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How to Find and Replace Text in Word for Mac

By Erin Wright

This tutorial shows two ways to find and replace text in Word for Mac. First, we will look at the basic method. Then, we will look at the advanced method with additional customization options.

Table of Contents:

  • Basic Method to Find and Replace Text
  • Advanced Method to Find and Replace Text

If you want to find and replace text with specific font formatting (e.g., boldness, italics), please see my previous tutorial “How to Find and Replace Font Formatting in Word for Mac.”

Watch all the steps shown here in real time!

Explore more than 200 writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac. These steps will be similar in Word 2021 for Mac, Word 2019 for Mac, and Word 2016 for Mac.

Are you on a PC? Please see “How to Find and Replace Text in Microsoft Word.”

Basic Method to Find and Replace Text in Word for Mac

  1. Select the Edit menu.
Edit menu in Word for Mac
Figure 1. Edit menu
  1. Select Find from the drop-down menu.
Find option in the Edit menu in Word for Mac
Figure 2. Find option
  1. Select Replace from the submenu.
Replace option in the Edit menu in Word for Mac
Figure 3. Replace option
  1. Type the text you want to find in the top text box in the Find and Replace sidebar that will appear on the left side of your screen.
Find text box in the Find and Replace sidebar in Word for Mac
Figure 4. Find text box
Pro Tip: You can also use the keyboard shortcut Control + H to open the Find and Replace sidebar.
  1. (Optional) Select the Options button and then select refinements from the drop-down menu: Whole Word Only, Ignore Case, Sounds Like, or All Word Forms.
Options menu in the Find and Replace sidebar in Word for Mac
Figure 5. Options menu

The search results will be highlighted in the sidebar and in the document.

Highlighted search results in Word for Mac
Figure 6. Highlighted search results
  1. Type the replacement text in the second text box.
Replace text box in the Find and Replace sidebar in Word for Mac
Figure 7. Replace text box
  1. Select the Replace button to make one replacement at a time.
Replace button in the Find and Replace sidebar in Word for Mac
Figure 8. Replace button
  1. (Alternative) Select the Replace All button to replace all the text at once.
Replace All button in the Find and Replace sidebar in Word for Mac
Figure 9. Replace All button
  1. If you selected Replace All, select OK in the dialog box stating how many replacements were made.
Number of replacements dialog box in Word for Mac
Figure 10. OK button
  1. Select the X to close the sidebar.
Closing X in the Find and Replace sidebar in Word for Mac
Figure 11. Closing X

Advanced Method to Find and Replace Text in Word for Mac

  1. Select the Edit menu (see figure 1).
  2. Select Find from the drop-down menu (see figure 2).
  3. Select Advanced Find and Replace from the submenu.
Advanced Find and Replace option in the Edit menu in Word for Mac
Figure 12. Advanced Find and Replace option
  1. Select the Replace tab in the Find and Replace dialog box.
Replace tab in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac
Figure 13. Replace tab
  1. Type the text you want to find in the Find what text box.
Find what text box in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac
Figure 14. Find what text box
  1. Type the replacement text in the Replace with text box.
Replace with text box in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac
Figure 15. Replace with text box
  1. Select the More button to expand the dialog box.
More button in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac
Figure 16. More button
  1. Select a direction option in the Search menu.
    • All searches the entire document.
    • Down searches below your current cursor placement.
    • Up searches above your current cursor placement.
Search menu in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac
Figure 17. Search menu
  1. (Optional) Refine your search with additional options:
    • Match case
    • Find whole words only
    • Use wildcards
    • Sounds like
    • Find all word forms
    • Match prefix
    • Match suffix
    • Ignore punctuation characters
    • Ignore white-space characters
Search options in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac
Figure 18. Search options
  1. Select Find Next to find the next occurrence of the text. Once found, select Replace to make the replacement. (See step 12 for the Replace All option.)
Replace and Find Next buttons in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac
Figure 19. Find Next and Replace buttons
  1. Select the OK button in the dialog box that appears when the search is finished.
OK button in the finished search dialog box in Word for Mac
Figure 20. OK button
  1. (Alternative) Select Replace All to make all the replacements at once.
Replace All button in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac
Figure 21. Replace All button
  1. Select OK in the dialog box reporting how many replacements were made.
OK button in the number of replacements dialog box in Word for Mac
Figure 22. OK button
  1. Select the Close button.
Close button in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word for Mac
Figure 23. Close button

Related Resources

How to Adjust the Space between Words in Word for Mac

How to Add Page Numbers in Word for Mac

Filed Under: Microsoft Word Tagged With: Word for Mac

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