Open Find and Replace with the keyboard shortcut

The fastest way to open Find and Replace in Word is to press Ctrl+H on your keyboard. This works in Word on Windows. On a Mac, press Command+H instead. The Find and Replace dialog box will appear on the right side of your screen or as a separate window, depending on your Word version.

If the keyboard shortcut does not work, you can also reach Find and Replace through the menu. Click the Home tab at the top of Word, then look for the Editing group on the right side of the ribbon. Click the dropdown arrow next to Find and select Replace.

Key Takeaways

  • Press Ctrl+H (or Command+H on Mac) to open Find and Replace when ready without using menus.
  • Type the text you want to find in the top field and the replacement text in the bottom field, then click Replace All to change every instance at once.
  • Use Replace instead of Replace All if you want to review each change before Word makes it.
  • The Match Case option lets you find only uppercase or lowercase versions of a word, useful when you need to preserve capitalization.
  • Find and Replace works across your entire document, including headers, footers, and text boxes, unless you select a specific section first.

Type what you want to find and what you want it to become

In the Find what: field, type the exact text you want to search for. This can be a single word, a phrase, or even a string of characters. In the Replace with: field below it, type what you want that text to become. If you want to delete something rather than replace it, leave the Replace with field empty and click Replace All.

For example, if you typed "colour" throughout a document but want to change it to "color", you would type "colour" in the Find field and "color" in the Replace field. Word will then find every instance of "colour" and swap it for "color".

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

Replace All changes every instance of your search term in the document when ready. Use this when you are confident the change is correct everywhere — for instance, fixing a company name that was spelled wrong throughout. Word will tell you how many replacements it made.

Replace (without the "All") changes only the current instance that Word has found and highlighted. After you click Replace, Word moves to the next match so you can decide whether to replace that one too. Use this method when you need to review each change — for example, if you are replacing a common word like "run" and want to make sure the context is right each time.

You can also click Find Next to move through your document without replacing anything, which is useful if you just want to locate something rather than change it.

Use Match Case to find only the exact capitalization you need

By default, Find and Replace ignores whether letters are uppercase or lowercase. If you search for "john", Word will find "John", "JOHN", and "john" all the same way. When you need to find only a specific capitalization, check the Match Case box before you search.

This is helpful when you want to preserve how names or acronyms are written. For instance, you might want to replace "iPhone" with "iPhone 15" but leave "iphone" (if it appears in lowercase somewhere) untouched. Checking Match Case ensures Word only finds the exact version you specified.

Expand options to search for whole words or use wildcards

Click More or Options (the label varies by Word version) to reveal additional search tools. The Find whole words only checkbox tells Word to match your search term only when it stands alone, not as part of a longer word. For example, searching for "cat" with this box checked will find "cat" but not "catalog" or "scatter".

Advanced users can also use wildcards or regular expressions to search for patterns rather than exact text. These options are in the same expanded menu. Wildcards let you use symbols like ? (any single character) or * (any number of characters) in your search. Regular expressions work similarly but follow a more complex syntax. Most everyday replacements do not need these tools, but they are there if you are working with structured text or need to find variations of a term.

Search only part of your document by selecting it first

By default, Find and Replace searches your entire document from the current cursor position forward. If you want to limit the search to a specific section, select that text before you open Find and Replace. Word will then search only within your selection.

This is useful when you are working on a particular chapter or section and do not want to risk changing text elsewhere. After you close Find and Replace, the selection remains highlighted so you can see what area was affected.

Undo a Replace All if you change your mind

If you click Replace All and when ready realize you made a mistake, press Ctrl+Z (or Command+Z on Mac) to undo all the replacements at once. Word will reverse every change that Replace All made, restoring your document to how it was before.

This undo works only if you do it right away, before you make other edits. If you have made other changes since the replacement, undoing will reverse those too. For this reason, it is a good habit to use Replace (one at a time) instead of Replace All when you are unsure, so you can catch mistakes as they happen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I search for line breaks or paragraph marks?

Yes. In the Find what field, you can type special characters. To find a paragraph mark, type ^p. To find a line break (created by Shift+Enter), type ^l (that is a lowercase L). To find a tab, type ^t. You can use these in the Replace with field too — for example, replacing a paragraph mark with a tab to reformat text.

What if Find and Replace does not find the text I know is there?

Check whether Match Case is turned on and your capitalization matches exactly. Also verify that you have not accidentally included extra spaces before or after your search term. If the text is in a header, footer, or text box, make sure your cursor is in the main document body — Find and Replace sometimes needs you to be in the right section to search it.

Can I use Find and Replace in a table?

Yes. Find and Replace works in tables the same way it works in regular text. Click anywhere in the table and open Find and Replace as usual. Word will search the entire table and replace text in any cell.

Does Find and Replace work across multiple documents?

No. Find and Replace works only in the document you currently have open. If you need to make the same change in multiple files, you must open each one and run Find and Replace separately.