What is the "Multiple Highlight" extension and how do I use it?

The Multiple Highlight extension is designed to simplify word searches on a webpage. Unlike the browser's default Find toolbar, which searches for the entire query as one phrase, this extension splits your input into individual sub-queries and highlights each with a different color.

By default, it uses spaces as separators and trims each term—so extra spaces between words are ignored. You can navigate between matches using Enter (next match) and Shift + Enter (previous match).

The extension prioritizes matches within the current view to avoid unnecessary scrolling. If a match isn't visible on screen, it will automatically scroll to the first occurrence.

[Deprecated] For large documents you can try the developer version of this extension:

Chrome Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/mjmdpcpejfpacdlehioncilhdhcpopmk

What's new in this version?

Please check the Logs section.

What keyboard shortcuts does this extension support?

You can open the extension popup using a custom keyboard shortcut, which can be set in your browser's extensions manager. This allows you to bring up the search box without clicking the toolbar icon.

When the popup opens, the search box is automatically focused, so you can start typing right away. As you type, the extension highlights your search terms in real time. The currently selected match is styled differently to make it stand out.

• Press Enter to jump to the next match
• Press Shift + Enter to go to the previous match
• Press Esc to close the popup and return focus to the page
• Press Shift + Esc to close the popup while keeping highlights

If the search box contains text, pressing Esc once will clear it. Pressing Esc again will close the popup.

The default space separator is too general. Can I use another separator with this extension?

Yes, the extension supports three different query separators. You can choose your preferred separator directly from the popup window. Once selected, this preference is saved and will persist across sessions.

Can I keep the highlights after closing the popup window?

Yes. Starting from version 0.1.1, the extension offers two ways to preserve highlights after closing the popup:

1. Hold Shift while clicking the "x" button — This keeps the highlights and restores your search query the next time you open the popup.
2. Enable it permanently — Go to the extension's options page and check "Keep highlights when closing the popup" for this behavior to always apply.

Notes:

• If you use method 1 but later close the popup without holding Shift or by pressing Esc, the highlights will be removed.
• To use Esc for closing the popup without clearing highlights, enable "Keep highlights when closing the popup" and disable "Clean the search box when ESC is pressed" in the options.
• On Firefox, the Esc key always closes the popup automatically, so this setting will not work as expected on that browser.

Can I use regular expressions to match sub-queries?

Yes, starting with version 0.1.2, you can use regular expressions by prefixing a sub-query with r:. For example: r:d+ will match one or more digits.

Note:

• If you're using space as the separator, you cannot include spaces in your regex. Use \s to match whitespace instead.
• Alternatively, you can change the separator to a different character from the available options.

If your regex is invalid, the entire query will be highlighted in red, and the search box title will display an error message explaining the issue.

Can I customize the colors of the highlights?

Yes, starting with version 0.1.2, you can customize the foreground and background colors of each highlight (mark) from the extension's options page. You can also set distinct colors for the active mark to make it stand out.

Each mark also supports a box color. If you don't want a separate color for the box, simply reuse the background color (this feature is deprecated on 0.6.0 release).

To restore the default (factory) colors at any time, click the “Reset” button on the options page.

What commands are supported in the search query?

You can enhance your search by prefixing keywords with commands using the format: command:keyword.

Supported commands include:

• r: — Use a regular expression
• b: — Bold the matched text (deprecated)
• u: — Underline the matches (deprecated)
• h: — Apply highlighting

You can also combine multiple commands. For example, to highlight and underline a term, use uh:keyword or hu:keyword.

Can I quickly highlight the last searched query without opening the popup?

Yes. Starting from version 0.1.5, you can assign a custom keyboard shortcut to instantly reapply the last search query—no need to open the popup interface. If there's no previous query for the current tab, the action will be silently ignored.

By default, queries are remembered based on the tab's URL, but you can customize this behavior in the options. The extension supports three modes for storing the last query:

1. Per URL – Store a separate query for each full tab URL
2. Per hostname – Store one query per website (domain)
3. Global – Use a single shared query across all tabs

Can I remove all highlights without opening the extension interface?

Yes. Starting with version 0.1.5, you can set a custom keyboard shortcut to clear all highlights instantly—no need to open the popup.

[Deprecated] Can I apply my own style to the active mark instead of using the default one?

Yes. To use your own styling for the active mark, go to the extension's options page and enable "Do not style active mark." Then, add your custom CSS in the Custom Styling section.

Your styles can target any mark element, including the active one. Don't forget to refresh the page for your changes to take effect.

[Deprecated] The extension takes a few seconds to highlight matches in large documents with multiple queries. Can performance be improved?

By default, the extension uses the "Mark JS" engine, which works well for smaller documents. Starting from version 0.1.9, there is an experimental, faster highlighting engine called Text-Based Document Manipulation (TBDM JS), designed to improve performance—especially on large documents or CPU-intensive searches.

You can enable the TBDM engine in the options page and refresh the page to activate it. Keep in mind that this new engine is still experimental and may have occasional bugs. If you experience issues or don't need the speed boost, you can easily switch back to the default engine.

[Deprecated] I use a separator other than space to match queries containing spaces, but the extension sometimes misses matches inside complex elements—especially when parts have different styles (like different colors). Is there a workaround?

The default highlighting engine (Mark JS) struggles to handle complex HTML structures where elements have mixed styling, so it may miss some matches in these cases.

As a workaround, you can try the new experimental TBDM JS engine available on the options page. This engine is better at parsing complex nodes. Remember to refresh the page after enabling it for the changes to take effect.

[Deprecated] What's the difference between the “canvas” and “native” highlighting methods introduced in version 0.3.0?

Starting with version 0.4.0, the extension replaced the old mark.js library with tbdm.js, which offers two highlighting modes:

• Native mode: Highlights are applied by wrapping text in elements, modifying the actual DOM—similar to the old method.
• Canvas mode: Highlights are drawn as underlines on a separate canvas layer, leaving the DOM unchanged and only visually indicating matches.

The canvas method is faster and more efficient, especially for large documents, and is used by default. The native mode is best suited for small documents.

You can switch between these modes in the options if needed.