What is the Find & Replace Tool?

The Find & Replace tool helps you search for specific text patterns in your documents and replace them with new content. Whether you need to fix typos, update terminology, or perform complex text transformations, this tool makes it simple and fast.

Advanced capability: Unlike basic text editors, this tool supports regular expressions (regex), giving you powerful pattern matching capabilities for emails, phone numbers, URLs, and custom patterns.

Who Should Use This Tool?

Writers & Editors

Fix spelling errors, update terminology, or format text consistently across documents.

Developers

Refactor code, update variable names, or clean up log files efficiently.

Data Analysts

Clean and transform data, extract patterns, or validate formats quickly.

Students & Researchers

Format citations, clean up copied text, or standardize formatting.

Key Benefits

Real-time Preview

See exactly what will change before applying replacements with side-by-side comparison.

Regex Support

Use powerful pattern matching for complex searches and transformations.

Quick Patterns

Pre-built patterns for common tasks like finding emails, URLs, or phone numbers.

Match Navigation

Jump between matches to review each one individually before making changes.

Privacy and Security

Your text stays completely private with our client-side processing approach:

No uploads - All processing happens directly in your browser
No server storage - Your text is never sent to or stored on any server
No tracking - We don't collect or analyze your content

100% Private: You can safely use this tool for sensitive documents, confidential text, or any private content without security concerns.

Table of Contents

1. What is the Find & Replace Tool?
2. How to Use the Find & Replace Tool
3. Features
4. Frequently Asked Questions

How to Use the Find & Replace Tool

Getting started is simple. Follow these steps to search and replace text in your documents efficiently.

Basic Usage

Paste Your Text

Click the Input panel or use the Paste button to add your text content.

Enter Search Term

Type what you want to find in the Find field at the bottom of the interface.

Enter Replacement

Type the replacement text in the Replace field.

Review Changes

Check the Preview panel to see highlighted replacements before applying.

Apply Changes

Click the Apply button to update your text with the replacements.

Search Options

Use the option buttons to refine your search behavior:

Aa (Case Sensitive)

Match exact uppercase and lowercase letters. "Hello" won't match "hello".

Word

Match whole words only, not parts of words. "cat" won't match "category".

.* (Regex)

Enable regular expression pattern matching for advanced searches.

Multi (Multiline)

Make ^ and $ match line beginnings and endings in regex mode.

Using Quick Patterns

Click the magic wand button to access pre-built patterns for common tasks:

Pattern	Description	Example Match
Email	Find email addresses	`user@example.com`
URL	Find web links	`https://example.com`
Phone	Find phone numbers	`(555) 123-4567`
Number	Find numeric values	`123.45`
HTML	Find HTML tags	`<div>...</div>`
Spaces	Find multiple consecutive spaces	`word word`
Trim	Find leading/trailing whitespace	`text`
Empty	Find empty lines	Blank lines in text

Navigating Matches

Use the match navigator to review each match individually:

The counter shows your current position (e.g., 3/15)
Click the left arrow or press Ctrl + ↑ to go to the previous match
Click the right arrow or press Ctrl + ↓ to go to the next match
The text will scroll automatically to show each match in both panels

Tips for Better Results

Start with a simple search, then enable options as needed
Always preview changes before clicking Apply
Use the Copy button to save your result to clipboard
Enable Regex mode for pattern-based searches
Test your regex patterns with a small sample first

Features

This Find & Replace tool includes everything you need for efficient text processing with professional-grade capabilities.

Real-Time Highlighting

As you type your search term, matches are highlighted instantly in the input text. The preview panel shows what your text will look like after replacement, with replaced sections clearly marked in a different color.

Input Panel

Original Text

Matches highlighted in yellow
Shows what you're searching for
Real-time visual feedback

Preview Panel

Result Preview

Replacements highlighted in green
Shows final result before applying
Side-by-side comparison

Regular Expression Support

Enable Regex mode to use powerful pattern matching capabilities:

Character Classes

Match specific types of characters:

\d - Match any digit (0-9)
\w - Match word characters (letters, digits, underscore)
\s - Match whitespace (spaces, tabs, newlines)

Quantifiers

Control how many times to match:

+ - Match one or more times
* - Match zero or more times
{n} - Match exactly n times

Anchors

Match at specific positions:

^ - Match at the start of lines
$ - Match at the end of lines

Capture Groups

Extract and reuse matched parts:

(pattern) - Capture matched text
$1, $2 - Reference captures in replacement
$& - Insert the entire match

Quick Patterns Library

Pre-built patterns for common tasks save you time and effort:

Extract Structured Data

Email addresses - Find all email addresses in documents
URLs - Extract web links and references
Phone numbers - Locate phone numbers in various formats
Numeric values - Find numbers, decimals, and measurements

Clean Up Code

Remove HTML tags - Strip HTML markup from text
Extra whitespace - Remove multiple consecutive spaces
Trim lines - Remove leading and trailing whitespace

Format Text

Empty lines - Find and remove blank lines
Line breaks - Standardize line ending formats
Spacing - Normalize whitespace throughout documents

Review each match individually before making changes. The navigator shows your current position and lets you jump between matches. Both the input and preview panels scroll together to show corresponding positions.

Smart Navigation: The tool automatically scrolls to keep the current match visible in both panels, making it easy to compare original and replacement text side by side.

Multiple Search Options

Case Sensitivity

Control whether uppercase and lowercase letters are treated differently in your searches.

Whole Word Matching

Avoid matching partial words to ensure precise replacements.

Multiline Mode

Make pattern anchors work with individual lines for complex text processing.

Side-by-Side Preview

The two-panel layout lets you compare your original text with the result. See exactly what will change before committing to the replacement, reducing errors and giving you confidence in your changes.

Keyboard Friendly

Work faster with keyboard shortcuts for common actions:

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Ctrl` + `F`	Focus Find	Jump to the Find input field
`Ctrl` + `H`	Focus Replace	Jump to the Replace input field
`Ctrl` + `↑`	Previous Match	Navigate to the previous match
`Ctrl` + `↓`	Next Match	Navigate to the next match
`Alt` + `C`	Toggle Case	Enable/disable case sensitivity
`Alt` + `W`	Toggle Word	Enable/disable whole word matching
`Alt` + `R`	Toggle Regex	Enable/disable regex mode

Search History

Never lose track of your complex patterns. The tool automatically saves your recent searches and replacements, allowing you to quickly recall and reuse them from the history dropdown.

Productivity boost: Access your most recent 20 search patterns instantly without retyping complex regex expressions.

Settings Persistence

Your search options are saved automatically using browser local storage. The next time you use the tool, your preferred settings (case sensitivity, regex mode, etc.) will be restored, ensuring a consistent experience across sessions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is regex and when should I use it?

Regex (regular expressions) is a pattern-matching language that lets you search for text based on rules rather than exact matches. Use regex when you need to find patterns like "any email address" or "numbers with 3 digits" instead of specific text.

Common use cases:

Finding all email addresses in a document
Extracting phone numbers in various formats
Validating data formats (dates, IDs, codes)
Removing or replacing HTML tags
Cleaning up whitespace and formatting

Why isn't my search finding anything?

Check these common issues that can prevent matches:

Case sensitivity - If enabled, "Hello" won't match "hello"
Whole word - If enabled, "cat" won't match "category"
Regex mode - Special characters like . * + ? need escaping in regex mode
Empty input - Make sure you have text in the input panel
Whitespace - Check for extra spaces or hidden characters

Tip: Try disabling all options first, then enable them one by one to identify which setting is preventing matches.

How do I search for special characters like $ or *?

If you're not using regex mode, special characters are matched literally - just type them as-is.

If regex mode is enabled, these characters have special meanings. To match them literally, add a backslash before the character:

\$ - Match dollar sign
\* - Match asterisk
\. - Match period
\+ - Match plus sign
\? - Match question mark
$ and $ - Match parentheses

Can I use capture groups in replacements?

Yes! In regex mode, use parentheses to create capture groups, then reference them in the replacement text.

Example: Swap first and last name

Find: (\w+)\s+(\w+)
Replace: $2, $1
Result: "John Smith" becomes "Smith, John"

Special references:

$1, $2, $3... - Reference captured groups by number
$& - Insert the entire match
$` - Insert text before the match
$' - Insert text after the match

Is there a limit to how much text I can process?

The tool handles large documents efficiently, but very long texts (over 100,000 characters) may cause slight delays depending on your device's performance.

Optimal Performance Up to 50K chars

May Experience Delays 50K-100K chars

Match limit: The tool is set to find up to 10,000 matches to maintain performance. If you have more matches, consider processing your text in smaller sections.

Why does the preview show different colors?

The color coding helps you quickly understand what's happening:

Yellow highlighting in the input panel shows found matches
Green highlighting in the preview panel shows the replacement text

This visual distinction makes it easy to see exactly what will change when you click Apply.

How do I remove text instead of replacing it?

Simply leave the Replace field empty. All matched text will be deleted from the result.

Common use cases:

Removing HTML tags from copied web content
Deleting extra whitespace or line breaks
Stripping out unwanted characters or symbols
Cleaning up formatted text from other applications

Can I undo changes after clicking Apply?

The Apply button replaces your input text with the preview result. There is no built-in undo function.

Best practice: Always review the preview carefully before applying changes. Consider copying your original text to a safe location before making major replacements.

Recovery options:

Keep your original text in another window or application
Use the Copy button to save intermediate results
Test complex patterns on a small sample first

Do my settings save between sessions?

Yes! Your search options are automatically saved to your browser's local storage and restored on your next visit.

Saved settings include:

Case sensitivity preference
Whole word matching preference
Regex mode preference
Multiline mode preference
Recent search history (last 20 searches)

This ensures a consistent experience and saves time by remembering your preferred working style.

Is my text sent to a server?

No. All processing happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your text never leaves your device.

100% Private: This makes it completely safe to use with confidential documents, sensitive content, personal information, or any private data.

Privacy guarantees:

No server uploads or transmissions
No cloud storage or backups
No analytics on your content
No third-party access
Works offline after initial page load