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: Finding an Unknown Character.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 26, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Word documents can contain just about any character you can think of—and many you can't. If you inherit documents from other people, or cut and paste information from other sources, it is possible to end up with characters in Word that you don't know how to identify. If you can't identify them, then it makes it very hard to search and replace them. Sometimes Word will allow you to copy the character and paste it into the Find box when searching, but you can only do this with a limited number of characters.
The answer to this conundrum is to identify, specifically, the character in question. Then you can use the special features of the Find box to locate it. The first step is to create this macro:
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:
Public Sub GetCharASCII()
MsgBox "CharCode is: " & Asc(Selection)
End Sub
Next, select the single character that you have a question about and run the macro. You will see a dialog box that tells you the ASCII value of the character. For instance, let's say that the character value returned is 148. You would then use the following in the Find box:
^148
Word will now find all instances of the character in question, and you can replace it as desired.
If you still have a stubborn character that this won't work for—for instance, some Unicode characters—then a different approach is required. If you fit into this category, refer to the following article at the Word MVP site:
https://wordmvp.com/FAQs/MacrosVBA/FindReplaceSymbols.htm
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1613) 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: Finding an Unknown Character.
The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!
Word makes it easy to find text that uses a particular font or font characteristics. What it doesn't do is make it easy ...
Discover MoreFind and Replace can work great, but not necessarily for text within text boxes. This tip discusses all the ins and outs ...
Discover MoreThe Find and Replace tool is designed to help you find and replace information as quickly as possible. However, you may ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2020-10-07 04:46:13
Paul
Allen - thank you for this post. However, I'm not having much success with the output of this macro, in practice. I have a document that uses a large dot symbol that looks like an oversized "dot operator" (unicode 22C5) or "middle dot" (unicode 00B7) - somewhat like a dot-style bullet. However, your macro is returning "CharCode is: 40", and online ASCII tables list value 40 as being for "open parenthesis". I see in your post above that you link to another article that might be useful for what you call "stubborn" characters, but that page seems to be focused on find-replace, and the following macro described on that page doesn't actually display any code for the character in question:
==
Sub GetCharNoAndFont()
With Dialogs(wdDialogInsertSymbol)
Debug.Print "Font: " & .Font
Debug.Print "Char number " & .CharNum
End With
End Sub
==
So, I'm a bit stuck! How would one use the information in that MVP article to modify your macro above to display the unicode character number?
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments