Find, replace, and keep notes.
Search finds matching words in the text, names, and notes of every scene, and replaces them one at a time or all at once. Notes are where you write what to say on each scene and memos for the project, and they never show on the audience’s screen.
Search every scene
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Open search
Click the magnifying glass, the fifth button in the button row at the top right, or press ⌘F. The Search panel opens with the cursor in the search field. ⌘F doesn’t open it while you’re editing text, so press esc first.
Clicking the magnifying glass button opens the Search panel, and the cursor blinks in the search field. Video: Clicking the magnifying glass button in the button row at the top right opens the Search panel below it, and the cursor blinks in the search field. -
Type what to find
Type the words to find. Results appear grouped under scene names, with a count such as “3 matches · 3 scenes” at the top. Results that aren’t text carry a badge for where they were found, such as “Name”, “Scene”, or “Notes”.
Typing 2025 lists the text in three scenes, grouped by scene, with “3 matches · 3 scenes” at the top. Video: Typing 2025 in the search field lists the text in the three scenes Cover, Menu, and Closing, grouped under the scene names, with “3 matches · 3 scenes” at the top. -
Go to a result
Click a result. Its scene opens, and the matching object is selected and zoomed to fill the view. Each time you press ↩ in the search field, you move to the next result.
Clicking the result in the Closing scene opens that scene, with “© 2025 Daylight” selected and shown large. Video: Clicking “© 2025 Daylight” under the Closing scene in the results opens the Closing scene, with that text selected and zoomed to fill the view.
Where and how to search
| Button | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Current scene · All scenes | Choose whether to search only the open scene or every scene. Project notes are searched only with All scenes. | All scenes |
| Text | Finds the characters in text, including text inside groups, frames, and tables, and text keyframes. A keyframe result shows its time, and clicking it goes to that time in Animation mode. | On |
| Layers | Finds object names as shown in the Objects list. | On |
| Scenes | Finds scene names as shown in the Scenes list. | On |
| Notes | Finds scene notes and project notes. Clicking a notes result opens the Notes panel on that note’s tab. | On |
| Aa Match case | Treats uppercase and lowercase letters as different. | Off |
| ab Whole word | Finds only whole-word matches. It works only for words made of English letters and numbers, so while it’s on, Korean words can’t be found. | Off |
| .* Regular expression | Reads what you type as a regular expression. If the expression is invalid, an error message appears below the search field. | Off |
Find and replace
Search for the words to replace first, and replace them in Design mode. If you replace in Animation mode, the new text is recorded as a keyframe at the playhead.
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Type the replacement
Click Replace, the chevron button at the far end of the search field’s row. A replace field opens below. Type the new words in it.
Clicking the chevron button opens the replace field below, and 2026 goes into it. Video: Clicking the chevron Replace button at the end of the search field’s row opens the replace field below, and 2026 goes into it. -
Replace one at a time
Click Replace to the right of the field. If no result is selected, the first click only goes to the first result. Each click after that replaces the current result and moves to the next one.
The first click on Replace goes to the first result, and the second replaces it, drops it from the list, and moves to the next result. Video: The first click on Replace goes to the first result, “Spring 2025”. The second changes it to “Spring 2026” and moves to the next result, “2025 Menu” in the Menu scene. -
Replace all
Click All. All the remaining results are replaced at once, and “No matches.” appears in the list. Press ⌘Z once to undo everything All replaced in one step.
Clicking All changes 2025 to 2026 in all three scenes at once, and “No matches.” appears in the list. Video: Clicking All changes 2025 to 2026 in all three scenes at once, the previews in the Scenes list change too, and “No matches.” appears in the results.
Search finds and replaces text that comes from a variable by its value
Searching All scenes also finds the variable values that text shows. For text with a variable in it, such as {{client}}, the variable appears in the Project group of the results, and clicking it shows that variable in the Variables panel. Replacing it with All changes the variable’s value, and every text that uses it follows.
A token written in text is found but never rewritten. Rename variables in the Variables panel, and the tokens that use them follow. See Variables.
Write notes
There are two kinds of notes: scene notes, one for each scene, and project notes, one for the whole project.
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Open notes
Click Notes, the book-shaped third button in the button row at the top right. The Notes panel opens, with a Project tab and a Scene tab at the top. The panel opens on the tab you chose last.
Clicking the book-shaped Notes button opens the Notes panel with its Project and Scene tabs. Video: Clicking Notes, the book-shaped third button in the button row at the top right, opens the Notes panel with its Project and Scene tabs. -
Write project notes
Choose the Project tab and type a memo in the field. Use it for to-dos, handoff details, and points to keep in view throughout the presentation. Click outside the field to save.
The memo “20-minute talk, questions at the end” goes on the Project tab, and a click outside the field saves it. Video: On the Project tab of the Notes panel, the memo “20-minute talk, questions at the end” goes into the field, and a click outside the field saves it. -
Choose a scene
In the Scenes list, choose the scene you want to write a note for. That scene opens. The note on the Scene tab always belongs to the scene that’s open.
Clicking the Menu scene in the Scenes list opens it on the canvas. Video: With the Notes panel open, clicking the Menu scene in the Scenes list opens the Menu scene on the canvas. -
Write a scene note
Choose the Scene tab and type what you want to say on that scene. Click outside the field to save it to that scene. When you choose another scene, the field switches to that scene’s note.
The note “Prices: keep it brief, eyes on the screen” goes on the Scene tab, and a click outside the field saves it. Video: After choosing the Scene tab of the Notes panel, typing “Prices: keep it brief, eyes on the screen” and clicking outside the field saves the note to the Menu scene.
Where notes show
| Where | Notes shown |
|---|---|
| Presenter view | The current scene’s note and the project notes. You can also edit them while you present, and your edits stay in the project. |
| Phone remote | Tap Notes on the phone to see the current scene’s note and the project notes in large type. |
| PPT file | When you export to PPT in Export, each scene note goes into its slide as speaker notes. Project notes aren’t included. |
| Presentation screen · play link | Not shown. The audience sees only the scenes. |
What to replace, placeholder text, and regular expressions
To replace only text. Turn off the Layers, Scenes, and Notes buttons before you replace. All replaces every result in the list, so names and notes that contain the same words change too.
To clear placeholder text before you present. Search All scenes for a placeholder marker such as TODO. Leave the replace field empty and click All: only the matched characters are deleted, and the rest of the text stays.
To replace with a regular expression. With Regular expression on, you can put a part wrapped in parentheses back into the replacement as $1. Search for (\d+) minutes and replace it with $1 min to keep the number and change only the unit.
Shortcuts on this page
| Open search | ⌘F |
|---|---|
| Next result (in the search or replace field) | ↩ |
| Previous result (in the search or replace field) | ⇧↩ |
| Close search (in the search field) | esc |
| Undo a replace | ⌘Z |
Updated 10/14/2026 · The videos on this page were recorded in the current editor.