Using Wildcards in Searches

Wildcards provide a versatile way to find items that contain a specific text pattern. This is useful, for example, if you search for a line item that contains specific text within beginning and end of its name.

The Find feature supports the following wildcard characters:

Table 51. Wildcard Characters

Wildcard	Description
?	Use to match any single character.
*	Use to match zero or multiple characters. For example, when you search for "sale", the search matches "Sales" and "Sale". This is because with the , there can be zero or more characters after the word "sale". The default search uses the * wildcard. For example, when you enter "cash" as the criteria, it is equivalent to typing "cash" which finds "Restricted Cash", "Cash Equivalents", "Cash", and "Noncash Expenses". The word “cash” appears within each matched item.
#	Use to match any single number (0-9)
[list]	Use to match any single character within a specified list of characters. This wildcard allows you to specify specific characters to use as wildcards. For example, [aeiou] uses all of the letters within the brackets as a single wildcard character. The "-" character may also be used to indicate a range, such as [A-Z] or [0-9] If you want to use the "-" as part of the list, enter it at the beginning of the list. For example, [-@&\] uses the characters with the brackets as the wildcard characters.
[!list]	Use to match any single character not found within specified list of characters. The "-" character may also be used to indicate a range, such as [!A-Z] or [!0-9]

Wildcards can be used anywhere within the search string in the Find what text box. For example entering "cash*and" finds all line items that contain the words "cash" followed by "and", such as "Cash and Equivalents", "Cash from Sale of Goods and Services" and "Noncash Investing and Financing Activities".

Tip:

If you want to search for a line item that begins or ends with specific text, check the Match whole word only option and use the "*" wildcard. For example, with the Match whole word only option on, if you enter "cash*" as the criterion, only line items that start with the word "cash" is found. For example, "Cash and Equivalents" is found, but not "Noncash Investments". Similarly, if you enter "*cash", only line items that end with the word cash is found. For example, "Restricted Cash" is found, but not "Cash and Equivalents".