How to Find and Replace in Word | Step by Step Guide

Have you ever tried to print out a multiple page document, only to discover that you had misspelled someone’s name throughout it? Not to worry: Word offers a feature on both Windows and macOS devices that can find any word or phrase in a document, then swap it with replacement text.

In this step-by-step guide, you will learn:

How to find text in Word on a macOS device

Finding a specific word or phrase in a Word document is half the battle when attempting to use the “Find and Replace” tool. There are two methods that may be used to find text in Microsoft Word on a macOS device:

Method 1: Use the Keyboard shortcut

1. To find a word or phrase, simply press Command + F on your keyboard.

Method 2: Use the Search Bar

1. Place your cursor at the top of your Mac screen, then click the “Edit” button from the top toolbar.

2. Next, select “Find” from the drop down menu.

3. Lastly, type the word or phrase you would like to find in the search bar (located at the top right corner of the screen) and press the “Return” button on your keyboard. This will pull up all instances of the specific word or phrase you wish to find throughout the entire document.

With this method, you must navigate to the “Edit” tab > “Find,” then search the text you wish to find in the search bar (Note: All source images are from a personal Word account)

How to replace text in Word on macOS

Microsoft Word’s “Find and Replace” tool allows users to quickly locate specific words or phrases and replace them throughout a document, no matter the document’s length. Follow these quick steps to easily find and replace text on your macOS device:

1. In the search field at the upper right corner of the document, type the text you would like to find.

Type the text you would like to replace in the search bar at the top right corner of the screen

2. Click the magnifying glass on the search bar.

Click the magnifying glass on the search bar at the top right corner of the screen

3. Select “Replace” from the drop down menu to open the “Find and Replace” pane.

Shortcut: Press CTRL + H on your keyboard to open the “Find and Replace” pane

4. In the “Replace with” text field on the left side of the screen, type the replacement text.

Type the replacement in the text field on the “Find and Replace” pane

5. Similar to on a Windows device, select “Replace” to swap out the text for a specific instance, or select “Replace All” to replace all instances that this text occurs at once.

Select the “Replace” or the “Replace All” button to replace the selected text

How to find text in Word on a Windows device

To quickly search for a word or phrase in Word on a Windows device, follow these easy steps:

1. Navigate to the “Home” tab.

2. Under the “Editing” group, click the “Find” button to reveal the “Navigation” pane.

Once the “Find” button is clicked, the navigation pane will appear on the right side of the screen (Source)

3. Once the navigation pane is open, select the text field labelled “Search document” and type the word or phrase you would like to search for.

4. Press enter to confirm. Once your search criterion has been confirmed, all matching text will be displayed in the “Navigation” pane.

5. Click the bolded text in the “Navigation” pane. The Word document will highlight (and jump to) the location of the selected text.

Select the bolded text from the “Navigation” pane and the Word document will highlight the text and jump to its location (Source)

How to replace text in Word on a Windows device

Finding and replacing text on a Windows device is a slightly different process than finding and replacing text on a macOS device. If you are using a Windows device, follow these simple steps to quickly find and replace misspelled words and phrases in Microsoft Word:

1. On the Home tab, select the “Replace” button or press CTRL + H on your keyboard.

Select the replace button to navigate to the “Find and Replace” pane (Source)

2. Type the text you would like to locate in the “Find” text entry field.

3. Type your new text in the “Replace” text entry field.

4. Click the “Find Next” button until you locate the text that needs to be replaced.

5. Select “Replace” to swap out the text for a specific instance, or select “Replace All” to replace all instances that this text occurs at once.

Prioritize productivity in your document creation

It is crucial for businesses to streamline digital documentation processes whenever applicable. Finding and replacing text in Word is just one of many ways to avoid the time consuming task of manually correcting misspellings and other textual errors in important documents. For more ways to ensure your organization’s employees have the knowledge required to produce quality deliverables in a timely manner, check out this article on using LMS software to improve knowledge retention.