Microsoft KB Archive/214138

= How to find and replace tildes and wildcard characters in Excel =

Article ID: 214138

Article Last Modified on 1/23/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Office Excel 2007
 * Microsoft Office Excel 2003
 * Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q214138





For a Microsoft Excel for Macintosh version of this article, see 321819.



SUMMARY
Microsoft Excel uses the tilde (~) as a marker to indicate that the next character is a literal. When you use the Find and Replace dialog box to find or replace a character such as a tilde (~), an asterisk (*), or a question mark (?), you must add a tilde (~) before the character in the Find what box.

Note If you want to find or replace a tilde in a worksheet, you must type a double tilde in the Find what box.



Example 1: How to find and to replace numbers
To replace wildcard characters (*) in a numeric value in a worksheet cell, follow these steps:
 * 1) Type 494** in cell A1.
 * 2) Select cell A1.
 * 3) On the Edit menu, click Replace.

Note In Microsoft Office Excel 2007, click Find & Select in the Editing group on the Home tab, and then click Replace.
 * 1) In the Find what box, type ~* . To do this, press TILDE, and then press ASTERISK.
 * 2) In the Replace with box, type 2.
 * 3) Click Replace.

Cell A1 now reads 49422.

Notes
 * When you click Replace All, Excel makes the change throughout the worksheet. When you click Replace, Excel changes only the currently active cell and leave the Replace dialog box open.
 * When you type an asterisk without a tilde in the Find what box, Excel replaces all entries with a 2. Excel treats the asterisk as a wildcard character. Therefore, 494** becomes 2.

Example 2: How to find and to replace a tilde
To replace a tilde in an Excel worksheet cell, follow these steps:
 * 1) Type Micros~1.xls in cell A1.
 * 2) Select cell A1.
 * 3) On the Edit menu, click Replace.

Note In Excel 2007, click Find & Select in the Editing group on the Home tab, and then click Replace.
 * 1) In the Find what box, type.
 * 2) In the Replace with box, type oft.
 * 3) Click Replace All.

Cell A1 now reads Microsoft1.xls.

Additional query words: XL2007 XL2003 XL2002 XL2000 XL97

Keywords: kbexpertisebeginner kbhowto kbui KB214138

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