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2.7: Finding and Replacing Text

  • Page ID
    14289
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    A document can be automatically searched for a specific character, word or phrase. Choosing the Find command on the Home tab will open the Navigation pane where search text can be entered. Matches will be displayed in the pane and highlighted in the document.

    Similarly, the Find and Replace feature allows users to make mass edits to a document. For example, a user might want to substitute the words teacher with trainer throughout a long document. Using the Replace command found in the Editing group of the Home tab, a user can choose to find and review or replace each occurrence individually or replace all occurrences in one step.

    The Advanced Find features are similar to the Find and Replace Search Options. To make the search more specific, Word allows users to define criteria, such as Match case or Find whole words only. These options will narrow the scope of returned results. For example, with the Match case check box selected, the text Mark will not be found if the word mark is entered as the search criteria. Conversely, the use of Wildcard characters will increase the search results. An asterisk character will allow any characters to be substituted. Therefore, check* will find checks, checked or checking.


    This page titled 2.7: Finding and Replacing Text is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Marcus Lacher (Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.