Searching and Replacing 

You can search your program code for particular text strings. From the initial screen, choose Utilities ® Find in source code. If you are in the Editor, you can both search for and replace strings using Edit ® Search/Replace. The search function on the initial screen contains a subset of the Search/Replace functions.

A Simple Search

  1. Choose Edit ® Search/Replace.

    2. The system displays the Search/Replace dialog.

  2. Enter a search value.
  3. Choose Continue.

    4. The system positions the cursor directly before where the search value occurs in the source code. By default, the system begins its search from the current cursor position. The system searches the current program only.

  4. Continue the search by choosing Find next.

Restricting a Search

You can modify the extent of a search. For example, you can specify one of the following to restrict your search to specific types of data:

As a string

Match the search value when it appears as whole word or part of a word.

As a word

Match the search value where it appears as a whole word.

Upper/lower case

Match the search value only when the upper/lower case is the same.

To make a search case-sensitive, you must set the Upper/lowercase.

Wildcard Searches

You can search for exact strings or you can perform a wildcard search. Use the * (asterisk) as a wildcard for a string of characters. For example, the search criteria a*le would find both able and apple . Use the + (plus sign) as a wildcard for any one character. The search criteria a+le would fine able but not apple .

Use the # (pound sign) as an escape symbol. With this symbol you can search for the special characters * (asterisk), + (plus sign), or # (pound sign). For example, to locate the string 1+2 you would specify a search string of 1#+2 .

Replacing Strings

The system replaces a string from the current cursor position to the end of file. Each time the search string is found, you must confirm that you want to replace it. When the system has replaced that text, the cursor automatically jumps to the next occurrence of the search string.
If you are sure that you want to replace the string throughout the text, choose No confirmation at the first match found. The system then replaces all matches without asking you to confirm them individually. To end the search, choose Cancel.

Global Search

To search for a character string in more than one program, choose Utilities ® Find in Source Code from the initial screen of the ABAP Editor. The Search/Replace dialog appears.

Choose the search area in the Search area group box.