To quickly find a text in Google Sheets, you must know how to search on Google Sheets. With the help of Google Sheets, you can easily store and maintain large amounts of data. It is nearly impossible to go through each cell to find particular data. So, in today’s post, I will teach you how to search for something on Google Sheets in detail. Fortunately, Google Sheets has many built-in functions that allow you to search for data in your spreadsheets. Without wasting one more minute, let us now find out how to search on Google Sheets in brief.

How To Search On Google Sheets?

In this section, I will teach you how to search on Google Sheets. Many people are unaware that Google Sheets allow its users to use formulas and some built-in functions to search for a particular text in spreadsheets.

You can follow these steps to know how to search for a name on Google Sheets.

1. Open the spreadsheet where you want to search for a word/term.
2. Navigate to the top menu bar and click on Edit.
3. From the drop-down menu, choose the Find and Replace option.
4. This will immediately open up the Find and Replace dialog box.
5. Over here, enter the term in the Find textbox.
6. Finally, click on the Find button.

Now, the first cell containing the search word will be highlighted. Simply click on Find each time to select the next cell containing the word.

Google Sheets will now search in all the opened spreadsheets by default. You can also change the search path by clicking on the Search label. Over here, you get three options: All Sheets, This Sheet, and Specific Range. However, using Find and Replace you can also replace the word with something else if required. 

Keep on reading further to know more about how to search for words on Google Sheets.

Click here – How To Search Text Messages On iPhone?

Search On Google Sheets Using The Find Function

Do you know how to search on Google Sheets shortcut? There are two shortcut commands you can consider to search in Google Sheets.

Simply follow these steps to know about Google Sheets search for text in cell shortcut command.

1. Open the spreadsheet where you want to search for a word/term.
2. Then, press the Control + F keyboard shortcut command.
3. A small dialog box will appear in the upper-right corner of your spreadsheet.
4. In this text box, type the word you are looking for.
5. Hit the Enter button to view all results.

Now, Google Sheets will automatically highlight the cells containing the search term. This method is also helpful to search numbers in Google Sheets.

Another shortcut to search in Google Sheets is to use the Find and Replace function. Use the keyboard shortcut command Control + H to launch the Find and Replace dialog box. In this dialog box, type the word you are looking for and hit the Find button. 

You can keep on reading further to know more about how to search on Google Sheets.

Search On Google Sheets Using Conditional Formatting

Surprisingly, you can also use the Google Sheets Conditional Formatting feature to search and highlight the search word. Simply follow these steps to learn how to search a name on Google Sheets.

1. Open the spreadsheet where you want to search for a word/term.
2. Navigate to the top menu bar and click on the Format option.
3. Select the Conditional Formatting option from the drop-down menu.
4. This will immediately open the Conditional Formatting rules sidebar.
5. In the Apply to Range textbox, enter the range of cells you want to search in.
6. From the Format Rules drop-down menu, select Text Contains.
7. Then, type in your search word in an input box below the drop-down list.
8. Finally, click on the Done button to start the search.

You can also click on the Fill Color option to select the color to highlight matching text/cells (for example Yellow). In the results, you’ll see all the cells containing the search word highlighted in yellow color.

Here, you also get other options such as Text does not contain, Text starts with, Text ends with, and Text is exactly. You can take advantage of these options to find what you need!

Search On Google Sheets On Mac

This section will teach you how to search on Google Sheets on Mac. It’s very easy to search for a word, phrase, number, or character on Google Sheets if you follow these steps.

1. Open the spreadsheet where you want to search for a word/term.
2. Then, press the Command + F keyboard shortcut command.
3. A small dialog box will appear in the upper-right corner of your spreadsheet.
4. In this text box, type the word you are looking for.
5. Hit the Enter button to view all results.
6. You can press the up and down arrows to see the results one by one.

Thus, all matching results will be highlighted on your opened spreadsheet. You can also use the Find/Find and Replace feature of Google Sheets to search function multiple values.

Let us now check out how to search on Google Sheets mobile app.

Search On Google Sheets On Phone

Even if Google Sheets is an app primarily used on desktops, it can also be accessible via a phone. In this section, I will teach you how to search on Google Sheets on a phone.

1. Start by launching the Google Sheets app on your mobile.
2. Then, open the spreadsheet where you want to search for a word/term.
3. Navigate to the upper-right corner to select the three-dot icon.
4. From this pop-up menu, select Find and Replace.
5. Now, type the word that you’re searching for.
6. The words similar to your search term will be highlighted.

You can tap on the arrows (up/down) to shuffle through the results of that particular word/phrase. You can also go ahead and replace the word by selecting the Replace with option.

When it comes to how to search on Google Sheets on iPad, you can repeat the same steps given above.

Let’s find out more information on Searchitz

FAQ

Where Is The Search Bar In Google Sheets?

Search can be accessed from the menu. Tap the button with three vertical dots on the top right corner to bring out the menu. Tap “Find and Replace” from here, and a header search box will appear at the top of your spreadsheet. Do a search.

What Is The Shortcut For Search In Google Sheets?

To search the menus, press Alt + / (Windows, Chrome OS) or Option + / (Mac).

Does Google Sheets Have A Search Function?

SEARCH is used to find specific text within a Google Sheet. To use SEARCH, type the text you are looking for in the search bar at the top of the screen and press enter.

How Do I Search For A Specific Text In A Cell In Google Sheets?

You can easily find text strings in your spreadsheet by using the Find and Replace tool. Navigate to the top menu and click Edit > Find and Replace. In the Find prompt, enter the text string you want to search for. Then click the Find button to locate the cells containing the text string.

How Do I Open The Search Bar In Google Sheets For Mac?

Press the search combination on your keyboard.
This will open the search box in the upper-right corner of your spreadsheet. On Windows, press Control + F . On Mac, press ⌘ Command + F.

Conclusion

In the above post, I’ve explained how to search for a word on Google Sheets in detail. Google Sheets is an excellent place for storing, managing and organizing large data. As there are thousands of cells in a spreadsheet, it is tough to find particular data. To simplify this task, you can use several built-in Google features. Use the Find/ Find and Replace feature of Google Sheets to search for text in range. The keyboard shortcuts Control/Command + F will also give you results quickly. After learning how to search on Google Sheets, you can now find words and phrases inside Google Sheets effortlessly.