Having some problem with the find and replace on your Google Sheet? When you are dealing with a huge data set, this find and replace feature becomes essential. If the Find and Replace is not functioning properly, or it can’t identify particular entries, you have to manually troubleshoot the problem.
Why the Find and replace is not working on Google Sheet?
The Find and Replace method stops working in certain scenarios. One of the key reasons behind this problem is the presence of too many white spaces, bad formatting on the datasheet. In some of the cases, you must include the formulas in the searching category to get the proper search results.
The feature is not isolated to Google Sheet. So, the problem is related to your Google Sheet. So, just following these solutions should fix the issue.
Fix 1 – Get rid of white spaces, unknown characters
You won’t be able to use the Find and Replace feature if there are white spaces present in the cell data.
Step 1 – White spaces are the intention spaces left before the actual entry of a cell.
Step 2 – You have to manually remove any white space from the cell.
Go through the entire sheet and scan the row or column where you are performing the search.
Fix 2 – Clear the formatting of the disputed cell/row/column
Bad or wrong formatting of a row/column can be the reason why the find and replace feature is not working in Google Sheet. Follow the steps according to your specific requirement.
Particular cell/row or column –
If you are running the search operation on a particular row or column, you can clear the formatting of it.
Step 1 – On the Google Sheet, find out the associated row or column.
Step 2 – Then, tap the row or column from the name bar to select all the cells in that particular row/column.
Step 3 – Next, tap the “Format” tab.
Step 4 – After this, choose the “Clear Formatting” feature.
Whole sheet –
If you can’t find the originating cell or row/column, you can just clear the formatting of the whole spreadsheet.
Step 1 – Tap the button on the left-top corner of the Google Sheet.
Step 2 – This way, you can select all the cells on the Sheet.
Step 3 – After this, tap the “Format” tab and click “Clear Formatting” option.
Once you have cleared all the formatting, try using the search and replace function again.
Fix 3 – Use only the find feature
Instead of using the find and replace feature, you can only use the ‘Find’ function of the feature to identify the cells. Though this is a solution, it can be a workaround for your problem.
Fix 4 – Include formulas in search
Generally, the searching operation doesn’t search inside the formulas. So, if you are looking for a particular formula in the sheet, follow these steps.
Step 1 – On the Google Sheet, press the Ctrl+H buttons or use the “Find and Replace” option from the “Edit” menu.
Step 2 – Now, just check the “Also search within formulas” option.
Step 3 – Provide your query in the necessary boxes and tap “Done” to start searching within the spreadsheet.
This time, you won’t have any problem using the Find and Replace option. Check if this works!