Fix text case without hunting through menus. Uppercase, lowercase, title case, and sentence case converters are built into every major writing tool. Here is where to find them in SimpleText, Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and on a Mac. You will also learn the Shift+F3 shortcut in Word and the Google Docs capitalization menu.
Using SimpleText for Quick Case Changes
SimpleText includes several text converters that work on whatever you have typed. The app saves as you type and never uploads anything. Your text stays private. The available case tools are:
- UPPERCASE, makes every letter capital.
- lowercase, makes every letter small.
- Title Case, capitalises the first letter of most words.
- Sentence case, capitalises only the first letter of each sentence.
Select the text, then click the button. The converters work on the selection only. Select nothing and they apply to the entire document. A live word, character, and line count sits in the toolbar. Case changes do not alter the character count. Additional tools including Trim, Join lines, Sort and Dedupe, Copy, and Download .txt sit in the same toolbar.
Changing Case in Microsoft Word
Shift+F3 Shortcut
Select the text. Press Shift+F3. Each press cycles the selection through lowercase, UPPERCASE, and Capitalize Each Word. Fix a caps-locked paragraph in under a second. Make a heading consistent with two taps.
Change Case Menu
Word also offers a dedicated menu. Go to the Home tab and locate the Aa button, labelled Change Case. Click it to see these options:
- Sentence case
- lowercase
- UPPERCASE
- Capitalize Each Word
- tOGGLE cASE
Sentence case capitalises the first letter of each sentence. Automated tools cannot detect proper nouns reliably. Check names and places manually after applying it. The tOGGLE cASE option reverses the case of every letter. Use it on text typed with the wrong case lock.
Changing Case in Google Docs
Google Docs puts its capitalization menu under Format. Select the text, then go to Format > Text > Capitalization. Three options appear:
- lowercase, turns all letters to small.
- UPPERCASE, turns all letters to capitals.
- Title Case, capitalises the first letter of most words.
Google Docs does not include a Sentence case option. To get sentence case, apply lowercase first, then manually capitalise the first letter of each sentence. The Title Case converter works mechanically. It does not follow style-guide rules for short words such as “and” or “the.”
Changing Case on a Mac Without Extra Software
macOS includes a built-in text transformation feature in many native applications, including TextEdit and Pages. Select text, right-click, and choose Transformations from the context menu. The options:
- UPPERCASE
- lowercase
- Capitalize Each Word
This works in most text fields that support the standard Mac editing menu. Fix case without opening a separate tool. The Mac transformation menu does not include Sentence case or Title Case. For those, use a dedicated app like SimpleText or a word processor.
What the Case Converters Cannot Do
All automated case converters have limits. Sentence case converters capitalise the first letter of each sentence. They cannot reliably identify proper nouns. Check names, places, and brands manually. Title Case converters follow one rule: capitalise the first letter of every word. They ignore style-guide exceptions for short words like “a,” “an,” “the,” “and,” “but,” “or,” “for,” “nor,” “on,” “at,” “to,” “by,” or “with.” If you write for a publication that follows AP or Chicago style, review the output and adjust. Converting case does not change the character count of your text.
Fixing Common Case Problems
- Accidental Caps Lock: Select the whole paragraph and apply lowercase in any tool above. Then capitalise the first word of each sentence manually if needed.
- Shouty headings: Select the heading and apply Title Case or Capitalize Each Word. In Word, Shift+F3 cycles to Capitalize Each Word after two presses.
- All-lowercase notes: Use Sentence case if available to capitalise the start of each sentence. Otherwise, apply UPPERCASE and adjust manually, or use Title Case and fix the result.
- Mixed case: For text like “tHIS iS a mESS,” use the tOGGLE cASE option in Word. Or apply lowercase and then capitalise as needed.
For a private, browser-based notepad that saves as you type and keeps your data local, SimpleText offers all the case converters above plus other text utilities. It runs in your browser and never uploads your text.