Is there a way to search for a pattern in a MS Word document?

Question

Is there a way to look up patterns inside an MS Word document instead of an exact match?I have a document where all decimals have been written as `/` instead of `.`. For example, `1.02` has been written as `1/02`, because Persian typography uses `/` instead of `.` for the decimal point.As `/` is not only used for decimals, and it has other applications, for example, fractions, percentage, etc., is there a way to find a pattern like `N/M` within a word document, where `N` denotes a decimal and `M` also shows another decimal number?

Answer 1

Yes, you can search for patterns (not just exact text) in Word using wildcards in the Find and Replace feature. This will solve your problem by allowing you to locate decimal numbers that use a slash (/) instead of a dot (.).

Here's how to find patterns like N/M using wildcards:

1. Open your Word document.
2. Press Ctrl + H to open Find and Replace.
3. Click More >> to expand the options.
4. Check the box for Use wildcards.
5. In the Find what box, enter:
6. ([0-9])/([0-9])

This matches any digit ([0-9]), followed by a slash (/), followed by another digit.

Optionally, if you want to replace just those instances where slash is used instead of a decimal point:

1. In the Replace with box, enter:
2. \1.\2
3. Click Replace All (or Find Next to review one by one).

\1 and \2 refer to the digits captured in the first and second groups (the numbers before and after the slash).

Notes:

1. This will not match things like 12/05/2023 (unless you adapt the pattern), so it’s reasonably safe.
2. You can modify the pattern to be stricter or more flexible, for example:
3. ([0-9]{1,2})/([0-9]{1,2})

I hope this helped.

Regards,

Doug