Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Understanding Pattern Matching.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 20, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
The Find and Replace feature built into Word includes two completely different search engines. In the normal search engine, you search for simple items, such as text or special characters. Tips related to this type of searching have been presented in other issues of WordTips.
The second search engine is the more powerful, however. It uses a search method known as pattern matching. When you use pattern matching you can search for very complex and very subtle character sequences in your document. Unfortunately, learning the pattern matching capabilities of Word can sometimes be frustrating.
How you switch between the two different search engines depends on the version of Word you are using. In most versions of Word you should pull up either the Find or Replace tabs of the Find and Replace dialog box and click on the More button. In the expanded area of the dialog box, make sure the Use Wildcards checkbox is selected. This causes Word to interpret what is in the Find What and Replace With boxes entirely differently than if the checkbox is not selected.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1183) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Understanding Pattern Matching.
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Sometimes you'll run across the need to replace a very specific sequence of characters in your document. It is for these ...
Discover MoreWord has a power capability to search for information and then replace that information in some way. Finding the right ...
Discover MoreWhen using pattern matching in a search, you can specify individual characters or ranges of characters you want matched ...
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2024-01-07 23:00:54
GFIN Sunny
Thanks for your free and useful work.
I need to compare a Document cut from a Section of another Document.
Is it possible to Find text of Cut Section saved to another Document within source Document?
To explain my steps
(1) Copy all text of Child Document
(2) Go to Parent Document and Ctrl-F
(2) Paste into Dialog Box
But it does not work; is it because of control character such as Line Feed?
Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here:
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