In Excel: press Ctrl+H, enter the text to find and the replacement, choose whether to search the sheet or workbook, then Replace All only after checking one result.
Select the range first if you do not want to search the whole sheet.
Press Ctrl+H to open Replace.
Enter the Find what and Replace with values, then open Options for workbook, match case or whole-cell matching.
Use Find Next or Replace once to verify the target, then use Replace All.
What this does
Find and Replace edits existing cells in place. Ctrl+F only finds matches; Ctrl+H opens the Replace tab, where Excel can replace text, numbers, formats or formulas across a selection, a sheet or an entire workbook. For a reversible formula approach, SUBSTITUTE creates a changed copy instead of overwriting the original value. Most people learn this as a sequence of clicks and forget it by next week; learning it as a pattern instead is what lets you apply it to the next, slightly different version of the problem without starting from scratch. That is the difference this page is trying to make. The difference between a quick fix and a sheet you can trust is the extra minute you spend validating “find and replace in excell”. Start on a copy or a tiny sample, keep the affected cells visible, and compare the result with the tool above before you touch the real workbook. When a formula is involved, keep the inputs labelled beside it, reference cells instead of typing values, and apply number formatting only after the result checks out. The point is a text operation that turns messy entries into clean, usable data, but the practical win is that someone else can open the file and understand what happened without asking you.
A worked example
Column A contains product codes like OLD-104, OLD-205 and OLD-309. Select the column, press Ctrl+H, find OLD- and replace with NEW-. Preview one match with Find Next, then Replace All. The three values become NEW-104, NEW-205 and NEW-309. If you need a non-destructive copy, =SUBSTITUTE(A2,"OLD-","NEW-") returns the updated code beside the original. Find and Replace is the fastest cleanup tool when a label, prefix, typo or formatting choice repeats across many cells. Used carefully, it turns dozens of manual edits into one auditable action. If there is any chance you will reuse this, drop it into a small template tab right now: a labelled input area on the left and the formula beside it, checked once against the tool above. Next time the same question comes up, the answer is a single paste away instead of a rebuild from memory.
In Google Sheets
If you are in Google Sheets rather than Excel, the good news is that the formula shown here is identical and the workflow barely changes — menus sit across the top instead of in a ribbon, and a few function names differ slightly, but anything you build here moves across with little or no rework. The aim was to get you unstuck fast and leave you a little more capable than a copy-paste would. The answer is at the top, the tool proves it, and the detail above shows why it holds — so the next time a colleague asks, you can answer without reaching for search. If you take one thing from this page on “find and replace in excell”, make it the habit rather than the keystrokes: set the problem up with labelled inputs, reference those cells, and let Excel do the recomputing. Bookmark the page for the syntax, but do the example once in a blank sheet and check it against the tool above — five minutes of hands-on practice fixes the method in memory far better than re-reading, and it surfaces the small snags while they are still harmless. After that the technique is genuinely yours: faster than searching for it again, and reliable enough to drop into work that other people depend on.
Common mistakes
- Running Replace All without selecting a range, accidentally changing the whole worksheet or workbook.
- Replacing partial text when you meant whole cells; turn on Match entire cell contents.
- Forgetting formulas are searchable too, so a replacement can change references or formula text.
- Using Find and Replace for a repeatable transformation that should really be a formula column with
SUBSTITUTE.
Frequently asked questions
What is the shortcut for Find and Replace?
Ctrl+H opens Replace directly. Ctrl+F opens Find, and you can switch to Replace from that dialog.
Can Excel replace across the whole workbook?
Yes. Open Options in the Replace dialog and set Within to Workbook before replacing.
How do I replace without changing the original data?
Use =SUBSTITUTE(original,"old","new") in a helper column and keep the source cells untouched.
Other ways people ask this
People reach this page typing “find similar or same names in 2 different excell sheets” and “find and replace excell”, among other phrasings; whichever wording you used, the fix above is the one you want.
Platform & version notes
- Several of those searches mention Google Sheets — and the good news is that "find and replace in excell" works there almost identically: the formula syntax carries over unchanged, only the surrounding menus sit across the top of the screen instead of in a ribbon.
Can I do this in Google Sheets too?
Yes. "find and replace in excell" carries over to Google Sheets with the same formula and almost the same steps — the menus are arranged differently, but the result is identical.
Why do people search for this in so many different ways?
Because the same task has many names. “find similar or same names in 2 different excell sheets”, “find and replace excell” all point at the one operation explained on this page, which is why they all lead here.