您想要在iMessage 或 SMS 对话(iMessage or SMS conversation)中查找特定文本的原因有很多。也许您需要确认朋友的生日或参考您同事很久以前发送的一些与工作相关的信息。
无论是什么原因，我们都将展示如何在 iPhone、iPad 和Mac(Mac)上轻松搜索消息。您还将学习如何搜索多媒体文件、链接、位置等。
(Search Text Messages)在 iPhone 或 iPad 上搜索短信
您可以使用消息(Messages)应用程序或设备操作系统中内置的搜索工具来查找消息。我们将向您展示如何使用这两者。
使用消息应用程序搜索文本(Search Texts Using the Messages App)
Messages应用程序附带一个内置搜索工具，可让您轻松挖掘旧消息 - SMS和 i Messages。
- 在 iPhone 或 iPad 上启动消息应用程序，然后点击搜索栏。(Messages)
如果您没有找到搜索栏，请在屏幕上的任何对话上向下滑动。这应该在第一个对话的顶部显示搜索栏。
在搜索字段中输入您要搜索的关键字（或您可以从对话中记住的随机词）。搜索工具将显示最后三个对话/消息，其中包含“对话”部分中的关键字。此外，与搜索词匹配的文本以黑色突出显示。
如果有任何与关键字相关的链接或文档，您可以在“链接”或“文档”部分找到它们。点击查看全部(See All)以查看其他对话的结果。
您还可以通过消息(Messages)应用程序搜索位置或GPS坐标。如果您不记得确切的详细信息，请在搜索栏中输入位置并查看“位置”部分。(location)
您将在结果页面上找到您发送或接收的最后三个位置的预览。选择查看全部(See All)以查看来自旧对话的更多位置信息。
除非您打开对话，否则几乎不可能确定您是否在结果页面上发送或接收了消息。因此，点击搜索结果中的条目以打开对话。
使用搜索搜索文本(Search Texts Using Search)
有两种方法可以访问iPhone 和 iPad 上的搜索工具：(Search)
- 转到 iPhone 的主(Home)屏幕并向右滑动屏幕。
- (Swipe)从主(Home)屏幕中间向下滑动。
无论您使用哪种路由器，您都应该在屏幕顶部找到一个搜索栏。
- 点击搜索字段并输入您要查找的消息中的关键字。
- 如果您找到您正在寻找的确切消息，请点击“消息”部分中的消息预览以打开对话。否则，点击“消息”部分中的“(Messages)在应用程序中搜索”以在“(Search in App)消息(Messages)”应用程序中显示更多结果。
如果搜索词/关键字跨越多个类别，您可能需要滚动到搜索结果的底部并点击搜索消息以在(Search Messages)消息(Messages)应用程序中查找关键字。
这将启动消息(Messages)应用程序并显示包含与搜索词对应的项目的所有对话。它可以是文本、媒体文件、位置信息或网络链接。
如何在 Mac 上搜索邮件
在 macOS 上，您可以使用Spotlight Search(Spotlight Search)或在消息(Messages)应用程序中从 iMessage 和SMS对话中查找特定内容。
从消息应用程序中搜索文本(Search Texts From the Messages App)
在Mac(Mac)上启动“信息(Messages)”应用，然后在左上角的搜索栏中输入您要搜索的文本或对话。搜索工具将显示包含关键字或关键短语的三个初始或最近的对话。
如果您在结果中没有找到目标对话，请点击显示更多(Show More)以查看更多条目。
与 iOS 上的Messages应用程序一样，您还可以在Mac上搜索位置、多媒体文件、链接等。为了便于检索，搜索结果被分成文本、链接、照片等。在搜索结果中选择一个条目以查看搜索词在对话中的确切位置。
使用 Spotlight 搜索搜索文本(Search Texts Using Spotlight Search)
Spotlight Search是最被低估的 macOS 工具之一。它允许您在Mac(Mac)上快速查找各种项目（应用程序、联系人、消息、文件夹、事件等）。但是，要使用Spotlight Search查找消息，您需要确保该工具配置为捕获消息(Messages)应用程序中的内容。
转到系统偏好设置(System Preferences)> Spotlight >搜索结果(Search Results)并确保选中邮件和消息选项。(Mail & Messages)
- 按Command + Space或选择菜单栏上的搜索图标(search icon)以启动Spotlight搜索。
- 输入(Enter)您要查找的文本并在“邮件(Mail)和消息”部分仔细阅读结果。双击(Double-click)结果中的条目以打开包含您搜索的关键字的确切对话。
在 iPhone 和Mac上的“(Mac)信息(Messages)”中搜索多媒体(Multimedia)
与文本不同，在Messages(Messages)应用程序中精确搜索多媒体文件（图像、视频、歌曲、GIF(GIFs)等）并不十分简单。如果您知道文件名，这会容易得多。
例如，如果您在设备上通过 iMessage 分享名为“水果”的图像，则在搜索字段中输入水果(fruits)将在“照片”部分显示该图像。
这种图像搜索技术也适用于 macOS消息(Messages)应用程序。在搜索字段中输入图像名称，然后检查“照片”部分以查找具有匹配名称的文件。
但是您如何找到您不知道名称的多媒体文件呢？在搜索字段中输入(Enter)通用文件类别并梳理结果。例如，假设您正在查找屏幕截图，请在搜索字段中输入屏幕截图，然后点击“照片”部分中的(screenshot)查看全部(See All)。
正在寻找某人发给您的歌曲？打开消息(Messages)应用程序，在搜索字段中输入歌曲(song)，然后在对话部分梳理带有“歌曲：”前缀的消息。这些消息包含您共享或接收的歌曲或音频文件。
在 iPhone 上，查看通过Apple Music(Apple Music)、Spotify或其他音乐流媒体应用程序共享的歌曲的“链接”部分。
要查找您不记得名称的照片和图像，请在搜索字段中输入通用关键字，例如图像(image)或照片。(photos)这将显示从最近到最旧的所有对话中交换的照片。
在搜索栏中输入屏幕截图(screenshot)将在“照片”部分显示通过 iMessage 或彩信(MMS)发送和接收的屏幕截图。点击显示更多(Show More)（或在 iPhone 和 iPad 上查看全部）以查看较早的屏幕截图。(See All)
限制和解决方案
已删除的消息或对话不会显示在搜索结果中 - 除非您恢复它们。请参阅有关在 iPhone 上恢复已删除文本的指南(guide on recovering deleted texts on iPhone)以了解更多信息。您的设备自动删除的邮件(Messages)也可能无法搜索。因此，请检查消息(Messages)设置菜单或首选项，并确保将应用程序配置为永久存储消息。
在 iPhone 或 iPad 上，前往“设置”(Settings) > “信息(Messages)” > “保留信息(Keep Messages)”并将其设置为“永久”(Forever)。
在Mac上，打开Messages应用，在菜单栏上选择Messages ，选择(Messages)Preferences，前往General选项卡，选择Keep messages下拉按钮，然后选择Forever。
如果您的设备使用相同的Apple ID，并且某些消息显示在您的 iPhone 上而不是您的Mac上（反之亦然），这可能是因为您没有将消息同步到 iCloud。
在您的 iPhone 或 iPad 上，前往“设置”(Settings) > “[Apple ID 名称]”([Apple ID name]) > “ iCloud ”并确保“信息(Messages)”已打开。将您的设备连接到互联网并等待几分钟让消息同步。
这就是您在Apple(Apple)设备上搜索消息所需了解的全部内容。为获得最佳结果，我们建议您在执行搜索时将您的设备连接到互联网。
如果您仍然无法使用上述技术查找消息，请关闭并重新打开消息(Messages)应用程序，然后重试。更好(Better)的是，将您的 iMessage 聊天记录下载为 PDF 文件(download your iMessage chat history as a PDF file)，然后在文档中搜索关键词/关键字。
How to Search Messages on iPhone and Mac
There arе many reasons why you’d want to find a specific text in an iMessage or SMS conversation. Perhaps you need to confirm a friends’ birthday or reference some work-related information your colleague sent a long time ago.
Whatever the reason might be, we’ll show how to easily search for messages on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. You’ll also learn how to search for multimedia files, links, location, etc.
Search Text Messages on iPhone or iPad
You can either use the search tool built into the Messages app or your device’s operating system to find messages. We’ll show you how to use both.
Search Texts Using the Messages App
The Messages app ships with a built-in search tool that lets you easily dig through old messages—both SMS and iMessages.
- Launch the Messages app on your iPhone or iPad and tap the search bar.
If you don’t find the search bar, swipe down on any conversation on the screen. That should display the search bar at the top of the first conversation.
Type the keyword(s) you want to search for (or random words you can remember from the conversation) in the search field. The search tool will display the last three conversations/messages with the keywords in the “Conversations” section. Additionally, texts matching the search term are highlighted in black.
If there are any links or documents related to the keyword, you’ll find them in the “Links” or “Documents” section. Tap See All to see results from other conversations.
You can also search for locations or GPS coordinates via the Messages app. If you can’t remember the exact details, type location in the search bar and look through the “Locations” section.
You’ll find previews of the last three locations you sent or received on the results page. Select See All to check more location info from older conversations.
Unless you open the conversation, it’s almost impossible to determine whether you sent or received the message(s) on the results page. So tap an entry in the search result to open the conversation.
Search Texts Using Search
There are two ways to access the Search tool on your iPhone and iPad:
- Go to your iPhone’s Home screen and swipe the screen to the right.
- Swipe down from the middle of the Home screen.
Whatever router you follow, you should find a search bar at the top of the screen.
- Tap the search field and enter keywords from the message you’re looking for.
- If you find the exact message you’re looking for, tap the message preview in the “Messages” section to open the conversation. Otherwise, tap Search in App in the “Messages” section to show more results in the Messages app.
If the search term/keyword cuts across several categories, you might need to scroll to the bottom of the search results and tap Search Messages to find the keyword in the Messages app.
That’ll launch the Messages app and display all conversations containing items that correspond to the search term. It could be texts, media files, location information, or web links.
How to Search Messages on Mac
On macOS, you can find specific content from iMessage and SMS conversations using Spotlight Search or within the Messages app.
Search Texts From the Messages App
Launch the Messages app on your Mac and type the text or conversation you’re searching for in the search field at the top-left corner. The search tool will display the three initial or most recent conversations with the keyword or keyphrase.
If you don’t find the target conversation in the results, tap Show More to view more entries.
As with the Messages app on iOS, you can also search for locations, multimedia files, links, etc. on your Mac. For easy retrieval, the search results are sectioned into texts, links, photos, etc. Select an entry in the search result to see the exact location of the search term in the conversation.
Search Texts Using Spotlight Search
Spotlight Search is one of the most underrated macOS tools. It allows you to quickly find all kinds of items (apps, contacts, messages, folders, events, etc.) on your Mac. However, to use Spotlight Search to find messages, you need to ensure that the tool is configured to capture content in the Messages application.
Go to System Preferences > Spotlight > Search Results and ensure the Mail & Messages option is checked.
- Press Command + Space or select the search icon on the menu bar to launch the Spotlight search.
- Enter the text you’re looking for and peruse the results in the “Mail and Messages” section. Double-click an entry in the results to open the exact conversation housing the keyword you searched for.
Search for Multimedia in Messages on iPhone and Mac
Unlike texts, searching for multimedia files (images, videos, songs, GIFs, etc.) in the Messages app with pinpoint accuracy isn’t exactly straightforward. It’s a lot easier if you know the file name.
For instance, if you share an image named “fruits” via iMessage on your device, typing fruits in the search field will display the image in the “Photos” section.
This image search technique also works on the macOS Messages app. Type the image name in the search field and check the “Photos” section for files with matching names.
But how do you find multimedia files whose name you don’t know? Enter the generic file category in the search field and comb through the results. For example, say you’re looking for a screenshot, type screenshot in the search field and tap See All in the “Photos” section.
Looking for a song someone sent you? Open the Messages app, type song in the search field, and comb through messages with a “Song:” prefix in the conversations section. Those messages contain songs or audio files that you shared or received.
On iPhone, check the “Links” section for songs shared via Apple Music, Spotify, or other music streaming apps.
To find photos and images whose name you don’t remember, type generic keywords like image or photos in the search field. That’ll display photos exchanged in all conversations from the most recent to oldest.
Entering screenshot in the search bar will display screenshots sent and received via iMessage or MMS in the “Photos” section. Tap Show More (or See All on iPhone and iPad) to see older screenshots.
Limitations and Solutions
Deleted messages or conversations will not show up in the search results—unless you recover them. Refer to this guide on recovering deleted texts on iPhone to learn more. Messages deleted automatically by your device might also be unsearchable. Therefore, check the Messages settings menu or preferences and make sure the app is configured to store messages forever.
On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Messages > Keep Messages and set it to Forever.
On Mac, open the Messages app, select Messages on the menu bar, select Preferences, head to the General tab, select the Keep messages drop-down button, and select Forever.
If your devices use the same Apple ID, and some messages show up on your iPhone but not your Mac (or vice versa), that could be because you aren’t syncing messages to iCloud.
On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > [Apple ID name] > iCloud and make sure Messages is toggled on. Connect your devices to the internet and wait for a couple of minutes for messages to sync.
That’s all you need to know about searching messages on your Apple devices. For optimum results, we recommend connecting your device(s) to the internet while performing the search.
If you’re still having difficulties finding messages using the techniques above, close and reopen the Messages app and try again. Better yet, download your iMessage chat history as a PDF file and search the document for the keyphrase/keyword.
