ExcelBanter - HOW DO I CHANGE THE DEFAULTS ON THE "FIND" TOOL?

You can't change it permanently.

Saved from a previous post:

Excel tries to help by remembering the last settings you used--except for the
first search in that session.

You can use that to your advantage.

You could make a dummy workbook and put it in your xlStart folder. Have a
macro in that workbook that does a find (and sets all the stuff the way you
like). Then closes and gets out of the way.

Option Explicit
Sub auto_open()

'change the settings the way you like
Worksheets("sheet1").Cells.Find What:="", After:=ActiveCell, _
LookIn:=xlValues, _
LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:=xlByColumns, _
SearchDirection:=xlNext, MatchCase:=False

ThisWorkbook.Close savechanges:=False

End Sub

The workbook opens, does a find (to fix your settings) and then closes to get
out of the way.

If you're new to macros, you may want to read David McRitchie's intro at:
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/getstarted.htm

But if you do an Edit|Find and change anything, then those changed settings will
be remembered.

RRankin wrote:

How do I change what the defaults are when I start a "FIND" in Excel?
Currently, when I first open the find option, the default is set to "Match
case" and I don't want to use that. Also, the "look in" box is defaulted to
"formula" and I want "value." I change it each time, but it seems to be an
unnecessary step. If I could reset the defaults it would save me time.

I am currently using MICROSOFT OFFICE 2003.

--

Dave Peterson