Recipe: Find & Replace

TWrite provides a complete, interactive Find & Replace toolbar as a drop-in hook. It includes regex pattern support, whole-word filtering, case sensitivity toggles, caret steppers, and single-undo batch replacements.

1. Drop-In Registration

To enable find and replace, register SearchHook on your editor:

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
use twrite::Editor;
use twrite::SearchHook;

let mut ed = Editor::new("Initial document content...\n", cx);

// Add SearchHook (register early so its shortcuts take priority):
ed.add_hook(SearchHook::new());
}

That is all that is needed. The editor will automatically render the interactive search toolbar when triggered.

2. Keyboard Controls

ShortcutAction
Ctrl+FOpen find bar (seeds query with any active selection). Focuses the find input.
Ctrl+HOpen/expand the replace row. Focuses the replace input.
Enter (Find input)Advance to the next match.
Enter (Replace input)Replace current match and advance to the next match.
TabSwitch focus between Find and Replace input boxes.
F3 / DownJump to next match.
Shift+F3 / UpJump to previous match.
Alt+Up / Alt+DownCycle through previous search query history.
Alt+CToggle Match Case.
Alt+WToggle Whole Words.
Alt+HToggle Highlight All (canvas background wash).
Alt+AReplace All matches as a single undoable transaction.
EscClose search toolbar and return focus to the editor buffer.

3. Input Editing Shortcuts

Inside both the Find and Replace input boxes, standard desktop text editing shortcuts are fully supported:

  • Ctrl+Left / Ctrl+Right (or Alt+Left / Alt+Right): Move cursor word-by-word.
  • Ctrl+Backspace / Alt+Backspace: Delete previous word.
  • Ctrl+Delete / Alt+Delete: Delete next word.
  • Ctrl+K: Clear input from cursor to end of line.
  • Ctrl+U: Clear input from cursor to start of line.
  • Home / End: Jump to start or end of input.

4. Mouse Controls

The search bar renders an interactive UI with mouse support:

  • Expand Arrow (▶ / ▼): Expands or collapses the replace row.
  • Find and Replace Boxes: Click either input box directly to focus it without closing or losing state.
  • Steppers (^ and v): Click to navigate to the previous or next match.
  • Checkboxes: Click Highlight All, Match Case, or Whole Words to toggle search criteria with immediate rescanning.
  • Action Buttons: Click Replace to replace the current match, or Replace All to replace every match across the document.
  • Close Button (✕): Dismisses the search toolbar.

5. Headless Search Engine API

If you want to perform programmatic search or replace operations without opening the prompt toolbar, you can access the headless engine directly:

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
use twrite::search::{SearchQuery, find_matches, replace_all_query};

let text = ed.buffer.text();
let query = SearchQuery::literal("foo").case_sensitive(true);

// Collect all matching byte ranges:
let matches = find_matches(&text, &query);
println!("Found {} matches", matches.len());

// Programmatically replace all occurrences in a single undo step:
let count = replace_all_query(&mut ed.buffer, &query, "bar").unwrap();
println!("Replaced {} occurrences", count);
}