Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Finding an Unknown Character.
Word documents can contain just about any character you can think of—and many you can't. If you inherit documents from other people, or cut and paste information from other sources, it is possible to end up with characters in Word that you don't know how to identify. If you can't identify them, then it makes it very hard to search and replace them. Sometimes Word will allow you to copy the character and paste it into the Find box when searching, but you can only do this with a limited number of characters.
The answer to this conundrum is to identify, specifically, the character in question. Then you can use the special features of the Find box to locate it. The first step is to create this macro:
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: 
Public Sub GetCharASCII()
MsgBox "CharCode is: " & Asc(Selection)
End Sub
Next, select the single character that you have a question about and run the macro. You will see a dialog box that tells you the ASCII value of the character. For instance, let's say that the character value returned is 148. You would then use the following in the Find box:
^148
Word will now find all instances of the character in question, and you can replace it as desired.
If you still have a stubborn character that this won't work for—for instance, some Unicode characters—then a different approach is required. If you fit into this category, refer to the following article at the Word MVP site:
https://wordmvp.com/FAQs/MacrosVBA/FindReplaceSymbols.htm
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9041) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Finding an Unknown Character.
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2026-10-05 08:12:55
beepee
Thanks Steve, for another helpful tip.
I had to download Arial Unicode MS as Microsoft no longer include this font, -- apparently since 2016 versions!!
(I used https://online-fonts.com/fonts/arial-unicode-ms. No doubt there are others).
2026-10-04 20:37:49
Steve Wells
@beepee,
Here are some other features in Character Map that most folks haven't discovered yet. Suppose you are looking for some kind of character, maybe a useful arrow or a special kind of number or symbol
Open Character Map and some font full of stuff, like Calibri. If you scroll on the right side, there are too many characters to visually deal with. So...
Low in the pane, the Character set is usually Unicode, and that's fine, but have you ever touched the Group by field. Select its bottom option, Unicode Subrange. A small box opens. Pick through those and see the characters that match it. Easier to find things, and more possibilities.
But forget about Calibri. Switch the Font at the top to Arial Unicode MS. Now try the subranges for Number Forms or Mathematical Operators. Then try Enclosed Alphanumerics, Block Elements & Geometrics, or (huge!) Symbols & Dingbats. It's unbelievable how many varied characters are in that font.
(see Figure 1 below)
Click a character and the Select button. Click more and select them, too. They appear in the Characters to copy field. Drag across those to highlight the ones you want, and then click Copy. Now you can paste them into your Word document. Plenty to play & learn. Have fun and produce great things.
Figure 1. Character Map and Subranges
2026-10-04 05:00:31
beepee
@Steve Wells.
Great addition to the this TIP. this will save me a load of headaches trying to hunt done character codes -- Thank you. It may be elementary but if you don't know;... you don't know! As on the Millionaire show; It is only easy if you know the answer.
2026-10-03 15:16:37
Steve Wells
You may want to examine a single unusual character in a document, but writing a macro and all that overhead might be overkill. To identify its Unicode value, highlight the character and press Alt+X, which toggles between the value and its character representation.
The following may be very elementary, but if it helps someone ...
Use the Character Map applet. It's one of the Windows Accessories, or from the Start menu, search or run CharMap.exe. That shows the characters in any of your installed fonts. In the lower left is the Unicode value for any selected character. The lower right shows the ASCII value if one exists.
For example, I might be curious about a cent sign. In Character Map, I see its Unicode value is 00A2 and name is Cent Sign. On the lower right, it shows the ASCII value with "Keystroke: Alt+0162". That means, I can type a cent sign directly into my document (or most places in Windows) by holding the Alt key and typing 0162 on the numerical keypad (not the numbers above the letter keys), and then releasing Alt. A cent sign appears. Can I do that with Unicode characters? Yes, but ... The keypad requires Decimal numbers, not Hexadecimal.
Maybe I want to be able to type a "Not Equal To" sign into my document. It looks like an equal sign with a slash through it. ≠
I can copy characters from Character Map and insert them into text, but do I really want to bother with that all the time? I prefer to keep a little cheat sheet with funny characters I use a lot, so I look them up and convert to decimal once, and then I can glance and type what I want anytime.
Character Map shows Not Equal To with a Unicode value of 2260. How do I type that? There are various calculators and tools to find the decimal equivalent. I can always use Excel to convert a value (or a lot of them!) For example, in some cell, I enter =HEX2DEC(B15) and in B15, I place 2260. That function tells me the decimal value is 8800. I can type that number as though it were an ASCII entry. I hold Alt and type 8800 on the keypad. And release Alt. The ≠ sign appears. [I hope it shows correctly here in the comments.]
I can do that with lots of characters. I use one-third and two-thirds characters a lot. Character map says those have Unicode (Hexadecimal) values of 2153 and 2154, respectively. I find the decimal equivalents are 8531 and 8532, which I put on my cheat sheet. So, anytime I want a one-third, I hold Alt, keypad 8531, let go of Alt, and one-third ⅓ appears.
I hope that wasn't too boring or entirely too elementary.
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