{"id":5259,"date":"2015-09-30T04:00:32","date_gmt":"2015-09-30T08:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americaneditor.wordpress.com\/?p=5259"},"modified":"2016-09-19T19:10:29","modified_gmt":"2016-09-20T01:10:29","slug":"lyonizing-word-but-wait-theres-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/editorium.com\/archive\/lyonizing-word-but-wait-theres-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Lyonizing Word: But Wait\u2014There\u2019s More!"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Jack Lyon<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Replacing Basic Text<\/h3>\n

Searching with wildcards in Microsoft Word can accomplish miracles in editing, but some people find wildcards a little too arcane to deal with. If you\u2019re one of those people, you might benefit from some of Word\u2019s lesser-known but easier-to-use search options. But first, let\u2019s do a basic find and replace. Open Word\u2019s \u201cFind and Replace\u201d dialog by pressing CTRL + H (or click Home > Editing > Replace on Word\u2019s ribbon interface). Then:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. In the \u201cFind what\u201d box, enter a word you want to search for. (We\u2019ll use the misspelled \u201cmillenium\u201d as an example.)<\/li>\n
  2. In the \u201cReplace with\u201d box, enter a word you want to replace the incorrectly spelled \u201cmillenium\u201d with. (We\u2019ll use the correctly spelled \u201cmillennium\u201d as an example.)<\/li>\n
  3. Click the \u201cReplace All\u201d button.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"Find<\/a>

    Find & Replace<\/p><\/div>\n

    That\u2019s it. Every occurrence of \u201cmillenium\u201d will be replaced with \u201cmillennium.\u201d Simple and quick.<\/p>\n

    Refining Your Search<\/h3>\n

    But wait\u2014there\u2019s more! Microsoft Word provides many ways to refine<\/em> your search. See the \u201cMore\u201d button at the bottom of the \u201cReplace\u201d dialog?<\/p>\n

    \"More<\/a>

    More Button<\/p><\/div>\n

    Click it. Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll see:<\/p>\n

    \"The<\/a>

    The \"More\" Options<\/p><\/div>\n

    Under \u201cSearch Options,\u201d you can specify whether to search up, down, or through all your text:<\/p>\n

    \"Search<\/a>

    Search Options<\/p><\/div>\n

    You can also match case and find whole words only:<\/p>\n

    \"Additional<\/a>

    Additional Options<\/p><\/div>\n

    There are actually lots of options, all worth exploring:<\/p>\n

    Match case<\/h4>\n

    Obviously, this option finds only text that matches the case (capitalized or lowercased) of the text in the \u201cFind what\u201d box. If you enter \u201cHello\u201d in the \u201cFind what\u201d box with \u201cMatch case\u201d checked, Word finds \u201cHello\u201d but not \u201chello.\u201d If you enter \u201chello,\u201d Word finds \u201chello\u201d but not \u201cHello.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Find whole words only<\/h4>\n

    This option finds whole words only. For example, if you search for \u201csing,\u201d Word finds \u201csing\u201d but not \u201csinging.\u201d If this option is not<\/em> checked, Word finds both \u201csing\u201d and<\/em> \u201csinging,\u201d as well as \u201cusing\u201d and \u201ckissing.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Use wildcards<\/h4>\n

    This option tells Word that you want to search using wildcards:<\/p>\n

    \"Use<\/a>

    Use Wildcards<\/p><\/div>\n

    Wildcards are important, but in this article we\u2019re trying to avoid these. For explanations and examples, see my past articles (e.g., Lyonizing Word: From Easy to Impossible \u2014 Three Variations on a Theme,<\/a> Lyonizing Word: The Easy Way, Not So Easy,<\/a> Lyonizing Word: The Easy Way, Not So Easy,<\/a><\/em> and Lyonizing Word: We Can Do This the Easy Way, or . . .<\/em> <\/a>; if you use EditTools<\/a>, see The Business of Editing: Wildcarding for Dollars<\/a><\/em>). Please note, however, that if this option is checked, you can no longer select \u201cMatch case\u201d or \u201cFind whole words only.\u201d Even so, during a wildcard search, \u201cMatch case\u201d is automatically enabled, even though it\u2019s not shown<\/em> as enabled (an oversight on Microsoft\u2019s part). \u201cFind whole words only,\u201d on the other hand, is inactive.<\/p>\n

    Sounds like (English)<\/h4>\n

    This option finds words that sound like <\/em>the word in the \u201cFind what\u201d box. For example, if you search for \u201ccot,\u201d Word also finds \u201ccaught.\u201d If you search for \u201chorse,\u201d Word also finds \u201choarse.\u201d This could be useful if you\u2019re working on a document in which certain words have been confused or mistyped. Basically, this feature works on words that are homophones; it doesn\u2019t seem to work on words that sound almost<\/em> alike, such as \u201chorse\u201d and \u201cwhores.\u201d On the other hand, while searching for \u201chorse,\u201d it also finds \u201chorsey\u201d but not \u201chorses,\u201d so who knows?<\/p>\n

    Find all word forms (English)<\/h4>\n

    This option finds what Microsoft calls \u201call\u201d forms of the word in the \u201cFind what\u201d box. For example, if you search for \u201csit,\u201d Word also finds \u201csat\u201d and \u201csitting.\u201d The word \u201call\u201d is a little misleading, however. The feature relies on an underlying database of word forms that is pretty good but has some omissions. For example, if you search for \u201ceat,\u201d Word finds \u201ceat, \u201cate,\u201d \u201ceaten,\u201d and \u201ceating\u201d but not \u201ceater.\u201d Similarly, if you search for \u201chorse,\u201d Word finds \u201chorse,\u201d \u201chorses,\u201d and \u201chorsing\u201d but not \u201chorseless.\u201d It\u2019s a useful feature, mostly for finding verb forms; just don\u2019t expect it to actually find all<\/em> forms of a word.<\/p>\n

    Match prefix<\/h4>\n

    This option matches words beginning with the search string. For example, if you put \u201cpre\u201d in the \u201cFind what\u201d box, Word finds \u201cprepare,\u201d \u201cpresent,\u201d and so on. This isn\u2019t a \u201csmart\u201d feature; it searches for characters only, not word roots. For example, searching for \u201cpre\u201d also finds \u201cprestidigitation\u201d and \u201cpressure,\u201d even though \u201cpre\u201d isn\u2019t really a prefix in those words.<\/p>\n

    Match suffix<\/h3>\n

    This option matches words ending with the search string. For example, if you put \u201cing\u201d in the \u201cFind what\u201d box, Word finds \u201csinging,\u201d \u201ctyping,\u201d and so on. This isn\u2019t a \u201csmart\u201d feature; it searches for characters only, not word roots. For example, searching for \u201cing\u201d also finds \u201cboing,\u201d \u201cspring,\u201d and \u201cthing,\u201d even though \u201cing\u201d isn\u2019t really a suffix in those words.<\/p>\n

    Ignore punctuation characters<\/h4>\n

    Ignores punctuation characters between words. For example, \u201ctrees plants and flowers\u201d finds \u201ctrees, plants, and flowers\u201d as well as \u201ctrees plants and flowers.\u201d This might be useful for fixing problems with serial commas.<\/p>\n

    Ignore white-space characters<\/h4>\n

    Ignores all white space (spaces, tabs, and so on) between words. For example, \u201cwebpage\u201d finds \u201cweb page\u201d as well as \u201cwebpage.\u201d This is the inverse of \u201cFind whole words only\u201d and could be useful for fixing words that are sometimes spelled open and sometimes closed.<\/p>\n

    Other options<\/h4>\n

    If you\u2019re working in a language other than English, other options may be available, including Match Kashida, Match Diacritics, Match Alef Hamza, and Match Control. I know almost nothing about these options, so I can\u2019t comment on them with any degree of expertise.<\/p>\n

    Format<\/h4>\n

    One of the most important tools in Microsoft Word\u2019s find and replace toolbox is the ability to search for formatting \u2014 all kinds of formatting. To do so, click the \u201cFormat\u201d button:<\/p>\n

    \"Format<\/a>

    Format Button<\/p><\/div>\n

    Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll get:<\/p>\n

    \"The<\/a>

    The \"Format\" Options<\/p><\/div>\n

    Each option (such as \u201cFont\u201d) opens the usual dialog for that feature:<\/p>\n

    \"Font<\/a>

    Font Format Options<\/p><\/div>\n

    I won\u2019t go into all of the options in these dialogs as they\u2019re basically the same ones you\u2019d get while formatting any text in Word. \u201cFont\u201d displays font options, \u201cStyles\u201d displays styles, and so on. You can select any of those options and use them as something to find or replace. For example, if your cursor is in the \u201cFind what\u201d box and you select \u201cItalic\u201d in the \u201cFind Font\u201d dialog, here\u2019s what you\u2019ll get:<\/p>\n

    \"Displaying<\/a>

    Displaying the Font Option Choice<\/p><\/div>\n

    Now Word will find text in italics but not in roman. If you also enter a word, you\u2019ll find that word<\/em> in italic but not in roman. If you don\u2019t<\/em> enter a word, you\u2019ll find anything<\/em> formatted as italic.<\/p>\n

    But what about the \u201cReplace with\u201d box? What happens if you use formatting there?<\/p>\n

    If the \u201cReplace with\u201d box includes some text, whatever is found will be replaced by that text in the format you specified. If the \u201cReplace with\u201d box doesn\u2019t<\/em> include text, whatever is found will be replaced with itself<\/em> in the format you specified. For example, if you search for the word \u201capples\u201d to be replaced by \u201cpears\u201d in bold, that\u2019s exactly what you\u2019ll get \u2014 \u201cpears\u201d in bold. If you search for the word \u201capples\u201d to be replaced by bold alone<\/em> (with no text), you\u2019ll get \u201capples\u201d in bold.<\/p>\n

    If, on the other hand, you search for \u201capples\u201d but don\u2019t specify text or<\/em> formatting in the \u201cReplace with\u201d box, \u201capples\u201d will be replaced with nothing; in other words, it will be deleted.<\/p>\n

    Many variations are possible. Here\u2019s a basic summary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Find<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nReplace<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nResult<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    apples<\/td>\npears<\/td>\npears<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    apples<\/td>\npears [bold]<\/td>\npears [bold]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    apples<\/td>\n[bold]<\/td>\napples [bold]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    apples<\/td>\n[nothing]<\/td>\n[apples deleted]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    [bold]<\/td>\n[nothing]<\/td>\n[bold text deleted]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    [bold]<\/td>\npears<\/td>\n[bold text becomes \u201cpears\u201d in bold]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    [bold]<\/td>\npears [italic]<\/td>\n[bold text becomes \u201cpears\u201d in bold italic]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    [bold]<\/td>\n[italic]<\/td>\n[bold text becomes bold italic]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Note that you can also specify not<\/em> a certain kind of formatting, such as \u201cnot bold\u201d or \u201cnot italic\u201d in either find or replace. You can also use combinations of formatting (and \u201cnot\u201d formatting). For example, you can search for bold but replace with italic and not<\/em> bold, which will turn any bold text into italic (but not bold italic) text.<\/p>\n

    Built-In Codes<\/h3>\n

    In addition to all of those options, Microsoft Word includes lots of built-in find-and-replace codes that are not <\/em>wildcards (although lots of people call them that). You can use these built-in codes to search for things like paragraph breaks, tabs, section breaks, column breaks, dashes, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and many other things that aren\u2019t actual text, and codes are a whole lot easier to use than wildcards. In fact, codes should be your default tool; you should use wildcards only when built-in codes won\u2019t do what you need (which is actually fairly often, unfortunately).<\/p>\n

    Some of Word\u2019s built-in codes can be used only in the \u201cFind what\u201d box; others can be used only in the \u201cReplace with\u201d box. Some of the codes can be used in both boxes.<\/p>\n

    \u201cFind What\u201d Codes<\/h3>\n

    To see the codes that can be used in the \u201cFind what\u201d box, put your cursor in the box. Now click the \u201cSpecial\u201d button at the bottom of the \u201cFind and Replace\u201d dialog.<\/p>\n

    \"The<\/a>

    The \"Special\" Button<\/p><\/div>\n

    You\u2019ll get a list like this:<\/p>\n

    \"The<\/a>

    The \"Special\" Options<\/p><\/div>\n

    Identify the item you want to find and click it, for example, \u201cParagraph Mark.\u201d You\u2019ll get the following code in the \u201cFind what\u201d box (since that\u2019s where your cursor was located):<\/p>\n

    ^p<\/p>\n

    That tells Word to find a paragraph break \u2014 that is, the end of a paragraph.<\/p>\n

    Each item on the list will insert a different code. For example, here\u2019s the code for an em dash:<\/p>\n

    ^+<\/p>\n

    And here\u2019s the code for an en dash:<\/p>\n

    ^=<\/p>\n

    \u201cReplace With\u201d Codes<\/h3>\n

    Now put your cursor in the \u201cReplace with\u201d box and click the \u201cSpecial\u201d button again. This time, you\u2019ll get a different list:<\/p>\n

    \"The<\/a>

    The \"Replace with\" List<\/p><\/div>\n

    Again, clicking one of the list items will insert a code into the \u201cReplace with\u201d box. For example, if you click \u201cClipboard Contents\u201d you\u2019ll get this:<\/p>\n

    ^c<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s an extremely useful code, because ordinarily the \u201cReplace with\u201d box can hold no more than 255 characters. But using the ^c code, you can replace with anything that is currently copied to the Clipboard, which can hold many pages of text, graphics, or anything else.<\/p>\n

    After you\u2019ve worked with built-in codes for a while, you\u2019ll find it easy to just type them in by hand. In the meantime, you can use the \u201cSpecial\u201d lists to insert them.<\/p>\n

    You can also use combinations of codes. For example, you could search for tabs followed by paragraph breaks (^t^p) and replace them with paragraph breaks alone (^p).<\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s a summary of Word\u2019s built-in codes and where they can be used:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Character or object<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nFind what<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nReplace with<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Annotation Mark (comment)<\/td>\n^a<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Any character<\/td>\n^?<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Any digit<\/td>\n^#<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Any letter<\/td>\n^$<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Caret character<\/td>\n^^<\/td>\n^^<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Clipboard contents<\/td>\n<\/td>\n^c<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Column break<\/td>\n^n<\/td>\n^n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    \u201cFind what text\u201d (whatever was found during your search)<\/td>\n<\/td>\n^&<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Em dash<\/td>\n^+<\/td>\n^+<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    En dash<\/td>\n^=<\/td>\n^=<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Endnote mark<\/td>\n^e<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Field<\/td>\n^d<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Footnote mark<\/td>\n^f<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Graphic<\/td>\n^g<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Line break<\/td>\n^l<\/td>\n^l<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Manual page break<\/td>\n^m<\/td>\n^m<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Nonbreaking hyphen<\/td>\n^~<\/td>\n^~<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Nonbreaking space<\/td>\n^s<\/td>\n^s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Optional hyphen<\/td>\n^-<\/td>\n^-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Paragraph mark<\/td>\n^p<\/td>\n^p<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Section break<\/td>\n^b<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Tab character<\/td>\n^t<\/td>\n^t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    White space<\/td>\n^w<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Even without wildcards, Microsoft Word\u2019s find and replace features can do an awful lot \u2014 much more than you might think. You probably already knew how to use \u201cMatch case\u201d and \u201cFind whole words only,\u201d but did you know about those other options? \u201cIgnore punctuation characters\u201d and \u201cIgnore white-space characters,\u201d for example, can be very useful in editing. Being able to find and replace formatting is essential, especially when using styles. And using Word\u2019s built-in codes lets you search for all kinds of things (graphics, page breaks, dashes, and so on) that would otherwise require more advanced techniques (like wildcards and numeric codes). In other words, Microsoft Word\u2019s basic find and replace features aren\u2019t so basic \u2014 at least not in what they can do!<\/p>\n

    Wildcard Cookbook<\/h3>\n

    This article is a slightly modified excerpt from my new book, Wildcard Cookbook for Microsoft Word, <\/em>now available at Barnes & Noble<\/a>, Amazon<\/a>, and other fine bookstores:<\/p>\n

    \""Wildcard<\/a>

    \"Wildcard Cookbook\" by Jack Lyon<\/p><\/div>\n

    Jack Lyon (<\/em>editor@editorium.com<\/em><\/a>)\u00a0owns and operates the <\/em>Editorium<\/em><\/a>, which provides macros and information to help editors and publishers do mundane tasks quickly and efficiently. He is the author of <\/em>Microsoft Word for Publishing Professionals<\/a> and of <\/em>Macro Cookbook for Microsoft Word<\/a>. Both books will help you learn more about macros and how to use them.<\/em><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Microsoft Word\u2019s find and replace features can do an awful lot \u2014 much more than you might think. Do you know about the options? \u201cIgnore punctuation characters\u201d and \u201cIgnore white-space characters,\u201d for example, can be very useful in editing. Being able to find and replace formatting is essential, especially when using styles. And using Word\u2019s built-in codes lets you search for all kinds of things (graphics, page breaks, dashes, and so on) that would otherwise require more advanced techniques (like wildcards and numeric codes). In other words, Microsoft Word\u2019s basic find and replace features aren\u2019t so basic \u2014 at least not in what they can do!<\/p>\n<\/a>","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[77,256,175,409],"tags":[767,1152,992,267,1117,1153],"class_list":{"0":"post-5259","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-computers-and-software","7":"category-contributor-article","8":"category-editing-tools-editorial-matters","9":"category-lyonizing-word","10":"tag-contributor-article-2","11":"tag-find-replace","12":"tag-how-to-use","13":"tag-jack-lyon","14":"tag-options","15":"tag-wildcard-cookbook","16":"h-entry","17":"hentry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3gfno-1mP","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/editorium.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/editorium.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/editorium.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/editorium.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/editorium.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5259"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/editorium.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6176,"href":"https:\/\/editorium.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5259\/revisions\/6176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/editorium.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/editorium.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/editorium.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}