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Search

Search for specific protocol data, addresses, or patterns in the report window.

Overview

The search function helps you quickly locate specific protocol transactions in captured data. This is particularly useful when analyzing large captures or looking for specific events.

Search interface

Access the search function using:

  • Menu: Click Search in the toolbar
  • Keyboard: Press F3 or Ctrl+F

Search operation

1. Enter search text

Type the text, value, or pattern you're looking for.

Search supports:

  • Text strings (for ASCII decode)
  • Hexadecimal values (0x prefix or without)
  • Decimal values
  • Binary patterns
  • Protocol-specific fields

Examples:

  • Search for address: 0x50 or 50
  • Search for ASCII text: ERROR
  • Search for specific data: FF or 255

2. Navigate results

Use navigation buttons to move through search results:

  • Next: Find the next matching item
  • Previous: Find the previous matching item

Keyboard shortcuts:

  • F3: Find next
  • Shift + F3: Find previous (in some implementations)

3. Field specification

Narrow your search to specific fields for faster results.

Search scope options:

  • All fields: Search across all columns in the report
  • Target fields: Search only specific columns

Available target fields (protocol-dependent):

  • Address column
  • Data column
  • Command/Type column
  • Status column
  • Custom decode fields

Why specify fields?

  • Faster search: Reduced search range
  • More precise: Avoid false matches in irrelevant fields
  • Better performance: Especially important for large captures

Search results

Visual feedback

Match found:

  • Matching data shown with green background color
  • Total number of packets found is displayed
  • Current match is highlighted

No match found:

  • Search result shown in orange background color
  • "No results found" message
  • Verify search term and try again

Result navigation

Current match indicator:

  • Shows which match you're viewing (e.g., "3 of 15")
  • Updates as you navigate with Next/Previous
  • Report automatically scrolls to show current match

Advanced search techniques

Partial matching

The search typically supports partial string matching.

Examples:

  • Search AB finds ABCD, CAB, FFAB00
  • Search ERR finds ERROR, PERROR, ERR_CODE

Case sensitivity

Check search dialog for case-sensitive option if available.

  • Case-insensitive (default): error matches Error, ERROR, error
  • Case-sensitive: error matches only error

Multiple criteria

For complex searches:

  1. Perform first search
  2. Note results
  3. Refine search term
  4. Search again

Tip: Export to CSV and use spreadsheet tools for complex multi-criteria searches.

Search use cases

Find specific addresses

I2C address search:

Search: 0x50
Field: Address
Result: All transactions to/from device 0x50

Locate error conditions

Search: NACK
Field: Status
Result: All transactions with NACK (Not Acknowledged)

Find data patterns

Search: FF
Field: Data
Result: All transactions containing 0xFF

Debug specific commands

SPI command search:

Search: 0x03
Field: Command
Result: All READ operations (command 0x03)

Trace register access

Search: 0x1A
Field: Address
Result: All accesses to register 0x1A

Performance tips

For large captures

Speed up searches:

  1. Use field specification: Don't search all fields if you know which field contains your data
  2. Be specific: More specific search terms = fewer false matches
  3. Close unused windows: Reduce system load
  4. Consider filtering: Use Hide Data to filter before searching

For repeated searches

Workflow:

  1. Perform common searches
  2. Note the row numbers
  3. Use bookmarks (Window Management) to mark important results
  4. Return to bookmarks instead of re-searching

Common search scenarios

Troubleshooting communication failures

Find failed transactions:

  1. Search for error indicators: NACK, ERR, FAIL
  2. Check address field for problem device
  3. Use Previous to find the last successful transaction before failure

Verifying protocol compliance

Check for specific sequences:

  1. Search for initialization commands
  2. Verify proper ordering
  3. Check response codes

Data validation

Find specific data values:

  1. Search for expected data pattern
  2. Verify correct transmission
  3. Check for corruption or errors

Limitations

  • Search operates on displayed/decoded data only
  • Raw waveform data is not searchable (use Logic Analyzer search for signal-level search)
  • Very large captures may take time to search
  • Search is sequential (not indexed)