This is common behavior in many text editors, and it's the expected behavior, unlike the current behavior where the search dialog remains unchanged regardless of the selected text.
͏
PDF-XChange Editor 10.7.1, build 399
Microsoft Windows 10.0.19045.6456
			
			
													[suggestion] Pressing Ctrl + F / Ctrl + H automatically pastes the selected text into the `Find…` field SOLVED
Moderators: PDF-XChange Support, Daniel - PDF-XChange, Chris - PDF-XChange, Sean - PDF-XChange, Paul - PDF-XChange, Vasyl - PDF-XChange, Ivan - Tracker Software, Stefan - PDF-XChange
- 
				Jensen Head
														 - User
 - Posts: 699
 - Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:12 am
 
[suggestion] Pressing Ctrl + F / Ctrl + H automatically pastes the selected text into the `Find…` field
					Last edited by Jensen Head on Tue Oct 21, 2025 9:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
									
			
																
						- 
				rakunavi
														 - User
 - Posts: 1925
 - Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2021 5:04 am
 
Re: [suggestion] Pressing Ctrl + F / Ctrl + H automatically pastes the selected text into the `Find…` field
Hello Jensen Head,
As shown in the video below, in my environment, pressing Ctrl+F or Ctrl+Shift+F after selecting text automatically pastes the selected text into the respective fields of the Find dialog or Search pane. I confirmed this behavior in the latest builds 401 and 399. Note that Ctrl+H appears to have no function assigned by default.
Best regards,
rakunavi
			
			
						As shown in the video below, in my environment, pressing Ctrl+F or Ctrl+Shift+F after selecting text automatically pastes the selected text into the respective fields of the Find dialog or Search pane. I confirmed this behavior in the latest builds 401 and 399. Note that Ctrl+H appears to have no function assigned by default.
Best regards,
rakunavi
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
			
													TOP desires for PDFXCE
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=39665 LassoTool
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=38554 CmtGarbled
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=37353 FulScrMultiMon
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=41002 DisableTouchSelect
			
						forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=39665 LassoTool
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=38554 CmtGarbled
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=37353 FulScrMultiMon
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=41002 DisableTouchSelect
- 
				Jensen Head
														 - User
 - Posts: 699
 - Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:12 am
 
Re: [suggestion] Pressing Ctrl + F / Ctrl + H automatically pastes the selected text into the `Find…` field
This is strange. I have these keyboard shortcuts bound to the following functions:
Title: &Find…
Adobe Name: Find
ID: cmd.find
Tooltip: Find specified text in active document.
Title: Find and &Replace…
Adobe Name: N/A
ID: cmd.findAndRepl
Tooltip: Find and replace specified text in active document.
When selecting live (editable) text, I also have the "Select Text" mode enabled. What could be causing such different editor behavior?
- 
				rakunavi
														 - User
 - Posts: 1925
 - Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2021 5:04 am
 
Re: [suggestion] Pressing Ctrl + F / Ctrl + H automatically pastes the selected text into the `Find…` field
Hello Jensen Head,
Best regard,
rakunavi
			
			
									
													This command should be assigned to Ctrl+Shift+H by default.Jensen Head wrote: ↑Tue Oct 21, 2025 9:10 am Title: Find and &Replace…
Adobe Name: N/A
ID: cmd.findAndRepl
Tooltip: Find and replace specified text in active document.
Best regard,
rakunavi
TOP desires for PDFXCE
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=39665 LassoTool
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=38554 CmtGarbled
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=37353 FulScrMultiMon
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=41002 DisableTouchSelect
			
						forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=39665 LassoTool
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=38554 CmtGarbled
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=37353 FulScrMultiMon
forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=41002 DisableTouchSelect
- 
				Dimitar - PDF-XChange
														 - Site Admin
 - Posts: 2608
 - Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:01 am
 
- 
				Jensen Head
														 - User
 - Posts: 699
 - Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:12 am
 
- 
				Daniel - PDF-XChange
														 - Site Admin
 - Posts: 11888
 - Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:52 pm
 
Re: [suggestion] Pressing Ctrl + F / Ctrl + H automatically pastes the selected text into the `Find…` field
Hello, Jensen Head
The combination itself would not, but the tool in use would. To get the effect Rakunavi indicates, you need to have the "select text" tool active (or the hand tool, with "select text/images" enabled), and be using that to select the text in your file. If you are using the "Edit text" tool, this does not take effect.
Also, regarding the difference of Ctrl_H and Ctrl_Shift_H - note that when you are using the Edit text tool, by default, Ctrl_H is bound to opening the "paragraph options" dlg, so if you have re-bound something else to Ctrl_H, those two actions may interfere with one another.
Kind regards,
			
			
									
													The combination itself would not, but the tool in use would. To get the effect Rakunavi indicates, you need to have the "select text" tool active (or the hand tool, with "select text/images" enabled), and be using that to select the text in your file. If you are using the "Edit text" tool, this does not take effect.
Also, regarding the difference of Ctrl_H and Ctrl_Shift_H - note that when you are using the Edit text tool, by default, Ctrl_H is bound to opening the "paragraph options" dlg, so if you have re-bound something else to Ctrl_H, those two actions may interfere with one another.
Kind regards,
Dan McIntyre - Support Technician
PDF-XChange Co. LTD
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our Web site domain and email address has changed as of 26/10/2023.
https://www.pdf-xchange.com
Support@pdf-xchange.com
			
						PDF-XChange Co. LTD
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our Web site domain and email address has changed as of 26/10/2023.
https://www.pdf-xchange.com
Support@pdf-xchange.com
- 
				Jensen Head
														 - User
 - Posts: 699
 - Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:12 am
 
Re: [suggestion] Pressing Ctrl + F / Ctrl + H automatically pastes the selected text into the `Find…` field
Daniel, this is exactly what I did, as I wrote directly in the third message of this thread. I don't see effect.Daniel - PDF-XChange wrote: ↑Tue Oct 21, 2025 8:30 pmTo get the effect Rakunavi indicates, you need to have the "select text" tool active (or the hand tool, with "select text/images" enabled), and be using that to select the text in your file.
In the context of this issue, the Edit text tool shouldn't concern us. If we're not in this mode, the hotkeys assigned to it shouldn't activate or conflict with hotkeys in other modes. However, I checked my settings: among the 1,483 commands in the application, I don't see another one that has the same keyboard shortcut as the "Find and Replace…" command. There is also no conflict notification (and it shouldn't appear). Using the `Ctrl_F` and `Ctrl_H` keyboard shortcuts correctly opens the "Find" and "Find and Replace" windows, respectively.Daniel - PDF-XChange wrote: ↑Tue Oct 21, 2025 8:30 pmregarding the difference of Ctrl_H and Ctrl_Shift_H - note that when you are using the Edit text tool, by default, Ctrl_H is bound to opening the "paragraph options" dlg, so if you have re-bound something else to Ctrl_H, those two actions may interfere with one another.
What am I doing wrong?
- 
				Willy Van Nuffel
 - User
 - Posts: 2782
 - Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:10 pm
 
Re: [suggestion] Pressing Ctrl + F / Ctrl + H automatically pastes the selected text into the `Find…` field
@Jensen Head
Do you remember ever having changed the shortcut for Find & Replace ?
The default setting for this command is CTRL + SHIFT + H
When you go to the Properties of the "Find & Replace"-command and then click the "Reset Command"-button, do you see a change from CTRL + SHIFT + F to CTRL + SHIFT + H ?
Kind regards.
°
			
			
						Do you remember ever having changed the shortcut for Find & Replace ?
The default setting for this command is CTRL + SHIFT + H
When you go to the Properties of the "Find & Replace"-command and then click the "Reset Command"-button, do you see a change from CTRL + SHIFT + F to CTRL + SHIFT + H ?
Kind regards.
°
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
			
																
						- 
				Daniel - PDF-XChange
														 - Site Admin
 - Posts: 11888
 - Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:52 pm
 
Re: [suggestion] Pressing Ctrl + F / Ctrl + H automatically pastes the selected text into the `Find…` field SOLVED
Hello, 
Even if the hotkeys were changed, the general handling here should still be the same, it is part of the "open find/open search" commands to do this if text is selected.
I think the only time this does not work with the select text tool, is when your are inside of a text comment. Is that possibly the case here? If so, that is intended, but if the issue is reliably happening with base content text as well... than I am lost as to what else could be the cause here.
A small part of me wants to ask how much effort goes into trying to find ways to stump me like this!
 
While are no settings that should have an impact on this, perhaps you could try exporting your application settings, and then reset them. If the reset fixes the issue, please send us your settings export so we can use that to try and reproduce it. If the reset also does not help... I have no clue where else we could possibly go with this, and will need to poke around the Dev Team's brains for a bit...
Kind regards,
			
			
									
													Even if the hotkeys were changed, the general handling here should still be the same, it is part of the "open find/open search" commands to do this if text is selected.
I think the only time this does not work with the select text tool, is when your are inside of a text comment. Is that possibly the case here? If so, that is intended, but if the issue is reliably happening with base content text as well... than I am lost as to what else could be the cause here.
A small part of me wants to ask how much effort goes into trying to find ways to stump me like this!
While are no settings that should have an impact on this, perhaps you could try exporting your application settings, and then reset them. If the reset fixes the issue, please send us your settings export so we can use that to try and reproduce it. If the reset also does not help... I have no clue where else we could possibly go with this, and will need to poke around the Dev Team's brains for a bit...
Kind regards,
Dan McIntyre - Support Technician
PDF-XChange Co. LTD
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our Web site domain and email address has changed as of 26/10/2023.
https://www.pdf-xchange.com
Support@pdf-xchange.com
			
						PDF-XChange Co. LTD
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our Web site domain and email address has changed as of 26/10/2023.
https://www.pdf-xchange.com
Support@pdf-xchange.com