How to Search for Text in Command Prompt and PowerShell in Windows 10 Finding specific text in a sea of code can be exhausting, but with the right tools, it doesn't have to be. Here's a guide on how to search for text in Command Prompt and PowerShell on Windows 10 Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to NinjaOne's IT Video Hub and our YouTube channel for more tech content like this. How to Use the Find Dialog on Command Prompt The trouble with Command Prompt is that users often have to deal with a large amount of text. Identifying specific information within lengthy outputs can often be a daunting process. Fortunately, the built-in Find dialog tool helps reduce the time spent on arduous searching. Here's how you can use this tool. First, run Command Prompt by typing Command Prompt in the search bar of the Start Menu or pressing Windows key + R and typing cmd. Then use one of these two commands shown onscreen to produce text output. Right-click, select Find…, type the keyword in the dialog box, and click Find Next. Your text should now appear highlighted. If not, keep clicking Find Next until you see it. Once you are done, click Cancel or press Esc to close the dialog box. Alternative Methods While the Find dialog is useful, it’s not the only way to search for specific text. You can run this command to filter the code and show only the lines containing a particular phrase. You can also use this command to save the code in a text file, which you can open in Notepad and search using Ctrl + F. In PowerShell, you can use the Select-String command to search within output or file contents for more complex queries. Troubleshooting Common Issues Having trouble using the Find dialog? Here are two common issues in the ways to fix them. If the Find dialog option is missing, you may be right-clicking outside the Command Prompt window. or you may be using Windows Terminal, which does not support this feature. For the latter, use PowerShell’s Select-String command instead. If your command output scrolls too quickly, use use the | more command to pause after each screenful. Press Spacebar to scroll by page or Enter to scroll one line at a time. And there you have it. Finding text in long command outputs is now much easier. For more information, check out our official blog post on How to Search for Text in Command Prompt and PowerShell, linked in the description below.