Example
ship to: 221 maple ave, springfield
SHIP TO: 221 MAPLE AVE, SPRINGFIELD
Uppercase and readability
All-caps text is slower to read in long passages because words lose their outline shape. Keep it for short items like headings, warnings, product codes, and mailing addresses.
Special characters
The German ß becomes SS, following the standard Unicode rules. Numbers and symbols are left alone.
Changing case in Word, Google Docs, and Excel
Microsoft Word: select the text and press Shift+F3 to cycle through lowercase, UPPERCASE, and Capitalize Each Word, or use the Change Case (Aa) button on the Home tab, which also offers Sentence case. On a Mac, use Format › Change Case.
Google Docs: select the text, then choose Format › Text › Capitalization.
Excel and Google Sheets: use =LOWER(A1), =UPPER(A1), or =PROPER(A1), then paste the results back as values. For anywhere else, such as email, a CMS, or a form, paste your text into this converter.
Where all caps is expected
Some forms and documents ask for block capitals because handwritten or scanned capitals are easier to read: passport and visa applications, shipping labels, and some government and bank forms. Postal services also recommend uppercase addresses for machine sorting; Canada Post’s addressing guidelines, for example, show addresses entirely in capitals.
In design, short uppercase labels such as buttons, navigation items, and table headings are common. They often look better with a little extra letter spacing.
When to avoid it
Online, a full sentence in capitals reads as shouting. Long passages in capitals are also harder to read, because every word becomes a uniform rectangle. If you want emphasis in a message, consider bold text for a word or two instead.