# Protip: ctrl + F! **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 4, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776 "2014-08-04T12:49:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776/1 "2014-08-04T12:49:36Z")
Have some smart/funny/obvious comment you just _have_ to post in a thread, but can’t be bothered to read what everyone else wrote? Allow me to introduce you to ctrl+F (that’s command+F if you’re using a McPuter). You’ll get a little box, within which you can type a word to see if it already exists on that particular page. This works for finding words/phrases on any page with text on it. But beware! It’s not Google. It finds phrases exactly as you type them. You may have to try a few different words to be certain no one has already used your excellent line. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776/2 "2014-08-04T12:54:24Z")
Alt-F4 does the same only better. * * * MODERATOR NOTE: If any are unaware, **Crotalus** explains Alt-F4 in the next post. **The Great Unwashed** , I assume this is a (not-funny) joke rather than trolling. I certainly hope so. – Dex ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776/3 "2014-08-04T13:05:57Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](#): > > Alt-F4 does the same only better. Are you attempting this old troll trick? [alt F4](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/alt-f4). It doesn’t work as well anymore as you fondly remember it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776/4 "2014-08-04T15:02:44Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Have some smart/funny/obvious comment you just _have_ to post in a thread, but can’t be bothered to read what everyone else wrote? > > Allow me to introduce you to ctrl+F (that’s command+F if you’re using a McPuter). You’ll get a little box, within which you can type a word to see if it already exists on that particular page. This works for finding words/phrases on any page with text on it. > > But beware! It’s not Google. It finds phrases exactly as you type them. You may have to try a few different words to be certain no one has already used your excellent line. That only works once per page. But you can use the Search This Thread function near the top here to search the entire thread regardless of how many pages it is. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776/5 "2014-08-04T15:10:24Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > That only works once per page. But you can use the Search This Thread function near the top here to search the entire thread regardless of how many pages it is. This forum requires that you wait 120 seconds between searches. Please try again in 27 seconds. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776/6 "2014-08-04T15:13:57Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > This forum requires that you wait 120 seconds between searches. Please try again in 27 seconds. > > 😃 Yeah, there is that. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776/7 "2014-08-04T15:15:53Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > That only works once per page. But you can use the Search This Thread function near the top here to search the entire thread regardless of how many pages it is. I don’t understand what you mean by it only works once per page. You can ctr-F over and over using different words or phrase to search. ETA: Do you mean it only works for one page at a time? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776/8 "2014-08-04T15:24:18Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I don’t understand what you mean by it only works once per page. You can ctr-F over and over using different words or phrase to search. > > ETA: Do you mean it only works for one page at a time? That’s right. Say a thread is five pages long. You have to do Find (Ctrl + F) once on each page, for up to five times if it turns out what you are looking for is on the final page you look. But the Search This Thread function will search the entire thread. Is this all really new information? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776/9 "2014-08-04T15:27:03Z")
It works for one page and search term at a time. After you get to the first instance of the search term, I think you have to use the Previous and Next buttons next to the search term window to navigate to additional instances. Sam, it appears to be new to some people. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776/10 "2014-08-04T15:32:40Z")
Search this thread also takes you to a new window which is not always wanted, like when you’re in the middle of composing a post. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776/11 "2014-08-04T15:38:45Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > That’s right. Say a thread is five pages long. You have to do Find (Ctrl + F) once on each page, for up to five times if it turns out what you are looking for is on the final page you look. But the Search This Thread function will search the entire thread. > > Is this all really new information? 😕 Not for me, I just thought you were saying you could only ctr-F once per page and since I hadn’t found that to be true, I thought I would clarify. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776/12 "2014-08-05T04:25:48Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > It works for one page and search term at a time. After you get to the first instance of the search term, I think you have to use the Previous and Next buttons next to the search term window to navigate to additional instances. In Firefox, just press enter to get to the next instance. The default is searching down. Click on the ^ to search upwards; then pressing enter continues upwards. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protip-ctrl-f/694776/13 "2014-08-05T10:48:57Z")
Another neat thing you can do, is when you have a thread idea, you do a Ctrl+F on a forum’s front page, and search for the subject of your choosing. And when it’s not found, you start that thread up. You’ll have answered your “what, no thread on XXX?” subject line in a mere 2 seconds, without having to look like you can’t be arsed to do a simple search! Is it really all that surprising a thread hasn’t been started on some particular TV show?