When multiple docx documents contain scattered numbers, English uppercase abbreviations, or regularized keywords, manually deleting them one by one is inefficient. This article explains how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to leverage the "Find and Replace Keywords in Word" function. By entering regular expressions through formula-based fuzzy search, such as [A-Z]{3} to match three uppercase letters and \d+ to match numbers, and leaving the replacement content empty, you can perform batch deletions. The tutorial includes before-and-after screenshots and operation interface explanations, making it suitable for office users who need to batch-clean Word content.
If you frequently organize Word documents, you may encounter a very typical repetitive task: many docx files contain numbers, English abbreviations, or codes that you want to remove, but their positions are not fixed, and the content is not completely consistent. For example, some document titles are prefixed with BOT, some paragraphs contain ELA, and some explanatory text includes numbers like 60. For a single Word document, manual deletion is acceptable; but if you have dozens or hundreds of files, this becomes highly inefficient work.
This article introduces a processing method more suitable for batch office tasks: using the Word batch find and replace feature in HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , perform fuzzy matching with regular expressions, and set the replacement content to empty, thereby batch deleting target content from multiple Word documents. This article will illustrate the changes before and after processing with actual screenshots, and explain step-by-step how to import files, set up regex rules, and execute batch deletion.
The advantage of this method is that it does not require opening Word files one by one, nor copying and pasting keywords repeatedly. As long as the target content has patterns, you can let the office software complete the repetitive operations in batches.
Applicable Scenarios: Batch Deleting Patterned but Not Identical Content in Word
Standard find and replace is suitable for handling fixed content, such as replacing all "Company A" with "Company B". However, when the content is not fixed but merely conforms to a certain format, you need to use regular expressions for fuzzy searching.
Common regex deletion scenarios in Word document batch cleanup include:
- Deleting all consecutive numbers, such as 60, 2026, 10001;
- Deleting uppercase English abbreviations of fixed length, such as BOT, ELA, ABC;
- Deleting patterned codes, identifiers, course labels, or project codes;
- Deleting useless markers automatically generated in batch-exported documents;
- Batch cleaning sensitive codes, temporary fields, or template residual text in docx files.
In the example for this article, the rules used are [A-Z]{3} and \d+. Here, [A-Z]{3} is used to find three consecutive uppercase English letters, and \d+ is used to find consecutive numbers. Using these two rules, you can simultaneously delete content like BOT, ELA, and 60 from Word documents.
Result Preview: Before and After Batch Processing Comparison
Before Processing: A Folder Contains Multiple docx Documents
From the screenshot before processing, you can see that the current folder contains 6 Word documents: 1.docx, 2.docx, 3.docx, 4.docx, 5.docx, and 6.docx. Such files often originate from the same batch of materials, the same set of templates, or the same export system, so they likely contain the same types of content to be cleaned.
After opening one of the documents, you can see multiple objects on the page that need to be deleted. The red arrows point to BOT in the title, ELA in the body text, and the number 60. These items belong to the uppercase abbreviation and number types respectively. If you delete them manually one by one, you would need to search repeatedly in each document, which is highly unsuitable for batch scenarios.
After Processing: Content Matching Rules Has Been Removed
After the batch processing is complete, content like BOT, ELA, and 60 in the document has been deleted. BOT no longer appears at the beginning of the title, and the positions in the body text where ELA and 60 originally appeared have also been cleaned. This deletion effect comes from setting "replace with empty content," not from manual editing one by one.
By comparing before and after processing, it's clear that regular expressions are suitable for "rule-based batch cleanup." As long as the content to be deleted across multiple Word documents follows the same type of format, it can be processed uniformly in a single task.
Steps: Setting Up Regex Rules in the Software and Batch Deleting
Step 1: Open the Find and Replace Feature in Word Tools
After launching HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , select Word Tools from the left-side menu. In the tool list, click the first function, "Find and Replace Keywords in Word". The description on the function card in the screenshot reads "Batch find and replace keywords in Word file content," indicating its purpose is to process the content of multiple Word files at scale.
Although our goal this time is deletion, deletion can be viewed as a special kind of replacement: replacing what is found with an empty value. Therefore, selecting "Find and Replace Keywords in Word" is the correct entry point.
Step 2: Import the Word Files to Be Processed
After entering the function page, you first need to select the files to process. On the upper right of the interface, you can see buttons like Add Files, Import Files from Folder, Clear, and More.
If the number of files is small, you can use "Add Files" to select them individually; if the files are all in the same directory, it is recommended to use "Import Files from Folder," so multiple docx files can be added to the list at once. The screenshot shows 6 records have been imported, and the table displays the name, path, extension, creation time, and modification time, making it easy to confirm that the files are correct.
After confirming the list is correct, click Next Step at the bottom of the page. The goal of this step is to establish a list of files to be processed, ensuring that subsequent regex rules will be applied to these Word files.
Step 3: Choose "Use Formula to Fuzzy Find Text"
On the "Set Processing Options" page, you need to first select the find method. The screenshot shows two options: "Exact Find Text" and "Use Formula to Fuzzy Find Text." In this example, Use Formula to Fuzzy Find Text is selected.
The reason for selecting this option is: we are not deleting one fixed phrase, but a category of content conforming to a rule. For instance, BOT and ELA are different but both belong to the three-uppercase-letter category; 60 and other numbers may also differ but all belong to consecutive numbers. Using formula fuzzy find allows the software to match such text based on rules.
Step 4: Enter the Keyword Rules to Find
In the "Keyword List to Find" on the left, enter the regular expression rules, one per line. The screenshot uses two rules:
- [A-Z]{3}: Matches any 3 consecutive uppercase letters from A to Z;
- \d+: Matches one or more consecutive digits.
These two rules correspond to the example content in the before-processing screenshot: BOT and ELA will be matched by [A-Z]{3}, and 60 will be matched by \d+. The software will search for text matching these rules in the imported Word files.
It's important to note that regular expressions match based on patterns and do not understand text semantics. For example, [A-Z]{3} doesn't know if BOT is the content you want to delete; it only knows that BOT conforms to "three uppercase letters." Therefore, before use, ensure the rules will not cover content that should not be deleted.
Step 5: Leave the Replacement Keywords Empty to Achieve Deletion
On the right is the "Keyword List After Replacement." The screenshot provides a clear prompt: Leaving it blank means deletion. Our goal this time is not to replace with other text, but to delete the matched content, so the right side remains empty.
If you want to replace BOT with another word, you need to fill in the corresponding content on the right; if you want to directly remove content like BOT, ELA, and 60, do not fill in the replacement value. This setting determines whether the final outcome is "replacement" or "deletion."
Step 6: Continue to Set the Save Location and Start Processing
After the rules are set, click Next Step at the bottom. As seen in the interface flow, the subsequent steps include "Set Save Location" and "Start Processing." After setting the output location according to the software flow, you can start the batch process.
In actual operation, it is recommended not to overwrite the original files directly, but to save the processing results to a new folder. This not only facilitates comparison of the before and after effects but also preserves the original documents if the rules are not suitable, reducing the risk of accidental deletion.
Common Questions and Notes
1. Why use regular expressions instead of standard find?
Standard find can only match fixed text, for example, only searching for BOT. Regular expressions can match a category of text, such as all three uppercase letters or all consecutive numbers. If the content to be deleted across multiple Word documents has a consistent format but different specific values, the regex method is more efficient.
2. Will \d+ delete all numbers?
Yes, it will match consecutive digits. Therefore, if the document contains years, page numbers, amounts, or codes you do not want to delete, you need to adjust the rules or test the results first. It's best to validate with a sample document before batch processing.
3. Will leaving the replacement list empty cause an error?
No. As the prompt in the screenshot shows, "Leaving it blank means deletion." Therefore, an empty replacement value is exactly the setting that achieves batch deletion.
4. Can I enter multiple rules at once?
Yes. The "Keyword List to Find" in the screenshot already contains two lines of rules, indicating that multiple match conditions can be processed simultaneously. In practice, you can add or remove rules as needed.
5. How to reduce the risk of accidental deletion?
It is recommended to follow three points: First, back up the original files first; second, test the regex rules on a small number of files first; third, save the processing results to a new directory. Especially when dealing with important Word documents like contracts, theses, or compilations, it's even more important to avoid direct overwriting.
Summary: The Key to Batch Deleting docx Content is Accurate Rules
Using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch delete numbers and uppercase abbreviations from multiple Word documents, the core steps are not complicated: Enter Word Tools, choose "Find and Replace Keywords in Word," import files, select "Use Formula to Fuzzy Find Text," enter regex rules, and keep the replacement content empty. This enables the batch deletion of content matching the rules.
This method is particularly well-suited for processing patterned text in a large number of docx files, significantly reducing the repetitive labor of manual searching, deletion, and saving. It is recommended to start testing with sample files in actual use, confirm the processing effect, and then apply it in batch to a full folder, thus balancing efficiency and accuracy.