Search and Replace lets you search for text in various records and replace any found text with new text.

 

 

To search and replace information in your file:

 

1.Select Search and Replace on the Search page.

2.Choose the field you want to search (name type, places, multimedia filenames, or note type), enter the text to search for, and the text you want to replace it with. There is also a check box to force RootsMagic to only find matches which have the same capitalization (case).

3.Click the "Find" button to start the search and replace.

 

 

4.When RootsMagic finds a match, it will stop to ask if you want to replace the item. You can:

▪Replace – Click this button to replace the item

▪Replace all – Click this button to replace all items without stopping again (be careful with this last one)

▪Skip – Click this button to skip the item without replacing it

 

You may want to create a backup of your database before doing a search and replace, in case it doesn't turn out the way you expected - especially when doing a large change and you want to use the Replace all function.

 

 

One note: when you do a search and replace on place names, you may end up with duplicate places in the place list which you will need to clean up.

 

Search and replace is especially useful when you move photos to a different directory. For example, if you move your photos from C:\ROOTSMAGIC\PHOTOS\ to D:\DATA\PHOTOS\, you can do a search and replace on Multimedia filenames, and replace C:\ROOTSMAGIC\ with D:\DATA\.

 

Search and Replace is also available from several of the main RootsMagic Pages (People, Places, etc.) to work with information specific to that data type.  It is found under the Tools menu on each page.

 

Avoid unintended replacements

Make a backup before a large replacement. Choose the field category deliberately, start with a specific search string, and inspect several matches before choosing any option that changes all matches.

Changing the spelling of a place does not combine duplicate places. Use Merge places for that. Before changing a place name or source title, check its Used list: your correction may appear for many people.