# Find and replace within formula

I want to perform a find and replace within a formula.

=VALUE(MID($C$2;1;1)<>MID($A3;1;1))+VALUE(MID($C$2;2;1)<>MID($A3;2;1))+VALUE(MID($C$2;3;1)<>MID($A3;3;1))...  I want to change the multiple instances of$C$2 to some other value - say$D$4- but only in one cell. There will be other instances of$C$2 in other cells that I don't want to change. To be clear: I'd like to change every$C$2 to$D$4 in one cell, but not in any other cell. Thanks. edit retag close merge delete ## Comments Please consider to study this topic. In specific you should use the semicolon as the parameter delimiter to meet the needs of formula exchange in international forums. ( 2018-09-26 19:54:44 +0200 )edit Ok, thanks for that. ( 2018-09-26 20:14:32 +0200 )edit ## 1 Answer Sort by » oldest newest most voted To do it in situ you ned to use F&R whether you want to apply the replacement to many cells or just to one. The option to choose in both cases is Current selection only. To get the result in a different cell as a formula result or as an intermediary result of a subexpression in a formula use the SUBSTITUTE() function, or in less common cases the REPLACE() function. (What looks like a formula in your post doesn't tell me much about what you actually want or need.) (Edit 2018-09-27 00:25 CEST regarding the recent comments by the OP:) A cell you just went to (single click, cursor keys) is not selected in the full sense. It only has the input focus what is shown by the applied cell-frame. If you Ctrl+click the same cell, it will be highlighted. Then it is also selected in the sense the 'Current selection only' of F&R is based on. In addition: Your search expression and also the replacement contain special characters. Make sure that RegEx NOT is enabled. Search in Formulae, on the other hand must be enabled. more ## Comments I've tried Current Selection only but that doesn't work for me. steps: My example formula is in a cell. I select that cell, type CTRL-H, click "Other options" and select "Current selection only", enter$C\$2 into the "find field" (and anything else into the "replace" field) and hit "Find next" and it tells me "Search key not found" so I can't even get started replacing anything.

( 2018-09-26 19:58:59 +0200 )edit

If I select at least two cells, I can get this to work. Selecting one cell always tells me "Search key not found".

( 2018-09-26 20:14:02 +0200 )edit