Use Find in Google Chrome
Google Chrome is a popular Internet browser. Within Google Chrome, there is a tool that users can activate to help them find specific words or phrases on webpages. It is called the Find tool, and it can be activated in a couple of different ways.
Contents
Steps
Using Your Mouse to Open the Find Tool
- Navigate to the webpage that you would like to search in. Once you have Chrome open, type the URL of the webpage into the address bar and press ↵ Enter. Allow the page to fully load before taking the next step.
- Click the guide icon. Click the three horizontal bars on the top righthand side of the browser page. This should be located below the “X” button that closes the browser, if you are using a PC. When you hover over it with your mouse, text should appear that says “Customize and control Google Chrome.”
- Locate and click on the “Find” option. Once you click “Find,” the drop-down menu should disappear, and instead, a small text box should appear beneath the address bar. Inside the text box should be a search bar, up and down arrows, and an “X.”
- Type in the word or phrase you would like to find on the webpage. If you have never used the Find tool before, then nothing will be typed into it. However, if you have, then you will have to delete the word or phrase that is currently typed in.
- You can press ↵ Enter when you are done typing, but it is not necessary for the search function to work. After you are done typing, Chrome will automatically search for the term.
- Examine how many times your word or phrase is located on the page. After you type in the term, Chrome will highlight every instance that it is used on that webpage. For example, the search function will put “1 of 20” in the right side of the search box, telling you how many times the term was found.
- You can click on the up and down arrows to scroll through every time the word or phrase is used.
- The current instance that it is showing you, as you press the arrows, will change from being highlighted in yellow to being highlighted in orange.
- Close the Find tool by clicking the “X” or pressing the Escape (Esc) key. When you are done using the tool, you can use either of these methods to close it. The highlights of your search term will disappear when it is closed.
Using Keyboard Commands to Open the Find Tool
- Bring up the webpage that you would like to search in. Upon opening Google Chrome, type in the URL of the webpage into the address bar. Give the page time to load fully before proceeding on to the next step.
- Use keys on the keyboard to activate the Find tool. Depending on whether you are using a PC (i.e. Windows computer) or Mac, the keys you need to press differ:
- On a PC, you need to press the Ctrl+F.
- On a Mac, you need to press the ⌘ Command+F simultaneously.
- Locate the search bar that appears in the top right corner of your browser. The search bar will protrude down from Chrome's navigation bar, cutting into the top right corner of the webpage.
- Type in the word or phrase that you need to locate on the webpage. The search bar will be empty if you have never used the Find tool before, but if you have, then you will have to delete the term that is currently typed in from the last time you used it.
- It is not necessary to press ↵ Enter when you are done typing, because Chrome will automatically search for the term as you type.
- Scroll through all of the times your word or phrase is located on the page. Once the term is typed, Chrome will highlight every instance that it is used on that webpage. For example, the search function will put “1 of 20” in the right side of the search box, telling you how many times the term was found.
- You can click on the up and down arrows to scroll through every time the word or phrase is used.
- As you press the arrows, the current instance that it is showing you will change from being highlighted in yellow to being highlighted in orange.
- Close the Find tool by clicking the “X” or pressing the Escape (Esc) key. When you are done using the tool, you can use either of these methods to close it. The highlights of your search term will disappear when it is closed.
Tips
- The Find tool is not the same as doing a search on a search engine. The Find tool only finds your search term on a particular webpage that you are viewing, while searching in a search engine finds your search term on any number of websites where it appears.
