This article explains how to use the Word batch search and replace function in office software to process keywords in multiple docx documents at one time through regular expression wildcard formulas. In the example, the three capital English abbreviations in multiple Word documents are uniformly replaced with A and the consecutive numbers are uniformly replaced with B, which is suitable for batch modification of numbers, abbreviations, codes and placeholders in contracts, papers, training materials and template documents. The article contains a preview of the effect before and after processing, detailed operation steps and precautions to help users reduce the repeated work of manually finding and replacing Word one by one.
In daily office, many people will encounter similar problems: there are dozens or even hundreds of Word documents in a folder, which are scattered with the same type of keywords, numbers, English abbreviations or placeholders, which need to be replaced uniformly. If you open docx or doc files one by one, and then use Word's own search and replacement, it is not only time-consuming, but also easy to miss. Especially when the replacement is not fixed text, but a regular type of content, such as "three consecutive capital letters", "consecutive numbers" and "some numbering format", ordinary search and replacement is often not flexible enough.
Based on the example in the screenshot, this article describes how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool This kind of office software, through the "find and replace keywords in Word" function, combined with regular expression wildcard formula, batch replace keywords in the contents of multiple Word files. There are 6 docx files in the example. You need to replace the three capital English abbreviations in the document with A and the consecutive numbers with B. Through one configuration, the software can batch process all documents, thus reducing duplication of work and improving the efficiency of document sorting and data standardization.
Application scenario: Which Word documents are suitable for batch replacement with regular expressions
Batch replacement of Word content using a regular expression wildcard formula, suitable for working with "regular but not identical" text. Compared with ordinary fixed keyword replacement, it is more suitable for batch recognition of a class of text. For example,[A-Z]{3}can match three consecutive capital letters,\dYou can match consecutive numbers. In other words, three capital abbreviations such as BOT, ELA and BUD can be recognized by the same formula, and numbers such as 60, 3 and 5 can also be recognized by the same formula.
Common application scenarios include:
- batch replacement english abbreviations:For example, replace department codes, course codes, and project codes in multiple docx documents with new abbreviations.
- Batch Number:For example, page number references, term numbers, amount numbers, course hours, etc. in Word documents are uniformly replaced with placeholders to facilitate desensitization or templating.
- Batch Cleanup Template Placeholder:For example, if there are placeholders such as ABC, DEF, and XYZ in the document, they need to be replaced according to the rules.
- Batch desensitization data:For example, the number, certificate fragments and statistics in multiple Word documents are replaced with uniform characters to facilitate external sharing.
- Batch standardization of legacy documents:For example, convert old codes, old fields, and old numbering rules in multiple doc and docx files to new rules.
If your task is "many Word files need to be changed, and the modified objects have certain rules", then using the batch processing function of office software will be more reliable than manual operation. Manual operations require repeated opening, searching, replacing, and saving, while batch tools can focus these repeated actions into one task.
Effect preview: Word keyword replacement results before and after processing
Before processing: multiple docx files need to be modified uniformly
As can be seen from the cut-off diagram before processing, there are 6 Word documents from 1.docx to 6.docx in the current folder. This kind of scenario is very typical: the number of documents is not necessarily many, but each document needs to implement the same replacement rules. If there are more files, the cost of manual processing will increase rapidly.
After opening one of the documents, you can see that there are multiple contents that need to be processed in the body. For example, in the titleBOT, in the textELA, and60 hoursThe number 60. Some of the contents to be replaced are marked with red arrows in the screenshot, indicating that these contents are scattered in different positions such as titles, body paragraphs, list entries, etc.
If you only use ordinary fixed keyword replacement, you may need to find BOT, ELA, BUD and other abbreviations, and then find 60, 3, 5 and other numbers respectively. This is not only more steps, but also easy to miss. The advantage of regular expressions is that they do not just look for a fixed word, but for a class of text that conforms to the rules.
After processing: the content conforming to the formula is uniformly replaced
The processed screenshots show that the content in the original text that meets the rules has been replaced. For example, three uppercase English letters are replaced with A, and consecutive numbers are replaced with B. The BOT in the title is replaced with A, the ELA in the text is also replaced with A, and the numbers 60, 3, 5, etc. are replaced with B.
This processing method is very suitable for batch desensitization, batch templating and batch standardization. More importantly, the replacement rule only needs to be set once, and multiple Word files will be automatically processed according to the same rule to avoid repeated operations one by one.
Operation steps: HeSoft Doc Batch Tool Batch Replace Word Keywords
Step 1: Enter the Word tool and select "Find and replace keywords in Word"
After opening the software, select from the tool category on the left.Word Tools. For example, add watermarks, delete blanks, convert format, etc. According to the screenshot, the first item needs to be used this time:Find and replace keywords in Word.
The purpose of this step is to enter a process specifically designed to find and replace Word content in batches. For Word files such as docx and doc, as long as the replacement task is for keywords in the body content, this function can be given priority. After selecting this function, the software will enter the wizard processing page and complete the tasks in the order of "select record, set processing options, set save location, and start processing.
Step 2: Add Word files that need to be processed
After entering the function page, the first step is "select the records to be processed". The top right of the page can be seenAdd File,Import files from a folder,Empty,MoreWait for the button. In the screenshot, six docx files have been imported. The list displays information such as serial number, name, path, extension, creation time, and modification time.
If you only need to deal with a small number of specified files, you can click "Add Files" to select one by one. If a folder is full of Word documents to be processed, you can use "Import files from folder", which is more suitable for batch tasks. After the file is added to the list, check whether the name and path are correct and confirm that there is no document that does not need to be processed by mistake. The number of records is displayed at the bottom of the list. The number of records in the screenshot is 6, indicating that 6 files will be processed this time.
The expected result of this step is that all Word documents to be replaced appear in the list with the extension docx. After confirmation, click "Next" at the bottom of the page to enter the processing option settings.
Step 3: Select Formula Fuzzy Search Text and enter the regular expression wildcard
Step 2 is the core of the whole mission. In the "Set keyword options" area, you can see that there are two options in "Find:Find text exactlyandBlur find text with formulas. In this example, you need to use regular expression wildcards to identify a class of text, so select Use Formula Fuzzy Find Text ".
The "list of keywords to find" in the screenshot is filled in with two lines:
- [A-Z]{3}: Used to match three consecutive uppercase English letters, such as BOT, ELA, etc.
- \d: Used to match consecutive numbers, such as 60, 3, 5, etc.
On the right, the "replaced keyword list" corresponds to two lines:
- A: Corresponding to the first row on the left, replace the matching three capital letters with A.
- B: Corresponding to the second row on the left, replace the matching consecutive numbers with B.
Special attention should be paid here to the "row correspondence". The search formula in the first row on the left corresponds to the replacement result in the first row on the right. The search formula in the second row on the left corresponds to the replacement result in the second row on the right. If the order is written in reverse, the replacement result will also change. For example, writing A and B backwards will cause the capital abbreviation to become B and the number to become A.
In addition, there is an option to "ignore the case of letters" in the interface. This option is not checked in the screenshot, so[A-Z]{3}Major matches uppercase letters. If you have both BOT and bot in your document and want to process them together, you can reconsider whether to enable case ignore according to actual needs. The example in this article is set according to the screenshot, and this item is not checked.
Step 4: Set the save location and start processing
After setting the find formula and replacement content, click "Next" to enter "Set Save Location". Although the screenshot does not show the details of the save location page, you can see from the top of the wizard that step 3 is "set save location" and step 4 is "start processing". Generally speaking, when processing Word files in batches, it is recommended to save the processed files to a new folder to avoid directly overwriting the original documents. In this way, even if the formula settings do not meet expectations, you can return to the original file for reprocessing.
After the save location is confirmed, enter "Start Processing". The software will open and process the Word content one by one according to the file list, replacing the text that meets the rules with the corresponding new content. After the processing is completed, open the output file again to see the effect of replacement.
Regular expression formula description: why can replace multiple keywords at once
The key to this example is two formulas:
[A-Z]{3}It can be disassembled and understood:[A-Z] means any capital English letter, and {3} means 3 consecutive occurrences. So it matches any three consecutive uppercase letters. In this way, there is no need to enter BOT, ELA, ABC, XYZ separately, as long as they conform to the "three capital letters" rule, they will be recognized.
\dIt can be understood as:\d represents a number, indicating one or more occurrences. Therefore, consecutive numbers such as 1, 60, and 2026 may be matched. The 60 hours in the screenshot becomes B hours, and page 3 becomes page B, because the number part conforms to the formula.
This type of writing is particularly suitable for dealing with structured text. You can think of regular expressions as "lookup rules" rather than "fixed keywords". When there are a lot of similar but not exactly the same content in the Word document, the formula fuzzy lookup will be more efficient.
Frequently Asked Questions and Precautions
1. Do I need to back up the Word file before replacing it?
Backup is recommended. Once the rules are set incorrectly, multiple docx or doc files may be affected. In order to reduce the risk, it is best to copy a copy of the original file first, or select a new output directory when "setting the save location" instead of directly overwriting the original file.
2. Why are the replacement results inconsistent with expectations?
A common reason is that the regular expression range is too wide. For example, \d will match all consecutive numbers. If there are dates, page numbers, numbers, and amounts in the document, they may be replaced. If you only want to replace a certain type of number, you need to further narrow the formula rules. Before formal batch processing, you can test with a small number of files.
3. Do the keyword lists on the left and right sides have to correspond one by one?
Yes. The list of keywords to find on the left corresponds to the list of keywords after replacement on the right. The content of the first row on the left is replaced by the first row on the right, and the second row corresponds to the second row. When setting up multiple rules, be sure to check the number of rows, order, and content.
4. Can doc and docx be handled in this way?
The file extension in the screenshot of this article is docx. For Word files in daily office, docx is the most common format. If your document is an old version of doc, you can also confirm whether the current function of the software supports the format, or convert it to docx before batch processing.
5. Is it appropriate to replace the entire text?
If what you want to replace is a complete paragraph, there is also the "Find and replace complete paragraphs in Word based on keyword" function in the screenshot. This article is about replacing keywords in the content or short text that conforms to the rules. If the requirement is to delete or replace the entire paragraph, the more matching function should be selected.
Summary: Reduce Word Duplicate Replacement Work with Batch Processing Tools
As you can see from the example in this article, use. HeSoft Doc Batch Tool The "Find and Replace Keywords in Word" function of can replace the regular contents in multiple Word documents at one time. Compared with manually searching and replacing 1.docx, 2.docx, and 3.docx one by one, batch processing is more suitable for office scenarios such as data sorting, template maintenance, content desensitization, and batch standardization.
If your Word file has a large number of abbreviations such as BOT and ELA, or numbers such as 60, 3 and 5, it needs to be replaced according to uniform rules. It is recommended to prepare a backup of the file first, then import the file into the software, select the formula to find the text in fuzzy, fill in the regular expression and replace the content, finally set the save location and start processing. In this way, the original repetitive, tedious and error-prone Word batch replacement tasks can be compressed into a clear and controllable operation process.