Skip to main content
vivienneb1140253
vivienneb1140253
Participant
January 24, 2018
Question

Can you change footnotes by using Find and Change?

  • January 24, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 410 views

I have a 400 page document that has around 2 tables per page.

On the majority of these tables there is a footnote to explain what xxxxx means.

Someone has changed the text from

xxxxx = The blah blah to

xxxxx=The blah blah

without the spaces.

I want to get the spaces back - but if I do Find and Change it replaces the text where the footnote reference is on the table, and not the text in the actual footnote.

Any ideas if there is any way to get around this.

TIA

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    1 reply

    Barb Binder
    Community Expert
    Barb BinderCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 25, 2018

    Hi Vivienne:

    You are trying add spaces on either side of an equal sign in a table footnote?

    Find Text: =

    Change Text: .=.

    (press the spacebar where I typed the periods)

    You can't limit the search to table footnotes, so if there are other equal signs in the document you do not want to change all. Instead, use Find, then Change & Find when you are in a table footnote and Find, Find if it finds one elsewhere.

    It's hard to tell what the text looks like when you give the example, xxxx=blah blah, but if there is consistent wording or patterns we may be able to help you narrow it down.

    ~Barb

    ~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
    vivienneb1140253
    vivienneb1140253Author
    Participant
    January 25, 2018

    Hi Barb

    This is what I did, and it started to replace the footnote references in the table instead. 

    I've just tried it again today, and it is not replacing the footnote references.

    Viv

      Barb Binder
      Community Expert
      Barb BinderCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 25, 2018

      Hi Vivienne:

      So it is working today?

      I'd venture a guess that perhaps yesterday you set the Find to Footnote and not to Text? If so, that would have been the expected result. It would match the footnote, and the replace the footnote with the space equals space.

      ~Barb

      ~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
      Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices