How to find and replace text
- Paste your text. Paste the text in the Your text box.
- Enter the two texts. Type the text to look for in Find and the new text in Replace with. Leave Replace with empty to delete the found text.
- Copy the result. The changed text appears in the Result box with the number of replacements. Press Copy to use it.
What is find and replace?
Find and replace is a function that searches a text for a word or phrase and swaps every match for another text. It changes all matches at once, so you do not have to edit them one by one.
This tool does the same in the browser, for any text you paste, without a word processor.
Features
- Replaces every match in the text at once.
- Match case and Whole words only options.
- Regular expressions with groups such as $1 in the replacement.
- Count of the replacements made.
- Delete text by leaving the replacement empty.
The options
| Option | Off | On |
|---|---|---|
| Match case | cat also matches Cat and CAT | cat matches only cat |
| Whole words only | cat also matches the cat inside cats and concat | cat matches only the separate word cat |
| Use a regular expression | The Find text is searched exactly as typed | The Find text is read as a pattern. For example \d+ matches any number |
A regular expression is a pattern that describes text, for example "any digits" or "a word at the start of a line". In this mode, ^ and $ match the start and end of each line, and $1, $2 in Replace with insert the groups you put in brackets.
Why the result may not look right
- Nothing was replaced. Check the spelling and the spaces in Find. With Match case on, capital letters must match too.
- Part of a longer word changed. Tick Whole words only.
- A dot or a bracket matched too much. Use a regular expression is on. In that mode characters such as . * + ? ( ) [ ] have a special meaning. Turn it off to search for them as normal characters.
- An error message appears. The regular expression is not complete, for example a bracket was opened and not closed.
- The text stops growing. The box takes up to 500,000 characters.
Related tools
Three other tools on this site change text in bulk. The text compare tool shows what changed between the old and the new text. The case converter changes capital and small letters. The tool to remove extra spaces cleans spaces without a search pattern.
Is it private?
Yes. The text is changed inside your browser. It is not sent to our server and is not saved by us.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I replace a word in a text online?
- Paste the text, type the word in Find and the new word in Replace with. All matches are replaced at once.
- How do I delete a word everywhere?
- Type the word in Find and leave Replace with empty.
- Does it replace all matches or only the first?
- All matches. The number of replacements is shown above the result.
- Can I use regular expressions?
- Yes. Tick Use a regular expression. Groups in brackets can be used in the replacement as $1, $2 and so on.
- Is the Find and Replace tool free?
- Yes. It is free and you do not need an account.