This article explains how to use office software to batch find and replace keywords in multiple TXT text files, suitable for scenarios such as organizing materials, copy proofreading, data cleaning, and adjusting code comments. Through HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can import multiple TXT files at once, set the words to find and the replacement words, and then complete the processing following the wizard, avoiding opening files one by one for manual search and replace, significantly reducing repetitive work and lowering the risk of missed changes.
When a folder contains dozens or even hundreds of text files that need a keyword uniformly modified, opening each txt file individually and pressing Ctrl+H to find and replace is not only time-consuming but also prone to oversight. For example, the word "black" was originally used uniformly in materials and now needs to be changed to "red"; if it appears multiple times in each text file, manual processing becomes highly inefficient. This article addresses this typical batch find-and-replace text problem: leveraging the batch processing capabilities of office software to find and replace keywords in multiple TXT text files at once.
As seen in the screenshot, the tool used this time is HeSoft Doc Batch Tool . The core value of this type of office software is not single-file editing but standardizing and batching repetitive file processing workflows. For plain text or text-like content such as txt, log, csv, and md files, batch keyword replacement is particularly common, for instance, unifying product names, modifying English terms, replacing old domain names, adjusting configuration texts, cleaning erroneous fields, etc. The following will fully explain how to accomplish this, combining before-and-after processing results and software operation screenshots.
Applicable Scenarios: When Batch Find & Replace of Text Keywords is Needed
Batch finding and replacing keywords in multiple text files is suitable for several scenarios. First, data archiving and knowledge base maintenance. For example, a batch of astronomy popular science txt documents uses an old term that needs to be uniformly replaced with a new one. Second, updating operational copy. For instance, multiple text materials contain old event names, prices, or contact information that need unified replacement. Third, organizing development and operations texts. Examples include batch modification of fixed fields in configuration files, log templates, and documentation. Fourth, data cleaning. For example, certain category names in csv or txt data are written inconsistently and need unification.
If you are only processing one file, a standard text editor suffices; but when the number of files increases, the problem becomes one of efficiency and accuracy. Batch processing tools can import multiple files at once and apply the same rules to all files, avoiding the mechanical operations of repeatedly opening, finding, replacing, and saving. This is the direct value of office software in batch file processing scenarios.
Effect Preview: Multiple TXT Files and Keywords to Replace Before Processing
Before processing, there are multiple txt text files in the folder, such as big_bang.txt, black_holes.txt, dark_energy.txt, dark_matter.txt, galaxies.txt. This indicates the task is not modifying a single document but uniformly processing a batch of text files.
Opening the file black_holes.txt, you can see the keyword "black" appears in multiple places within the text, such as black holes, a black hole, etc. The green highlighting and red arrows in the screenshot mark several matching contents. If such content were replaced manually, it would require confirming one by one in each file; the repetitive labor increases rapidly if there are many files.
The goal of this example is clear: batch replace "black" with "red" in the text files. In practical work, you can also understand this as replacing an old name with a new one, an old code with a new one, or an erroneous word with the correct one. The key is: set the rule once and apply it to multiple text files in bulk.
Post-Processing Effect: Keywords Batch Replaced from black to red
After processing is complete, open the same black_holes.txt file again, and you can see that positions previously containing "black" have now become "red", such as red holes, a red hole, etc. The highlighted content in the screenshot shows the replaced "red", indicating the software has completed the text content replacement according to the set rules.
From the before-and-after comparison, it's clear the software doesn't simply modify file names but performs find and replace at the text content level within the files. This is crucial for users needing to batch modify txt text content, as many office scenarios truly require changing the internal text of the files, not the file names themselves.
Step 1: Enter the Text Tool and Select the Find & Replace Function
After opening HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , select "Text Tool" in the left function category. The main interface will list batch processing functions related to text, including text conversion, whitespace removal, HTML conversion, etc. The function needed this time is "Find and replace keywords in text".
The purpose of this step is to enter the functional module dedicated to batch finding and replacing text content. After selecting the correct function, the software enters a wizard-style processing page, proceeding through the steps of "Select records to process", "Set processing options", "Set save location", and "Start processing". Compared to manual editing, this wizard-based workflow is more suitable for batch tasks, as each step has a clear goal, making it harder to miss critical settings.
Step 2: Add or Import TXT Files to Process from a Folder
After entering the "Find and replace keywords in text" function, you first need to select the records to process. In the upper right area of the interface, you can see two entry points: "Add Files" and "Import files from a folder". If processing only a few files, use "Add Files"; if a folder contains many txt files, it's recommended to use "Import files from a folder" to add all target files to the list at once.
The screenshot shows 5 txt files have been imported: big_bang.txt, black_holes.txt, dark_energy.txt, dark_matter.txt, galaxies.txt. The list also displays information like path, extension, creation time, and modification time, making it easy to confirm the correct files are selected. The summary at the bottom shows the record count is 5, indicating this batch task will execute the same find-and-replace rules on these 5 files.
After confirming the files, click "Next" at the bottom to enter the processing options setup. It is advisable to check two points before proceeding: first, whether the file paths come from the folder you intend to process; second, whether the extensions are of the target type, which is txt in this example. If the list contains files that shouldn't be processed, you can remove the corresponding records in the action column to avoid accidental replacement.
Step 3: Set the Find Method, Find Keyword, and Replace Keyword
This second step is the core of the entire batch replacement task. The interface displays "Set keyword options", with choices like "Precise text find" or "Use formula for fuzzy text find". In this example, "Precise text find" is selected because the goal is to replace the specific keyword "black" with "red", requiring no complex matching.
Enter "black" in the "List of keywords to find" and "red" in the "List of replacement keywords". The software will then search for "black" in the imported multiple text files and replace the matching content with "red". The screenshot also shows "Ignore letter case" is checked, meaning different case variations like Black and black might be treated as the same keyword, which is suitable for unified English text replacement. The interface also offers the option "Match the complete word, not part of the word"; whether to check this should be judged based on actual needs.
It's crucial to pay attention to the correspondence between the find keyword and the replace keyword here. The left list is for the original text, and the right list is for the replacement text. For batch processing, once a rule is set incorrectly, multiple files will be affected. Therefore, it's recommended to test with a few files first, confirm the replacement effect is correct, and then process all files.
Step 4: Proceed to Set the Save Location and Start Processing
After setting the keyword rules, click "Next". From the process flow at the top of the interface, you can see subsequent steps for "Set save location" and "Start processing". The purposes of these two steps are to determine where the processed files will be output and to formally execute the batch replacement task.
In practice, it is recommended to save the processed files to a new folder or ensure you have backed up the original files. Although batch replacement can significantly improve efficiency, if text content is rewritten en masse without a backup, reverting changes later can be troublesome. After completing the save location setting, proceed to the start processing step and let the software execute the find-and-replace on all txt files in the list.
After processing ends, you can spot-check by opening one or more files to confirm whether the original "black" has been replaced with "red" as expected. The earlier post-processing screenshot in this article has already shown the verification result: multiple instances of "black" in black_holes.txt have been changed to "red".
Frequently Asked Questions and Precautions
1. Why is it recommended to back up files first? Batch find-and-replace affects multiple text files simultaneously. Once the find keyword is set inaccurately, it could cause cascading modifications. Backing up original files reduces the risk.
2. Is only txt file format supported? Judging from this tutorial's screenshots, the example processes txt text files, and the interface list shows the extension as txt. For other text-based files, their processability depends on actual software support and import results; do not assume all formats are directly supported.
3. When is it appropriate to use "Ignore letter case"? When the same word in English text can appear in different case forms like black or Black, checking this option can reduce missed replacements. If letter case itself carries business meaning, use with caution.
4. What is the function of "Match the complete word, not part of the word"? If you only want to replace independent words, you should consider this option. For example, when replacing cat, if the complete word restriction isn't used, it might affect words containing that string, like category. Whether to check it should be determined based on the text content.
5. How to check the results after replacement? It is recommended to open and check several typical files from the list, especially those with a high frequency of keywords or complex content structures. You can search for the replaced term or the original term to confirm if any missed changes remain.
Summary: Reduce Repetitive Replacement Work with Batch Processing
Batch finding and replacing keywords in many text files essentially delegates repetitive manual editing actions to office software. Using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can first import multiple txt files, then set the find and replace keywords, and finally complete saving and processing following the wizard. For users needing to uniformly modify text content, this method is more efficient than opening files one by one and makes it easier to maintain rule consistency.
If you are processing a batch of txt texts, resource documents, or similar plain text files, and need to uniformly replace a certain keyword with another term, it is recommended to follow the steps in this article: prepare files, import them into the software, set precise find-and-replace rules, and finally spot-check the processing results. This can significantly reduce repetitive labor, allowing you to spend time on content verification rather than mechanical operations.