When multiple Word, docx, or doc documents have similar but not identical content, it is very inefficient to open files one by one and delete them manually. This article HeSoft Doc Batch Tool For example, demonstrate how to use the "find and replace keywords in Word" function, use regular expressions to fuzzy match capital abbreviations, numbers and other content, and leave the replacement content blank, so as to realize batch deletion of keywords, suitable for processing template documents, course materials, contract materials and batch cleaning of sensitive fields and other scenarios.
When sorting out a large number of Word documents, you often encounter a situation: the content to be deleted is not a fixed word, but a class of regular text. For example, there are three uppercase English abbreviations, number numbers, class hours, template identification and other contents in the document. Opening docx files one by one to find and delete them is not only time-consuming, but also easy to miss and delete.
This article describes how to use office software" HeSoft Doc Batch Tool ", batch fuzzy delete keywords in multiple Word, docx, and doc documents through regular expressions. The core idea is: use formula fuzzy search text, match a kind of content; After the replacement of the keyword list left blank, let the software will match the content directly deleted.
Applicable Scenarios
this method is suitable for handling Word batch cleaning tasks with regular content but incomplete text. For example:
- batch delete multiple Word documents in the capital abbreviation, such as BOT, ELA and other three English codes;
- batch delete numbers in docx documents, such as class hours, serial numbers, serial numbers, and amount fragments;
- clean up fixed format tags, codes, placeholders in template documents;
- uniform find replace or delete a batch of Word files without opening the files one by one.
Regular expressions are more suitable for fuzzy matching than ordinary "find text exactly. For example, [A-Z]{3} can match 3 consecutive uppercase letters, and \d can match one or more numbers.
Effect Preview: Pre and Post Processing
before processing: multiple docx files need to be cleaned up in a unified way
in the example, six Word documents are to be processed, all in docx format. If you handle it manually, you need to open 1.docx to 6.docx one by one, and then find and delete the contents separately.
When you open one of the documents, you can see that there is something in the body that needs to be cleaned up, such as BOT in the text ELA, and the numbers 60. These contents may not be exactly the same for every document, but they conform to certain rules: three capital letters and consecutive numbers.
After processing: the matched keywords are deleted in batch
after processing is complete, the content that conforms to the regular expression rules has been removed from the Word document. In the example, the three capital abbreviations and numbers are cleaned up, and the document body structure remains.
The advantage of this method is that there is no need to list each specific keyword in advance, as long as the keyword meets the set rules, it can be searched and deleted in batches.
Operation steps: use regular expressions to batch fuzzy delete Word keywords
step 1: Enter the Word tool and select "Find and replace keywords in Word"
open HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , select on the left Word Tools. Locate and click in the feature list "Find and replace keywords in Word". This feature is used to batch find, replace, or delete keywords in the contents of Word files.
After selecting this function, the software will enter the batch wizard page, and then follow the steps to add files, set search rules, set the save location and start processing.
Step 2: Add Word and docx files to be processed
after entering the function page, in step 1 "select the records to be processed", click add File, add the Word document that needs to be processed to the list. If the files are stored in the same folder, you can also use import files from a folder.
After the file is added, the file name, path, extension, creation time, and modification time are displayed in the list. In the example, six docx files have been imported, indicating that these files will participate in subsequent batch search and replace tasks. After confirming that the file is correct, click at the bottom. Next step.
Step 3: Select "Use formula blur to find text"
in Step 2, "Set Processing Options", find "Find". If you want to use a regular expression for fuzzy matching, you should select blur find text with formulas instead of ordinary exact find text.
This step is crucial. After selecting the formula fuzzy search, the software will match the Word content according to the input expression rules, instead of just looking for a fixed word.
Step 4: Fill in the regular expression to be deleted.
on the left list of keywords to find enter the rule to match in. In the example, two rules are entered:
- [A-Z]{3}: matches three consecutive uppercase letters, for example, BOT and ELA;
- \d: Matches one or more consecutive digits, such as 60, 100, 2026.
The right side is list of keywords after replacement. The interface prompts "If you do not fill in, it means delete". Therefore, if the target is to delete the matched content in batches, the replacement list on the right can be left empty.
In other words, the processing logic of this example is to find all the text that matches [A-Z]{3} and \d, and then replace it with empty content to realize deletion.
Step 5: Continue to the next step, set the save location and start processing
after completing the rule settings, click next step. Follow the interface wizard to proceed to the "Set Save Location" and "Start Processing" steps. It is suggested to save the processed files to a new directory, which is convenient to distinguish from the original Word files and to check the results later.
After starting processing, the software will perform the search and replace operation on the added multiple Word documents in turn. After the processing is completed, open the output file to check, you can see that the keywords that meet the rules have been deleted in batches.
Frequently Asked Questions and Precautions
1. The replaced keyword list is empty, why does it mean delete?
In the find replace logic, "replace with empty" is equivalent to deleting the matching content. The right area of the screenshot also prompts "If you do not fill in, it means delete". Therefore, as long as the search rule is filled in on the left and the replacement content is not filled in on the right, batch deletion can be realized.
2. Will regular expressions delete content by mistake?
It would be possible. Regular expressions match a class of rules, not a single fixed word. For example, \d will match all consecutive numbers, and may be deleted if there are numbers, dates, page numbers, amounts, etc. in the document. It is recommended to test with a small number of documents before formal processing.
3. [A-Z]{3} What is appropriate for deletion?
It is suitable for deleting 3 consecutive uppercase English letters, such as BOT, ELA, ABC. If there are other three uppercase abbreviations in the document that also comply with this rule, they will also be deleted. If you only want to delete a few fixed words, you can use more precise rules or ordinary exact search instead.
4. Do I need to check "Ignore the case of letters"?
If you only want to match uppercase letters, it is usually not recommended to check ignore case. Because checking may expand the matching range, resulting in lowercase letter combinations are also recognized. The actual operation should be carefully selected according to the content of the document.
5. Do you need to back up the original file before processing?
Backup is recommended. Batch processing is characterized by affecting multiple files at once, especially regular expression deletion operations. Improper rule setting may cause unnecessary content loss. It is safer to save the results to a new folder.
Summary
use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can convert the deletion work that you originally need to open Word, docx, and doc files one by one into a batch processing task. Through the "find and replace keywords in Word" function, and select "use formula fuzzy find text", you can use regular expressions to match a class of keywords.
If you often need to clean up numbers, abbreviations, template tags, or sensitive fields in a large number of Word documents, you can prepare matching rules first, test them with a small number of files, and execute them in batches after confirming that they are correct. This can not only reduce the duplication of labor, but also significantly improve the efficiency of document finishing.