How to Easily Find Photos, Links, Documents and Texts in Messages on iPhone
I have often found myself scrolling back through a text conversation in Messages on my iPhone, looking for some photo, link or document that someone has sent me. This can be pretty tedious–fortunately, there is a much better way. In this article, I will tell you how you can easily find these things in the Messages app on iPhone.
Finding photos, links, documents and texts in Messages
There are a couple of ways to find things among your iMessages. Which method you will want to use depends on what you are looking for and if you know who sent it to you.
Using the search field in Messages
Search for specific words
This is the most general way to look for things in Messages. You can search for one or more words that appear in a text message, in a link, or in the title of a document. All of your conversations will be searched, which is good if you don’t remember who sent you the thing you are searching for.
- Open the Messages app to the main page with the list of conversations.
- Touch the screen and swipe down a bit. The search field should appear near the top of the screen.
- Type in your search. The results will show messages, links and documents (titles) that contain your search words. The results can come from any of your conversations.
Search through all items shared with you
You can also search through all of your Pins, Collaboration, Links, Photos, Locations and Documents from all of your conversations. This can be useful if you don’t remember who sent something to you and you don’t have words to search for.
- Just follow steps 1 & 2 above to access the search field. Tap on the search field, but don’t type anything.
- Scroll down and tap See All next to one of the item types, such as Photos.
Searching within a specific conversation (with a particular contact)
If you know the sender and want to search for a photo, document or link, you can use this method:
- Open the conversation where you expect to find the photo, document, etc.
- Tap on the name/phone number/photo at the top.
- Scroll down to see the following:
- Collaboration (for shared iCloud folders)
- Photos
- Links
- Locations
- Documents
- Tap See All next to the section you want to explore, such as Photos.
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