Microsoft KB Archive/100602

Unexpected Results When Using Find or Replace

PSS ID Number: Q100602 Article last modified on 03-07-1997

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When using the Find or Replace commands (Find or Change in Word 4.0), unexpected results may occur. This may happen when the Show Hidden Text setting (under Tools, Preferences, View category; or Edit, Preferences in Word 4.0) is turned off. Text strings in the document that contain hidden characters will be highlighted if the hidden characters are included in the Find What text box, even though the hidden characters do not show.

For instance, the index entry “test” in the following sentence has hidden characters .i. and ; surrounding it (designated with the underline).

This is a .i.test;. — -

With Show Hidden Text turned off, the sentence looks like this:

This is a test.

If the Find/Replace (Find/Change in Word 4.0), Find What text box contains “a .i.test” (without the quotation marks), Word will highlight “a test”. If the Find/Replace, Find What box contains “a test” (without the quotation marks), Word will not find the search criteria.

To help make Find/Replace (Find/Change in Word 4.0) easier to understand when working with hidden text, Microsoft recommends that you turn on the Show Hidden Text option.

References:

Microsoft Word User’s Guide, version 5.0/5.1 page 236

Reference to Microsoft Word, version 4.0 pages 57-60

KBCategory: kbusage KBSubCategory: kbformat Additional reference words: 4.00 5.00 5.10 table contents content macword5 macword ====================================================================== ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1997.