Find and Replace in PowerPoint
Find text across every slide and replace it, with a count and a preview per slide
Drop a PowerPoint fileTap to choose a PowerPoint file
or click to browseor tap to choose
Find and replace text on every slide, in your browser
Large files (over 50 MB) may take longer or run out of browser memory
About Find and Replace in PowerPoint
Finds a word or phrase in a PowerPoint presentation (.pptx) and replaces it everywhere at once, keeping the formatting. You see how many matches there are on each slide, with the text before and after, and you can leave out any slide before replacing. Options: match case, whole words only, and include speaker notes or the slide master and its layouts (footers and company names in the template).
A phrase that has several formats inside it, such as one bold word, is still found, and the replacement takes the formatting of the first letter it replaces. A match is not found across a line break (Shift+Enter) or across a slide number or date field. Text inside charts, SmartArt and pictures is not searched, and neither are file properties such as the author name; Clean PowerPoint for Sharing handles those. Replacing with nothing deletes the text. Old .ppt files: open them in PowerPoint and save as .pptx first.
- Does it find text that PowerPoint splits into pieces?
- Yes. PowerPoint often stores one phrase as several pieces because of a spell-check mark or a change of format. This tool joins the pieces of each paragraph before searching, so a phrase is found even when it is split. The replacement takes the formatting of the piece where the phrase starts.
- What does it search, and what does it leave alone?
- Slide text, tables, speaker notes if you tick that box, and optionally the slide master and layouts. Text inside pictures, charts, SmartArt and grouped shapes that PowerPoint stores in separate parts is not searched, and the page says so when the deck contains them.
- Can I replace on some slides only?
- Yes. Every slide with a match is listed with a picture, the text before and after, and a tick box. Untick a slide to leave it as it is. Nothing is written until you download.
- Is my presentation uploaded?
- No. The file is read and rewritten in your browser tab; nothing is sent to a server.
How to use Find and Replace in PowerPoint
Drop your .pptx, type what to find and what to put in its place, and choose whether case matters, whether to match whole words only, and whether to include speaker notes and the slide master. Every slide that contains the text is listed with its picture and the words before and after. Untick any slide you want to leave alone, then download the new file; a picture of the result appears beside your original.
When to use it
Useful when a company or product name changes, a date or year has to be updated through a whole deck, a client name must be swapped in a reused proposal, or a misspelling has run through every slide. It saves opening forty slides by hand and shows exactly what will change.
When not to use it
If you need to change the look of text, use Replace Fonts. If the words are inside a picture, chart or SmartArt, edit them in PowerPoint. For very small edits on one slide, PowerPoint itself is quicker.
Tips for best results
Try it without the replacement first: the count and the per-slide list show how widespread a word is. Use Whole words when replacing short words such as a company abbreviation, so you do not change the middle of another word. Keep a copy of the original until you have flipped through the result.
Limitations
Only text that is stored as text is searched. Text in pictures, charts, SmartArt diagrams and in some grouped objects is not. Fields such as the date or the slide number are left alone. A replacement takes the formatting of the first character of the match, so a phrase that was half bold becomes all of one style. The result has not been checked in desktop PowerPoint.
Privacy
The deck is read and rewritten inside your browser tab. It is not uploaded. A request that counts the use goes to this site when you download and carries no part of your file.
Next: Replace Fonts in PowerPoint
Make the fonts consistent and safe for the computer that will open the file
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