DW Won't Find Certain Code Elements

As recommended by @Nancy OShea , using Ctrl | Cmd + shift + F, will allow you to search in several documents simultaneously, but if I understand the root of your problem as you seem to describe it :

I've had ongoing problems with DW not recognizing some code selections I might need to find in a document.  For instance, if I want to find all instance of this, it won't even show it in the find window:

By @CaseyCayce

Having a selection and pressing (Ctrl | Cmd + F, or, Ctrl | Cmd + Shift + F) should place this selection directly in the search field, and this is not the case, especially if the selection contains line breaks.

So in a simple search (Ctrl | Cmd + F) this is a recurring bug, before pressing the keyboard shortcut remember to copy the selection (Ctrl | Cmd + C) and then paste it into the search field...

On the other hand, when searching multiple files (Ctrl | Cmd + Shift + F), if the selection is not automaticaly placed in the search field, the bug is less annoying, as it is often sufficient to cancel the search and repeat the shortcut a second time for the selection to appear automatically in the search field.

Unfortunately, with DW in minimum maintenance mode, we'll have to make do with these tips, for want of a better solution 🙂

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + F brings up the Advanced Find & Replace panel in modern Dreamweaver CC.

That said, your code doesn't contain a <br>.  However it does contain and extra </span>.  Maybe that's part of the problem. You're searching for the wrong thing.

• Which version of Dreamweaver?
• Which version of the O/S?

If the search term is as stated, then hopefully you will not find any occussrance. The reason? the code in the search term contains an error!