Understanding Wildcard Characters
Wildcard characters are special symbols that represent one or more characters in a search query. They allow you to perform flexible and versatile searches, matching patterns rather than exact values. In Excel, there are two main wildcard characters you can use:
- Asterisk (*): Represents any number of characters (including zero characters).
- Question Mark (?): Represents a single character.
Using Wildcards in Excel Searches
Now that we know what wildcard characters are, let’s explore how to use them in Excel searches:
- Searching with the Asterisk (*): Suppose you’re looking for a specific word but are unsure of its exact spelling or want to find variations of the word. You can use the asterisk (*) wildcard to match any number of characters. For example:
- Searching for “appl*” would match “apple,” “application,” “applied,” etc.
- Searching with the Question Mark (?): If you’re uncertain about a single character within a word, you can use the question mark (?) wildcard to match any single character. For example:
- Searching for “t?st” would match “test,” “tast,” “tost,” etc.
Examples of Wildcard Searches in Excel
Let’s walk through a few practical examples of wildcard searches in Excel:
- Finding Partial Matches: Suppose you have a list of product names, and you want to find all products that contain the word “apple” in their names. You can use the wildcard search “appl*” to find all matches, such as “Apple iPhone,” “Apple Watch,” etc.
- Searching for Similar Patterns: Let’s say you’re looking for all entries that follow a certain pattern, such as a specific prefix or suffix. You can use wildcard searches to find matches based on these patterns. For example:
- Searching for “sale*” would match “sales,” “salesperson,” “sale price,” etc.
- Identifying Variations: If you’re searching for a word that may have different spellings or variations, wildcard searches can help you find all possible matches. For instance:
- Searching for “colo?r” would match both “color” and “colour.”