Word finding X at the beginning of numerals

Hi, SteveD

If you just want to allow X anywhere in the 5 characters, then [0-9XL]{5} already does that. In Word wildcards, [ ] means “any one of these characters” and {5} means “exactly five of them,” so X9937 is a valid match.

If you want X specifically in the first position, then the better pattern is:

.Text = "X[0-9]{4}"

That will match X9937, X1234, and so on, but not values where the X appears later. If you want X or L only at the start, use:

.Text = "[XL][0-9]{4}"

One other small thing: your macro is searching backwards because .Forward = False, and with wdFindStop it stops at the document boundary, so where the cursor is placed can affect whether it finds the match.

Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 

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Use a pattern that allows an optional leading X followed by four characters from the same set. For example:

Sub Test()

    Selection.Find.ClearFormatting

    With Selection.Find
        .Text = "X[0-9XL]{4}"    ' X followed by 4 of 0-9, X, or L
        .Replacement.Text = ""
        .Forward = False
        .Wrap = wdFindStop
        .Format = False
        .MatchCase = True
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchWildcards = True
    End With

    Selection.Find.Execute

End Sub

This finds strings like X9937 (X + 4 characters from the set). If both X9937 and values without X (such as L9937) must be matched with the same pattern, use an alternation:

.Text = "X[0-9XL]{4}|[0-9XL]{5}"

This matches either 5 characters from [0-9XL] or an X followed by 4 characters from [0-9XL].

References:

• Find.MatchWildcards property (Word)
• Find and replace text in Word
• Finding and Replacing Text or Formatting