WD97: How to Convert Multiple White Space Characters to Tabs

MORE INFORMATION

Some text or word processor files use multiple spaces or tabs to create tables. In Word, this type of formatting makes alignment and other types of formatting impossible.

To convert multiple instances of white space characters such as spaces or tab characters to a single instance of a character, use the following advanced criteria in the Find What box in the Find And Replace dialog box where x is the character you are searching for, such as a space, and y is the minimum number of instances that the character must appear in order to be replaced.

The following procedure will replace all occurrences of two or more spaces with a single tab character.

For example, if the text appears as it is converted to: by following these steps:

1. On the Edit menu, click Replace.
2. In the Find What box, type

   <space>{2,}

   where <space> is the character you get when you press the SPACEBAR once.
   
   NOTE: There is no space between the comma (,) and the right brace (}).
3. In the Replace With box, type "^t" (without the quotation marks).
   
   NOTE: ^ is the caret symbol and is inserted by pressing SHIFT+6.
4. Click More, and then click to select the Use Wildcards check box.
5. Click Replace All.