WD: Edit Find/Replace Does Not Find Text Formatted as All Caps

ID: Q123304

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows NT, version 6.0
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a
• Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

You cannot find or replace All Caps text. This problem occurs when you created the uppercase text using one of the following methods:

• You typed the uppercase text with the CAPS LOCK key on.

      -or-
  

• You used the Change Case command on the Format menu to change the text to uppercase.

      -or-
  

• You used SHIFT+F3 to change the case of your text.

CAUSE

By design in Microsoft Word, when you search for uppercase text by selecting the All Caps effect in the Find Font dialog box, only text you formatted with the All Caps option is found. (To locate the All Caps option, click Font on the Format menu, click the Font tab, and see All Caps under Effects.)

By design, All Caps formatting affects only lowercase characters. It does not affect uppercase letters, numbers, punctuation, or other non-alphabetic characters. All Caps formatting does not change the ASCII value of the characters. By contrast, when you use the Change Case command, SHIFT+F3, or CAPS LOCK, you are changing the case as well as the ASCII value of the characters. Lowercase characters have different ASCII values than uppercase characters.

WORKAROUND

Type the uppercase text you are searching for in the Find What box of the Find or Replace dialog box, and click to select the Match Case check box. Do not select All Caps.

Additional query words: uppercase upper case capital letters capitals

Keywords          : wordnt word8 macword98 winword ntword macword word6 word7 word95 kbFont 
Version           : MACINTOSH:6.0,6.0.1,6.0.1,98; WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: December 3, 1998