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Big Dog Dad

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 22, 2015
6
1
I am totally new to Macbook. I have some numbers files I created and now when I go to"View" and then "Find and replace", I get the dialog box but cannot enter anything. Please let me know what info I need to post to narrow in on this problem.
 

Big Dog Dad

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 22, 2015
6
1
Update - Just tried to find and replace in a pages file. Is there somewhere to reset find and replace in operating system?
 

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,432
9,289
Find and replace is specific to every application. It's never under the View menu. It will always be under the Edit menu.
 

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,432
9,289
Does that change anything? After selecting "Find" you should be able to type into the dialog.
 

ipaqrat

macrumors 6502
Mar 28, 2017
379
419
BDD, Simply out of curiosity, not to start a 5h1tstorm here, but what productivity programs, if any, did you use on the system you came from (windows, linux)? Elsewhere in forums, there is a rather long running, occasionally long winded (that would be me), thread about Apple vs. Microsoft office apps.
 

Big Dog Dad

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 22, 2015
6
1
I retired a while back and decided to play and learn the MacBook. Let me explain where I found find and replace on both numbers and pages, I found "View" on far left below the 3 colored dots below the menu bar. Clicking on View brought up Show find and replace. This brought up the dialog box (same as Edit selection for find from menu bar). It didn't permit me to enter anything. Again, I learn from playing and pressing (not the best way, but.....). Again, thanks for the response. Edit from menu bar works quite well.
 

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,432
9,289
That is just another way to open the Find (and replace) dialog other than from the Edit menu. It's the same thing. Once the dialog opens, you should be able to type into it. I just did open a new Pages document and I did open the Find dialog to find it unable to accept any text input. That has to be a bug of some sort. I haven't been able to replicate it.
 

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,432
9,289
More info. If I open a new document and then open the Find dialog before there is any text in the window, I seem to get that stuck dialog. It might depend on whether I open Find from the window's toolbar (that's what we call the tools that are at the top of each Mac window), the menu bar (at the top of the screen), or cmd-F (a keyboard shortcut). But if I close the dialog and reopen it, then I can type. I am certain this is a bug of some kind.
 

Big Dog Dad

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 22, 2015
6
1
I want to thank you for the info and now understand that I have to learn the correct terminology associated with Mac OS. My background is a comp sci degree I completed in the 1980's. I spent all of my working career starting with experience on a Cyber 205 up to Windows for many years. Since I retired, I decided to learn Apple products. I have a ipad with M1 and the MacBook, also an M1. Both windows and apple have their pluses, but I think apple is more intuitive. I'll learn it eventually.
 

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,432
9,289
I’m EE with computer emphasis from 1983. Congrats to you for making this move. I hope you find the journey fun and rewarding. I have always found macOS to be more intuitive. Remember that one of the ways Microsoft stayed out of copyright trouble was by making Windows an “upside down and backward” copy of the Mac. 😁

There so many similarities and GUIs have matured over the years. It won’t be hard to transition. Apple like to give names to features. If we are going to discuss them without the benefit of pictures, then using the same terminology as everyone else helps.

But at least on these forums, you can upload images, which also helps. The Mac has powerful screen capture capabilities.

 

IR Corva

macrumors newbie
Apr 30, 2022
2
0
Akron, OH
I am totally new to Macbook. I have some numbers files I created and now when I go to"View" and then "Find and replace", I get the dialog box but cannot enter anything. Please let me know what info I need to post to narrow in on this problem.
Longtime Mac & Pages user here, but not an expert, especially because I seldom use any features that are more advanced than an old typewriter. Recently I struggled for a whole day after pasting a lengthy copy of info from my doctor’s office medical app. All I wanted to do was make a list of my medical records without tons of space wasted by their huge fonts and hyperlink icons. “Learn more” was a clickable link after each of their entries, and it appeared dozens of times. I just wanted them gone. My goal was to have FIND & REPLACE delete all of them at once.

The FIND function worked, but the REPLACE function was greyed out and did not work. After hours and hours of internet searches, I found one clue: what I wanted to replace was a repeated hyperlink that one might click on in that original page. The hyperlink function copied and pasted into my new pages document, and REPLACE would not work.

SOLUTION: I copied the entire text of the document to the clipboard, and pasted it i to a Text Edit document. Then I converted it tp PLAIN TEXT and saved it. Then I copied that text, and pasted it into a NEW Pages doc. Then I did another Find & Replace search fir the same phrase and the REPLACE button worked fine. I presume it’s because that phrase was no longer a link. The trick was converting it to PLAIN TEXT, which might even be possible in Pages itself??
 
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