When multiple PDF files have similar but not completely identical dates, numbers, names, or keywords, opening each file manually to find and replace them is very inefficient and prone to omissions. This article uses batch modification of English months and years in PDFs as an example to introduce how to use the "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF" function of HeSoft Doc Batch Tool . Through formula-based fuzzy search, wildcard rules, and batch file import, you can process multiple PDF files at once, helping office users reduce repetitive operations and improve document batch processing efficiency.
In daily office work, PDF files are often used for formal documents such as contracts, reports, policy documents, project materials, and announcements. The problem is that PDFs are not as easy to edit directly as Word, docx, or doc files. If dozens or even hundreds of PDFs need similar content modified—for example, unifying different months to a specific month, unifying different years to a new year, or uniformly replacing a certain type of number format—it becomes a very time-consuming and repetitive task.
The core problem this article aims to solve is: how to use wildcards or formula rules to batch fuzzy-find and replace keywords in many PDF files. In the example, there are multiple PDF files containing date content similar to "April 13, 2017". We want to not just precisely replace one fixed term, but use rules to match "April or May" and "four-digit years", and then batch replace them with "August" and "2026". This way, even if the months or years are not completely consistent across different PDFs, they can be batch processed using the same set of rules.
The following operation is based on the office software " HeSoft Doc Batch Tool " shown in the screenshots. Its positioning is a document batch processing tool tailored for office scenarios. Its core value lies in consolidating the steps of manually opening, finding, modifying, and saving documents into a single workflow, which is particularly suitable for scenarios with many PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other files.
Applicable Scenarios: Which PDF Content is Suitable for Batch Replacement with Wildcards
Wildcard batch find-and-replace is suitable for processing PDF text that is "regular in pattern but not completely identical". Unlike regular exact find, wildcard or formula fuzzy find can match a class of text, rather than just one fixed string. For example, in this case, the month might be April or May; the year might be 2017, 2024, 2025, or other four-digit numbers. Using rules allows you to match these varying contents in one go and then uniformly replace them.
- Batch modifying dates in PDF reports, for example, uniformly replacing old years with new years.
- Batch replacing company names, department names, or contact names in contracts, agreements, and quotations.
- Batch correcting product models, project numbers, batch numbers, and version numbers in documents.
- Batch processing old keywords across multiple PDF templates, avoiding manual modification file by file.
- When the number of PDFs is large, such as dozens or hundreds of PDFs, batch processing can save significant time.
It should be noted that this article discusses finding and replacing text content within PDF files. If a PDF is a scanned image version and the text itself is not editable text, then whether direct replacement is possible depends on whether the text in the file can be recognized and processed. For standard PDFs with copyable text, the method in this article is more applicable.
Effect Preview: Changes in PDF Keywords Before and After Processing
Before processing, we prepared multiple PDF files, including 1.pdf, 2.pdf, 3.pdf, and 4.pdf in the example. They all require performing the same type of batch find-and-replace operation. If processing them one by one, not only are the steps repetitive, but situations like forgetting to modify a file or missing a certain year are prone to occur.
After opening one of the PDFs, you can see that the date text on the page contains "April 13, 2017". The screenshot uses red boxes to highlight the parts that need replacement: the month "April" and the year "2017". The date in the middle, "13", does not need to be modified, so we only set find-and-replace rules for the month and the four-digit year.
After processing is complete, open the PDF again, and the original "April 13, 2017" has been changed to "August 13, 2026". You can see that "13" in the date remains unchanged, while the month and year have been replaced according to the rules. This is precisely the value of wildcard batch fuzzy find-and-replace: only processing the target content that meets the rules, without needing to manually select each character.
Operation Steps: Using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to Batch Replace PDF Keywords
Step One: Enter the PDF Tool and Select the Find and Replace Function
After opening HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , select "PDF Tools" from the function categories on the left. The main interface will list multiple PDF batch processing functions, such as PDF Add Watermark, PDF to Word, PDF to TXT, etc. According to the needs of this article, you need to select "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF". In the screenshot, this function is located as the first item in the PDF tools list, described as batch finding and replacing keywords within PDF file content.
The purpose of selecting this function is to enter the batch processing workflow specifically designed for PDF text find-and-replace. Unlike a single PDF editor, it does not have users modify files one by one, but instead imports a batch of PDFs first, then sets the find and replace rules uniformly, and finally executes them in batch.
Step Two: Add the Multiple PDF Files to be Processed
After entering the "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF" function, the top of the interface shows the process steps: Select records to process, Set processing options, Set save location, Start processing. The first step is to import files. Screenshots show buttons like "Add File", "Import Files from Folder", "Clear", "More", etc., at the top. For a small number of PDFs, you can use "Add File"; if the PDFs are all in the same folder, you can use "Import Files from Folder".
After importing files, the table below will display information such as sequence number, name, path, extension, creation time, and modification time. In this example, 4 PDF files have been imported, with paths located under the test directory on the D drive. It is recommended to check the number of files and paths after importing to avoid adding PDFs that do not need processing to the task. If extra files are found, they can be removed using the delete operation on the right side of the table.
Step Three: Setting Formula-Based Fuzzy Text Search
After confirming the file list is correct, click "Next" at the bottom to enter "Set processing options". In the "Find Method", the interface provides two options: "Exact Text Find" and "Use Formula Fuzzy Text Find". Since this article deals with content that is not entirely fixed—such as months that could be April or May, and years that are any four-digit numbers—you need to select "Use Formula Fuzzy Text Find".
The "Keyword List to Find" in the screenshot is filled with two rule rows: the first row is "April|May", indicating a match for April or May; the second row is "\d{4}", indicating a match for four digits, commonly used for matching years. The corresponding "Replacement Keyword List" on the right is filled with two rows: the first row is "August", the second row is "2026". This means the software will replace matched April or May with August, and replace matched four-digit years with 2026.
The key here is that the lists on the left and right sides correspond by row. The 1st row on the left corresponds to the 1st row on the right, and the 2nd row on the left corresponds to the 2nd row on the right. If you want to add more replacement rules, you can continue filling in rows, but you must ensure the find rule and the replacement result for each row match correctly. If the replacement content for a row is left empty, the interface prompt also indicates "leaving it blank means deletion", so proceed with caution to avoid accidentally deleting text in the PDF.
Step Four: Continue to Set Save Location and Start Processing
After setting the find and replace rules, continue clicking "Next". According to the process bar, the subsequent steps involve "Set Save Location" and "Start Processing". The save location determines where the processed PDFs will be output. It is recommended not to overwrite the original files directly; outputting to a new folder is better, as this retains the original PDFs as backups. If the processing results are confirmed to have no issues, then decide whether to replace the original files.
Enter the final step and execute the process. The software will process the PDFs one by one according to the imported file list and complete the replacement based on the set fuzzy search rules. After processing is complete, open the output files for spot-checking to confirm whether key fields like months and years have been modified as expected.
Common Questions and Considerations
1. Why use formula fuzzy find instead of exact find?
If the target content in all PDFs is exactly the same, for example, all are "April 13, 2017", exact find can also complete the replacement. However, actual office files often have variations: some files use April, others May; some use 2017, others 2020. In such cases, using formula fuzzy find allows you to match multiple similar contents with a single rule, which is more suitable for batch processing.
2. What do "April|May" and "\d{4}" mean respectively?
"April|May" can be understood as matching April or May; the vertical bar represents "either/or". "\d{4}" can be understood as matching four consecutive digits, so it is commonly used for matching years. Through this method, the software can find content in the text that conforms to the pattern, without requiring the user to list every possible year individually.
3. Will the replacement rules affect the PDF layout?
PDF itself is a fixed-layout file format. The length of the text after replacement may differ from the original text. For example, August is longer than April, so its display position and occupied width on the page may change after replacement. Therefore, after batch processing is complete, it's recommended to at least spot-check several PDFs, focusing on whether elements like titles, tables, headers, and footers display normally.
4. Is backup needed before batch processing?
A backup is strongly recommended. Although batch tools can save a lot of time, if rules are written incorrectly, a batch operation will affect a larger number of files. A safer approach is to first copy a test folder, conduct a trial run with a few PDFs, and confirm the results are correct before processing all files.
Summary: Using Wildcards to Replace PDF Keywords and Reduce Repetitive Work
As seen in this article's example, using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can find and replace similar keywords across multiple PDF files in one go. Compared to opening PDFs one by one for manual modification, wildcard or formula fuzzy find is more suitable for processing regularly varying content such as dates, years, numbers, and names. In this example, the software replaced "April or May" with "August" and four-digit years with "2026" across multiple PDFs, thereby achieving the effect of batch modifying PDF dates.
If you frequently need to process office files like PDFs, docx, doc, xlsx, pptx, and experience a lot of repetitive operations, you can prioritize using batch processing tools to complete them. It is recommended to start by testing rules on a small number of files, and only proceed with batch execution after confirming accuracy. This ensures both accuracy and a significant improvement in office efficiency.