diff --git a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerhighlight.lua b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerhighlight.lua
index 945f0a4c2..2024c12b2 100644
--- a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerhighlight.lua
+++ b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerhighlight.lua
@@ -1943,7 +1943,7 @@ function ReaderHighlight:onHighlightSearch()
     self:highlightFromHoldPos()
     if self.selected_text then
         local text = util.stripPunctuation(cleanupSelectedText(self.selected_text.text))
-        self.ui:handleEvent(Event:new("ShowSearchDialog", text))
+        self.ui.search:searchText(text)
     end
 end