How to search the contents of the current page for text or links

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  • Creator: Lan
  • Comment: Removed Firefox 3.6 images and link to archived article
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When you are viewing a website in Firefox, you can search for words and phrases on the page. Firefox will show you where the search phrase you've typed appears next on the page, and lets you highlight all the places where it appears.

Using the Find bar

To start searching for text on a page:

  1. Open the Find bar using one of the following methods:
    • Use the Ctrlcommand+F keyboard shortcut.
    • Click on the Firefox buttonEdit menu, then select Find.
  2. Type a search phrase into the Find Bar's Find: field. Firefox will start highlighting instances of your search phrase as you type.
Find Bar - Win1
    • If no instances of your search phrase occur on the page you're viewing, the Find bar will show Phrase not found.

To start searching for text on a page:

  1. Open the Find bar using one of the following methods:
    • Use the Ctrlcommand+F keyboard shortcut.
    • Click on the menu button The image "new fx menu" does not exist., and then click Find.
  2. Type a search phrase into the Find Bar's Find: field. Firefox will start highlighting instances of your search phrase as you type.
    find fx29
    • If no instances of your search phrase occur on the page you're viewing, the Find: field will turn red and the message Phrase not found will appear next to it.
    notfound

When the Find bar is open, the following actions are available:

  • X: Close the find bar.
  • Next: Highlight the next instance of the search phrase you've entered.
  • Previous: Highlight the previous instance of the search phrase you've entered.
  • Highlight All: Highlight every instance of the search phrase you've entered. Click Highlight All again to turn off highlighting.
Find Bar - Win2
  • Match case: Make searches case sensitive. Normally if you search for search phrase, instances of Search Phrase on the page will also be found when you use the Find bar. If you Match case is selected, only instances of the phrase as you've typed it will be found.
  • X: Close the find bar.
  • Next and Previous arrows: Finds each instance of the phrase you entered.
  • Highlight All: Highlight every instance of the search phrase you've entered. Click Highlight All again to turn off highlighting.
  • Match case: Make searches case sensitive. Normally if you search for search phrase, instances of Search Phrase on the page will also be found when you use the Find bar. If you Match case is selected, only instances of the phrase as you've typed it will be found.

Quick Find

The Quick Find bar is useful for quick searches and is meant to disappear after a few moments. It does not have the Next, Previous, or Highlight All buttons like the full Find bar.

Press the / key (forward slash character) to open the Quick Find bar. Then type what you would like to search for.

If you want to find phrases that occur in links on the page you're viewing:

  1. Type ' (single quote character) to bring up the Quick Find (links only) bar.
  2. Type a search phrase into the Quick Find (links only) field. The first link that contains the phrase you've typed will be selected.
  3. Press Ctrlcommand+G to highlight the next link that contains your search phrase.

To close the Quick Find bar, wait a moment then press the Esc key on the keyboard, or click somewhere in Firefox that is not part of the Quick Find bar.

Find while typing on a page

Firefox can start searching for phrases you enter without having to open the Find bar. To enable this feature:

  1. In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click Firefox and then select Preferences or Settings, depending on your macOS version.Click the menu button Fx89menuButton and select Settings.
  2. Select on the Advanced panel.
  3. Click on the General tab.
  4. Check mark Search for text when I start typing.
  5. Close the Settings page. Any changes you've made will automatically be saved.

After you enable the feature:

  1. Type a search phrase while you are viewing a website. As you type, the first instance of your phrase will be highlighted.
  2. Press Ctrlcommand+G or F3 to highlight the next instance of your search phrase.

To close the Quick Find bar, wait a few moments for it to disappear or press the Esc key on the keyboard to close it immediately. You can also click somewhere in Firefox that is not part of the Quick Find bar to close it.

Note: Since the Quick Find bar is meant to disappear after a few moments, it does not have the Next, Previous, or Highlight All commands that the full Find bar has.