This article introduces how to batch replace entire lines containing specific keywords in multiple TXT text files with new lines, suitable for scenarios such as directories, configuration descriptions, log summaries, and manifest texts that require unified rewriting. Through HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can import multiple txt files at once, set keywords and the complete replacement lines, and then complete batch processing step by step, avoiding the repetitive work of opening files one by one, searching line by line, and manually modifying them.
In daily office work, document organization, system documentation maintenance, or project delivery, you often encounter this problem: a folder contains many TXT text files, and each file has some lines in a fixed format, such as directory entries like “Annex A”, “Annex B”, “Annex C”, “Annex D”. These lines now need to be uniformly changed to new descriptions, for example, replacing the entire line containing “Annex A” with “Annex A - Q&A”, and the entire line containing “Annex B” with “Annex B - Safety Attentions”. If there is only one file, manual find-and-replace is acceptable; but when the number of files grows to dozens or hundreds, opening, locating, copying, and saving them one by one is not only time-consuming but also prone to omissions or errors.
This article addresses the issue of “batch replacing the entire lines containing keywords in many text files with new lines”. The key here is not simply replacing a single word, but locating the complete line based on the keyword and then overwriting it with the new full line content. Using the office software “ HeSoft Doc Batch Tool ”, you can add multiple TXT text files to the task list at once, centrally set the search keywords and replacement text lines, and let the software complete the batch processing, thereby reducing repetitive work and improving file organization efficiency.
Applicable Scenarios: Which Text Files Are Suitable for Keyword-Based Full-Line Replacement
This method is particularly suitable for processing text files with similar structures and clearly defined content rules. For example, multiple instruction documents containing the same chapter titles or appendix titles need to be uniformly renamed; multiple configuration texts contain fixed parameter lines that need to be replaced with new configuration instructions based on keywords; multiple log summaries, export lists, or material directories contain old fields that need batch adjustment to new fields. As long as the target line contains an identifiable keyword, you can use the “Find and replace complete lines in text files by keyword” function to handle it.
As can be seen from the screenshot, this example processes a group of TXT files named 1.txt, 2.txt, 3.txt, 4.txt, 5.txt. Such plain text files are common in scenarios like Notepad, code editors, system export records, and website content lists. Unlike Word's doc and docx documents, TXT files typically lack complex formatting, so batch find-and-replace focuses more on the text content itself, making them very suitable for uniform modification using batch processing tools.
Effect Preview: Multiple TXT Files Need Individual Modification Before Processing
Before processing, there are several TXT text files to be handled in the folder. If done manually, you would need to open 1.txt, 2.txt, 3.txt, 4.txt, 5.txt one by one, search for the target keywords individually, and then replace the corresponding lines with the new content.
Opening one of the files reveals a section containing an “Annexes” directory, with multiple lines below containing “Annex A”, “Annex B”, “Annex C”, “Annex D” respectively. These keywords are originally followed by longer explanatory text, such as “Food and drink standards...”. The requirement here is not just to replace the subsequent partial text, but to uniformly replace the entire lines containing these keywords with new short titles.
If using the find-and-replace function of a standard editor, it often only replaces a certain word or a fixed piece of text; when the content following the keyword on each line is not completely identical, it's difficult to accurately replace the whole line in one go. The batch full-line replacement function of office software is precisely suited for this requirement of “replace the entire line whenever the line contains a keyword”.
Effect Preview: Lines Containing Keywords Replaced with New Lines After Processing
After the batch processing is complete, opening the text files for inspection shows that the lines originally containing “Annex A”, “Annex B”, “Annex C”, “Annex D” have been respectively changed to the new complete lines: “Annex A - Q&A”, “Annex B - Safety Attentions”, “Annex C - Important Notes”, “Annex D - Other Remarks”. Other content not containing these keywords, such as the “Contents” directory below and various text entries, remains unchanged.
This indicates that the software performs conditional batch replacement: it only processes complete lines that hit the keywords, without rewriting the entire file content or affecting ordinary lines that do not hit the keywords. For batch organizing large amounts of TXT, log, CSV text data, this processing method significantly reduces manual verification costs.
Operation Step 1: Enter Text Tools and Select the Full-Line Replacement Function
After opening HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can see “Text Tools” in the left sidebar. After entering this category, the interface lists various batch processing functions related to text. Based on this requirement, you should select “Find and replace complete lines in text files by keyword”. The description on the function card in the screenshot also indicates that it is used for batch deleting or replacing complete lines containing a certain keyword in text files with new text.
The purpose of this step is to ensure the selected function matches the task. If you only replace the keyword itself, other content in the old line might be preserved; this task requires replacing the entire line, so you should choose a function related to “complete lines”. After selecting the correct function, you can establish the correspondence between the keyword list and the replacement list in subsequent steps.
Operation Step 2: Add TXT Files for Batch Processing
After entering the function page, the software proceeds to a wizard-style workflow. The first step is “Select records to process”. As seen in the screenshot, operation entries like “Add File”, “Import Files from Folder”, “Clear”, and “More” are provided at the top of the interface; the list in the middle displays the files already added to the task, including information such as sequence number, name, path, extension, creation time, and modification time.
If only a few files are being processed, you can use “Add File” to select them individually; if a folder centrally stores a large number of TXT files, it is more suitable to use “Import Files from Folder”. The example has imported 5 text files, with paths 1.txt to 5.txt under the D drive test directory. Once you confirm the file list is correct, click “Next” at the bottom to enter the processing options settings.
It is recommended to check two key points in this step: first, confirm the extension is the text type to be processed, such as txt; second, confirm the paths and file count are correct to avoid adding irrelevant files to the task. For batch file processing in office scenarios, confirming the file scope beforehand is very important to reduce subsequent rework.
Operation Step 3: Set Search Method, Keyword List, and Replacement Lines
After entering step two, “Set processing options”, you need to configure the keyword rules. As seen in the screenshot, the search method selected is “Accurate text search”. In this example, the keyword list to be searched is filled in sequentially as: Annex A, Annex B, Annex C, Annex D. The “Replacement keyword list” on the right is filled in respectively as: Annex A - Q&A, Annex B - Safety Attentions, Annex C - Important Notes, Annex D - Other Remarks.
Pay attention to the correspondence between the left and right sides here. The 1st line “Annex A” on the left corresponds to the 1st line “Annex A - Q&A” on the right; the 2nd line “Annex B” on the left corresponds to the 2nd line “Annex B - Safety Attentions” on the right. That is, when the software finds an entire line containing “Annex A” in a TXT file, it will replace that entire line with the new content from the 1st line on the right. The same logic applies to other keywords.
The screenshot also shows additional options like “Ignore letter case” and “Match the complete word, not part of a word”. Whether to check these depends on the file content. If the text might have inconsistent capitalization, you can consider ignoring case; if worried that the keyword is only part of another word, you can use the complete word match as needed. The example uses accurate text search, suitable for texts with fixed keyword writing and uniform format.
Operation Step 4: Set Save Location and Start Processing
After setting the processing options, click “Next”, and the software wizard will continue to “Set save location”, then proceed to “Start processing”. These two step names are already displayed in the wizard progress bar. During actual operation, follow the interface prompts to choose the save location for the processed files, then start the batch processing.
It is recommended that before batch replacement, you keep a backup of the original files or save the output results to a new folder. This way, even if the keyword settings are wrong, you can return to the original files and re-process. For important project materials, client documents, or system configuration texts, it is not advisable to directly overwrite the sole original file.
Common Problems and Precautions
1. Does this replace the keyword or the whole line?
The core of this function is to locate the complete line based on the keyword and then replace the entire line. That is, as long as a line contains the specified keyword, that line will be replaced with the new line set on the right, not just the keyword itself.
2. How to ensure multiple keywords do not get misaligned?
Keep the left keyword list and the right replacement list corresponding line by line. The keyword on the Nth line corresponds to the replacement text on the Nth line. After setting up, it is recommended to test with a few files first, confirm the effect meets expectations, and then batch process a large number of files.
3. What happens if the replacement content on the right is empty?
The interface prompts “Leaving it blank means deletion”, so if no replacement content is set for a keyword on the right, it might be used to delete the relevant lines. The example in this article is replacing with new lines, so each keyword has corresponding new content filled in.
4. Will it affect other content after processing?
From the effect screenshots, the text directory and other content not hitting keywords did not change. To be safe, it is still recommended to spot-check a few files after processing to confirm the replacement scope is correct.
Summary: Delegate Repetitive Text Modification to Batch Processing with Office Software
Batch replacing complete lines containing keywords in multiple TXT text files is very tedious to do manually, especially when there are many files, many keywords, and the original content of each line is not completely consistent. Using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can complete the task through these steps: selecting the function, importing files, setting keywords and replacement lines, setting the save location, and starting processing. For users who frequently need to organize TXT, log, list, or instruction documents, delegating repetitive find-and-replace tasks to office software can significantly reduce mechanical operation time. It is recommended to prepare a keyword mapping table beforehand and verify the effect with a small number of files before officially performing batch processing.