The RichTextBox.Find(string) method searches for the text specified in the str parameter and returns the location of the first character of the search string within the control. If the property returns a negative value, the text string being searched for was not found within the contents of the control. You can use this method to create search functionality that can be provided to the user of the control. You can also use this method to search for text to be replaced with a specific format. For example, if the user entered dates into the control, you could use the RichTextBox.Find(string) method to search for all dates in the document and replace them with the appropriate format before using the RichTextBox.SaveFile(string) method of the control.

With this version of the RichTextBox.Find(string) method, you can specify options that enable you to expand or narrow your search. You can specify options that enable you to match the casing of the search word or to search for entire words instead of partial words. By specifying the RichTextBoxFinds.Reverse enumeration in the options parameter, you can search for text from the bottom of the document to the top instead of the default top to bottom search method. This version of the RichTextBox.Find(string) method also enables you to narrow the search for text by selecting a specific starting position within the control's text. This feature can enable you to avoid text that might have already been searched or where the specific text you are searching for is known not to exist. When the RichTextBoxFinds.Reverse value is specified in the options parameter, the value of the start parameter indicates the position where the reverse search will end since the search will start at the bottom of the document when using this version of the RichTextBox.Find(string) method.

Namespace: System.Windows.Forms
Assembly: System.Windows.Forms (in System.Windows.Forms.dll)
Assembly Versions: 1.0.5000.0, 2.0.0.0