Open Find and Replace with a keyboard shortcut

The fastest way to open Find and Replace in Word is to press Ctrl+H on Windows or Command+Option+F on Mac. A dialog box will appear with two text fields: one labeled "Find" and one labeled "Replace With". This is where you type what you want to search for and what you want to change it to.

If you prefer using the menu, you can also click the "Home" tab at the top of Word, then look for the "Editing" section on the right side of the ribbon. Click the "Find & Replace" button there. Both methods open the same dialog.

Key Takeaways

  • Press Ctrl+H (Windows) or Command+Option+F (Mac) to open Find and Replace when ready.
  • Type the text you want to find in the first field and the replacement text in the second field, then click "Replace All" to change every instance at once.
  • Use "Find Next" to review each match one at a time before replacing, so you do not accidentally change something you meant to keep.
  • The "Match Case" option makes the search case-sensitive, so "Word" will not match "word" unless you turn this on.
  • You can search for line breaks, paragraph marks, and other invisible characters by using special codes like ^p for paragraph breaks.

Type what you want to find and what to replace it with

In the "Find" field, type the exact text you want to search for. For example, if you want to change every instance of "colour" to "color", type "colour" in the Find field. Then click in the "Replace With" field and type "color".

Word will search through your entire document for every match. If you leave the "Replace With" field empty and click "Replace All", Word will delete every instance of the search term instead of replacing it with something else. This is useful if you want to remove a word or phrase entirely.

Review each match before replacing

If you are not sure whether every instance of your search term should be replaced the same way, click "Find Next" instead of "Replace All". Word will highlight the first match in your document. You can then decide whether to replace this particular instance by clicking "Replace", or skip it by clicking "Find Next" again.

This approach takes longer but protects you from accidentally changing something you meant to keep. For example, if you search for "bank", you might want to replace it in "bank account" but not in "river bank". Using "Find Next" lets you make that choice for each occurrence.

Use "Replace All" when you are certain

Once you have typed both the search term and the replacement text, click "Replace All" to change every match in the document at once. Word will tell you how many replacements it made in a small message box. Click "OK" to close that message.

After you click "Replace All", you can undo the entire operation by pressing Ctrl+Z if you realize the replacement was not what you wanted. Word treats "Replace All" as a single action, so one undo will reverse all the changes at once.

Turn on "Match Case" for exact matches

By default, Find and Replace ignores whether letters are uppercase or lowercase. If you search for "word", it will find "Word", "WORD", and "word" all the same. If you want to search for only the exact capitalization you typed, click the checkbox next to "Match Case" before you search.

This is useful when you want to change a proper noun but not the same word used elsewhere. For example, you could search for "Mark" with "Match Case" on and replace it with "Marcus" without affecting the word "mark" in "mark the page".

Search for special characters like line breaks

You can search for invisible characters like paragraph breaks and line breaks by using special codes. Type ^p in the Find field to search for paragraph breaks, or ^l (that is a lowercase L) to search for line breaks. In the Replace With field, you can type the same codes to add paragraph breaks or line breaks in your replacement text.

For example, if you have a list where each item is separated by a comma and space, you could find ", " (comma space) and replace it with "^p" to put each item on its own line. This is one of the most powerful uses of Find and Replace because it lets you restructure your document without retyping anything.

Close the dialog and continue working

Once you are done with your replacements, click the "X" button in the top right corner of the Find and Replace dialog to close it. Your document will return to normal view with your changes in place. If you need to do another search or replacement, you can open the dialog again with Ctrl+H.

Word remembers what you typed in the Find and Replace fields, so if you close the dialog and open it again in the same session, your previous search terms will still be there. You can clear them and type new ones, or use the same ones again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I undo a Replace All if I made a mistake?

Yes. Press Ctrl+Z when ready after the replacement, and Word will undo all the changes from that "Replace All" action at once. If you have done other work since the replacement, you may need to press Ctrl+Z multiple times to get back to the point before the replacement happened.

What if I want to replace text only in part of my document?

Select the text you want to search within before you open Find and Replace. Word will only search and replace within your selection. If you do not select anything, Find and Replace searches the entire document.

How do I search for a question mark or other special character?

Type the character directly into the Find field. If you want to search for a question mark, just type a question mark. Word treats most punctuation as literal text. The exception is the caret symbol (^), which is used for special codes like ^p for paragraphs.

Can I replace text with different text each time?

No, Find and Replace uses the same replacement text for every match. If you need different replacements for different instances, use "Find Next" and "Replace" one at a time instead of "Replace All".

Does Find and Replace work in tables?

Yes. Find and Replace searches everywhere in your document, including inside tables, headers, footers, and text boxes. It will find and replace text in all of these locations unless you have selected only a specific part of the document first.