Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 27, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021
Karen has a large number of cells that have a tilde character (~) at the beginning of the cells. She would like to change the tilde to a different character (such as an @ sign), but only if the tilde is at the beginning of the cell. She's not sure how to perform this task using Find and Replace.
Excel's Find and Replace would be a good choice if you wanted to replace all tildes in your text. In that case, you would simply search for ~~ (note that this is two tildes in a row) and replace with @. However, since you want to replace just a tilde appearing in the first character position, Find and Replace won't do it for you. There are two ways you can approach the problem.
The first method is to use a formula to remove the tilde. There are many variations on such a formula, with the following being one example:
=IF(LEFT(A1,1)="~","@" & MID(A1,2,LEN(A1)),A1)
You can copy the formula down as many cells as you need, then copy the results and use Paste Special to paste the values back into the original column.
The other option is to use a macro to do the replacement. The following is a good example of a short macro to do the trick:
Sub ReplaceTilde()
Dim c As Range
For Each c In Selection
If Left(c, 1) = "~" Then
c.Value = "@" & Right(c, Len(c) - 1)
End If
Next
End Sub
To use the macro, simply select the cells you want to change and then run it. Each cell in the selection is evaluated and, if appropriate, modified.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (13419) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021.
Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!
When you want to find information in worksheet, Excel can handily locate and highlight that information. If you find the ...
Discover MoreUsing Find and Replace is something quite routine in Excel, as it easily allows you to find and replace information in ...
Discover MoreWhen you use Find and Replace, Excel normally looks through all the cells in a worksheet. You may want to limit the ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2024 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments