How to search for ? (question mark) in Excel
When I try to find the question mark character (?) in an Excel sheet, Excel cannot locate the cells containing them. How can I search for ? in Excel?
microsoft-excel find
asked Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
add a comment |
When I try to find the question mark character (?) in an Excel sheet, Excel cannot locate the cells containing them. How can I search for ? in Excel?
microsoft-excel find
asked Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
7
The same applies to*, in case you want to expand your question :)
– Der Hochstapler
Aug 7 '12 at 17:54
add a comment |
When I try to find the question mark character (?) in an Excel sheet, Excel cannot locate the cells containing them. How can I search for ? in Excel?
microsoft-excel find
asked Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
When I try to find the question mark character (?) in an Excel sheet, Excel cannot locate the cells containing them. How can I search for ? in Excel?
microsoft-excel find
microsoft-excel find
asked Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
asked Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
asked Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
asked Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
asked Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
43.5k42175233
7
The same applies to*, in case you want to expand your question :)
– Der Hochstapler
Aug 7 '12 at 17:54
add a comment |
7
The same applies to*, in case you want to expand your question :)
– Der Hochstapler
Aug 7 '12 at 17:54
7
7
The same applies to
*, in case you want to expand your question :)– Der Hochstapler
Aug 7 '12 at 17:54
The same applies to
*, in case you want to expand your question :)– Der Hochstapler
Aug 7 '12 at 17:54
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
To search for the cells containing the question mark character (?), use a tilde before it inside the search box:
~?
Now Excel will show you only the cells that contain the question mark character (?).
answered Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
I wonder why... For me, Excel 2010 finds ? as it would with any character/letter or number.
– Dave
Aug 7 '12 at 12:27
I just tried it on Office 2010 and it couldn't find?. With each click on "Find" button, it just select cells starting with the first cell in the sheet.
– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:14
Note: The cell contains only the question mark and nothing else.
– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:15
1
This works for for finding question marks in filters as well.
– Nomic
Apr 22 '15 at 4:44
add a comment |
The ? is a wildcard which represents a single character, and the * is a wildcard character that represents any string of characters.
When searching for either wildcard character, Excel will simply find everything, whether or not these actual characters appear in the cells you're searching.
To find either of the specific characters, when not using them in a wildcard search, you must precede it in your search criteria with a tilde, the ~ character.
~?finds only the?character
~*finds only the*character
?finds all single characters
*finds all strings of characters
edited Dec 20 '12 at 2:18
bytebuster
5591921
answered Dec 20 '12 at 1:08
mlgriggsmlgriggs
39132
6
~~finds only the~character
– Dan
Jan 7 '16 at 15:21
add a comment |
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
To search for the cells containing the question mark character (?), use a tilde before it inside the search box:
~?
Now Excel will show you only the cells that contain the question mark character (?).
answered Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
I wonder why... For me, Excel 2010 finds ? as it would with any character/letter or number.
– Dave
Aug 7 '12 at 12:27
I just tried it on Office 2010 and it couldn't find?. With each click on "Find" button, it just select cells starting with the first cell in the sheet.
– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:14
Note: The cell contains only the question mark and nothing else.
– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:15
1
This works for for finding question marks in filters as well.
– Nomic
Apr 22 '15 at 4:44
add a comment |
To search for the cells containing the question mark character (?), use a tilde before it inside the search box:
~?
Now Excel will show you only the cells that contain the question mark character (?).
answered Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
I wonder why... For me, Excel 2010 finds ? as it would with any character/letter or number.
– Dave
Aug 7 '12 at 12:27
I just tried it on Office 2010 and it couldn't find?. With each click on "Find" button, it just select cells starting with the first cell in the sheet.
– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:14
Note: The cell contains only the question mark and nothing else.
– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:15
1
This works for for finding question marks in filters as well.
– Nomic
Apr 22 '15 at 4:44
add a comment |
To search for the cells containing the question mark character (?), use a tilde before it inside the search box:
~?
Now Excel will show you only the cells that contain the question mark character (?).
answered Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
To search for the cells containing the question mark character (?), use a tilde before it inside the search box:
~?
Now Excel will show you only the cells that contain the question mark character (?).
answered Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
answered Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
answered Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
answered Aug 7 '12 at 12:23
Mehper C. PalavuzlarMehper C. Palavuzlar
43.5k42175233
43.5k42175233
I wonder why... For me, Excel 2010 finds ? as it would with any character/letter or number.
– Dave
Aug 7 '12 at 12:27
I just tried it on Office 2010 and it couldn't find?. With each click on "Find" button, it just select cells starting with the first cell in the sheet.
– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:14
Note: The cell contains only the question mark and nothing else.
– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:15
1
This works for for finding question marks in filters as well.
– Nomic
Apr 22 '15 at 4:44
add a comment |
I wonder why... For me, Excel 2010 finds ? as it would with any character/letter or number.
– Dave
Aug 7 '12 at 12:27
I just tried it on Office 2010 and it couldn't find?. With each click on "Find" button, it just select cells starting with the first cell in the sheet.
– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:14
Note: The cell contains only the question mark and nothing else.
– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:15
1
This works for for finding question marks in filters as well.
– Nomic
Apr 22 '15 at 4:44
I wonder why... For me, Excel 2010 finds ? as it would with any character/letter or number.
– Dave
Aug 7 '12 at 12:27
I wonder why... For me, Excel 2010 finds ? as it would with any character/letter or number.
– Dave
Aug 7 '12 at 12:27
I just tried it on Office 2010 and it couldn't find
?. With each click on "Find" button, it just select cells starting with the first cell in the sheet.– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:14
I just tried it on Office 2010 and it couldn't find
?. With each click on "Find" button, it just select cells starting with the first cell in the sheet.– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:14
Note: The cell contains only the question mark and nothing else.
– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:15
Note: The cell contains only the question mark and nothing else.
– Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Aug 7 '12 at 13:15
1
1
This works for for finding question marks in filters as well.
– Nomic
Apr 22 '15 at 4:44
This works for for finding question marks in filters as well.
– Nomic
Apr 22 '15 at 4:44
add a comment |
The ? is a wildcard which represents a single character, and the * is a wildcard character that represents any string of characters.
When searching for either wildcard character, Excel will simply find everything, whether or not these actual characters appear in the cells you're searching.
To find either of the specific characters, when not using them in a wildcard search, you must precede it in your search criteria with a tilde, the ~ character.
~?finds only the?character
~*finds only the*character
?finds all single characters
*finds all strings of characters
edited Dec 20 '12 at 2:18
bytebuster
5591921
answered Dec 20 '12 at 1:08
mlgriggsmlgriggs
39132
6
~~finds only the~character
– Dan
Jan 7 '16 at 15:21
add a comment |
The ? is a wildcard which represents a single character, and the * is a wildcard character that represents any string of characters.
When searching for either wildcard character, Excel will simply find everything, whether or not these actual characters appear in the cells you're searching.
To find either of the specific characters, when not using them in a wildcard search, you must precede it in your search criteria with a tilde, the ~ character.
~?finds only the?character
~*finds only the*character
?finds all single characters
*finds all strings of characters
edited Dec 20 '12 at 2:18
bytebuster
5591921
answered Dec 20 '12 at 1:08
mlgriggsmlgriggs
39132
6
~~finds only the~character
– Dan
Jan 7 '16 at 15:21
add a comment |
The ? is a wildcard which represents a single character, and the * is a wildcard character that represents any string of characters.
When searching for either wildcard character, Excel will simply find everything, whether or not these actual characters appear in the cells you're searching.
To find either of the specific characters, when not using them in a wildcard search, you must precede it in your search criteria with a tilde, the ~ character.
~?finds only the?character
~*finds only the*character
?finds all single characters
*finds all strings of characters
edited Dec 20 '12 at 2:18
bytebuster
5591921
answered Dec 20 '12 at 1:08
mlgriggsmlgriggs
39132
The ? is a wildcard which represents a single character, and the * is a wildcard character that represents any string of characters.
When searching for either wildcard character, Excel will simply find everything, whether or not these actual characters appear in the cells you're searching.
To find either of the specific characters, when not using them in a wildcard search, you must precede it in your search criteria with a tilde, the ~ character.
~?finds only the?character
~*finds only the*character
?finds all single characters
*finds all strings of characters
edited Dec 20 '12 at 2:18
bytebuster
5591921
answered Dec 20 '12 at 1:08
mlgriggsmlgriggs
39132
edited Dec 20 '12 at 2:18
bytebuster
5591921
edited Dec 20 '12 at 2:18
bytebuster
5591921
edited Dec 20 '12 at 2:18
bytebuster
5591921
5591921
answered Dec 20 '12 at 1:08
mlgriggsmlgriggs
39132
answered Dec 20 '12 at 1:08
mlgriggsmlgriggs
39132
answered Dec 20 '12 at 1:08
mlgriggsmlgriggs
39132
39132
6
~~finds only the~character
– Dan
Jan 7 '16 at 15:21
add a comment |
6
~~finds only the~character
– Dan
Jan 7 '16 at 15:21
6
6
~~ finds only the ~ character– Dan
Jan 7 '16 at 15:21
~~ finds only the ~ character– Dan
Jan 7 '16 at 15:21
add a comment |
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7
The same applies to
*, in case you want to expand your question :)– Der Hochstapler
Aug 7 '12 at 17:54