Search & Replace
Find and replace text throughout your document.
Basic Search
Open Search
- Click Edit → Find
- Or press Ctrl/Cmd + F
- The search panel appears
Finding Text
Enter Search Term
Type the text you want to find
Search
Press Enter or click Find Next
Navigate Results
- Click Next to go to next match
- Click Previous to go to previous match
- Match count shows total results
Search Options
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| Case Sensitive | Match exact capitalization |
| Whole Words | Match complete words only |
| Include Comments | Search within annotations |
Search Results
Results Panel
The search panel shows:
- Total number of matches
- Current position (e.g., “3 of 15”)
- Matches highlighted in document
Navigating Results
- Next (↓): Go to next match
- Previous (↑): Go to previous match
- Click a result to jump directly to it
Highlight Options
- Matches are highlighted on the page
- Current match has distinct highlighting
- Scroll through pages to see all matches
Search and Replace
Open Replace Mode
- Press Ctrl/Cmd + H
- Or click Edit → Find and Replace
Enter Search Term
Type the text to find
Enter Replacement
Type the replacement text
Choose Action
- Replace: Replace current match
- Replace All: Replace all matches at once
- Find Next: Skip to next match
Review Changes
Verify replacements are correct
Replace Options
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Replace | Replace current match and move to next |
| Replace All | Replace all matches instantly |
| Skip | Move to next match without replacing |
| Cancel | Close without further changes |
Replace All cannot be easily undone for large documents. Consider replacing one at a time for important changes.
Advanced Search
Regular Expressions
Enable regex for pattern matching:
- Check Use Regular Expressions
- Enter your regex pattern
- Search as normal
Common patterns:
| Pattern | Matches |
|---|---|
\d+ | Numbers |
\b\w+\b | Whole words |
[A-Z]+ | Uppercase text |
\$[\d,]+ | Dollar amounts |
\d{3}-\d{4} | Phone numbers |
Wildcards
Use wildcards for flexible matching:
| Wildcard | Matches |
|---|---|
* | Any characters |
? | Single character |
[abc] | Any character in set |
[^abc] | Any character not in set |
Search Scope
Current Document
Default search scope—finds matches in the open document.
Selected Pages
Limit search to specific pages:
- Open Search options
- Select Page Range
- Enter pages (e.g., 1-10, 15, 20-25)
- Search
Comments and Annotations
Include or exclude annotations:
- Open Search options
- Check Include Comments
- Search includes comment text
Cross-Document Search
Search across multiple documents in your organization.
Cross-document search requires Pro or higher subscription and document indexing.
Enabling Cross-Document Search
Open Search Panel
Press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + F for cross-document search
Enter Search Term
Type your search query
Select Scope
Choose to search:
- All documents
- Specific folder
- Recent documents
Search
Results show matches across all documents
Search Results
Cross-document results show:
- Document name
- Page number
- Match context
- Click to open the document
Indexing Documents
For documents to appear in cross-document search, they must be indexed:
- Click Tools → Index Document
- Penvio extracts searchable text
- Document becomes searchable
OCR’d documents are automatically indexed.
Search Tips
Effective Searching
| Tip | Example |
|---|---|
| Use specific terms | ”quarterly report” not “report” |
| Try variations | ”color” and “colour” |
| Use quotes for phrases | ”total revenue” |
| Combine with filters | Date range + keywords |
Common Issues
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| No results found | Try different terms, check case sensitivity |
| Too many results | Add more specific terms |
| Can’t find text in scans | Run OCR first |
| Special characters not found | Escape with backslash |
Replace Best Practices
Before Replacing
- Preview matches: Use Find Next to review
- Check context: Ensure matches are correct
- Consider case: “The” vs “the”
- Test first: Replace one before Replace All
After Replacing
- Review changes: Scroll through document
- Check formatting: Replacement may affect layout
- Save a copy: Keep original as backup
Use Ctrl/Cmd + Z to undo individual replacements. For Replace All, use version history to restore.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Windows/Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Find | Ctrl + F | Cmd + F |
| Find Next | F3 or Enter | Cmd + G |
| Find Previous | Shift + F3 | Cmd + Shift + G |
| Replace | Ctrl + H | Cmd + H |
| Replace & Find Next | Enter (in replace field) | Enter |
| Close Search | Esc | Esc |
| Cross-Document Search | Ctrl + Shift + F | Cmd + Shift + F |
Tips
- Search is case-insensitive by default
- Use “Whole Words” to avoid partial matches
- Regular expressions enable powerful pattern matching
- Cross-document search helps find information across projects
- Index important documents for faster searching
Next Steps
- Bookmarks - Create bookmarks for easy document navigation
- Document Properties - View and edit document metadata
- Edit Text - Modify text content in your documents