How To Control F On iPhone?(Step-By-Step Guide)

Using Ctrl + F on a Windows browser has become the most common practice when trying to find a word or a text. For Mac, the command is Cmd + F. But how do you perform the Ctrl + F function on an iPhone? You can Ctrl + F on your iPhone using both the Safari and Chrome browsers, and we’re here to show you how.

Can You Cmd + F On An iPhone?

Unfortunately, if your purpose is to use a keyboard shortcut to find a word, you cannot Cmd + F or Ctrl + F on an iPhone, but you can get the same result using a different method through an iPhone app.

There are two ways to look for a word or a text on an iPhone app. You can do it on either a Safari or Chrome browser.

How To Control F On A Safari Browser

  • Click The Safari Icon To Open

The purpose of this step is to launch the browser and locate the URL bar where you usually type in the name of the website you would like to visit.

  • In The URL Address Bar, Key In The Word Or Text You Wish To Find

Here, instead of typing in a site’s name, key in a word as though you are typing it into the Ctrl + F bar on a Windows desktop.

  • In The Search Result, Look For “On This Page” By Scrolling Down

Listed, there should be Bookmarks, History, and On This Page. Under the On This Page category, you can see the search term you entered with quotation marks preceded by the word “Find.”

  • Look For The Search Bar At The Bottom Of The Screen

When you scroll down the page, you will see a search bar with the Done button on the left side and arrows on the right side. Tap either the up or the down arrow. The word you searched for will be highlighted in yellow on various page locations. 

How To Control F On The Chrome App

  • Click The Chrome Icon To Open

Similar to when opening the Safari browser, the purpose of this step is to launch the Chrome app and find the URL address bar.

  • In the Address Bar, Tap The Three Dots On The Right Side

Instead of typing a word into the address bar, you will have to click the three dots to open up the drop-down menu.

  • On The Drop-Down Menu, Look For The Item “Find In Page…”

When you select the Find in Page… item, it will take you to a search bar with up and down arrows on the right side. This is where you can type in the word or the text you are looking for. Tapping the arrows will get you to the words highlighted in yellow color.

Can You Do It On iPhone PDF?

You cannot Ctrl + F on iPhone PDF if the text is not part of an image, such as a picture of a text page. But if the text is directly converted to PDF, you should be able to do it.

The three best ways to Ctrl + F PDF text on an iPhone are:

Through Safari Or Chrome

  • Open a PDF file.
  • Find and tap the share button.
  • Select Find On-Page or Find In Page.
  • Type in the word you want to find.
  • Tap the arrows to highlight the word.

Through iBooks

  • Open iBooks from the iPhone screen.
  • Select the PDF file you wish to open.
  • Look for the magnifying glass icon and tap it.
  • Key in the text or the word you want to find.
  • Scroll through the search results and look for the words that match.

Through Quicksearch PDF Reader

  • Add a document.
  • Find the search bar.
  • Type in the word you are interested in finding.
  • Scroll down to see your search results.

How To Search For A Word On An iPhone

Aside from Safari, Chrome, iBooks, and Quicksearch PDF Reader, you can also directly search for a word on an iPhone.

  1. Find the share icon that looks like a square with an arrow pointing up.
  2. Tap the share icon.
  3. Type in the word you would like to find.
  4. Tap the down arrow to see the words in yellow.

Keyword Searching On iPhone

If your search intent is to look for anything that has been saved on your device, doing it on Safari and Chrome will not help you. However, there is a way to do it using the iPhone’s search algorithm.

Keyword searching on an iPhone works similar to the way that you keyword search on Google Chrome. Google’s algorithm crawls all the documents that include the keywords you enter. 

On the iPhone, the search algorithm of the iOS will crawl not only the files you have on your phone like photos, videos, and apps, but also your contacts that carry your search terms as well.

But how do you do that? It’s simple.

  • Use your finger to slide down on your phone screen.
  • The search bar should appear at the top of the screen.
  • Type in the keyword or contact you are searching for.
  • The results will appear in the form of thumbnails listed at the top of the screen.

Summary

To Ctrl + F and Cmd + F on an iPhone is straightforward. You don’t have to memorize a particular keyboard shortcut like Ctrl + F or Cmd + F. All you have to do is go directly to a search box and tap on the visible icons, such as the three dots on Chrome or the share buttons on Safari.

I’ve been working with technology in one way or the other all my life. After graduating from university, I worked as a sales consultant for Verizon for a few years. Now I am a technical support engineer by day and write articles on my own blog here in my spare time to help others if they have any issues with their devices.