How to Change the Capitalization of Text

Some users have been reaching us with questions, asking if there’s any way the change lowercase letters to uppercase (or vice-versa) in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or even without using a text editor. Some affected users we’re even considering deleting the text they mistakenly typed with the wrong capitalization, but there are much more efficient ways to fix this problem.

Fortunately, Microsoft Word and all other text editors will include the functionality of changing the capitalization selected text. It’s all very easy to do, even if you’re not tech savvy at all. Actually, there are various different ways to do this. To make things even easier for you, we explained each procedure in detail below.

We are going to show you how to change the capitalization on Windows, MacOS, and Linux. To make matters even more flexible, we’ve also included a Free capitalization tool that you can use regardless of the operating system that you’re using.

All the methods featured below will work for you regardless of your Windows version or the Microsoft Office version that you’re using.  Feel free to follow whichever method seems more convenable to your way of doing things and ignore the methods that aren’t applicable to your particular scenario.

Method 1: Capitalizing Text in Microsoft Word (Windows or Mac)

Since Microsoft Word has the biggest market share when it comes to text editors, chances are you’ll need to know how to convert lowercase text to uppercase, or vice-versa. There are actually two ways that you can follow to capitalize text in Microsoft Word.

Keep in mind that both of the methods below will also work with the Office 365 version, but they won’t work with Word Online.

Using the Keyboard Shortcut

The quickest way to change capitalization in Microsoft Word is to use the Shift + F3 shortcut. Simply select the text that you want to convert to a different capitalization and press the shortcut once (Shift + F3). 

This will systematically change the selected text between lowercase, uppercase or capitalizing each word.

Using the Change Case Button

A more focused approach but one that might take you more time is to use the Change Case button to modify the capitalization. Same as before, start as selecting the text that you want to modify. But instead of pressing the keyboard shortcut, go to the menu bar at the top and click on the Change Case icon.

You’ll then have to choose between SentenceCase, LowerCase, UpperCase, Capitalize Each word and ToggleCase. As you can see, this option gives you more options to choose from than using the keyboard shortcut.

Method 2: Capitalizing text in Google Docs

Google Docs is a pretty worthy competitor to Microsoft Word. And just like Word, it also includes a capitalization tool that is just as solid as it’s a competitor. However, the tool is somehow hidden inside one of its menus, so it’s harder to find if you don’t know where to look.

You can use the Capitalization tool to toggle between lowercase, UPPERCASE and Title Case.

To use Capitalization in Google Docs, start by selecting the text that you want to modify. Then, use the ribbon menu at the top to click on Format > Capitalization. You’ll then have the option to select from 3 different types of capitalization.

PRO TIP: You can add even more capitalization options to Google Docs by installing the Change Case Add-on in Google Docs. This extension has a smarter case formatter and is capable of following capitalization rules. For example, you can use lowercase capitalization for articles (‘a’, ‘the’ and so on) while maintaining the options to invert the case for the rest of your text.

Here’s a quick guide on installing and using the Change Case add-on on Google Docs:

1. Open a Google Docs document and make sure you are signed in with your account.
2. Then, access the ribbon-bar at the top of the screen and click on Add-ons, then click on Get Add-ons…
3. Once you’re inside the add-ons tab, use the search function in the top-right corner of the window to search for ‘change case’.
4. Then, from the list of results, click on the Free button associated with the Change Case extension.
5. You’ll then be prompted to sign in with your Google account. After you do so, click on Allow to complete the installation.
6. Once the extension has been installed, use it by selecting the text and going up to Add-ons > Change Case, then selecting the type of capitalization that you want.

   

Method 3: Capitalizing text in Sublime Text Editor

Sublime Text is still one of the most popular text editors, especially among programs or professionals that work with a lot of code. And just like all the other popular text editors, Sublime Text includes a feature that will allow you to change the capitalization of your words.

To use the Sublime Text capitalization tool, click the Edit menu (on the ribbon at the top) and choose Convert Case. Then, from the next menu, select the type of capitalization that you want.

You can choose from Title Case, Upper Case, Lower Case, and Swap case.

If you want to make things quicker, you can also use the keyboard shortcut Command (Ctrl) + K, and then press Command (Ctrl) again to switch between the 4 different capitalization options.

Method 4: Capitalizing text in macOS

The good thing about Mac computers is that the majority of apps integrated with the OS have a built-in grammar check along with text capitalization.

Adjusting the text capitalization on macOS is very simple. All you have to do is select the text that you want to modify, then right-click on it to bring up the context menu. Then, hover over the Transformation menu and select the type of capitalization that you want. You can choose from Make Upper Case, Make Lower Case or Capitalize.

NOTE: In case you don’t see the options in the right-click context menu, simply click on the gear icon in the app’s font settings and you should see it. Also, keep in mind that IA Writer and few other writing apps that can be found on MacOS include their own title case functions. These might add additional options to the standard Transformation menu.

Method 5: Capitalizing Text Online

If you want an option that will work regardless of the operating system that you’re using, we’d suggest that you use a free online tool. These things will work regardless of your OS, the type of text you need to edit or the type of case that you need to convert to.

We tested a whole bunch of them before determining to settle for two solid options – Convert Case or Title Case. Both tools are free and will automatically convert your text. Convert Case has a simpler interface which might make it more appealing to non-technical persons, but in terms of functionality, TitleCase is the clear winner.

On top of featuring a lot of different conversion options including lowercase, start case, pascal case, hyphen-case and more, you also have the ability to trim or even remove links breaks from your text automatically.

You can also establish title case extensions from the default list or add your own custom ones.