Open Find & Replace with a keyboard shortcut or the menu

The fastest way to open Find & Replace in Word is to press Ctrl+H on Windows or Command+Option+F on Mac. A dialog box appears with two text fields: one for the text you want to find, and one for what you want to replace it with.

If you prefer the menu, go to the Home tab, click Find & Replace in the Editing group (on the right side of the ribbon), then select Replace. The keyboard shortcut is faster once you use it a few times.

Key Takeaways

  • Ctrl+H (Windows) or Command+Option+F (Mac) opens Find & Replace when ready without using the menu.
  • Type the text you want to find in the first field and the replacement text in the second, then click Replace All to change every instance at once.
  • Use Match Case if you need to find only uppercase or lowercase versions, and Whole Words Only to avoid changing parts of longer words.
  • Replace All changes every match in the document without asking you to confirm each one, so review your search terms before clicking it.
  • You can search for line breaks, paragraph marks, and special characters by using codes like ^p for a paragraph break or ^t for a tab.

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

In the Find what field, type the exact text you want to search for. In the Replace with field, type what you want it to become. If you want to delete text entirely, leave the Replace with field empty and click Replace All.

For example, if your document says "colour" throughout but you want "color", type "colour" in Find what and "color" in Replace with. Word will highlight every match as you type, so you can see how many instances exist before you make any changes.

Use Replace All to change everything at once, or Replace to go one by one

Click Replace All to change every match in the document without stopping. Word tells you how many replacements it made. This is the fastest option when you are confident the search term is specific enough that it will not accidentally change something you want to keep.

Click Replace (not Replace All) if you want to review each match before changing it. Word highlights the first match, and you can click Replace to change just that one, or click Find Next to skip it and move to the next match. This takes longer but is safer when the search term might appear in places you do not want to change.

Match Case and Whole Words Only prevent accidental changes

Check Match Case if you only want to find text with the exact capitalization you typed. For example, searching for "Word" with Match Case on will find "Word" but not "word" or "WORD". Without it checked, Word treats uppercase and lowercase as the same.

Check Whole Words Only to avoid changing parts of longer words. If you search for "read" without this option, it will also change "read" inside "thread" or "already". With Whole Words Only checked, it only changes "read" when it stands alone as its own word.

Search for special characters like paragraph marks and tabs

You can find and replace things that are not regular text. Click More Options (or Format on some versions) to see codes for special characters. The most common ones are ^p for a paragraph break and ^t for a tab character.

For example, if you have extra blank lines between paragraphs and want to remove them, search for "^p^p" (two paragraph marks in a row) and replace with "^p" (one paragraph mark). This collapses double spacing throughout the document in one action. You can also search for line breaks (^l), page breaks (^m), and other formatting marks the same way.

Close Find & Replace when you are done

Click the X button on the Find & Replace dialog to close it, or press Escape. Your document stays open with any changes you made. If you made a mistake, press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Mac) to undo the last replacement.

Word does not automatically save your document after a find and replace operation, so you can undo even after closing the dialog. Save your document manually when you are satisfied with the changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Yes. Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Mac) when ready after, and Word reverses every replacement that Replace All made. You can undo multiple times if you need to go back further. If you closed the document without saving, the changes are lost and the original text remains.

What if I want to find text that appears across multiple lines?

Click More Options and check Regular Expressions (or use Find & Replace Advanced on Mac). Then use ^p in your search term to represent a paragraph break. For example, searching for "word1^pword2" finds those two words with a line break between them. This requires learning regex syntax, which is more complex than basic find and replace.

Does Find & Replace work the same way in Word Online?

Word Online has a simpler Find & Replace that works for basic text searches, but it does not support special characters, regular expressions, or some formatting options. For complex replacements, use the desktop version of Word instead. The keyboard shortcut Ctrl+H still opens it in Word Online.

Can I search for formatting instead of just text?

Yes, but only in the desktop version of Word. Click More Options, then click Format to search for text with specific formatting like bold, italic, or a particular font. You can replace text with different formatting applied. This is useful for changing all instances of a word from one style to another throughout a long document.