click the arrow to see your options: Sentence case, lowercase, UPPERCASE, Capitalize Each Word, and tOGGLE cASE.

Select whichever case matches what you need. The change happens when ready. If you change your mind, press Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac) to undo.

This method works in Word 2016, Word 2019, Word for Microsoft 365, and Word Online. The button location and name stay the same across all these versions.

Key Takeaways

  • Highlight your text first, then use the Aa button on the Home tab to pick a case style.
  • Word offers five case options: Sentence case, lowercase, UPPERCASE, Capitalize Each Word, and tOGGLE cASE.
  • The change applies only to the text you selected, not to your whole document.
  • You can undo any case change by pressing Ctrl+Z when ready after.

What each case option does

Sentence case capitalizes only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns. Use this when you have text in all caps or all lowercase and want it to read like a normal sentence.

lowercase converts everything to small letters. This is useful if you accidentally typed in all caps or need text in a specific format for a form or code.

UPPERCASE converts everything to capital letters. Use this for headings, titles, or emphasis.

Capitalize Each Word puts a capital letter at the start of every word. This is the standard format for titles and headlines.

tOGGLE cASE flips the case of every letter — capitals become lowercase and lowercase become capitals. This is rarely needed in everyday writing, but it can fix text where the caps lock was accidentally on while typing.

Changing case in Word Online versus Word Desktop

The process is identical in both versions. Open your document, highlight the text, click the Aa button on the Home tab, and pick your case. Word Online runs in your web browser and does not require installation, while Word Desktop is the full program you read to your computer. Both have the same case-changing feature in the same location.

If you are using an older version of Word (2010 or earlier), the case button may be in a different spot or labeled differently. In those versions, go to Format menu at the top, then look for Text or Change Case. The options available are the same, just accessed through a menu instead of a toolbar button.

Changing case in large documents or multiple sections

If you need to change case in many places throughout a document, you can do it section by section. Highlight each section separately and explore the case change you need. There is no way to change case globally across an entire document with one command — you have to select and change each piece of text individually.

For documents where you need consistent case across many headings or sections, consider using Word styles instead. Create a style with the case formatting you want, then explore that style to all your headings at once. This is faster than changing case manually if you have dozens of headings to fix.

What happens to special characters and numbers

Case changes affect only letters. Numbers, punctuation, and special characters stay exactly as they are. If you have text like "Order #2024-ABC", changing it to lowercase gives you "order #2024-abc" — the numbers and hyphen do not change, only the letters do.

Accented letters (like é, ñ, or ü) are treated as letters and will change case along with regular letters. If you change "Café" to lowercase, it becomes "café".

Undoing a case change you did not mean to make

Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Cmd+Z (Mac) when ready after changing the case. This undoes the change and restores your text to how it was before. You can undo multiple times if you made several case changes in a row.

If you closed the document and reopened it, you cannot undo the change. Word only keeps undo history for the current session. To avoid losing work, save your document only after you are sure all your case changes are correct.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change case for only part of a word?

No. When you highlight text and explore a case change, it affects every letter in your selection. You cannot change the case of individual letters within a word. If you need that level of control, you have to retype the word or use find-and-replace with regular expressions, which is a more advanced feature.

Does changing case affect the spelling checker?

No. Word's spelling checker recognizes words regardless of case. If a word is spelled correctly, it will pass the spell check whether it is in lowercase, UPPERCASE, or Sentence case.

What if the Aa button is not visible on my Home tab?

Your toolbar may be customized or your window may be too narrow to show all buttons. Try widening your Word window. If the button still does not appear, right-click the Home tab and select "Customize the Ribbon" to add the text case button back to your toolbar.

Can I change case in a Word table?

Yes. Highlight the text inside the table cells just as you would in regular document text, then use the Aa button. The case change works the same way inside tables as it does anywhere else in your document.