
Photoshop features powerful search functionality that lets you search across UI elements, documents, Help & learning content, inspiring Stock assets, and much more—all from within a unified dialog. You can search for items right after launching Photoshop or when one or more documents are open. The in-app search experience also lets you find, filter, sort, and import your Lightroom photos into Photoshop.
In Photoshop, do any of the following:
- Select Edit > Search.
- Use the Cmd/Ctrl+F keyboard shortcut.
- At initial launch, click the Search icon (
) in the right extremity of the Options bar, to the left of the Workspace Switcher icon.

A. Search icon B. Workspace switcher
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In earlier releases of Photoshop, Cmd/Ctrl+F used to be the keyboard shortcut for reapplying the last-used filter. Beginning the 2017 release of Photoshop CC, it invokes the Photoshop search experience.
To set a different keyboard shortcut for reapplying the last-used filter, see Customize keyboard shortcut.
Using the Photoshop search functionality, you can find items across the following:
- UI elements
- Tools
- Panels, including the Styles panel
- Menu items
- New document presets
- Open documents
- Recent files
- Layers
- Smart objects
- Help & learning content; documentation and instructional tutorials
- Stock assets
- Your Lightroom photos
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- The search scope does not currently include library elements and individual styles.
- The search scope shows menu items that are disabled too.

Photoshop organizes search results into the following tabs:
All: Displays, in order, Photoshop UI elements, Help & Learn content, and Adobe Stock assets

Photoshop: Displays only results from the Photoshop UI: tools, commands, panels, presets, open documents, layers, etc.


Stock: Displays Adobe Stock images relevant to the keywords. The search experience minimizes the number of clicks required to add a Stock image to your project. Stock images here include photographs and vector graphics.

Lightroom
Lets you find, filter, sort, and import Lightroom photos matching the search keywords into Photoshop.

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To dismiss the Search dialog, press Esc or Cmd+F. Alternatively, click any Photoshop UI element outside the Search dialog.
When you click a search result, Photoshop performs the default operation associated with its type:
Layer: Selects the layer and makes it visible in the Layers panel
Tool: Activates the tool and highlights it in the UI
Panel: Makes the panel visible and active; highlights and opens it
Menu command: Runs that command; search results may also include disabled menu commands
Recent file: Opens the file
Open document: Makes the document active
Help or Learn topics: Opens the topic in a new browser window
Stock asset: Downloads the image asset and adds it to your active Creative Cloud library. For licensed assets full resolution images are added, while for unlicensed assets watermarked previews are added. It also gets placed as a cloud-linked asset on the canvas.