How to use the find and replace
- Paste your text into the input box.
- Enter the text to find and the replacement.
- Tick case-insensitive or regular expression if needed.
- Check the replacement count, then copy the result.
Plain text and regular expressions
By default the search text is matched literally, so special characters such as . and ? are treated as ordinary characters. Tick Regular expression to use patterns: \s+ matches runs of whitespace, \d{3} matches three digits, and (\w+)@(\w+) captures parts you can reuse with $1 and $2 in the replacement.
An invalid pattern shows an error instead of changing your text. Case-insensitive matching ignores capitalisation in the search.
Editing tasks that suit it
- Swapping a term across a long document, such as replacing a company name.
- Removing a character, such as every comma, by leaving the replacement blank.
- Turning a list into a comma-separated line by replacing
\nwith,. - Varying an over-used word identified with the Word Frequency Counter.
Afterwards, tidy spacing with Remove Extra Spaces and recount with the Word Counter.
Frequently asked questions
Is the search case-sensitive?
By default yes. Tick case-insensitive to ignore case.
Can I use capture groups?
Yes, with regular expressions: $1, $2 and so on in the replacement.
Does it change the original?
No. The result appears in a separate box.