The Search and Replace Approach

The core of ReplaceMagic is a search and replace engine purpose-built for Office document internals. You enter what text to find — the old server name, the old file path, or the old SharePoint URL — and what to replace it with: the new server name, new path, or new URL. ReplaceMagic then updates every matching occurrence across every document in your target location, without you having to open a single file manually.

Advanced Search Options

Several matching modes give you precise control over what gets replaced:

• Exact match: finds only strings that match the search term character for character — the safe default for path replacements.
• Match case: distinguishes between uppercase and lowercase characters, useful when your paths are case-sensitive.
• Whole word only: prevents partial matches inside longer strings, for example preventing "sales" from matching inside "wholesale".
• Wildcards: use simple wildcard characters to match variable segments of a path.
• Full regular expressions: for complex pattern matching across variable-format strings, such as matching multiple old server names with a single rule.

Multiple Replacement Rules

You are not limited to a single search/replace pair. ReplaceMagic lets you add an unlimited number of rules, all of which run in a single processing pass across your document set. For complex migrations involving hundreds of path variations, import your rules from a CSV file rather than entering them manually. The Replacements Preparation Package delivers a ready-to-import CSV for large-scale migrations.

Selecting Document Areas

You control which parts of each document ReplaceMagic processes. Options include:

• Hyperlinks only
• OLE object links
• Link sources (Excel workbook connections)
• VBA code
• Headers and footers
• Body text
• All areas at once

Targeting only the relevant areas reduces processing time and avoids unintended changes in parts of documents that do not need updating.

Preview Mode

Before committing any changes, run a dry-run using Preview mode. ReplaceMagic will show you exactly what would change in each document — the original string and the proposed replacement — without saving anything. Review the proposed changes in the grid and confirm they are correct before starting the live replacement run.

Backup Before Replacing

ReplaceMagic can optionally back up all documents before making any changes. Configure the backup location and choose whether to back up all scanned documents or only those that will be modified. Running replacements without a backup is possible but not recommended for large migrations; always ensure you have a recovery path before starting a replacement run on production documents.