How to Search in Google Sheets

Key takeaways 

Using the Search function allow you to quickly look for specific words or phrases in Google Sheets. 

• To perform a basic search, open the Sheet, click Edit and Find and replace. Then, add your search term and press Find to begin the search. 

• Advanced search options in Google Sheets include using the Find and replace, Also search within formulas, and Also search within links. 

• You can use the dropdown menu after clicking Edit or try shortcuts like Ctrl + F or Command ⌘ + F on a Mac.

Learn how to perform basic searches, plus more advanced methods to alter your search parameters or replace sets of words and phrases. To learn more about Google Cloud products and prepare for a development-related career, enroll in the Preparing for Google Cloud Certification: Cloud Developer Professional Certificate. This intermediate-level program will give you an opportunity to learn about techniques for working with Google Cloud, choosing various application deployment environments, and build skills like cloud infrastructure, cloud computing and development, and containerization. 

How to search in Google Sheets

When you work in Google Sheets, the Search function provides a way to look through your sheets for specific words or phrases quickly. Explore the steps you’ll need to take to use the search function in Google Sheets:

• Open your Google Sheet

• Click Edit in the toolbar menu

• Click Find and replace

• Enter your search term

• Press Find again to go through terms

You can also use the keyboard shortcuts to find your text faster:

• On Windows: Ctrl + F

• On macOS: Command + F

Learn more: How to Convert Excel to Google Sheets 

Explore each step in more detail to learn about other, more advanced search methods and when to use them.

1. Open your Google Sheet

First, open the Google Sheet you would like to search in.

2. Click the ‘Edit’ menu in the toolbar.

Click the Edit menu in the upper left corner of your Google Sheets window.

3. Click the ‘Find and replace.’

Click the Find and replace to load the search screen.

4. Type the term you’d like to search in the ‘Find’ text box.

In the search box, type the word or phrase you would like to search for in your sheet in the text box labeled “Find.”

5. Click the ‘Find’ button to find the term in your Google Sheet.

Once you type the word or phrase you want to search, you should click Find again or the “Enter” key on your keyboard to toggle between instances where this word or phrase appears in your sheet.

What is the Find command in Google Sheets?

The Find command allows you to search the entire document for a string that you define, which can include numbers, letters, or symbols. Find is a case-sensitive command, which means that it will return capitalized or lowercase letters depending on what you specify in the string. 

How to search a Google Sheet: Advanced methods

You can also search using a Ctrl + F (Command ⌘ + F on a Mac) shortcut. Doing so will lead to a search box popping up in the upper-right area of your Google Sheet.

In addition to basic searches, you can complete more advanced search methods for different functions. You can get to these methods by clicking the button that looks like a vertical ellipsis on the right of the search bubble, to the left of the ‘x’ button. This button is the More Options button. Once you click this button, the Find and Replace bubble will appear.

You can choose several more advanced search methods from here. Some of the ones you can choose include:

Find and replace in Google Sheets

If you would like to replace some or all mentions of a word or phrase with another word or phrase, you can use the Find and replace option. You can do this by typing the original word or phrase in the Find text box and the new word or phrase in the Replace with text box. After doing so, click the Replace button at the bottom of the bubble to replace one occurrence at a time or the Replace all button to replace all instances simultaneously.

Expand your search criteria.

If you want to expand your search to include formulas and links, you can check the Also search within formulas or Also search within links boxes in the Find and replace box.

What is the shortcut for Search in Google Sheets?

Using the CTRL + F (or Command + F on a Mac) shortcut makes it fast and relatively easy to search in Google Sheets. You can also use it in Google Docs and Slides. 

Narrow your search criteria.

You can further specify your search criteria to make the search case sensitive or match all cell contents. Matching the cases means that if you search with specific letters capitalized or in lowercase, the search function will only highlight terms that match the exact case pattern. If you choose to match the entire cell contents, your search term will only return an exact match containing the search term and no additional text.

You can select the All sheets option from the Search dropdown menu if you want to limit your search to a specific sheet within your Google Sheets file. You can also select This sheet or Specific range to specify where you would like the search function to find matching terms.

Your go-to guide for Google Sheets troubleshooting

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• Watch on YouTube: How to Highlight Duplicates in Google Sheets

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