Find & Replace
Replace text across a whole spreadsheet in one go. As many rules as you need, advanced patterns, and case transforms, on every plan.
By Operelio team
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What it does
Apply one or more find-and-replace rules across your file. Target specific columns or the whole file. Rules run in order, so rule 2 sees the results of rule 1.
Rule options
Each rule has a find value, a replace value, and optional flags:
| Option | Free | Starter | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contains | Yes | Yes | The default. Matches the find text anywhere in a cell. |
| Case sensitive | Yes | Yes | "Westmarch" only matches "Westmarch", not "westmarch" or "WESTMARCH". |
| Whole word | Yes | Yes | "and" matches the word "and" but not "sand" or "android". |
| Exact cell | Yes | Yes | Only replaces if the entire cell matches, not just a substring. |
| Advanced patterns | Yes | Yes | Match patterns like phone number formats, postcodes, or email shapes. For technical users, this uses standard regular-expression syntax. |
| Case transforms | Yes | Yes | Convert matched text to uppercase, lowercase, or title case instead of replacing it. |
How to use it
Upload your file
Works with CSV and Excel (.xlsx, .xls).
Add a rule
Type what to find, what to replace it with, and adjust match options if you need them.
Scope the rule
Choose which columns to apply it to. If you do not select any, the rule runs against every column in the file.
Add more rules
Add as many rules as you need. There is no cap on any plan, including Free.
Preview
See how many cells will change before running.
Run the job
Click Find and replace. Download the updated file.
Advanced patterns
Advanced patterns let you match formats that plain text can't describe. Instead of a literal search term, you write a pattern that describes the shape of what you're looking for.
Common examples: \d{3}-\d{4} matches phone number fragments like "555-1234" or "999-5678". \b[\w.]+@[\w.]+\.\w+\b matches anything shaped like an email address. [A-Z]{1,2}\d{1,2} matches UK postcode prefixes like "SW1" or "EC2".
You can also capture parts of the match and reuse them in the replacement. Put parts of the pattern in parentheses, then reference them in Replace with \1, \2, and so on. Find (\d{3})-(\d{4}) with Replace (\1) \2 turns "555-1234" into "(555) 1234".
Patterns are limited to 500 characters to keep them from running slowly. Invalid patterns are skipped with a warning on the results page instead of stopping the job.
Case transforms
Instead of replacing text with a static value, you can transform the case of matched text. The three options are: uppercase ("new york" becomes "NEW YORK"), lowercase ("NEW YORK" becomes "new york"), and title case ("new york" becomes "New York").
Title case handles apostrophes correctly: "it's" becomes "It's", not "It'S". To case-transform every cell in a column, turn on Advanced patterns and set Find to `.*` (which matches any non-empty text). Then pick your transform and scope it to just that column.
What the results show
The results page shows: total cells changed, total rows affected, and a breakdown per rule showing the find value, replace value, and number of replacements it made.
Run it automatically with a trail
Once the settings are right for the files you get every week, a trail can run them for you. A trail watches a folder and applies your find and replace rules on every file that lands there, then pushes the result into HubSpot, Salesforce or Pipedrive, with the seven safety checks and approval built in. Set it up once and the cleanup, the verification, the lead routing and the CRM import are automated from then on.
Trails run on Starter and above.
Frequently asked questions
Do rules run in order?
Yes. Rule 1 runs first, then rule 2 sees the results of rule 1, and so on. Keep this in mind if rules might overlap.
Is there a limit on pattern length?
Yes. Advanced patterns are limited to 500 characters to prevent slow-running expressions.
What plan do I need?
All of it runs on every plan, including Free: as many rules as you need, every match mode, advanced patterns, and case transforms.
Ready to get started?
Upload a file and run your first transformation. Free, no credit card required.