As a copy-editor, I frequently have to do things like change "20-21" to "20–21", or simply replace one number or letter in the middle of a string, where the bits both before and after the character may vary.




Although I can use "any digit" or "any letter" to create the search string, I can't see any way to create a compatible replace string. "Find what text" recreates the entire string, so it's not possible to change a character in the middle.



Does anyone have any suggestions?

For the example you gave, use a wildcard Find/Replace, with:
Find =([0-9])-([0-9])
Replace = \1–\2

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

Thanks! That would do the trick.