Search and Replace

Wordize Replacement for .NET enables search and replace, supports regex, and works with document conversion modules for automated text modifications.

Supported Modules and Document Formats

Use the Wordize Replacement for .NET module to search and replace some parts of your document.

Select any document conversion module to work with the required formats.

Wordize provides powerful search and replace functionality, allowing developers to find specific text or patterns in documents and replace them programmatically. This feature is useful for updating templates, correcting errors, and automating content modifications across multiple documents.

With Wordize Replacement for .NET, you can:

Find and replace plain text
Use regular expressions for advanced search operations

Search and Replace Simple Text

The simplest way to replace text in a document is by providing a search string and a replacement string. This method is useful for making direct word or phrase substitutions.

Use one of the Replace methods to perform a search and replace on a string:

method Replace(string, string, string, string)

string doc = "Document.docx";
string pattern = "Wordize";
string replacement = "Wordize Pro";

Replacer.Replace(doc, "Document.1.docx", pattern, replacement);

method Replace(string, string, SaveFormat, string, string)

string doc = "Document.doc";
string pattern = "Wordize";
string replacement = "Wordize Pro";

Replacer.Replace(doc, "Document.2.docx", SaveFormat.Docx, pattern, replacement);

method Replace(Stream, Stream, SaveFormat, string, string)

string pattern = "Wordize";
string replacement = "Wordize Pro";

using var streamIn = File.OpenRead("Document.doc");
using var streamOut = File.Create("Document.3.docx");

Replacer.Replace(streamIn, streamOut, SaveFormat.Docx, pattern, replacement);

Search and Replace Using Regular Expressions

Wordize provides a powerful way to search and replace documents using regular expressions (Regex). This is useful when working with dynamic text such as dates, numbers, placeholders, or recurring phrases. Using Wordize Replacer for .NET and the Replace method options, developers can define complex search patterns and replace them with the desired text.

The following code examples show how to perform a search and replace through a regular expression using one of the Replace methods:

method Replace(string, string, Regex, string)

string doc = "Document.docx";
Regex pattern = new Regex("gr(a|e)y");
string replacement = "lavender";

Replacer.Replace(doc, "Document.4.docx", pattern, replacement);

method Replace(string, string, SaveFormat, Regex, string)

string doc = "Document.doc";
Regex pattern = new Regex("gr(a|e)y");
string replacement = "lavender";

Replacer.Replace(doc, "Document.5.docx", SaveFormat.Docx, pattern, replacement);

method Replace(Stream, Stream, SaveFormat, Regex, string)

Regex pattern = new Regex("gr(a|e)y");
string replacement = "lavender";

using var streamIn = File.OpenRead("Document.docx");
using var streamOut = File.Create("Document.6.docx");

Replacer.Replace(streamIn, streamOut, SaveFormat.Docx, pattern, replacement);

Customize Search and Replace

You can work with many options during the search and replace process using the following FindReplaceOptions:

ReplacementFormat – to specify the replacement format, defaults to “Text”
MatchCase – “true” if the search is case sensitive, “false” if the search is case insensitive
FindWholeWordsOnly – to specify whether we are searching for a standalone word
IgnoreDeleted – to specify whether to ignore text inside delete revisions, defaults to “false”
IgnoreInserted – to specify whether to ignore text inside insert revisions, defaults to “false”
IgnoreFields – to specify whether to ignore text inside fields, defaults to “false”
IgnoreFieldCodes – to specify whether to ignore field codes only, defaults to “false”
IgnoreFootnotes – to specify whether to ignore footnotes, defaults to “false”
UseSubstitutions – to specify whether to recognize and use substitutions within replacement patterns, defaults to “false”
IgnoreStructuredDocumentTags – to specify whether to ignore the content of SDT, defaults to “false”
IgnoreShapes – to specify whether to ignore shapes within a text, defaults to “false”

To perform a search and replace with FindReplaceOptions, use one of the following Replace methods:

method Replace(string, string, SaveFormat, string, string, FindReplaceOptions)

string doc = "Document.doc";
string pattern = "Wordize";
string replacement = "Wordize Pro";

FindReplaceOptions options = new FindReplaceOptions { FindWholeWordsOnly = true };

Replacer.Replace(doc, "Document.7.docx", SaveFormat.Docx, pattern, replacement, options);

method Replace(string, string, SaveFormat, Regex, string, FindReplaceOptions)

string doc = "Document.doc";
Regex pattern = new Regex("gr(a|e)y");
string replacement = "lavender";

FindReplaceOptions options = new FindReplaceOptions { FindWholeWordsOnly = true };

Replacer.Replace(doc, "Document.8.docx", SaveFormat.Docx, pattern, replacement, options);

method Replace(Stream, Stream, SaveFormat, String, String, FindReplaceOptions)

string pattern = "Wordize";
string replacement = "Wordize Pro";

using var streamIn = File.OpenRead("Document.doc");
using var streamOut = File.Create("Document.9.docx");

Replacer.Replace(streamIn, streamOut, SaveFormat.Docx, pattern, replacement, new FindReplaceOptions { FindWholeWordsOnly = true });

method Replace(Stream, Stream, SaveFormat, Regex, string, FindReplaceOptions)

Regex pattern = new Regex("gr(a|e)y");
string replacement = "lavender";

using var streamIn = File.OpenRead("Document.doc");
using var streamOut = File.Create("Document.10.docx");

Replacer.Replace(streamIn, streamOut, SaveFormat.Docx, pattern, replacement, new FindReplaceOptions { FindWholeWordsOnly = true });

Popular User Scenarios

The following code example shows how to specify ReplacementFormat to HTML:

string doc = "Document.doc";
string pattern = "run";
string replacement = "<b>Text </b><i>with </i><u>formatting</u>";

FindReplaceOptions options = new FindReplaceOptions() { ReplacementFormat = ReplacementFormat.Html };

Replacer.Replace(doc, "Document.7.docx", SaveFormat.Docx, pattern, replacement, options);

The following code example shows how to specify ReplacementFormat to Markdown:

string doc = "Document.doc";
string pattern = "run";
string replacement = "**Text** *with* `formatting`";

FindReplaceOptions options = new FindReplaceOptions() { ReplacementFormat = ReplacementFormat.Markdown };

Replacer.Replace(doc, "Document.8.docx", SaveFormat.Docx, pattern, replacement, options);

The following code example shows how to replace text only if the found pattern is a separate word:

string doc = "Document.doc";
string pattern = "Wordize";
string replacement = "Wordize Pro";

FindReplaceOptions options = new FindReplaceOptions { FindWholeWordsOnly = true };

Replacer.Replace(doc, "Document.9.docx", SaveFormat.Docx, pattern, replacement, options);

The following code example shows how to ignore text inside fields when replacing:

string doc = "Document.doc";
string pattern = "Wordize";
string replacement = "Wordize Pro";

FindReplaceOptions options = new FindReplaceOptions { IgnoreFields = true };

Replacer.Replace(doc, "Document.10.docx", SaveFormat.Docx, pattern, replacement, options);