The fastest way: use the Format menu

Open your document in Microsoft Word and select the text you want to change. Highlight it by clicking at the start of the text, holding down your mouse button, and dragging to the end. You can also triple-click a paragraph to select the whole thing, or use Ctrl+A to select everything in the document.

Once the text is selected, go to the Home tab at the top of the window. Look for a button labeled Aa with a small arrow next to it — this is the text case button. Click the arrow to open a menu with five options: Sentence case, lowercase, UPPERCASE, Capitalize Each Word, and tOGGLE cASE.

Click whichever option matches what you need. The change happens when ready. If you change your mind, press Ctrl+Z to undo.

Key Takeaways

  • Select your text first by clicking and dragging, triple-clicking a paragraph, or pressing Ctrl+A for the whole document.
  • The text case button is on the Home tab — it looks like Aa with a dropdown arrow next to it.
  • Word offers five case options: Sentence case, lowercase, UPPERCASE, Capitalize Each Word, and tOGGLE cASE.
  • Toggle case flips every letter — uppercase becomes lowercase and vice versa — which is useful for fixing accidental caps lock mistakes.

What each case option does

Sentence case capitalizes only the first letter of the first word in each sentence and leaves everything else lowercase. Use this when you have text that is ALL CAPS or randomly capitalized and you want it to look normal.

lowercase makes every letter small. This is useful if you typed something in all caps by accident or if you are preparing text for a style guide that requires lowercase headings.

UPPERCASE makes every letter capital. Use this for acronyms, titles, or emphasis, though most style guides recommend using bold or italics instead of all caps for readability.

Capitalize Each Word puts a capital letter at the start of every word and makes the rest lowercase. This is standard for titles and headings in most documents.

tOGGLE cASE flips every letter — if it was uppercase, it becomes lowercase, and vice versa. This is rarely what you want, but it is useful if you accidentally held Caps Lock while typing and need to fix it without retyping.

Changing case in older versions of Word

If you are using Word 2010, 2013, or 2016, the process is the same. Select your text, go to the Home tab, and click the Aa button with the dropdown arrow. The menu looks slightly different but offers the same five options.

If you are using Word on a Mac, the steps are identical. The Home tab and the text case button are in the same place. On a mobile device like an iPad or phone, Word's case options may be harder to find — some versions do not include them, so you may need to use the desktop version for this task.

What to do if the case button is not visible

If you cannot find the Aa button on your Home tab, your ribbon may be minimized or your window may be too narrow. Try widening your Word window by dragging the edge of the screen. If the ribbon is collapsed, click the arrow at the far right of the ribbon to expand it.

Another option is to use the Format menu instead. Click Format at the top of the window, then look for Text or Change Case. The exact wording depends on your version of Word, but the menu will have the same five case options.

Changing case in a table or special text box

The case button works the same way inside tables, text boxes, and headers or footers. Select the text you want to change, click the Aa button, and choose your option. If you are working in a header or footer, make sure you are actually inside that header or footer — double-click the header or footer area to edit it, then select and change the text.

If you are changing case in a form field or a protected section of the document, you may not be able to edit the text at all. Word will show a message saying the document or section is protected. Ask whoever set up the document for permission to edit it, or ask them to change the case for you.

Undoing a case change you did not mean to make

If you change the case of text and then realize it was wrong, press Ctrl+Z when ready to undo. You can undo multiple steps by pressing Ctrl+Z several times. If you have already saved the document, you can still undo — Word remembers your recent changes even after saving, though the undo history clears when you close the document.

If you closed the document without saving and want to undo the case change, open the file again and it will be back to the way it was before you made the change. Word does not save changes until you press Ctrl+S or click the Save button.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change case for only part of a word?

No. The case button works on whatever text you have selected, so if you select part of a word, it will change the case of that part. If you want to change only one letter in the middle of a word, select just that letter and use the case button, or delete it and type the letter you want instead.

Does changing case affect formatting like bold or italics?

No. If your text is bold and you change it from lowercase to UPPERCASE, it stays bold. The case button only changes the letters themselves, not the formatting around them.

What if I want to change case in a PDF instead of Word?

Word's case button only works on Word documents. If you have a PDF, you would need to convert it to a Word document first, or use a different tool. Some PDF editors have their own case-change features, but they are less common than in Word.

Can I change case automatically as I type?

Word has an AutoCorrect feature that can capitalize the first letter of a sentence automatically, but it does not have a built-in way to change case as you type. You have to select the text after you type it and use the case button.