Cannot Use Tab Leader as Edit Find or Edit Replace Criteria

ID: Q86856

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.1a, 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Windows operating system, versions 3.0 and 3.1

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Word for Windows, you cannot use tab leaders as find (search in versions 1.x) or replace criteria. As a result, you cannot find or modify tab leaders using the Find (Search) or Replace commands from the Edit menu.

This article describes steps you can use to find and replace tab leaders (dotted, hyphen, and underline) by saving your Word for Windows document in rich-text file (RTF) format, opening the RTF file as Text Only, and modifying the RTF tab leader codes.

MORE INFORMATION

Do the following to find and replace tab leaders in your Word for Windows document. Be sure to create a backup copy of your file before using these steps.

1. Open the document that contains tab leaders. From the File menu,

   choose Save As. In the File Name box, type a new filename. In the
   Save File As Type box, select Rich Text Format (*.rtf) and choose
   the OK button.

   1 above and choose the OK button. In the Convert File dialog box,
   select Text Only and choose the OK button.

   leader codes in the Find and Replace boxes:

      RTF Code   Type
      --------   ----

      \tldot     Dotted leader tab
      \tlhyph    Hyphen leader tab
      \tlul      Underline leader tab
      NUL        No leader (default, no leader code)

5. Reopen the file you closed in step 4 above. In the Convert File

   dialog box, select Rich Text Format (RTF) and choose the OK button.
   The new tab leaders should appear in the file.

   file format with Word for Windows 2.0 format. Choose the Yes button.

Example

The following example replaces all dotted leader tabs with hyphen leader tabs:

                 RTF Code     Type
                 --------     ----
   Find          \tldot       (Dotted leader tab)
   Replace with  \tlhyph      (Hyphen leader Tab)

How to Replace Tabs with No Leader with Another Leader Format

Tabs with No Leader is the default, so there is no RTF code you can use in the Find What box. Therefore, you must use these additional steps to replace No Leader tabs with another leader format.

1. Follow steps 1-2 in the previous procedure.

2. From the Edit menu, choose Replace. Do the following, in order

   (these steps maintain other leader formats):

      Note: In all steps, do not type the quotation marks.

   a. In the Find What box, type "\tldot\tx". In the Replace With box,
      type "DOT_TAB" (skip this step if there are no dot leader tabs
      in your document).

   b. In the Find What box, type "\tlhyph\tx". In the Replace With
      box, type "HYPH_TAB" (skip this step if there are no hyphen
      leader tabs in your document).

   c. In the Find What box, type "\tlul\tx". In the Replace With box,
      type "UNDERLN_TAB" (skip this step if there are no underline
      leader tabs in your document).

   d. In the Find What box, type "\tx". In the Replace With box, type
      "<Desired RTF tab leader code>\tx". Use the following RTF tab
      leader codes in the Replace box:

         RTF Code   Type
         --------   ----

         \tldot     Dotted leader tab
         \tlhyph    Hyphen leader tab
         \tlul      Underline leader tab

      Example: If you type "\tldot\tx" in the Replace With box, you
      will replace all tabs with no leader with dotted leader tabs.

   e. In the Find What box, type "DOT_TAB". In the Replace With box,
      type "\tldot\tx" (skip this step if you skipped step 2a above).

   f. In the Find What box, type "HYPH_TAB". In the Replace With box,
      type "\tlhyph\tx" (skip this step if you skipped step 2b above).

   g. In the Find What box, type "UNDERLN_TAB". In the Replace With
      box, type "\tlul\tx" (skip this step if you skipped step 2c
      above).

For more information on the RTF file format, query on the following words in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   RTF and specification and appnote and obtain and available

Keywords          : kbformat 
Version           : 1.x 1.x 6.0
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: February 6, 1998