okie... seems like i got a solution to my own question... feel free to
correct me (or flame me??) if you have a better idea...

Cells.Replace What:=".!", _
Replacement:="!", _
LookAt:= _
xlPart, _
SearchOrder:=xlByRows, _
MatchCase:=False, _
SearchFormat:=False, _
ReplaceFormat:=False

(generated using record macro function ... :P )

jr arnold