How to use Find and Replace in Microsoft Word to make quick edits to a document

• Find and Replace in Word is a tool that searches a document for a specific word or phrase.
• You can use the tool to replace a word or phrase with another.
• You can review each instance of a word before replacing it, or replace all instances at once.

Find and Replace is a helpful tool in Microsoft Word that searches your document for a specific word or phrase.

You can use the tool to replace one word with another, which can be helpful in situations where you need to go back to change the spelling of a word or check a document for instances of a repeated word to avoid redundancy. For example, if you're deep into writing a paper and realize you've been misspelling someone's name (let's say Mark when it should have been Marc), you can use Find and Replace to easily find all instances of Mark and replace it with Marc with a few clicks.

Below, we've outlined how to use Find and Replace in Word on macOS and Windows.

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How to use Find and Replace in Word on a Mac

1. Open Microsoft Word on your Mac.
2. Click or hover over the "Edit" tab found in the top toolbar.
3. Click or hover over "Find" from the dropdown menu.
4. Click "Replace…" or hold "shift" + "command" + "H" on your keyboard.
   
   

   

5. This will open a side panel. Enter what you'd like to find in the first entry and what you'd like to replace it with in the second.

6. Click the "Find" button to locate the matches first, the "Replace" button to replace each individual match (highlight which one you'd like to change by clicking on the list item), or the "Replace All" button to replace all matching words or phrases.

7. Once you've made your changes, a pop-up will appear that reads, "All done. We made ' ' replacements." (The number of replacements will vary depending on your document).

   

   
   You can also click the gear icon to access other options, including specifying whole words only or including case when searching. Additionally, the gear icon gives the option to open the advanced find and search pop-up. You can also access this from the "Edit" dropdown menu.

How to use advanced Find and Replace in Word on a Mac

1. Open Microsoft Word on your Mac.
2. Click or hover over the "Edit" tab found in the top toolbar.
3. Click or hover over "Find" from the dropdown menu.
4. Click "Advanced Find and Replace..."
   
   

   

5. This will open a pop-up with many options, including the basic options of replace all, replace, and find, along with more specifications, such as matching prefixes and suffixes.
   
   To make stylistic changes to your replacement, click "Format" at the bottom of the pop-up and choose from the list. One of the most helpful options is sometimes "Font…"
   

   

6. In the font screen, you can specify a new font, style, size, color, and more. Make your adjustments and click "OK" when done.
   
   

   

7. Whatever alterations you make, the pop-up will list your formatting changes under "Replace with."

8. Choose to replace the first match, replace all, or find the next.

9. A pop-up will appear when replacements are complete.
   

   

How to Find and Replace in Word on Windows

1. Click "Home," on the top-left side then "Replace" on the top-right side. Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+H.
2. Type the word or phrase you're looking for in the "Find what" box, and the replacement word or phrase in the "Replace with" box.
   

   

3. Word will take you to the first instance of the word or phrase. For each instance, click "Replace" to update the text with your replacement word or "Find Next" to go to the next instance.
   

   

4. To replace all instances of a word or phrase, click "Replace All."