If multiple PDF documents contain the same set of dates, years, names, or numbers, manually modifying each one can waste a significant amount of time. This article uses an example of replacing "April" with "August" and "2017" with "2026" in PDFs to introduce how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch find and replace keywords in PDF content. The article covers applicable scenarios, effects before and after processing, detailed operation steps, and precautions to help users quickly complete unified modifications across multiple files.
Many people face similar problems when organizing PDF files: multiple PDFs are stored in a single folder, sharing an identical format or similar content, and a certain date, year, company name, product model, or project number needs to be modified uniformly. If there is only one file, manual find and replace is still acceptable. However, if there are dozens of PDFs or even more, opening and modifying them one by one becomes repetitive, inefficient, and error-prone.
This article focuses on "how to batch replace dates and text in multiple PDF documents," highlighting how to use the office software " HeSoft Doc Batch Tool " to complete batch PDF keyword find and replace. In the example, we batch replace "April" with "August" and "2017" with "2026" across multiple PDFs. Through this case, you can apply the same method to handle Chinese keywords, English keywords, numerical codes, years, version numbers, and other content.
Applicable Scenarios: What Office Problems Can Batch Replacing PDF Text Solve
PDF is a common finalized document format suitable for circulation, archiving, and publishing. However, when its content needs batch adjustments, manual processing is often cumbersome. The value of batch find and replace for PDF keywords lies in transforming a large number of repetitive modification actions into unified rule processing.
Batch Update Dates, Years, and Version Information
For example, dates in historical reports need updating, years in new version materials need uniform adjustment, or version numbers in template files need changing from V1 to V2. As long as this content is searchable text within the PDF, it can be completed in batches using the keyword replacement function.
Batch Modify Name-Type Information
When a company renames, departments adjust, project names change, or brand names update, the old names might be scattered across many PDF files. Searching through documents one by one is not only slow but may also miss some files. Using a batch processing tool, you can list the names to find and their replacements and process them all at once.
Batch Correct Fixed Errors
If the same typo, incorrect number, wrong term, or outdated contact information appears in multiple PDFs, it can also be uniformly corrected through batch find and replace. This type of operation is very common for roles in administration, human resources, legal, project management, and data archiving.
Effect Preview: Changes from Before Processing to After Processing
Before proceeding with the software operation, let's look at the original files and the post-replacement effects based on the example screenshots. This provides a more intuitive understanding of the goal of batch PDF text replacement.
Before Processing: Multiple PDFs in a Folder Need Uniform Processing
Before processing, a folder contains multiple PDF files such as 1.pdf, 2.pdf, 3.pdf, and 4.pdf. They are the targets for this batch processing, meaning the file collection that requires a unified find-and-replace keyword operation.
Upon opening one of the PDFs, you can see the date content "April 13, 2017" on the page. The red box marks the two parts to be replaced: April and 2017. The goal here is not to modify the entire date string but to replace the month and year parts separately.
After Processing: Target Keywords are Replaced with New Content
After batch processing, viewing the PDF page shows the original "April 13, 2017" has been changed to "August 13, 2026". "April" was replaced with "August", "2017" with "2026", and the middle part "13," remains unchanged.
This demonstrates that the batch find and replace function can perform targeted modifications on PDF content according to user-defined keyword rules. For multiple PDF files, as long as they contain the same target keywords, they can be batch-processed using a single set of rules.
Operation Steps: Batch Find and Replace Keywords in PDF Files
The following explanation is based on the sequence in the software interface screenshots, detailing how to complete the entire operation. The workflow of HeSoft Doc Batch Tool uses a wizard-style design, mainly divided into stages: selecting a function, adding files, setting replacement rules, setting the save location, and starting processing.
Step 1: Find the Keyword Replacement Function in the PDF Tools
After launching HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , select "PDF Tools" in the left navigation bar. In the right tool cards, find and click "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF". The function description is for batch find and replace keywords in PDF file content, exactly matching the requirement of this article.
The purpose of this step is to enter the specific functional page for processing PDF text find and replace. Do not select other functions like PDF to Word, PDF Add Watermark, or PDF Delete Pages, as they solve different problems.
Step 2: Import the PDF Files to be Processed
After entering the "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF" page, you first arrive at Step 1 "Select records to be processed". The top right of the page has buttons like "Add File", "Import Files from Folder", "Clear", and "More".
If you only need to process a few PDFs, you can click "Add File" to select specific files. If all the PDFs to be processed are in the same folder, it is more recommended to use "Import Files from Folder", as this can add all PDFs from the folder to the list at once.
The screenshot shows that 4 records have been successfully added: 1.pdf, 2.pdf, 3.pdf, and 4.pdf. The table displays the file path, extension, creation time, and modification time, with a total record count of 4 shown at the bottom. After importing, you should primarily check if the file names and paths are correct to avoid processing unrelated PDFs together.
Step 3: Click Next to Enter Processing Options
After confirming the records to be processed are correct, click the "Next" button at the bottom of the page. The workflow will then move to Step 2, "Set processing options". This step is the most crucial part of the entire batch PDF keyword replacement operation because the replacement results depend entirely on the find and replace words entered here.
In the "Set Keyword Options" area, first choose the search method. The example checks "Exact Text Search", suitable for replacing known, specific text like dates, years, company names, numbers, etc. The interface also shows the "Use formula for fuzzy text search" option, but exact search suffices for this case.
Step 4: Fill in the List of Keywords to Find
In the left "List of Keywords to Find", enter the content to be replaced line by line. The example has two lines: the first line is April, the second is 2017. This tells the software to find these two keywords within the PDF content.
If you need to replace Chinese content, you can also enter Chinese keywords line by line, such as old company names, old department names, old project names, etc. For numeric codes, contract numbers, and report numbers, you can input them using the same method.
Step 5: Fill in the List of Replacement Keywords
In the right "List of Replacement Keywords", enter the corresponding new content. In the example, the first line is August, and the second is 2026. This establishes two replacement relationships: April → August, 2017 → 2026.
It is crucial to pay attention to the line number correspondence here. 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. If the left and right order is reversed, the processing result will not meet expectations. It is recommended to check line by line before batch replacement, especially when replacing many keywords at once.
Step 6: Select Additional Options as Needed
Below the search method, the software provides additional options such as "Ignore letter case" and "Match complete word instead of part of a word". These help users control the search scope.
For instance, when processing English PDFs, if you are unsure whether the original text is April, APRIL, or april, you might consider case-related options. If a keyword might appear inside other words and you only want to replace the complete word, you need to pay attention to the complete word match setting. Whether to check these should be decided based on the document content and replacement goals.
Step 7: Set the Save Location and Start Batch Processing
After finishing the keyword settings, continue by clicking "Next". From the workflow at the top of the interface, you can see the subsequent steps are "Set Save Location" and "Start Processing". It is recommended to save the processed PDFs to a new folder, not mixing them with the original files, for easy comparison and rollback.
After entering the start processing step, the software will execute the batch find and replace on the multiple PDF files in the list according to the previously set rules. Once processing is complete, open the output files for inspection. If you see April has been changed to August, and 2017 to 2026, it indicates the batch replacement was successful.
Common Questions and Notes
1. Before Replacing, Confirm Whether the PDF Text is Searchable
Some PDFs are generated from real text and can be directly searched. Others are scanned documents or image-based pages that appear to have text but are not actually editable text. For the latter, ordinary text find and replace might not work. Before batch processing, it is advisable to open one PDF and confirm that the target text can be normally selected or searched.
2. Batch Replacement is Not Arbitrary Replacement; Keywords Should be as Accurate as Possible
If the keyword is too short, it might match locations you did not intend to modify. For example, replacing a very common single letter or number could affect other content. It is suggested to use clear, unique, and controllable keywords whenever possible, and test with a small number of files first if necessary.
3. Check Correspondence When Replacing Multiple Keyword Groups
This example has two replacement groups: April corresponds to August, 2017 corresponds to 2026. In actual work, you might replace a dozen or more groups at once. The most error-prone aspect here is inconsistent line numbers between the left and right lists. It is recommended to review them from top to bottom after setting them up before proceeding to the next step.
4. It is Recommended to Keep Originals of Important Files
PDFs are often used for formal document archiving. It's best to keep the original files before batch processing. You can save the output results to a new directory, verify they are correct, and then distribute or archive them. This allows you to leverage batch processing for efficiency gains while reducing the risk associated with operational errors.
Summary: Batch Processing Makes PDF Modification More Efficient and Controllable
When the same dates, years, names, or numbers need modification across multiple PDF documents, manual processing is slow and error-prone. Using the "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF" function of HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can add multiple PDFs to a task list at once, establish replacement relationships through the left and right keyword lists, and finally generate batch processing results.
For users who frequently handle reports, contracts, notices, instruction manuals, and archived materials, the core value of this office software lies in batch processing files, reducing repetitive labor, and improving work efficiency. It is recommended that before formally processing a large number of PDFs, you first verify the replacement rules using a few sample documents; after confirming the effect is correct, then import the entire folder for batch replacement.