Find and Replace Formatting in Microsoft Word

The How-To Geek weblog steps through how to use Word’s find and replace feature to handle formatting the same way it handles text.

Click in the blank Find box, and then you can use the regular keyboard shortcuts to specify specific formatting. For instance, if you wanted to replace all bolded text with regular text, you’d use Ctrl+B in the “Find what” box, or for italics you would use Ctrl+I. You can even use multiple search criteria here.

Using this method, you can find and replace ugly headings, fonts, or just remove very simple formatting like all italics (like in the example). If you’ve ever spent hours reformatting a long Word document, this simple tip could be a lifesaver.