Find and replace text in Numbers on Mac
You can search for specific words, phrases, numbers and characters, and automatically replace search results with new content that you specify. All visible text in tables, text boxes, shapes and comments, on all sheets, is included in the search.
Numbers searches the result of a formula but doesn’t search within a formula.
Search for text
Click
in the toolbar, then select Show Find and Replace.You can also press Command-F.
Enter a word or phrase in the search field. Matches are highlighted as you enter text.
To restrict search results to either whole words or words that match the capitalisation you specify, click the pop-up menu to the left of the search field, then choose either Whole Words or Match Case (or both).
For example, when Whole Words is selected, searching for “under” won’t find the word “underline”.
Click the left or right arrow to find the next or previous match.
When searching for a value, Numbers matches only the value that’s displayed in a table cell, not the underlying value or formula. For example, if you’re looking for “1/2”, a search for “0.5” won’t find a match.
To see or clear recent searches, click the magnifying glass in the search field.
Replace text
Click
in the toolbar, then select Show Find and Replace.Click the pop-up menu to the left of the top text field, then choose Find & Replace.
Enter a word or phrase in the top text field.
As you enter text, the number of matches appears alongside it. The first match you can edit is highlighted in yellow.
Do any of the following:
Replace all matches with the same replacement text: In the bottom text field, enter replacement text, then click Replace All.
Important: Leaving the bottom text field blank deletes all instances of the found text.
Replace different matches with different text: In the bottom text field, enter replacement text, then click Replace & Find. Continue clicking Replace & Find to apply the same replacement text, or enter different replacement text and click Replace & Find.
Replace the selected match but don’t move to the next match: Click Replace.
Move to the previous or next match without making a change: Click the left or right arrow.
In a table cell, replacing a value updates both the displayed value and the underlying value. For example, if you replace “1/2” with “1/3”, the underlying value changes from “0.5” to “0.333333”.
You can’t replace matching text in table cells that contain a formula.