FlexFind; Excel Search made easy

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What is Flexfind (office-js edition)

Ever needed to find a company name in the title of 25 charts? Or in formulas? Or in the header of 6 sheets? Flexfind (office-js edition) enables you to do so.

Flexfind (office-js edition) is the Office-JavaScript counterpart of our own Flexfind Excel add-in (written in VBA). Contrary to the VBA Flexfind add-in, Flexfind (office-js edition) works in both desktop Excel and Excel on-line.

Flexfind is free of charge and works in Windows and Mac Excel 365, both 32 and 64 bits and Excel on-line.

What makes Flexfind special is that it not only searches in worksheet cells. The current list of searched objects includes:

Here is a screen-shot of a search:

Flexfind add-in for Excel

Installation instructions (Web Excel)

Use this button to install Flexfind for your Excel on-line.

If that button does not work, open any Excel file in your browser and click the add-ins button. Then search for flexfind:

Excel on-line Home tab with the Get Add-ins button

Click that looking glass icon that says Flexfind and off you go!

Installation instructions (Desktop Excel)

Use this button to install Flexfind for desktop Excel.

If that button does not work for you, you can also find the tool by opening Excel and clicking Insert, Add-ins (the Add-ins button may also be located on the Home tab, or even on the File tab, or labeled "Get Add-ins" depending on your version and build of Excel!):

Excel Insert tab with the Get Add-ins button

Then search for "Flexfind" (without the quotes), you should get a page like this screen-shot:

Flexfind add-in for Excel as shown in the Office add-ins store

To add Flexfind to your Excel, click the Add button.

If you really like Flexfind (office-js edition), please consider donating to help support it's future development: form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr"
Paypal donate button

Instructions

Launching

Flexfind is easy to use. Simply click its icon on the Home tab:

Excel Home tab with the Flexfind button

Finding things

Type your search text in the "Text to Find" box and click the Find button:

Flexfind screen with the find box and button

Underlined characters in the user interface indicate short-cut keys. With the Flexfind window activated, hold down the alt-key and press any of those letters to activate the item in question. Examples: Alt+t activates the Text to find box, alt+f presses the Find button.

A list of found items will be displayed:

Flexfind screen with the found items list

Click any found item to get more information about what was found and to select the item in question (or the cell containing the item):

Flexfind showing information about found item

Replacing

As of build 1.3.2.0, Flexfind offers replacing of items. Simply select any item in the list, enter a replacement string and click the Replace button:

Flexfind replacing

Flexfind will run through the list of found items, downwards from the currently selected one. If the last one is reached it will continue with the first. Flexfind will prompt you if you want to replace:

 Flexfind replacement screen

Notice how the current formula has two occurrences of 123. Flexfind will prompt for each one in turn. To replace the currently highlighted occurrence, click Replace. To skip to the next occurrence, click Next. To stop replacing, click Cancel.

Recent Changes

Updating

If you are not sure you are using the latest version, click inside the Flexfind pane and press control+F5 to ensure the latest version Flexfind is fetched from our server.


Comments

All comments about this page:


Comment by: Martin Nolan (21-1-2023 16:31:00) deeplink to this comment

Added Build 1.0.0.0, 2023-1-18 to Office 365 Excel x64 Win 11 and attempted a simple Find in a cell. Nothing happened.


Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (21-1-2023 19:58:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi Martin,

What were you trying to find?


Comment by: Martin Nolan (22-1-2023 20:53:00) deeplink to this comment

I was trying to find one word of text in a cell. I just tried it on my other PC and it worked. I will try to add it again to my first PC.


Comment by: ADIL (12-3-2024 11:27:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi,
I installed Flexfind plugin into Microsoft® Excel® 2016 MSO (Version 2402 Build 16.0.17328.20124) 32 bits

Even the simplest search doesn't give any results.

It seems to search into all the sheets but doesn't show anything at the end.

Please help


Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (12-3-2024 13:52:00) deeplink to this comment

Hi Adil,

Thanks for trying Flexfind! I'm sorry to hear you have an issue with it. I've discovered a bug today, which might explain what you are seeing. I've updated the add-in today. Next time you try it, please open it's task pane, click inside and then press control+F5 to force a refresh.


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