Microsoft KB Archive/94553

= Microsoft Knowledge Base =

Excel: Changing the Contents of One Cell with Replace Command
Last reviewed: September 12, 1996

Article ID: Q94553

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 2.2, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0
 * Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 2.x, 3.0, 4.0, 4.0a, 5.0
 * Microsoft Excel for OS/2, versions 2.x, 3.0

In Microsoft Excel 5.0, to replace the contents of only one cell, select the cell and then choose Replace from the Edit menu. Type the string you want to replace in the Find What box. Type the replacement string (if any) in the Replace With box. Select the Replace button (not the Replace All button) to change one cell only. Choose Replace All only if you want Excel to find and replace the text throughout the whole document or selection of more than one cell.

In Microsoft Excel versions 4.0 and earlier, if you choose Formula from the Replace menu when only one cell is selected, Excel will apply the Replace command to the entire worksheet. To use the Replace command on one cell only, do the following:


 * 1) Select two cells: the one to be changed and a blank cell. If there is no adjacent blank cell, choose the cell to be changed and then hold down the COMMAND key (or the CONTROL key if you are using Microsoft Excel for Windows and OS/2) and choose a blank cell.
 * 2) From the Formula menu, choose Replace.

The operation will be performed on the selected cells only, not the entire worksheet.