search-method-string-javascript.md

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search Method (String) (JavaScript) | Microsoft Docs		01/18/2017	windows-client-threshold			devlang-javascript		language-reference	search	JavaScript TypeScript DHTML	search method	1cae0fbc-3319-4327-ba4e-d5fa2c4a9ba0	15	mikejo5000	mikejo	ghogen

search Method (String) (JavaScript)

Finds the first substring match in a regular expression search.

Syntax

  
stringObj.search(rgExp)   

Parameters

stringObj
Required. The String object or string literal on which to perform the search.

rgExp
Required. An instance of a Regular Expression object containing the regular expression pattern and applicable flags.

Return Value

If a match is found, the search method returns an integer value that indicates the offset from the beginning of the string where the first match occurred. If no match is found, it returns -1.

Remarks

You can also set the i flag that causes the search to be case-insensitive.

Example

The following example illustrates the use of the search method.

var src = "is but a Dream within a dream";  
var re = /dream/;  
var pos = src.search(re);  
document.write(pos);  
document.write("<br/>");  
  
re = /dream/i;  
pos = src.search(re);  
document.write(pos);  
  
// Output:   
// 24   
// 9  

Requirements

[!INCLUDEjsv3]

Applies To: String Object

See Also

exec Method (Regular Expression)
match Method (String)
Regular Expression Object
Regular Expression Syntax (JavaScript)
replace Method (String)
test Method (Regular Expression)
Regular Expression Programming (JavaScript)