Find and replace in a CSV, in only the columns you choose
In short: Runs one or more find-and-replace rules on the columns you tick (all columns if none): plain text or regular expressions with $1 groups, match case and whole-cell options, header row optional. Shows the count per rule and every changed cell; downloads the file and a change log. Limit: Rules apply to every matching cell in the chosen columns; there's no row condition. Filter the file first if only some rows should change.
Load the CSV, type what to find and what to replace it with, and tick the columns to change, for example only country, so USA becomes United States there and nowhere else. Add more rules to run in order, switch on regular expressions for patterns, and check the list of changed cells before downloading.
Price: this tool is free. Checking a whole email list is from $9/mo, and the first 100 checks are free with Google, no card. See pricing
Sample result
5 cells changed in 2 columns; USA, U.S. and US are now United States.
- Cells changed
- 5
- Rules
- 2
- Rows changed
- 3
What this means for you
Only the ticked columns changed; every other value is as it was in the file.
- Chosen columns only
- Rules run in order
- Whole cell or regex
- Every change logged
- Find and replace
- CSV
- Cleanup
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated · Runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent to us
Also in: Português (Brasil) · Español
How do I check the addresses after cleaning the columns?
- Run your replacements and download the file.
- Upload it at /verify. Every address gets a live mailbox check, and valid, risky and invalid download as separate files. The first 100 email checks are free with a Google sign-in, no card.
- Import the valid file.
How do I replace values in one CSV column only?
- Paste or upload the CSV and press Load the CSV.
- Type the text to find and its replacement. Leave Replace with empty to delete the match. Use Whole cell only so US doesn't match inside USB.
- Tick the columns to change. With none ticked, every column changes.
- Read the changed cells, then download the CSV, and the change log if you need an audit trail.
Example
- You enter
- A 4-row CSV with email, company, country and phone columns, two rules (a regex turning
Inc./incendings intoInc, and whole-cellUSA|U.S.|UStoUnited States) and only company and country ticked. - You get
- 5 cells changed in 3 rows:
Northwind Inc.andContoso incbecome... Inc, andUSA,U.S.andUSbecomeUnited States; the phone column is untouched. Every change is listed with before and after. - Limits
- Runs in your browser with no row cap; an uploaded file can be up to 25 MB.
Why not use Find and Replace in Excel?
You can, if you select the column first; forget, and Replace All changes every sheet cell that matches. Excel also re-saves the CSV with its own idea of each value, so zip codes lose leading zeros and long IDs turn into 4.11E+15. Here the file is changed as text: only the cells in the chosen columns are touched, and every other byte stays as it was.
Rules run in order on each cell, so a cleanup can be built in steps: strip Inc. variants, then collapse double spaces, then turn USA, U.S. and US into United States.
How do regular expressions work here?
Tick Regular expression and the Find box takes JavaScript regex syntax; groups go into the replacement as $1, $2. ^(\d{4})$ replaced with 0$1 puts back the zero a spreadsheet dropped from four-digit New England zip codes. \s+ replaced with a single space collapses repeated spaces. A pattern that matches an empty string is refused, since it would insert the replacement between every character.
In plain mode the Find text is matched literally, so a dot is a dot and $ is a dollar sign. In both modes, \n and \t typed in a box mean a line break and a tab.
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- Marketing ops
- Standardise country, state or lead-source spellings in one column before an import, without touching the rest.
- Cold emailers
- Strip Inc., LLC and Ltd from company names so a {{company}} merge field reads naturally.
- CRM admins
- Map old picklist values to new ones across an export, with a log of every change.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- Rules apply to every matching cell in the chosen columns; there's no row condition. Filter the file first if only some rows should change.
- Regex is JavaScript flavour; lookbehind works in current browsers, but some PCRE features don't.
- The output is written with the file's delimiter; quoting is added only where a value needs it.
- It changes text, not whether a contact's address works. That needs a mailbox check.
Common questions
- Can I replace in several columns at once?
- Yes. Tick each column; leave all unticked to change the whole file.
- Is the header row changed?
- Only if you tick Also replace in the header row. To rename columns, the CSV column editor is quicker.
- Can I undo a change?
- The original file isn't touched. Change the rules and download again, or use the change log to see before and after for every cell.
- Is my file uploaded?
- No. It's read in your browser.
A tidy list can still be full of dead addresses.
Extracting, deduplicating and syntax checks all work on the text of an address. None of them can tell whether the mailbox exists. Only the server that hosts it can answer that, through an SMTP check, and that is what the paid product does.
- Upload the cleaned file as it is: CSVs up to 100,000 rows
- A real SMTP mailbox check on every row, with catch-all detection
- Small list? Starter at $9/mo covers 2,500 emails a month, cancel anytime
Plans from $9 a month, cancel anytime, no contract. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. The free tools stay free either way.