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How to Use Find and Replace in Office

Applies toMicrosoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint — Desktop and Web)
8 min fix Updated 9 Mar 2026 · 6 months ago

By , 10+ years in IT support and helpdesk How these guides are checked

Quick Answer

Press Ctrl + H to open the Find and Replace dialog. Type the word you want to find in the top box, type the new word in the bottom box, and click Replace All to update the whole document.

Checked against Microsoft 365 Roadmap, Office release notes - Current Channel and between 5 Aug 2026 and 12 Sep 2026. Nothing published in that period has been linked to this guide.

Summary ​

Find and Replace lets you search for specific text, formatting, or values and replace them across an entire document or spreadsheet. This article covers the basics and advanced options in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Before You Start ​

  • A Microsoft 365 application (Word, Excel, or PowerPoint).

Instructions ​

1. Open Find and Replace ​

The keyboard shortcut works across all Office apps.

  1. Press Ctrl + H to open the Find and Replace dialog.
    • Alternatively, press Ctrl + F for Find only, then click the Replace tab.
  2. In Word and PowerPoint, the dialog opens directly.
  3. In Excel, the dialog shows Find and Replace with two tabs: Find and Replace.

2. Find and Replace Text in Word ​

Search and replace text throughout your document.

  1. Press Ctrl + H.
  2. In Find what, type the text to search for.
  3. In Replace with, type the replacement text.
  4. Click Find Next to preview the first match.
  5. Click Replace to replace the current match, or Replace All to replace every occurrence. If a Replace All goes wrong and AutoSave has already written the change to OneDrive or SharePoint, see How to Restore a Previous Version of a File in OneDrive.
  6. A dialog confirms how many replacements were made. Click OK.

Advanced options in Word:

  1. Click More >> to expand options.
  2. Enable Match case for case-sensitive searches.
  3. Enable Find whole words only to avoid partial matches.
  4. Use Format button to find/replace specific formatting (e.g., bold text, specific fonts).
  5. Use Special button to find paragraph marks, tabs, or line breaks.

3. Find and Replace in Excel ​

Search within a sheet or the entire workbook.

  1. Press Ctrl + H.
  2. In Find what, type the value or text to search for.
  3. In Replace with, type the replacement value.
  4. Click Options >> to expand search settings:
    • Within: choose Sheet or Workbook.
    • Search: choose By Rows or By Columns.
    • Look in: choose Formulas, Values, or Comments.
    • Match case and Match entire cell contents checkboxes.
  5. Click Replace All or Find Next > Replace for one at a time.

4. Find and Replace in PowerPoint ​

Search across all slides at once.

  1. Press Ctrl + H.
  2. In Find what, type the text to search for.
  3. In Replace with, type the replacement.
  4. Click Replace All to update every slide.
  5. PowerPoint searches text boxes, titles, and notes.

Troubleshooting ​

TIP

In Word, use Format > Style in the Find and Replace dialog to find text with a specific style (e.g., Heading 1) and replace it with another. This is powerful for reformatting documents. It finds nothing if the text was formatted by hand instead of with a style — see Understanding Styles vs Direct Formatting in Word for how to tell the two apart.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
"0 replacements made" but text existsCase mismatch or extra spacesUncheck Match case and Match entire cell contents. Trim extra spaces from the Find field.
Replaces inside words unintentionallyWhole-word matching not enabledIn Word, click More >> and enable Find whole words only. In Excel, enable Match entire cell contents.
Previous formatting still appliedFormat criteria left in Find fieldClick No Formatting at the bottom of the Word Find and Replace dialog to clear format filters.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I replace text but keep the capital letters intact?
In the Find and Replace menu, click 'More >>' (or 'Options' in Excel) and check the box for 'Match case'. This ensures that finding 'Apple' doesn't accidentally replace the lowercase word 'apple'.
Can I find a word and replace it with bold text?
Yes, in Word. Type the word in the Replace box, click 'More >>', click the 'Format' button at the bottom, select 'Font', choose Bold, and then run the replacement.