Hello, All. I'm not an experienced Excel user, but this spreadsheet destructive behavior shocked me.

In a new spreadsheet,

1. Type "This is a test" in a cell.
2. Italicize the word "test".
3. Save the file.
4. Search and replace the word "This" with the word "That."

The italics of the word "test" -- which should be unaffected since that word was not searched and replaced -- is removed. This also happens with bold, underline, font, and point size. In fact, no matter how much text is in the cell, all formatting everywhere in the cell is wiped out by a simple search and replace of anything anywhere in the cell.

Microsoft told me "this is not a bug; it is just how Excel functions." Say what?

Is there a way to search and replace an unformatted word with another unformatted word without wiping out all formatting in the cell?

Thanks.