Microsoft KB Archive/283626

= You can only find the cells that exactly match the formatting based on the existing cell in Excel =

Article ID: 283626

Article Last Modified on 1/12/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Office Excel 2007
 * Microsoft Office Excel 2003
 * Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q283626



SYMPTOMS
When you use the Find and Replace commands to find formatting that is based on an existing cell in Microsoft Excel, only cells that exactly match the formatting are found.

For example, if the cell that the search is based on contains a top border, a left border, and a number formatted as a percentage, other cells that contain numbers formatted as percentages are not found, unless they also have matching top and left borders.



RESOLUTION
To work around this behavior, clear any formatting in the Find Format dialog box that you do not want to include in the search. To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) In the Excel worksheet, click Find on the Edit menu.

Note In Excel 2007, click Find & Select in the Editing group on the Home tab. Then, click Find.
 * 1) Click Format.
 * 2) Click Clear in the lower-right corner of any tab that contains unwanted formatting.

Note If the Clear button is unavailable on the tab, no formatting from that tab is selected.
 * 1) Click OK.



MORE INFORMATION
To find or replace formatting that is based on an existing cell format, follow these steps:
 * 1) On the Edit menu, click Find.

Note In Excel 2007, click Find & Select in the Editing group on the Home tab. Then, click Find.
 * 1) If the Format button is not visible in the Find and Replace dialog box, click Options.
 * 2) Click the arrow next to Format, and then click Choose Format From Cell.
 * 3) Click the cell that contains the formatting for which you want to search.
 * 4) Click OK.
 * 5) Click Find All in the Find and Replace dialog box.

Keywords: kbexpertisebeginner kbprb KB283626

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