How to Use Find on Page in Microsoft Edge on Computer

A long report, a terms page, a wall of forum replies: the line you need is in there somewhere, and scrolling for it wastes minutes.

Edge can highlight every match on the page and step you through them one at a time. Press Ctrl+F (or ⌘+F on a Mac), type the term, and move with Enter or the arrows. When the text isn't on the page at all, the address bar handles the web search.

In this guide, I have covered:

Find a Word on a Page in Edge on Your Computer

You know the phrase is on that page. Hunting for it by scrolling is the slow way. Edge highlights every match and jumps you straight to the one you want.

1. Open the webpage in Microsoft Edge on your computer.
2. Press Ctrl + F on Windows or Linux, or ⌘ + F on macOS.
3. Type the word or phrase you want to find.
4. Press Enter to jump to the first match, then keep pressing it to move through the later ones.

Edge highlights the current match and scrolls it into view. Press Shift + Enter to step back to the previous match.

The box stays open until you close it, so you can clear the field and run a second search without starting over. If you would rather keep your hands on the keys, our keyboard shortcut list covers the rest of Edge.

TIP: Find on Page reads text, not pixels. Words baked into a screenshot or a photo on the page will never match, however you type them.

Open Find on Page from the Edge Menu

Some web apps grab the keyboard shortcut before Edge sees it, and not everyone wants to reach for the keys. The same search box is sitting in the Edge menu.

1. Open the webpage you want to search.
2. Click the Settings and more menu in the upper-right corner.
3. Select Find on page….

The Find box appears at the top-right of the page with the cursor already in the search field. Start typing and Edge highlights matches as you go, before you press anything else.

Review and Move Between Search Matches

A common word can appear dozens of times in one document. Instead of re-reading the page from the top, let the counter and the arrows do the work.

1. Look at the match counter to see how many occurrences Edge found.
2. Click the next match arrow to move forward through the results.
3. Click the previous match arrow to return to an earlier result.

You’ll know it worked when the counter ticks from 1/12 to 2/12 and the highlight jumps further down the page with each click.

The active match stays highlighted while Edge scrolls it into view. When you finish, press Esc to close the box and get back to normal page reading.

Search the Web for a Term Instead

Find on Page looks only at the tab you are in. If the answer might live on another site, send the query to the address bar instead of the Find box.

1. Click the address bar at the top of the Edge window.
2. Type the word or phrase you want to find on the web.
3. Press Enter to open the search results.

Edge opens a results page for your query. Switch to this when the current page comes back empty, because no matches in Find only means the text is not on that page, not that the answer is missing from the web.

Use Find on Page in Edge on Android

Reading the same document on your phone is a different job, since the desktop shortcut and the top-right search box do not exist there. Edge for Android uses a touch-friendly panel with its own controls.

The guide to search and find on page in Edge on Android walks through that panel from start to finish. Same idea, different buttons.

RELATED: Clear Search Term History in Edge Browser on Android