Wow... so I'm trying to imagine how this can be done:
- search the raw source code
- search a text file formatted the way it is in the editor window
- search the formatted object list
However this means relating the text and objects in the different text instances, and I'm not sure how that would be done simply.
I really don't know how Chrome does it, but if a piece of text appears in the formatted source code window, it should be searchable in the search box exactly as it appears in the formatted source code window. That's just surface-level common sense.
In the meantime, this nonsensical behavior pushes me to use Chrome instead or have a more difficult time using search, which I don't want because Firebug has more tools and I still have to test browser compatibility and search text because of it.
This absolutely needs to be fixed; it's an elementary feature that should work right to begin with. The refactoring would be absolutely worth it, and my guess is they just haven't thought of the proper and most simple way (as in an Occam's Razor way) to do it.