Hi pimpong,

In a wildcard Find/Replace, the Find expression '([!>]):/' uses parentheses (ie '()') to delineate the first part of the search term, because we'll want to use it later. The first part of the search term is actually just '[!>]'. This tells Word to find a character that is not a '>'. The rest of the expression (ie ':/') says what the character in the first part of the search term has to be followed by. So, we're telling Word to find any ':/' string that is not preceded by '>'. The Replace expression simply says to retain whatever is in the first set of parentheses (ie the character that is not a '>' is).

As for the second part of your question, you and use an ordinary Find/Replace, where:
Find = ^^_^
Replace = smile

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]