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Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Find and Replace Font Formatting in Microsoft Word

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Cutout newspaper letters with text overlay "How to Find and Replace Font Formatting in Microsoft Word"This tutorial shows how to find and replace font formatting in Microsoft Word. Font formatting includes style (i.e., italics or bold font), color, size, and underlining.

First, we will find and replace font formatting in the whole document. Then, we will find and replace font formatting applied to specific text. We will close with two important tips for finding and replacing font formatting.

For a full tutorial about working with fonts, please see “How to Change the Font, Font Size, and Font Color in Microsoft Word.”

Table of Contents:

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The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word 2021, Word 2019, and Word 2016.

Are you on a Mac? Please see “How to Find and Replace Font Formatting in Word for Mac.”

How to Find and Replace Font Formatting in the Whole Document

For this example, we will replace all bold text with regular text. Please modify these steps according to your own needs.

  1. Select the Home tab in the ribbon.
Home tab in Word 365
Figure 1. Home tab
  1. Select Replace in the Editing group.
Replace button in Word 365
Figure 2. Replace button
  1. Insert your cursor into the Find what text box in the Find and Replace dialog box.
Find what text box in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 3. Find what text box
  1. Select the More button.
More button in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 4. More button
  1. Select All in the Search menu.
All option in the Search menu in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 5. Search All option
  1. Select the Format button.
Format button in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 6. Format button
  1. Select Font from the drop-down menu.
Font option in the Format menu in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 7. Font option
  1. Select Bold (or another option) from the Font Style menu in the Find Font dialog box.
Bold option in the Font Style menu in the Find Font dialog box in Word 365
Figure 8. Bold option
  1. Select the OK button.
Ok button in the Find Font Dialog Box in Word 365
Figure 9. OK button

The words Font: Bold should appear under the Find what text box.

Find What text box format in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 10. Find what format
  1. Insert your cursor into the Replace with text box.
Replace With text box in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 11. Replace with text box
  1. Select the Format button (see figure 6).
  2. Select Font from the drop-down menu (see figure 7).
  3. Select Regular (or another option) from the Font Style menu in the Replace Font dialog box.
Font style menu in the Replace Font dialog box in Word 365
Figure 12. Regular option
  1. Select the OK button.
OK button in the Replace Font dialog box in Word 365
Figure 13. OK button

The words Font: Not Bold, Not Italic should appear under the Replace with text box.

Replace with format in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 14. Replace with format
  1. Select the Replace All button to make all the replacements at once. Or, select the Find Next and Replace buttons to make one replacement at a time.
Replace, Replace All, and Find Next button in the Find and Replace Dialog Box in Word 365
Figure 15. Replace, Replace All, and Find Next buttons
  1. If you selected Replace All, select OK in the dialog box telling you how many replacements were made.
OK button in the replacement dialog box in Word 365
Figure 16. OK button
  1. Select the Close button.
Close button in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 17. Close button

The font formatting should be replaced in your document.

How to Find and Replace Formatting Applied to Specific Text

For this example, we will find specific text formatted in red and replace that same text with green formatting. Please modify these steps according to your own needs.

  1. Select the Home tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
  2. Select Replace in the Editing group (see figure 2).
  3. Type the text you want to find into the Find what text box.
Find what text box with text in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 18. Find what text box with text
  1. Select the More button (see figure 4).
  2. Select All in the Search menu (see figure 5).
  3. Select the Format button (see figure 6).
  4. Select Font from the drop-down menu (see figure 7).
  5. Select red (or other formatting) from the Font color menu in the Find Font dialog box.
Font Color menu in the Find Font dialog box in Word 365
Figure 19. Font color menu
  1. Select the OK button (see figure 9).

The words Font color: Red should appear under the Find what text box.

Find what format in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 20. Find what format
  1. Type the same text (or different text if desired) into the Replace with text box.
Replace with text box with text in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 21. Replace with text box with text
  1. Select the Format button (see figure 6).
  2. Select Font from the drop-down menu (see figure 7).
  3. Select green (or another formatting) from the Font color menu in the Replace Font dialog box.
Font color menu in the Replace Font dialog box in Word 365
Figure 22. Font color menu
  1. Select the OK button (see figure 13).

The words Font color: Green should appear under the Replace with text box.

Replace with text box format in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 23. Replace with format
  1. Select the Replace All button to make all the replacements at once. Or, use the Find Next and Replace buttons to make one replacement at a time (see figure 15).
  2. If you selected Replace All, select OK in the dialog box telling you how many replacements were made (see figure 16).
  3. Select the Close button to close the Find and Replace dialog box (see figure 17).

The font formatting should be replace for the specific text in your document.

Two Tips for Finding and Replacing Font Formatting

Finding and replacing font formatting can be messy. Here are two tips to consider before your next formatting session.

Tip 1: Use the No Formatting Button to Clear Formatting

When you add formatting to the Find and Replace dialog box, Word will normally keep that selection in the dialog box until you close the software. If you want to clear previously selected formatting from the Find and Replace dialog box before closing the software, place your cursor in the affected text box (Find what or Replace with) and then select the No Formatting button.

No Formatting button in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365
Figure 24. No Formatting button

Tip 2: Experiment with Multiple Replacement Sequences

Occasionally, the formatting options entered into the Replace with text box don’t replace the options in the Find what text box; instead, they are added to the options in the Find what text box. When this occurs, experiment with multiple replacement sequences to reach the formatting you need.

For example, if you put the bold format into the Find what text box and put the italic format into the Replace with text box, Word won’t replace the bold text with italic text as you might expect. Instead, it will add italics to the bold words. But you can still remove the bold format if you do a second replacement sequence, this time replacing the bold format with the Not Bold format option.

Related Resources

How to Use the Format Painter in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)

How to Find and Replace Special Characters in Microsoft Word

Updated December 03, 2022