/laz_idesearchpanel

Search Panel for the Lazarus IDE

Primary LanguagePascalGNU Lesser General Public License v2.1LGPL-2.1

Lazarus IDESearchPanel

Search panel plugin for the Lazarus IDE

Searchpanel Windows 10

Advantages over the standard "Find" window of the IDE (Ctrl+F)

  • Modern, convenient, accessible and intuitive interface.
  • No forms and message boxes popping up.
  • Function keys such as F3, which are often difficult to reach on notebook-computers, are not required. For the next occurrence of the search term, simply press "Enter" again.
  • Search as you type: See directly whether and how often the search term was found.
  • Correct your search term easily with the backspace key without having to open a search form again.
  • Incremental search: Marks all occurrences of the search term in the visible area.

Advantages over the "Incremental Find" function of the IDE (Ctrl+E)

  • User-friendly, intuitive interface.
  • Search options.

Searchpanel Linux GTK2 with Options

Searchpanel Dark with Options

Installation:

Like any other Package. Rebuild the IDE. https://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/Install_Packages

How to use:

To toggle the Search Panel on and off, there is a menu item called "Show Search Panel" under "Search".
You can also use CTRL+P.

"Find Next" can be performed by the button or by simply pressing "Enter" again, while the focus is on the search edit.

Ctrl+F, F3 etc. are reserved for the standard search window of the IDE and are not used by the Search Panel.

If you encounter conflicts with CTRL+P, for example if "printers4lazide" is installed, you can:

  • Uninstall printers4lazide OR
  • Change the Key Mappings in "Tools -> Options -> Editor -> Key Mappings" OR
  • Add a line to the "idesearchpanelconfig.xml" to define a different shortcut: 
  <SPConfig ShortCut="Ctrl+P"/>

Use non-localized names for shiftstates, like Ctrl, Shift, Alt.., or "Unknown" for no shortcut.

idesearchpanelconfig.xml can be usually found in places like:

  • Fpcupdeluxe: <fpcupdeluxe>/config_lazarus/
  • Windows: C:\users\<your_name>\appdata\lazarus
  • Linux: ~/.lazarus
If you are not sure, see: View -> IDE Internals -> About IDE -> Global IDE options -> "Primary config directory"

If you prefer blue instead of black icons, add to idesearchpanelconfig.xml:

   <SPConfig ShortCut="Ctrl+P" BlackIcons="False"/>

Options:

Please Note: "Regular Expressions" and "Search-as-you-type" are mutually exclusive.

Search in selected text only works if "Search-as-you-type" is deactivated.

The rest should be self-explanatory.

HAVE FUN!