Is there a way to have the text found by a Find search dispalyed in the writing window?
Let’s say I have one or more long text files which contain a word or term. A Find search will show those files in the binder, and if I scroll endlessly through them I can locate the results, but I suspect there must be something more straightforward and obvious I’ve missed. Can I send the Find to produce the result right in the open portion of the writing window.
Any help or advice will be much appreciated.
The search term will automatically be highlighted (by default in red) in the text window.
Best,
Keith
Here’s a trick, after you type in your search term, press Cmd-A to select the word(s) typed into the search field, then press Cmd-E. This will load the phrase into the document search tool (not the project search tool). Now click on the document in the Binder, and press Cmd-G to scroll to the next instance of the phrase, and repeat.
You can also just press Cmd-F like you normally would, and type it in again, but Cmd-E will move it over for you.
Actually, as of 1.10, the search string from a project search is automatically placed in the Find panel if you call it up using cmd-F. As of 1.12, it will also automatically be used if you use a cmd-G search in a document after doing a project search.
Re-reading the OP’s original post, I think it may just be that he or she has missed the fact that Scrivener has two separate search/find functions. Pat - as in Mail and other such apps, the search field in the toolbar searches for documents and presents you with a list of matches. When you select a document in the list, the search term is highlighted wherever it appears in the document in red by default. For a document text search, use Edit > Find > Find… (or hit cmd-F). Thus, for the most effective results, use the search field in the toolbar to get a list of matches, then click in the text and hit cmd-F to start searching through that text using the search term to save having to scroll through.
All the best,
Keith
I did try that, because I thought for sure I remembered you adding that feature, but the time I tried it didn’t pre-load the search term in the Find field. I have not figured out how to reproduce the bug. I thought it had to do with deleting the search from from the Find field and then doing another project search, but that only causes it to appear some of the time. So it must be something else. This is on Tiger, by the way.
In 1.12 it should work regardless, as the find string gets moved from the find pasteboard into the Find panel info when you do any find action, not just - as previously - when the Find panel gets activated. Hopefully this will improve the behaviour.
Best,
Keith