Word 2010’s Find command can scour your document for formatting information. For example, if you want to find only those instances of the word lie in boldface type, you can do that. Search for any of Word’s formatting options in your document. Suppose that you want to find a red herring in your document.
Excel format a column to text. Microsoft Word uses the Normal style in a document for the bulk of the text. If I had of used a specific style (such as Heading 9), it would be easier to find a specific text string that uses a specific word style.
1Summon the Find and Replace dialog box.
You can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+G.
2Click the Find tab.
That tab hops front and center.
3Type 'red herring' in the Find What text box.
If you want to search only for a format, leave the Find What text box blank. That way, you can search for formatting attributes without caring what the text reads.
If needed, click the More button to display the bottom part of the Find and Replace dialog box.
4If the No Formatting button is available, click it.
This button is used to clear any previous formatting attributes you may have searched for. If the button can be clicked, click it to clear out those attributes and start afresh.
5Click the Format button.
The Format pop-up menu appears.
6Choose Font from the pop-up menu.
You can also search for paragraph formatting, such as an indented paragraph, by choosing Paragraph rather than Font from the Format pop-up menu.
When you choose Font, the Find Font dialog box appears, which is where you set or control various text attributes. Say that the red herring you’re searching for is 24 points tall.
7Select 24 from the Size list.
Look in the upper-right corner of the Find Font dialog box for this list.
8Choose any other format options you want from the Format button.
Yes, you can search for more than one formatting attribute at a time.
9Click OK.
The Find Font dialog box goes away, and you return to the Find and Replace dialog box. The text Format: Font: 24 pt appears just beneath the Find What text box. That bit of text is telling you that Word is now geared up to find only text that’s 24 points tall — about twice the normal size.
10Click the Find Next button to find your formatted text.
Word remembers your formatting options! The next time you want to search for plain text, first click the No Formatting button. Doing so removes the formatting options and allows you to search for text in any format. If you forget to clear out the formatting before you begin your next search, don’t be surprised if Word can’t find your text.
Whether you have the files on your computer neatly organized or they're all over the place, a great desktop search utility makes getting right to the file you need when you need it a super-simple proposal. All of the major operating systems have some built-in search, but there's usually a better option out there that's faster, has more accurate results, or has more great features. This week we're looking at five of the best, based on your nominations.
Earlier this week we asked you which desktop search apps were the best. You responded with tons of great suggestions, but we only have room for the top five:
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Alfred (OS X)
Alfred is a combination app launcher and desktop/web search utility for OS X. Once installed, Alt+Space brings up a search bar that you can use to lauch any application on your system, search the web, and of course, search your system for files, folders, images, and more. You can add and remove folders from Alfred's search scope, and use its built-in engine to search for documents, or you can turn on Alfred's search 'Extras' to make it index and present file and folder results as you type. It's a little slower (especially when you can press space again after bringing up Alfred's search bar to look for files) but it gives you everything up front. The beauty of Alfred is that it's an app launcher and desktop search tool in one, but it's also much more. Alfred sports an iTunes mini-player, built-in calculator, support for customizable hotkeys, and has a wealth of available extensions to add even more features. It's free, although the Alfred Powerpack will set you back £15 (approx $23 USD) and toss in some extra useful features.
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Everything (Windows)
Everything originally came out back in 2008 (I should know, I covered its launch for another publication!) and quickly rose to become one of Windows' most popular search utilities. It's not the only one by any means, but Everything was fast—fast like no other desktop search tool at the time really was. It builds its search index while you use it, making it easy to start searching as soon as you download it and get even more accurate results the longer you leave the app running. It won't search the contents of your files like the other apps do, but its speed is pretty enticing as a result. Everything stopped development in 2009, and the last official version is still from then, but Void, the developer, reappeared last month on the forums with a new beta version designed for current versions of Windows. So far, it works like a charm, and retains the speedy search capabilities that made Everything great to begin with. It still needs admin access for best performance, and it still only works on NTFS volumes (and some features have been removed for privacy or performance reasons), but Everything is definitely back. Worst case though, you can still grab the old version. Everything is freeware, although the developer notes he may release some features as add-ons in the future.
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Quicksilver (OS X)
Quicksilver has a long and storied history. For a while, it was the best app launcher and customization tool available for the Mac. We loved it then, and when its future looked a little grim, we mourned. Still, it went open source, and when independent developers picked it up, we were happy. Since then it's been updated frequently, and is still our favorite app launcher for Mac. Even though it's an app launcher, it's also a great file and document search tool, and allows you to browse and search your Mac's file system quickly and with a few keystrokes. Right out of the box, Quicksilver lets you search files, folders, documents of all types, contacts, bookmarks, and more. It can chain commands, so it can search for a file, then give you options of how to open it, or find a file and then move it to a file location for you. It also has a wealth of independently created plugins that can extend its search and scripting features, which let you really play with what the app can do under the hood. The latest versions of Quicksilver are really sharp, and it's completely and totally free (although the team behind it definitely appreciate donations to keep the project running.)
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Launchy (Windows/OS X/Linux)
Launchy is our favorite application launcher for Windows, and as we pointed out when we explained why you should be using an app launcher, it can do much more than just find and launch the apps you want to use when you want to use them. Launchy is super-fast, cross-platform, and makes finding files, launching applications, and chaining activities (finding files and then opening them in a specific application, or searching for a term and then opening it in Google in your favorite browser) really simple. It needs a little time to index before it's really effective, but you won't notice it working in the background. Launchy stays lean and trim by cutting out the bloat and other added features that other app launches include, but for the purposes of desktop search, it works like a charm and is super-simple to use. It's completely free, and works just as well on OS X and Linux as it does in Windows.
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Windows Search (Windows)
Windows Search is pretty terrible on its own, and it's not really as useful as some of the other contenders in the roundup. It leaves out tons of search locations and file types from its index and indexing is slow and often incomplete. Thankfully, we've shown you how to make Windows Search much more powerful, and many of you noted that once you amp it up a little bit and tweak it so it works better, it's just as good as having a third-party utility on your system. Some of you noted that you'd rather just use what you have than install something new, or that Windows Search is 'okay,' and combined with just being organized, you didn't need a special search tool. Whichever camp you're in, enough of you noted Windows' built-in search that it's a contender. Still, if you are going to stick with Windows Search, at least tweak it so it's more useful.
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How To Search For A Document
Now that you've seen the top five, it's time to put them to a vote to determine the all-out winner.
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How To Search For A Document By DateWhat's The Best Desktop Search Application?
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Honorable mentions this week go out to Google Desktop Search, which was discontinued in 2011, but many of you still use and love even though Google doesn't officially make it available for download, and isn't offering security fixes, patches, or updates for it. There are various installers floating about the web if you're still interested in trying it (or still have it installed), and it really is a great desktop search tool, but getting it to work with current OSes can be challenging. Still, if you have it and it works for you, enjoy it!
Have something to say about one of the contenders? Want to make the case for your personal favorite, even if it wasn't included in the list? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Don't just complain about the top five, let us know what your preferred alternative is—and make your case for it—in the discussions below.
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The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it's not because we hate it—it's because it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at [email protected]! John forsythes 5000+ photoshop text effects & layer styles for mac/pc.
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