In multiple PDFs, dates, years, months, or numbers often have similar formats but different content. Manually modifying them one by one is inefficient and prone to omissions. This article focuses on the scenario of batch fuzzy search and replace in PDFs, demonstrating how to import multiple PDFs in HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , select "Use formula to fuzzy find text," match months and years with rules like April|May and \d{4}, and then uniformly replace them with August and 2026, helping users quickly complete batch keyword modifications in multiple PDF files.
Many office workers encounter this problem: in the same batch of PDF reports, PDF notices, or PDF archived materials, the dates, years, project numbers, and institution names need to be uniformly updated. A single PDF can be manually opened and processed, but if the number of files increases to a dozen or dozens, finding and replacing them one by one will take up a lot of time. What's more troublesome is that the content in the PDFs may not be completely consistent. Some files may say April, while others may say May, and the years may also be different four-digit numbers. At this time, using only ordinary exact search often requires multiple setups, which is not very efficient.
This article introduces a more suitable approach for batch office tasks: using wildcards or formulas for fuzzy search to batch find and replace keywords in multiple PDF files. The example goal is to uniformly update the month and year in PDF dates. Before processing, the PDF displays "April 13, 2017"; after processing, it becomes "August 13, 2026". The entire process is completed using the " HeSoft Doc Batch Tool " shown in the screenshots. It is a batch processing software for office documents, suitable for reducing repetitive file operations and improving the processing efficiency of PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other documents.
Applicable Scenario: Batch Updating PDF Dates, Numbers, and Names
The value of fuzzy search with wildcards lies in its ability to handle texts that have "regular formats but varying content". Take dates as an example. The date structure in many PDFs is the same, being "Month + Day + Year", but the month and year are not necessarily identical. Manually searching for April, May, 2017, 2020 one by one would be very tedious, but using rules allows you to match multiple possible values at once.
Common applicable scenarios include:
- Batch replacing old years with new years in PDFs, such as changing different four-digit years uniformly to 2026.
- Batch replacing English month names or Chinese month names with a specified month uniformly.
- Batch replacing Party A's name, Party B's name, or company abbreviations in PDF contracts.
- Batch processing report numbers, project numbers, and version numbers, such as matching consecutive numbers or fixed-format numbers.
- Batch modifying repetitive fields like departments, dates, and batches in archived PDFs.
If your files are Word documents, you can also consider a similar batch find-and-replace approach, though the function entry might be within Word tools; this article's example focuses on PDF files and is suitable for extending to batch processing tasks for pdf, PDF reports, PDF data packs, etc.
Effect Preview: From Multiple PDFs to Unified Replacement Results
First, let's look at the file preparation before processing. In the screenshot, there are 4 PDFs in the same folder: 1.pdf, 2.pdf, 3.pdf, and 4.pdf. If such files were to be opened and edited individually, it would at least require repeating actions like open, find, replace, save, and close. The more files there are, the more obvious the repetitive labor becomes.
Opening one of the pre-processed PDFs, we can see the date on the page is "April 13, 2017". The "April" and "2017" marked with a red box are the target content for this batch find and replace. One detail here: the "13" in the middle does not need to be changed, so you cannot simply replace the entire date string. Instead, you should match the month and year separately.
After processing, viewing the PDF again shows the date has become "August 13, 2026". The month changed from April to August, the year from 2017 to 2026, while the day "13" in the middle is kept unchanged. This indicates that the batch replacement rules took effect and only replaced the target parts we specified.
Operation Steps: Batch Fuzzy Find and Replace Keywords in PDFs
Step 1: Enter the Find and Replace Function in the PDF Tool
After starting HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , first select "PDF Tools" from the left side. On the PDF tools page, you can see multiple batch processing functions related to PDFs. The function needed for this article is "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF", which is described as "Batch find and replace keywords in PDF file content".
The purpose of this step is to find the correct batch processing entry. Many users are accustomed to opening files with a PDF reader and then looking for editing functions, but readers are more suitable for viewing single files. If you need to process multiple PDFs at once, entering a dedicated batch tool will be more efficient and also more convenient for uniformly managing the file list and replacement rules.
Step 2: Import the PDF Files Needing Unified Modification
After entering the function, the processing flow appears at the top of the interface. You are currently at step 1, "Select Records to Process". On the top right, you can see operations like "Add Files", "Import Files from Folder", "Clear", and "More". If the number of PDFs is small, you can add files manually; if multiple PDFs are centrally stored in one directory, importing from the folder is recommended to reduce the time spent selecting files one by one.
After the import is complete, the table will list the file name, path, extension, creation time, and modification time. In this example, there are 4 records, named 1.pdf through 4.pdf, all with the extension pdf. At this point, you should first confirm whether the file list is correct, especially whether the path refers to the target folder. If other PDFs were mistakenly imported, you can delete them using the operation column; if there are many errors in the list, you can also use "Clear" and re-import.
Step 3: Select "Use Formula for Fuzzy Text Search"
After confirming the PDF list, click "Next" at the bottom to enter "Set Processing Options". In the "Search Method" area, the interface has two radio button options: "Exact Text Search" and "Use Formula for Fuzzy Text Search". In this example, we need to match multiple possible months and any four-digit year, so "Use Formula for Fuzzy Text Search" is selected.
If you select Exact Text Search, it is typically suitable for situations where the target content is completely identical, such as when all files only need "April" replaced with "August". But when you want to match April or May, or match all four-digit years, you should use the formula fuzzy search. This method is more like describing the target text with rules, suitable for batch processing of varying content.
Step 4: Fill in Search Rules and Replacement Content
In the "Keyword List to Find" on the left, the example fills in two lines: line 1 "April|May", line 2 "\d{4}". Among them, "April|May" means match April or May; "\d{4}" means match consecutive 4-digit numbers, commonly used for years. In the "Replacement Keyword List" on the right, line 1 is filled with "August" and line 2 with "2026" correspondingly.
The meaning of this set of rules is very clear: wherever the PDF text matches April or May, replace it with August; wherever a four-digit year number is matched, replace it with 2026. Because the left and right sides correspond row by row, you must maintain consistent order when filling in. If the order is reversed on the right side, it could lead to months being replaced with years, or years being replaced with months.
You can also see the additional option "Ignore Letter Case" on the interface. In the screenshot, this option is not checked. If your PDF might contain April, APRIL, april, etc., in different cases, you can decide whether to enable it based on actual needs. The case of the target text in this article's example is fixed, so no additional check is needed.
Step 5: Set Save Location and Execute Processing
After the rule setup is complete, click "Next" to continue. The flow bar shows that "Set Save Location" and "Start Processing" are the subsequent steps. The save location is very important. It is recommended to output the processed PDFs to a new folder instead of overwriting the original files. This way, even if you find a rule mistake, you can go back to the original PDFs and re-process, avoiding irreversible batch errors.
After the process starts, the software will process each PDF sequentially according to the file list. After completion, it's recommended to open several output files for inspection, focusing on positions like dates, numbers, titles, headers, and footers. If the example "April 13, 2017" has turned into "August 13, 2026", it means the fuzzy find and replace rules have achieved the expected effect.
Common Issues and Notes
Will the formula rule match numbers that shouldn't be replaced?
This is possible. For instance, "\d{4}" will match four-digit numbers. If there are four-digit numbers besides years in the PDF, they might also be matched. Therefore, exercise special caution when using broad rules. A safer approach is to test with a small number of files first, confirm that no incorrect replacements occur, and then process all the PDFs in batch.
Why might the text position look different after replacement?
PDF is a layout document, and changes in text length can affect the display effect. For example, August has more characters than April, so it takes up more space after replacement. If the original space is very tight, visual spacing changes might occur. Therefore, after batch processing, you should spot-check the page layout, especially in tables, headers, cover pages, etc.
Can multiple lines be filled in the left and right lists?
Yes. As seen in the screenshot, the find list and replace list support multi-line input. Each line represents a set of corresponding relationships. The 1st line on the left corresponds to the 1st line on the right, and the 2nd line on the left corresponds to the 2nd line on the right. When filling in multiple lines, it is advisable to organize the rules first to avoid missing lines or misalignment.
What preparations need to be made before processing?
It is recommended to first consolidate the PDFs needing processing into a single folder, keeping file names clear; then make a backup copy of the folder; finally, test the process with 1 or 2 PDFs. After confirming the effect is correct, import all PDFs to execute the batch task. This workflow can balance efficiency and security.
Summary: Turning PDF Keyword Replacement from Manual Operation into a Batch Workflow
Unified replacement of dates in multiple PDFs seems like just a simple modification of a few words, but when the number of files increases and the content varies, manual processing becomes very inefficient. Through HeSoft Doc Batch Tool 's "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF" function, you can first batch import PDFs, then use "Use Formula for Fuzzy Text Search" to set wildcard rules, and finally output the processed results uniformly.
This article's example uses "April|May" to match months and "\d{4}" to match four-digit years, replacing them with "August" and "2026" respectively. This method is not only suitable for dates but also for patterns in texts like numbers, names, and version numbers. It is recommended to back up files and conduct a small-scale test before formal batch processing, and execute for all PDFs only after confirming accuracy, thereby significantly improving office efficiency while ensuring accuracy.