Search function not working

[Kemp]

Yesterday my search function just stopped working (the top right hand corner field that searches a whole project)!

The Command F search works within each individual bit of text but obviously that is not a feasible substitute. Does anyone know how to fix this / prevent it happening again?

[AmberV]

I’d check the settings first, there are some that could make it seem as though it isn’t working at all, like limiting the search to Keywords if you never use them. Click on the magnifying glass and run down the list of options, making sure everything looks sane.

If that looks good, then reset the search index—could be that got messed up at some point and without that it won’t find anything. Click on the File menu, hold down the Option key, and choose the “Save and Rebuild Search Indexes…” command, which will appear. If that was the problem the fix should be immediate, no need to reload.

[nolboo]

Scrivener's search is not working partly.
The text in the current draft is about 260,000 words, synced external directory with hundreds of markdown files.
Since sometime, the result of searching only some text or folder.
I Save and Rebuild Search Indexes in the menu and adjusted all of your search options several times, but Scribner's smart search do not work.
Most of the search, only some documents appear. I feel many old documents do not appear.

Below is a screenshot that clearly shows the current situation.
Scrivener cannot display this document(named filetype plugins) in left binder, but highlight search word(javascript) in a document.

I cannot find any solution. Help me, Scrivener!

[AmberV]

The text highlight function doesn’t pay pay attention to most search settings. You could see a result like that if the search criteria omits that document for some reason. For example if this “filetype plugins” file is in the Research folder and you have search settings set to “Search Draft Only”, or if “Search Excluded Documents” is toggled off.

[nolboo]

"Search Excluded Documents" was the cause. Now I know exactly what that option means.

Thank you.

[MystikScholar]

Hi folks- My problem with the search function echoes some some of the other posts I've read, but is really more elemental (I think--or at any rate I am a less advanced user!)--
Putting a word in the search bar will show me to the files that word is found in, but if I select one file it won't bring me to the spot where the word is found--like it used to do reliably until a few months ago! I have put up with massive scrolling, till I could hand-locate that pink highlighted word, until now when my dissertation chapters are coming due and my chapter docs are like 70 pages + it's not a tenable way to go.
Also if i use command F to search, i get no returns. I put in the word "the" and it says "not found". I tried following one person's directive to reset the search options. The person wrote to click on File then hold the Option key til it gives a certain option... I don't have it in front of me ATM but holding the Option key didn't bring up any options.
I must have some problem with settings? Any ideas how to attend to this are super appreciated.

[AmberV]

The stuff you are talking about wouldn’t reset the Find tool I don’t think—that isn’t strictly speaking a project tool—it’s kind of shared even by the whole system to a degree. If you search for “the” in TextEdit you may find in Scrivener it starts searching for “the” as well. Needless to say it’s a system tool, but we do have some control over it.

Before doing anything more drastic, I’d just double-check your find panel settings. Make sure you don’t have “Selection only” mode set or something. I’ve done that before—wondered why Find wasn’t working and realised I was searching in selection with no selection. Check all of those settings.

I do recall the thread you refer to; it was never conclusive that resetting the project’s UI file really helped, or what was even wrong in the first place, but if you want to give it a try and the Option-File trick isn’t working you can always do it manually:

1. Close the project.
2. Right-click on it in Finder and Show package contents.
3. Drill into the Settings folder.
4. Drag the “ui.plist” file to the Finder.
5. Load the project.

Prior to do so, you might want to save your settings to a Layout via the Window/Layout/Manage Layouts... feature, because doing that will nuke all project view settings. Columns, splits, everything. No data, but everything about how you view it.

[omarkn]

check your find panel settings…

What panel settings? Where?


Same problem here. How can this be a problem for an advanced text editor NOT being able to find any text in a given project?

Not with CMF - F and not with CTRL-ALT-F

????

/
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

With best regards,
Omar KN

[AmberV]

Same problem here. How can this be a problem for an advanced text editor NOT being able to find any text in a given project?

Photoshop has had an off-by-one-pixel cropping bug since the late ’90s; I don’t get your question. Assuming there is a problem or bug, where else would it be but in the places where software has code to make features, and where more so than where it has lots of code.

At any rate, I’d need a good deal more information to help you out. Settings in Cmd-F are right on the surface of the panel, so I would imagine you’re not asking for help in finding those. Project search settings are found by clicking on the magnifying glass, as in most programs.

[omarkn]

Settings in Cmd-F are right on the surface of the panel, so I would imagine you’re not asking for help in finding those.

Thank you AmberV: actually it took me a while to uncover those settings!

But now: sunshine!

Project search settings are found by clicking on the magnifying glass, as in most programs.

Sorry but where is the magnifying glass?

All I see is ’Find Synopsis’ which has a magnifying glass.

/
with best regards,
Omar KN
Stockholm, Sweden

[auxbuss]

This one, I believe.

[omarkn]

Except for there is nothing about ’Project search’.

/

[brookter]

That is the Project Search bar. What do you get when you click Edit > Find > Project Search?

The grey text in the search bar changes if you've selected one of the options on the pull down list — you've chose to search just in Synopses, which is why you see the grey 'Find Synopsis'. Otherwise, it's just blank (I think - or maybe it says 'All' or similar), but it's always the Project Search bar: its scope is always the entire project, filtered by the options in that list.

[auxbuss]

Except for there is nothing about ’Project search’.

When I select Project Search..., that search box is where my cursor ends up.

i.e. Project Search differs from Find (aka Document/Scrivening Search)

[omarkn]

Thank you broker & auxbuss,

YES, it is there under ALL or TEXT.

Why I had problems I think was because there was a setting of ’Search Drafts only,’ or so.

Now this has been solved, (sweat, sweat

/
with best regards,
Omar KN
Stockholm, Sweden