This tutorial shows how to find and replace font formatting in Word for Mac. 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.
Table of Contents:
- How to Find and Replace Font Formatting in the Whole Document
- How to Find and Replace Font Formatting Applied to Specific Text
- Two Tips for Finding and Replacing Font Formatting
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The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac. These steps are 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 Font Formatting Microsoft Word.”
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.
- Select the Edit menu.
- Select Find from the drop-down menu.
- Select Advanced Find and Replace from the submenu.
- Select the Replace tab in the Find and Replace dialog box.
- Insert your cursor into the Find what text box. (Be careful not to type anything.)
- Select the More button.
- Select All in the Search menu.
- Select the Format button.
- Select Font from the drop-down menu.
- Select Bold (or another option) from the Font Style menu in the Find Font dialog box.
- Select the OK button.
The words Font: Bold should appear under the Find what text box.
- Insert your cursor into the Replace with text box. (Be careful not to type anything.)
- Select the Format button (see figure 8).
- Select Font from the drop-down menu (see figure 9).
- Select Regular (or another option) from the Font Style menu in the Replace Font dialog box.
- Select the OK button.
The words Font: Not Bold, Not Italic should appear under the Replace with text box.
- 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.
- If you selected Replace All, select OK in the dialog box telling you how many replacements were made.
- Select the Close button.
Your font formatting should now be replaced.
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.
- Select the Edit menu (see figure 1).
- Select Find from the drop-down menu (see figure 2).
- Select Advanced Find and Replace from the submenu (see figure 3).
- Select the Replace tab in the Find and Replace dialog box (see figure 4).
- Type the text you want to find into the Find what text box.
- Select the More button (see figure 6).
- Select All in the Search menu (see figure 7).
- Select the Format button (see figure 8).
- Select Font from the drop-down menu (see figure 9).
- Select red (or other formatting) from the Font color menu in the Find Font dialog box.
- Select the OK button (see figure 11).
The words Font color: Red should appear under the Find what text box.
- Type the same text (or different text if desired) into the Replace with text box.
- Select the Format button (see figure 6).
- Select Font from the drop-down menu (see figure 7).
- Select green (or another formatting) from the Font color menu in the Replace Font dialog box.
- Select the OK button (see figure15).
The words Font color: Green should appear under the Replace with text box.
- 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 17).
- If you selected Replace All, select OK in the dialog box telling you how many replacements were made (see figure 18).
- Select the Close button to close the Find and Replace dialog box (see figure 19).
The font formatting for the specific text should now be replaced.
Two Tips for Finding and Replacing Font Formatting
Finding and replacing font formatting can be messy. Here are three 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.
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 italic format into the Find what text box and put the bold format into the Replace with text box, Word won’t replace the italic text with bold text as you might expect. Instead, it will add bold to the italic words. But you can still remove the italic format if you do a second replacement sequence, this time replacing the italic format with the Not Italic format option.