Find and replace

Find and replace lets you search for a word or phrase across your knowledge base and update it everywhere at once. It works across articles, variables, snippets, and glossary terms, eliminating the need to edit each item individually. You can also find and replace text within a single article using the in-editor tool.

Why use find and replace

• A product name, feature name, or other term has changed and requires an update everywhere it appears.
• You want to standardize terminology across your knowledge base.
• You want to remove a word or phrase from multiple items at once.
• You need to update a hyperlink's text or URL wherever it appears.

For changes limited to a single article, use the in-editor find and replace tool instead.

Before you begin

Find and replace requires the Editor content role, or a custom role with the Perform Find and replace permission enabled.

Your access level also determines what you can view and change:

• With full access, you can search and replace across articles, variables, snippets, and glossary terms.
• With view access to content tools but no update access, matches within variables appear, but replacement is not permitted.
• Users with Draft writer content role do not have permission for Find and replace. Read Content roles to learn more.
• With update access but no publish permission, replacement is permitted, but affected articles can only be saved as drafts.
• With read-only access, you can search and view matches, but cannot perform a replacement.
• Without access to Find and replace, the feature is unavailable.

Perform global find and replace

1. Navigate to Content tools () in the left navigation bar and select Find and replace ().
2. Enter the word or phrase to search for in the Find field.

3. Enter the replacement text in the Replace with field. Leave this field empty to delete the matched text instead of replacing it.

4. Enable Match whole words (ab) to match the term only when it appears as a complete word. For example, with this option enabled, replacing page with article does not affect homepage.
5. Select the Filter () icon to narrow the search, then select Apply. Refer to Filter options below.
6. Select Find all or press Enter. The results list displays every matching article, variable, snippet, or glossary term based on the applied filter, along with the number of occurrences.

7. Select an item in the list to preview it. Matches are highlighted, and the arrows above the preview move between occurrences.
8. Select the items to replace by checking the box next to each one, or select the checkbox at the top of the list to select all results. Use the search field above the results list to locate a specific item by name.
9. Select Replace selected to update only the checked items, or Replace all to update every item in the list.
10. Choose how the affected articles should be saved:
    • Retain status preserves each article's current state. Published articles receive a new published version; draft articles remain drafts.
    • Draft moves all affected articles to draft status for review before publishing.

11. Select Confirm to apply the changes.

After you replace

• If every match is replaced successfully, Document360 confirms the update and retains your search filters.
• If only some items are updated, Document360 indicates the outcome, for example, "7 occurrences in 3 articles updated, 1 occurrence in 1 article failed."
• If a replacement fails, Document360 displays an error and retains the item in your results so you can retry.

Filter options

Understanding search results

• If a term appears in an article and a variable used by that article, only the match in the article is highlighted. The variable appears as a separate item in the results list.
• Variables, snippets, and glossary terms can be replaced the same way as articles, using Replace selected or Replace all.
• For glossary terms, the search matches the definition, not the term name itself. To update the term name, edit it directly in the Glossary section.
• Updating a variable, snippet, or glossary term applies the change everywhere it is used.
• For articles copied using Replicate, only the original appears in your search results. A replacement made in the original applies automatically to its copies.

Exporting your search results

Select Export () in the results toolbar to download the current search results as a file. Use this to keep a record of the items a replacement will affect before confirming it.

Find and replace in the editor

You can also find and replace text within a single article, directly from the editor. This affects only the open article.

Markdown editor: Select the Find and replace () icon in the article header, or use Ctrl+F.

Advanced WYSIWYG editor: Select the More () icon in the article header, then select Find and replace ().

Best practices

• For large-scale replacements affecting many published articles, choose Draft instead of Retain status. This moves all affected articles to draft so you can review the changes before publishing, rather than pushing new published versions live immediately.
• Set the Module and Find in options before running a broad search, to keep results focused.
• Apply filters before selecting items to replace. An unfiltered search can affect hundreds of items unintentionally.
• Enable Match whole words when the search term could appear inside other words, for example, log within login or catalog.
• Export your results before a large replacement, to retain a record of the affected items.
• Back up your knowledge base before a large-scale replacement, to allow content restoration if needed.
• Review a sample of replaced items afterward to confirm the wording reads correctly.
• Use the in-editor tool for changes limited to a single article. It is faster and scopes the change to that article only.

FAQ