PyCharm 2019.2 Help

Search for a target by name (Search everywhere)

You can find any item in the project or outside of it by its name. You can search for files, actions, classes, symbols, settings, and UI elements from a single entry point.

Learn about text search from Finding and replacing text in a project or Finding and replacing text in a file.

  1. Press Shift twice to open the search window. By default, PyCharm displays the list of recent files. Pressing double Shift again or Alt+N for mnemonics will select the Include non-project items checkbox and the list of search results will extend to non-project related items.

    search everywhere popup

  2. Start typing your query. PyCharm lists the results dividing them into sections where your query is found.Press Ctrl+Up or Ctrl+Down (⌘↑/⌘↓ on macOS) to jump between sections.

    Click the Pin icon to list the search results in the Find tool window.

    Press Tab to switch the scope of your search to classes, files, symbols, or actions.

    You can use the following shortcuts to open the search window with the needed scope right from the start:

    • Ctrl+N: finds a class by name.

    • Ctrl+Shift+N: finds any file or directory by name (supports CamelCase and snake_case).
    • Ctrl+Shift+Alt+N: finds a symbol.

    • Ctrl+Shift+A: finds an action by name. You can find any action even if it doesn't have a mapped shortcut or appear in the menu. For example, Emacs actions, such as kill rings, sticky selection, or hungry backspace.

    To narrow your search, click the Filter icon and select the appropriate option.

    For example, when you search for files, you can exclude some file types from your search.

    Exclude files from search
  3. Type / to see the list of settings that you can quickly access. Select the one you need and pressEnter.

    Search for Settings
    As a result, PyCharm gives you a quick access to the selected setting and its options.

  4. You can search for abbreviations. Assign a short code for the action and use the All tab to search for such element and quickly access it. For example, assign an abbreviation for Color Picker.
    • In the Settings/Preferences dialog (Ctrl+Alt+S), go to Keymap. From the options on the right select Other | Show Color Picker.

    • From the context menu, select Add abbreviation.

      Color Picker Add Abbreviation

    • In the dialog that opens, specify the abbreviation you are going to use, for example, cp and click OK.

    Now, when you type cp in the search field, PyCharm will display the item to which you've assigned your abbreviation. Press Enter to access the Color Picker dialog.

    Search Results
  5. You can search for actions. For example, you can search for a VCS action and access its dialog.

    In the search field, type, for example, push.

    Search for push action

    PyCharm displays the Push action in the Actions section together with the Ctrl+Shift+K shortcut, which lets you access the Push dialog.

Last modified: 6 November 2019