Have you ever been searching for something on a webpage, a specific word for example, but wondered if the word was even on the page? Suppose you didn’t have the time to scan/read the entire page to find exactly what you’re searching for. Safari/Chrome on Mac offers a simple solution by pressing “Command + F” and searching for the word you’re looking for. It’s a bit different on the iPhone or iPad though.
If you’re using an external keyboard with your iOS device, you can easily search for a specific word using “Command + F”, but if you’re using your iPhone/iPad with your finger (as most of us usually do), you can use the following method to access the search options in Safari using iOS 9:
1. Open Safari on your iOS device.
2. Navigate to a website that you’d like to do a search on.
3. Tap the Share button, which is present in the centre of the bottom of the screen (a rectangle with an arrow).
4. In the bottom row of buttons (the Action list), swipe to the left and select “Find on Page.”
5. You’ll see that a text box has appeared above your device’s keyboard. Enter the word or phrase that you’re looking for and press “Search.”
Another method for searching for words on your iOS device is to use the Navigation bar which was a feature included in the earlier versions of iOS.
1. Simply click on the Navigation bar on the top of your screen in Safari.
2. Type what you’re looking for into the navigation bar’s URL field, and then scroll down the page. You’ll see an “On This Page” heading.
3. Tap on the word, and you’ll jump back to the web page you were just on.
Regardless of the method you used, if the word or phrase is present on the page then it will be highlighted. If it isn’t there, you’ll see a “no matches” message. If the word appears more than once, tap the up or down arrows in the search bar to jump between matches on the web page.
Let us know about any questions or suggestions in the Comments section below.
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