5 Ways To Use Find And Replace Wildcard In Excel

Using the find and replace function in Excel can be a huge time-saver, especially when working with large datasets. One of the most powerful features of the find and replace function is the ability to use wildcards. Wildcards allow you to search for patterns in your data, rather than exact matches. In this article, we'll explore five ways to use find and replace wildcards in Excel.

What are Wildcards in Excel?

Before we dive into the five ways to use find and replace wildcards, let's quickly cover what wildcards are in Excel. Wildcards are special characters that can be used in the find and replace function to represent one or more characters in your data. The three most common wildcards in Excel are:

• * (asterisk) represents any sequence of characters
• ? (question mark) represents any single character
• ~ (tilde) is used to search for the asterisk, question mark, or tilde characters themselves

Method 1: Finding and Replacing Text Patterns

One of the most common uses of find and replace wildcards is to find and replace text patterns in your data. For example, let's say you have a list of names and you want to find and replace all instances of "John" with "Jane". You can use the asterisk wildcard to search for "John*" which would match "John", "Johnson", "Johnston", etc.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Press Ctrl+H to open the find and replace dialog box
2. In the "Find what" field, enter John*
3. In the "Replace with" field, enter Jane
4. Click "Replace All"

Method 2: Finding and Replacing Numbers

Another way to use find and replace wildcards is to find and replace numbers in your data. For example, let's say you have a list of prices and you want to find and replace all instances of prices that are greater than $100. You can use the question mark wildcard to search for ?>100 which would match any number greater than 100.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Press Ctrl+H to open the find and replace dialog box
2. In the "Find what" field, enter ?>100
3. In the "Replace with" field, enter 100
4. Click "Replace All"

Method 3: Finding and Replacing Dates

You can also use find and replace wildcards to find and replace dates in your data. For example, let's say you have a list of dates and you want to find and replace all instances of dates in the year 2022. You can use the asterisk wildcard to search for 2022* which would match any date in the year 2022.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Press Ctrl+H to open the find and replace dialog box
2. In the "Find what" field, enter 2022*
3. In the "Replace with" field, enter 2023
4. Click "Replace All"

Method 4: Finding and Replacing Formulas

You can also use find and replace wildcards to find and replace formulas in your data. For example, let's say you have a list of formulas and you want to find and replace all instances of the formula =SUM(A1:A10). You can use the question mark wildcard to search for =SUM(A??:A??) which would match any formula that sums a range of cells.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Press Ctrl+H to open the find and replace dialog box
2. In the "Find what" field, enter =SUM(A??:A??)
3. In the "Replace with" field, enter =SUM(A1:A10)
4. Click "Replace All"

Method 5: Finding and Replacing Conditional Formatting

Finally, you can use find and replace wildcards to find and replace conditional formatting in your data. For example, let's say you have a list of cells with conditional formatting and you want to find and replace all instances of cells that have a value greater than 100. You can use the asterisk wildcard to search for *100 which would match any cell with a value greater than 100.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Press Ctrl+H to open the find and replace dialog box
2. In the "Find what" field, enter *100
3. In the "Replace with" field, enter 100
4. Click "Replace All"

Gallery of Find and Replace Wildcard Examples

Find and Replace Wildcard Examples

Conclusion

Using find and replace wildcards in Excel can be a powerful way to streamline your workflow and save time. By using the asterisk, question mark, and tilde wildcards, you can search for patterns in your data and replace them with ease. Whether you're working with text, numbers, dates, formulas, or conditional formatting, find and replace wildcards can help you get the job done quickly and efficiently.