How to Change Lowercase to Uppercase in Word

To change lowercase text to uppercase in Word, select the text, then choose Home > Change case > UPPERCASE. On Windows, you can also select the text and press Shift + F3 repeatedly until every letter is uppercase. These options work in desktop Word for Microsoft 365 and Word 2024.

You can use the same menu on Mac, while Word on phones has a separate formatting path. Word for the web has no built-in Change case command, so you need to open the document in desktop Word or replace the text with an uppercase version.

Select and convert your text

Select the word, sentence, or passage you want to convert. Open Home, choose Change case, shown as Aa, then select UPPERCASE. This converts the selected letters to capitals on both Windows and Mac.

For the whole main document, select all of its text before using the same command. Headers, footers, and separate text objects may need their own selections. Check those areas separately when you want capitals throughout the document.

Choose UPPERCASE when your selection contains a mix of lowercase and capital letters. To invert an entirely lowercase selection instead, select the text and choose Home > Change case > tOGGLE cASE. That option reverses each letter's case, so any existing capitals become lowercase.

Use the uppercase keyboard shortcut

With the text selected on Windows, press Shift + F3 repeatedly until the selection is uppercase. The shortcut cycles through case options, so keep the text selected and stop when the letters have the capitalization you want.

On Mac, select the text and press fn + Shift + F3 to cycle to uppercase. You can use Shift + F3 when your keyboard sends standard function keys. If the shortcut does not convert the text, choose Home > Change case > UPPERCASE.

Change text to uppercase on your phone

In Word for Android or iPhone, select the text and adjust the selection handles to include the letters you want to change. Choose Home > More Formatting > Change Case > UPPERCASE. You can also choose tOGGLE cASE from the same menu to invert an entirely lowercase selection.

Microsoft describes this path for the phone interface; tablet controls may be placed differently. If you cannot find the menu, you can replace a short selection by typing it again in capitals or use the browser converter below.

Convert text in Word for the web

From the browser document, choose Editing > Open in Desktop App. This requires an installed, licensed desktop version of Word. Once the document opens, select the text and choose Home > Change case > UPPERCASE, then save before returning to the browser.

For a short word or phrase, select it and retype it while holding Shift, or turn on Caps Lock before retyping. Turn off Caps Lock afterward. Pressing Caps Lock by itself does not convert selected text, and this replacement method also works in desktop or mobile Word with a suitable keyboard.

On Mac, copy the passage into TextEdit and select it there. Choose Edit > Transformations > Make Upper Case, then copy the converted text and paste it over the original selection in Word. You can use this method with either desktop Word or Word for the web.

For a browser alternative, copy your Word text, open Convert Case, and paste it into the text box. Select UPPER CASE, then copy the converted text and paste it over the original Word selection. External conversion may lose document formatting, so use desktop Word's built-in command if you need to avoid that extra conversion step.

Apply All caps formatting

Use Change case when you want to convert the letters themselves. Choose the All caps font effect when you want the text to appear in capitals through formatting. The effect does not convert the underlying letters.

On Windows, select the text and press Ctrl + D to open the font dialog. Under Effects, select All caps, then select OK.

You can also select the text and press Ctrl + Shift + A on Windows or Command + Shift + A on Mac. Repeat the shortcut to turn the effect off. Use the case conversion menu instead if you want uppercase letters rather than uppercase appearance.

Replace repeated lowercase words with capitals

For a particular word or phrase repeated throughout a Windows document, open Home > Editing > Replace. Enter the lowercase text in Find what and its uppercase version in Replace with. Open More and select Match case to target the capitalization you entered.

Choose Replace to handle individual matches, or select Replace All to change every match. This replaces the specific text you entered rather than converting arbitrary text to uppercase. For a passage containing many different words, select the passage and use Change case.

Fix text that still looks wrong

If some letters became lowercase while others became uppercase, this can happen if you used tOGGLE cASE on text that already contained capitals. Select the passage again and choose Home > Change case > UPPERCASE to make every selected letter uppercase.

If the text still looks capitalized after you try changing its case, check the All caps font effect. In Word for Windows, select the affected text, press Ctrl + D to open the font dialog, uncheck All caps under Effects, and select OK. On Mac, select the text and press Command + Shift + A to turn the effect off. You can then use Change case to set the capitalization of the letters themselves.

If a header, footer, or separate text object remains lowercase, select its text separately and apply UPPERCASE again. Selecting the main document text may leave those areas outside the selection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Word automatically capitalize a term every time you type it?

Yes, you can add an AutoCorrect replacement for a recurring term in Word for Windows. Open File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options, then on AutoCorrect, enable Replace text as you type. Enter the lowercase term in Replace and its uppercase version in With, select Add, then select OK to close the dialogs. After that, type the term and press Spacebar or Enter to replace it with the uppercase version. This affects subsequent typing rather than converting existing passages.

Is Small Caps the same as uppercase?

No, Small Caps produces smaller capital-shaped letters through formatting rather than converting text to ordinary uppercase. To apply it, select the text and open Home > Font using the dialog box launcher on Windows, or choose Format > Font on Mac. Under Effects, select Small Caps, then select OK.

Can you make an entire Word style display capitals?

Yes, in Word for Windows, select text using the target style and apply All caps with Ctrl + Shift + A. Under Home > Styles, right-click that style and choose Update [Style Name] to Match Selection, using the target style's name. Text using the style adopts its formatting, including the uppercase appearance.

Can Excel convert text before you paste it into Word?

Yes, copy the Word text into Excel cell A1, then enter =UPPER(A1) in B1 and press Enter. Copy B1 and paste its resulting text over the original selection in Word. For multiple rows, fill the formula down before copying the results.