This article introduces how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool . Through the "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF" function, you can perform wildcard-based fuzzy search and batch replacement across multiple PDF files. In the example, English months and four-digit years in multiple PDFs are replaced with new content. This is suitable for batch revision scenarios involving PDF documents such as contracts, reports, notices, and archives, helping users reduce the repetitive work of opening files one by one and searching and modifying page by page.
In daily office work, PDF files are often used for archiving, circulation, and external distribution. The challenge is that manually adjusting identical or similar dates, numbers, project names, company names, or personnel names across multiple PDFs can be highly inefficient. For example, consider a batch of PDF reports where the cover date was originally "April 13, 2017" and now needs to be uniformly changed to "August 13, 2026". If you have to open, search, locate, replace, and save each PDF individually, it is not only time-consuming but also prone to oversights.
This article addresses this type of problem: how to use the office software " HeSoft Doc Batch Tool " to perform a batch find and replace of keywords in multiple PDF files at once, using wildcards or formula-based fuzzy search. Its core value lies in batch processing files, delegating repetitive manual tasks to the software, which is particularly suitable for administrative, legal, project, financial, and archive management scenarios requiring the simultaneous handling of dozens or hundreds of PDF documents.
Applicable Scenarios: Which PDF content is suitable for batch find and replace using wildcards
Standard PDF keyword replacement typically requires the search content to be completely identical. However, in actual documents, much of the content is not fixed text but follows certain patterns. For example, months might be April or May; years might be four-digit numbers like 2017, 2020, or 2026; contract numbers may contain different serial numbers; and report numbers might vary slightly between files. In such cases, using wildcards or formula-based fuzzy search is more suitable.
As shown in the screenshots, this case involves processing multiple PDF files named 1.pdf, 2.pdf, 3.pdf, and 4.pdf. Before processing, these PDFs contained date text that needed replacing, with the month and year being the primary targets. By "using formula-based fuzzy text search," content with patterns can be identified in bulk and then replaced sequentially with new keywords.
Common applicable scenarios include:
- Batch modifying dates on PDF report covers, such as uniformly replacing old months and years with new dates.
- Batch replacing company names, project names, department names, or personnel titles in PDF contracts.
- Batch processing PDF files with numbering patterns, such as report numbers, notice numbers, or archive numbers.
- Performing unified text revisions on a batch of scanned and organized PDFs to reduce the workload of searching file by file.
- Uniformly correcting old keywords in documents before archiving to ensure content consistency across multiple PDFs.
It is important to note that this article focuses on finding and replacing keywords within the content of PDF files, not batch renaming PDF files. If your goal is to change file names, you should select file-name-related tools; if the goal is to modify text on the pages or in the body of the PDF, you can use the PDF tool introduced in this article.
Effect Preview: Multiple PDFs containing old keywords before processing
From the file list before processing, you can see that the pending directory contains multiple PDF files, including 1.pdf, 2.pdf, 3.pdf, and 4.pdf in the example. If such a batch of files were processed individually, the workload would increase rapidly with the number of files.
After opening one of the PDFs, you can see the date content on the page that needs to be replaced. The screenshot highlights "April" and "2017" in red boxes, indicating that the task is not about replacing an entire fixed text block, but specific keywords within the date. The month likely needs replacing from the old month to a new one, and the year from the old year to a new one.
If you only need to replace a single fixed word, an exact search can be used directly. But if you want to identify multiple possible months at once or match four-digit years, a more flexible fuzzy search method is needed. The operational logic in the screenshot involves using a formula similar to a wildcard to search for "April or May," and then using a formula to match four-digit years, enabling more flexible batch replacement.
Effect Preview: PDF keywords batch replaced after processing
After the process is complete, opening the PDF again reveals that the original date content has changed. In the example, "April" has been replaced with "August," and "2017" with "2026," resulting in the date on the page becoming "August 13, 2026."
This outcome demonstrates that the software does not just perform a replacement on a single PDF, but treats multiple PDFs added to the task list as a batch. For tasks like batch modifying PDF keywords, batch replacing PDF dates, and batch revising PDF content, this approach significantly reduces repetitive operations.
Operation Steps: Using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch replace PDF keywords
Step 1: Enter the PDF tool and select the Find and Replace function
After opening HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , select "PDF Tools" in the left-hand tool category. In the PDF tools list, find "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF". In the screenshot, this function is listed as the first item in the PDF tools, with a description indicating batch find and replace of keywords in PDF file content.
The purpose of this step is to enter a processing workflow specifically designed for PDF content find and replace. For office software, having a clear functional entry point is crucial because different tasks target different objects: some deal with file names, others with folder names, or Word, Excel, PowerPoint files. This article deals with PDF body content, so you should select the corresponding function under PDF tools.
Step 2: Add the PDF files to be processed
After entering the "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF" function, the interface will guide you through a wizard-style processing workflow. The first step is "Select the records to process". In the upper right corner, you can see buttons such as "Add Files", "Import Files from Folder", "Clear", and "More". The example has already imported four PDF files, and the table displays information like sequence number, name, path, extension, creation time, and modification time.
If you have a small number of PDFs to process, you can select them individually via "Add Files"; if all files are in the same folder, using "Import Files from Folder" is more suitable for batch processing. After importing, you should check the file names and paths in the list to ensure no files are missed or incorrectly selected. The screenshot shows 4 records, indicating the current task will process 4 PDF files.
Once the file list is confirmed, click the "Next" button at the bottom to proceed to setting up the keyword find and replace rules.
Step 3: Choose to use formula-based fuzzy text search
Upon entering the second step, "Set processing options", you can see the "Set keyword options" section. Under "Search mode", the interface offers "Exact text search" and "Use formula-based fuzzy text search". Since this article's goal is to perform batch fuzzy search using wildcards or formulas, you need to select "Use formula-based fuzzy text search".
This step is critical. Exact search is suitable for replacing completely identical fixed content, like changing "ABC Company" to "XYZ Company". Formula-based fuzzy search is suitable for handling patterned but not completely fixed content, such as multiple possible months, different years, or different numbers. The screenshot has "Use formula-based fuzzy text search" checked, indicating that the subsequent search content will be matched according to formula rules.
Step 4: Fill in the list of keywords to search for
In the "List of keywords to search for" on the left, the example contains two lines:
- Line 1: April|May
- Line 2: \d{4}
As seen in the screenshot, Line 1 uses "April|May" to express matching text for months like April or May; Line 2, "\d{4}", is used to match four-digit numbers, suitable for finding years. The advantage is that you don't need to list every possible old date one by one, but instead perform a fuzzy match based on the text's pattern.
If the content to be replaced in your PDF is different, you can fill it in according to the actual situation. For example, to match multiple old project names, you could enter them separately in the search list; to match fixed-format numbers, you could also input them based on the formula rules supported by the interface. For actual use, it's recommended to test with a small number of PDFs first, confirming the match scope meets expectations before applying it to the entire batch.
Step 5: Fill in the list of replacement keywords
In the "List of keywords for replacement" on the right, the example contains two lines:
- Line 1: August
- Line 2: 2026
The lists on the left and right sides correspond: content found by Line 1 on the left will be replaced by Line 1 on the right; content found by Line 2 on the left will be replaced by Line 2 on the right. Therefore, pay close attention to the line-to-line correspondence when filling them out to avoid replacing a month with a year or vice versa.
In the screenshot, "April|May" on the left corresponds to "August" on the right, and "\d{4}" on the left corresponds to "2026" on the right. The final effect is that the matched old months are changed to August, and the matched four-digit years are changed to 2026. The post-processing screenshots also confirm this.
Step 6: Continue to set the save location and start processing
As seen from the progress flow at the top of the interface, this function includes steps like "Select the records to process", "Set processing options", "Set save location", and "Start processing". After completing the keyword settings, click "Next" to continue setting the save location for the output files, then proceed to the processing start phase.
Although the screenshot doesn't show the specific options on the save location page, based on the working logic of batch processing office software, the purpose of setting a save location is usually to decide where the processed PDFs should be stored. For safety, it is advisable not to directly overwrite the only original copy. It's best to output to a new folder first, check the results for accuracy, and then replace the original files or archive them.
Common Questions and Notes
1. Are wildcard and formula-based fuzzy searches suitable for all PDFs?
Whether a search and replace is successful depends on whether the text in the PDF can be recognized as text. If the PDF content itself is selectable and searchable text, batch find and replace is usually smoother; if the PDF is a pure image scan, the text may not be standard text, and the processing effect will be affected. When encountering scanned PDFs, it's advisable to first confirm if the text can be selected or searched.
2. Why is it recommended to test with a few files first?
The advantage of fuzzy search is its broad match range, but this also means that if the rules are written too broadly, unintended content might be replaced. For example, "\d{4}" will match any four-digit number. If the document contains other four-digit numbers besides years, they could be replaced as well. Therefore, before performing a formal batch operation, it's best to test with 1 or 2 PDFs first to confirm the results are correct.
3. Do the left and right keyword lists need a one-to-one correspondence?
Yes. In the screenshot, the left search list has two lines, and the right replacement list also has two lines. Line 1 corresponds to Line 1, and Line 2 corresponds to Line 2. The sequence should be kept consistent during input to avoid misalignment in the replacement relationship. If a certain piece of content needs to be replaced with nothing, it should also be handled cautiously according to the interface prompts.
4. Is it possible to ignore case sensitivity?
The "Additional options" in the screenshot provide an "Ignore letter case" option. If the same English keyword in a PDF might appear in various cases, such as April, APRIL, or april, you can check this option based on your needs. If the case itself has operational significance, this option should be enabled with caution.
5. Should you back up files before batch replacing PDF keywords?
A backup is recommended. Batch processing is highly efficient, but if a rule is set incorrectly, it could produce erroneous results across multiple files simultaneously. When dealing with important contracts, reports, financial documents, or legal files, it's advisable to keep a copy of the original files and output the processed files to a separate directory for easy comparison and rollback.
Summary: Reducing repetitive PDF modification work with batch processing
When numerous PDF files require similar keyword modifications, manually opening each file to search and replace is an inefficient and error-prone approach. HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , as batch processing software designed for office scenarios, can use the "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF" function to add multiple PDF files to a unified task list, and then utilize the "Use formula-based fuzzy text search" feature to perform wildcard-style batch replacement.
In the example demonstrated here, the software batch-replaced old months and four-digit years in multiple PDFs with new months and years, achieving a rapid modification from "April 13, 2017" to "August 13, 2026". For users who frequently process PDF reports, contracts, notices, and archival materials, this type of batch find and replace functionality can significantly reduce repetitive labor and improve the consistency and accuracy of document revisions.
If you also have a batch of PDFs needing uniform replacement of dates, numbers, names, or other patterned keywords, you can follow the steps in this article to first import a small number of files to test the rules, and then execute the process on the entire batch. This approach ensures reliable results while fully leveraging the efficiency advantages of office software for batch file processing.