How to Control F on iPad (2024)

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Find what you need with or without a keyboard

Sandy Writtenhouse

Writer

Kaplan University

Sandy has been writing about technology since 2012. Her work has appeared on How-To Geek, MakeUseOf, iDownloadBlog, groovyPost, and many other websites.

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Updated on September 12, 2022

Reviewed by

Jon Fisher

Reviewed byJon Fisher

Wichita Technical Institute

Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA-certified technologist with more than 10 years of experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek.

lifewire's editorial guidelines

In This Article

What to Know

With a connected keyboard, pressCommand+F.
Without a keyboard, access theFindtool in the app.
Open a PDF document in Files or Books and use theSearchbox.

This article explains how to use the equivalent of the Windows shortcut Control F keyboard command on an iPad. With a keyboard shortcut, you can open the Find tool to search for a word or phrase in a document or on a web page. We'll also show you how to accomplish this even if you don't have a keyboard connected.

Control F Is Command F With a Keyboard

If you have any external keyboard connected to your iPad, simply open the document or web page and pressCommand+Fto display the Find tool.

Then enter a word or phrase in the search box and pressReturnto search. You’ll see your results highlighted.

Search In a Document

If you have a document in a word processing app like Pages, Microsoft Word, or Google Docs, you can use the app’s search feature.

Search In Pages

Open your document in the Pages app.

Tap thethree dotson the top right and selectFind.
Enter your word or phrase in the search box and tapSearch.
Use the arrows to view all instances of the search term and tap any spot in the document to close the Find tool.

Search In Word

Open your document in the Microsoft Word app.

Tap theFindicon (magnifying glass) on the top right.
Enter your word or phrase in the search box and tapSearch.
Use the arrows to review all instances of the search term and tap any location in the document to close the Find tool.

Search In Google Docs

Open your document in the Google Docs app.

Tap thethree dotson the top right and selectFind and replace.
Enter your word or phrase in the search box and tapSearch.
Use the arrows to see each instance of the search term and tap theXon the left to close the Find tool.

Search In a PDF

If you have a PDF file, you can open it in either the Files or Books app and search for what you need.

Search In Files

Open your PDF document in the Files app.

Tap theFindicon (magnifying glass) on the top right.
Enter your word or phrase in the search box above the keyboard and tapSearch.
Use the arrows to see all instances of the search term and tapCancelto close the Find tool.

Search In Books

Open your PDF document in the Books app.

Tap anywhere in the document to display the menu bar at the top.
Select theFindicon (magnifying glass) on the top right.
Enter your word or phrase in the search box.
When you see the results below the search box, tap to highlight the word or phrase in the document.
The Find tool closes automatically after it highlights your search term.

Search On a Web Page

Finding a word or phrase on a web page is easy to do with your web browser’s built-in search tool. Here, we’ll look at Safari and Chrome.

Search In Safari

With the web page open, tap inside the address bar at the top of Safari and enter your search word or phrase.
In the list of results that appears, go to the bottom and you’ll see theOn This Pagesection. Select theFindoption for the word or phrase you entered.
You’ll then see your search term highlighted.
Use the arrows to see each instance of the search term and tapDonewhen you finish.

Search In Chrome

With the web page open in the Chrome app, tap thethree dotson the top right.
Scroll down and selectFind in Page.
Enter your word or phrase in the search box.
You’ll then see the search term highlighted on the page.
Use the arrows to view each instance and tapDoneto close the Find tool.

How to Change your iPad Keyboard Settings

FAQ

How do I Control F on a Mac?

To use Control F on Mac, press Command+F on your keyboard. In Apple apps, select Edit > Find in the menu bar or use the search bar in the application.
Should I buy an iPad keyboard?

The on-screen keyboard may be better than a wired keyboard for some tasks. However, you should consider getting a keyboard for your iPad if you do a lot of typing on the go or you want to use your iPad like a computer.
How do I make the keyboard bigger on my iPad?

To get your keyboard back to normal size, put two fingers on the keyboard and spread them apart. You can use the Zoom feature to get a closer look or use a third-party app to have a larger keyboard.

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