Using Wildcards in Word 2016 Search

Microsoft Word offers a powerful search feature that lets you search for text, numbers, formatting, and even wildcards. Wildcards allow you to perform more advanced searches and find a variety of patterns and specific occurrences in your document. Below is a guide on how to use wildcards and some examples to get you started.

How to Enable Wildcards for Searching

1. Open the Find and Replace Dialog:
   • Go to the Home tab in Word’s Ribbon and click the Replace button.
2. Expand the Search Options:
   • In the Find and Replace window, click More to expand the search options (if you see a “Less” button instead, you’re already set).
3. Enable Wildcards:
   • Check the Use Wildcards box.
   • Once enabled, the option is visible under the “Find what” box.
4. Access Special Characters:
   • Click Special to view a list of wildcard characters you can use in your search.

Wildcard Characters and What They Do

1. Asterisk (*) – Matches Any Number of Characters
   • Use the asterisk to represent any number of characters.
     Example: Searching for “Th*” will find words like “The,” “That,” “There,” etc.
   • Note: Word is case-sensitive when wildcards are enabled. “Th*” and “th*” will yield different results.
2. Question Mark (?) – Matches a Single Character
   • The question mark is used to represent a single character.
     Example: Searching for “d?g” will find “dog,” “dug,” and “dig.”
3. At Sign (@) – Matches One or More Occurrences of the Previous Character
   • The at sign is used to find one or more occurrences of the previous character.
     Example: “ro@t” would match “rot,” “root,” “rooooot,” and more.
4. Curly Brackets ({ and }) – Specifies Exact Number of Occurrences
   • Use curly brackets to specify an exact number of occurrences.
     Example: “ro{2}t” matches “root” but not “rot” or “rooooot.”
5. Angle Brackets (< and >) – Marks the Beginning and End of a Word
   • Use angle brackets to search for whole words.
     Example: “<but>” will find the word “but” but not “butterfly.”
6. Square Brackets ([ and ]) – Finds Specific Characters or Ranges
   • Use square brackets to search for characters or ranges.
     Example: “[a-z]” finds any lowercase letter, and “[0-9]” finds any digit.
7. Parentheses () – Groups Search Terms Into Sequences
   • Use parentheses to group terms in your search.
     Example: To reverse names like “Griggs Amelia” to “Amelia Griggs,” search for “(Griggs) (Amelia)” and replace with “\2 \1.”
8. Backslash () – Escapes Special Characters
   • If you need to search for a character that’s also a wildcard (like the asterisk or question mark), use a backslash to escape it.
     Example: Searching for an asterisk while using wildcards? Type “/?” to find an actual question mark.

Tips for Using Wildcards Effectively

• Experiment: Wildcards can be combined for more complex searches. Try different combinations to narrow down your results.
• Use on Test Copies: When performing search and replace, test your wildcard searches on a copy of the document first to avoid unintended changes.
• Be Specific: Wildcards are useful for searching patterns, so be specific about your search criteria to avoid broad or irrelevant results.

By mastering wildcards, you can perform more efficient and targeted searches in Word, helping you quickly navigate through large documents or find specific patterns of text.

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