How To Replace Words In Microsoft Word?

If you're reading this then I assume that you have already searched for "How to replace words in Microsoft Word" because you want to know how to do that. If that is the case, you've come to the right place! Now, I'm not saying that this is going to be an easy job, so if you think that it will be then you're wrong.

Typing a document can be tasking, especially when you are thinking at the same time. Some decisions made can be changed suddenly, and the next thing you know, you’ll be having a hard time finding that certain word and replacing it.

Good thing that Microsoft Word has a feature wherein you can replace a certain word or all words used with another word or the same word with different case and font.

Importance of Replacing Words

it’s common to make mistakes upon typing. However, certain mistakes are discovered without proofreading yet such as the wrong name or wrong language used for a specific word. It is such a momentum-stopper, and for that, you need the “Replace” feature.

These are the many benefits of using this feature:

1. You can avoid finding a specific word manually.
2. You can change the selected words or phrases all at once.
3. You can change the font style and letter case of that certain word or phrase.

How to Replace Words?

To utilize the feature, you can follow the steps below:

For Windows

1. Locate the “Replace” option at the MS Word window at the upper-right portion under the “Home” tab.
   
2. If you want to access the feature using the shortcut keys, press “Ctrl” and “F” simultaneously. The “Navigation” pane will appear on the left side of the window. Beside the magnifying glass icon of the “Search Document”, click the arrow down and select “Replace.”
   
3. A dialogue box will appear. There are 3 tabs: Find, Replace, and Go To. Select the “Replace” tab.
4. Refer to Red #1 on the figure. That slot is for finding the word or phrase you want to replace. On the Red #2, the slot is for the replacement word or phrase. Input the words accordingly. Note that the feature is not initially set to be case-sensitive.
   
5. You can replace the word one at a time using the “Replace” button and clicking the “Find Next” (refer to Red #3), or you can replace all words matching the words you are looking for using the “Replace All” button.
6. Notice the image below how the first word “Williams” in the sample document is being replaced with “Billingsky” while the rest of the “Williams” of the document are not yet replaced. This is because the “Replace All” button was not used. If you are contented with just a single change, then you can click “Cancel” or simply click the exit button.
7. If you want specific replacements such as symbols and considerations for the front and case style, click on the “More >>” button. An extension of the dialogue box will appear. However, for this article, to simplify things, we will highlight the direct replacement of words only.
   

For macOS

1. Locate the search box at the upper-right corner of the Word document. Type the words that you are looking to replace with.
   
2. Click the magnifying glass icon and choose “Replace…”
   
3. You can choose whether to do a single replacement with “Replace” or replace all matched words with “Replace All.”

Summary: Replace words in Microsoft Word

• Open Microsoft Word.
• Click on the 'File' tab in the upper toolbar and select 'Options' from the drop-down menu.
• In the left-hand column of the Options window, click on 'Advanced.'
• Scroll down to a section titled 'Editing Options' and put a checkmark in the box next to 'Typing replaces selection.'
• Click 'OK' at the bottom of the window to save your changes.
•  Now, when you highlight an old word in your document and type over it, it will replace it with your new word.

Conclusion

You can explore the extent of the possibilities of the “Replace” feature. It is so convenient, especially when you are making dozens and dozens of pages already. You can even incorporate it as an instant correcting tool for your document contents.