Finding a certain bit of text using a desktop web browser is easy. Just go to the page and run a search for a specific word or phrase (control+F or command+F brings up the search tool in most browsers). Searching for text in Safari on the iPhone is a little tougher. That's mostly because the search feature is harder to find. But if you know where to look, Safari's Find on Page feature can help you find just the text you're looking for.
This article includes instructions for iOS versions 4-12.
Search: This Mac 'Your Folder Name' Click on the name of your folder to restrict the search to the folder instead of the whole computer, which is what the default selection 'This Mac' does. Then click the gear icon, choose show search criteria, and change the kind to text files. To see all the results from your Mac in the Finder, scroll to the bottom of the results list, then double-click “Show all in Finder.” Get definitions, calculations, and conversions Spotlight can show you dictionary definitions, calculations, measurement conversions, and more. 10 Click the Find Next button to find your formatted text. Word remembers your formatting options! The next time you want to search for plain text, first click the No Formatting button. Doing so removes the formatting options and allows you to search for text in any format. Hi, Lacey here, and I'm going to show you how to search for a word or a phrase, in a book. So right now we have I-books open, we're going to open up one of the books in our library.
The exact steps you need to follow to use Find On Page vary slightly depending on your version of the iOS. Follow the instructions below to start using Find on Page on your iPhone.
Using Find on Page in iOS 12
This will also work in iOS 9, 10, and 11.
Begin by opening Safari and browsing to a website.
Tap the action box at the bottom center of the screen (the box with the arrow coming out of it).
Swipe through the bottom row of icons until you see the magnifying glass for Find on Page.
Tap Find on Page.
In the search bar that appears, type the text you want to find.
If the text you entered is on the page, the first use of it is highlighted.
Use the arrow keys above the keyboard to move forward and backward through every instance of your search term on the page.
Tap the X in the search bar to search for a new word or phrase.
Using Find on Page in iOS 7 and 8
While the steps above are the fastest option on iOS 9 and up, the following steps work, too. It's also the only way to use the feature on iOS 7 and 8.
Begin by opening the Safari app and browsing to a website
Once the site you want to search is loaded in Safari, tap the address bar at the top of the Safari window
In that address bar, type the text you want to search for on the page.
When you do that, a number of things happen: in the address bar, URLs may be suggested based on your browsing history. Beneath that, the Top Hits section offers additional suggestions. The next section, Suggested Website, is delivered by Apple based on your Safari settings (you can tweak these in Settings > Safari > Search). After that are a set of suggested searches from Google (or your default search engine), followed by matching sites from your bookmarks and search history.
But where's Find on Page? In most cases, it's hidden off the bottom of the screen, either by the onscreen keyboard or by the list of suggested results and searches. Swipe all the way to the end of the screen and you'll see a section titled On This Page. The number next to the header indicates how many times the text you searched for appears on this page.
Tap Find beneath this header to see all uses of your search word on the page.
The arrow keys move you through the uses of the word on the page. The X icon lets you clear the current search and perform a new one.
Tap Done when you're finished searching.
Using Find on Page in iOS 4-6
In earlier versions of the iOS, the process is a bit different:
How To Search For Words On Mac
Use Safari to browse to a website.
Tap the search bar in the top right-hand corner of the Safari window (if Google is your default search engine, the window will read Google until you tap it).
Type in the text you're trying to find on the page.
In the list of search results, you'll first see suggested search terms from Google. In a grouping below that, you'll see On This Page. Tap that to find the text you want on the page.
You'll see the text you searched for highlighted on the page. Move between instances of the text you searched for with the Previous and Next buttons.
You can open a PDF or other document in Preview, then search for a word or any set of characters. If you can’t see the search field at the top right of the document window, drag the window’s edge (top, bottom, or sides) to enlarge the window.
Online Dictionary
In the Preview app on your Mac, open a PDF or image that you want to search.
Do any of the following:
Find text: Type a word or phrase in the search field in the toolbar.
Find an exact phrase: Enclose the phrase in quotation marks.
Group the search results by page: Choose View > Table of Contents.
Sort the search results by number of matches: Click Search Rank.
Sort the search results by page number: Click Page Order.
Close the search results sidebar: Click Done.
Find text in notes: To search notes added to the PDF (instead of the text in the PDF itself), choose View > Highlights and Notes, then type a word or phrase in the search field in the toolbar.