Often, the editing process requires that certain terms be replaced with other terms. Instead of tediously going through the entire document to replace one word at a time, we can use Microsoft Word's convenient Find and Replace command. This feature enables Word to search through the document for a specific word or character and offers the opportunity to replace the text with a new entry.
The following files are available for download:
Working with the Find and Replace dialog box
The original author of the document switched between different ways to capitalize the word "LEGO": "Lego" with a capital L and "LEGO" in all capitals. According to the LEGO Group, LEGO should be typed in all capital letters. We can find every occurrence of "Lego" and replace them with the correct "LEGO."
- To open the Find and Replace dialog box,
In Microsoft Word for Windows, on the keyboard, press: Control key + H
In Microsoft Word for macOS, on the keyboard, press: Command key + Shift key + H
In Microsoft Word for Windows, the Find and Replace dialog box opens:
In Microsoft Word for macOS, the Find and Replace pane opens:
This dialog box (or pane) gives us the option to find a word (or text string) and replace it with something else.
Because we are searching for the word "Lego" with a capital "L," we need to make sure that Word will match the case of the word.
In Microsoft Word for Windows, the "Match case" option assures us that if we are searching for a word with specific capitalization, that's what Microsoft Word will find. For example, when we search for "Lego" and check the Match case checkbox, our results will not include the instances of "LEGO" found in the sources.
In Microsoft Word for macOS, we want to make sure that the Find and Replace tool is not ignoring the case. We will confirm that this option is unchecked.
- To view the options, in the Find and Replace dialog box,
In Microsoft Word for Windows, in the Find and Replace dialog box, Click
In Microsoft Word for macOS, in the Find and Replace pane, Click
- To find only occurrences with matching capitalization,
In Microsoft Word for Windows, Click the Match case checkbox
In Microsoft Word for macOS, Click Ignore Case
We are now ready to add the words in the Find and Replace fields.
When working in Microsoft Word, we have the option to evaluate each occurrence and decide if we want to replace it or to replace all instances without reviewing them individually. Let's go through them one by one.
- To add the word "Lego" to the Find what field, in the Find and Replace dialog box,
Click in the Find field, type: Lego Tab key
- To add the word "LEGO" to the Replace with field, type:
LEGO
- To find the first occurrence of "Lego," in the Find and Replace dialog box,
In Microsoft Word for Windows, Click
In Microsoft Word for macOS, Click
In the document, the first occurrence of "Lego" is highlighted. The location of your cursor in the document will determine which "Lego" is selected first.
- To replace the first occurrence of "Lego,"
Click
The first "Lego" is replaced with "LEGO" and the dark highlight moves to the next "Lego." Now that we've seen how the Find and Replace tool works, let's replace all of the remaining occurrences of "Lego."
- To replace the remaining occurrences,
Click
A dialog box appears to let us know that four replacements were made.
- To close the dialog box,
Click
- To close the Find and Replace dialog box,
In Microsoft Word for Windows, Click
In Microsoft Word for macOS, Click
- To save the document, on the keyboard, press:
Control key + S