Saved searches

Make a search

There are four ways to start one. Each makes a note that keeps its conditions, and the search lives in the Supertags area with supertags and fields.

1. 1

   From the menu

   Choose File ▸ New Search Note. An empty search named New search opens, with the cursor on Add condition. It has no keyboard shortcut.

2. 2

   From a supertag

   On a supertag chip in a note's panel, open the chip's menu and choose Save as Search for #tag. It makes a search named Search: #tag, which matches the notes with that supertag or a supertag that extends it. If one already exists, it opens instead.

3. 3

   With a question mark

   Type ? and some words in a note. The list offers New search for those words, which finds the notes that contain every word. Return makes the search, shows it below the row with its results, and takes away the typed text, as one undo step.

4. 4

   From the Insert command list

   Type / and choose Saved search. It makes a search and shows a reference to it below the row, with its results.

Add a condition

Click Add condition and choose a kind from the menu. The new row appears at the foot of the list. It is not applied until every part of it is chosen, and the count line says how many conditions are not applied yet. Choose the field, value and comparison in the row, and the results change once the row is complete.

Read the results

The count line at the top of the search reads 12 results, or No results. When a row is not finished, it says how many conditions are not applied yet, and those rows do not change the results. A search with no conditions lists nothing and shows no count.

Results are the notes that match, and each one is a row under the conditions. A result is not the search's to change. Open a result to see or edit its note. To take a note out of the results, change the note or the conditions.

Notes in Trash are never results. The Inbox, Journal, Trash and Schema are not results themselves, but the notes inside the Inbox and the Journal are. Supertags, fields and other Schema notes are never results.

Conditions that count from today

A condition such as Today, Last 7 days or Deadline is before today counts from the day you are on. The results change at midnight with no edit, and again when the Mac wakes or its clock or time zone changes.

Sort the results

Sort results by chooses the order. The choices are Default order, Title, Created time, Edited time, and then each field by name. Sort direction is Ascending or Descending. Default order is the note's title, ignoring case and accents, and then the note's identity.

Show the results as a view

The search page can show its results as a Table, Cards, Calendar or List, from the view tabs or View ▸ Show as. The conditions stay above the view. Outline is the default. Lanes and Side menu are not offered for a search.

A table or a board of results takes no New Note, and its rows cannot be removed from the search. Moving a result to Trash is done on the note, from its own page.

Edit a search and undo it

Each finished condition is saved as soon as you finish it, and it is one undo step named Edit Saved Search. A new search is named New Saved Search. Edit ▸ Undo undoes the last one. When you open a search again, its builder is folded to one line with the search's sentence, the count and an Edit button. Edit opens the builder, and Done folds it again.

Combine it

• Open tasksA #task search with a Checkbox row set to Not done lists the tasks still to do. Check one and it leaves the list.
• Last week's editsAn Edited row set to Last 7 days shows what you touched this week. It moves forward each day.
• Tasks on a calendarShow a search as a Calendar with a date field as the date, and dragging a result changes that date.
• A search inside a daily noteType ? and a word in a day's note, then choose an existing search from the list. Its results appear under that line.

Limits

• A search holds up to 99 conditions. A condition's text can be up to 1,000 characters.
• Parent, Grandparent and This note match nothing on a search's own page. They need a search that is shown under a note, such as one inserted into a note with ? or /.
• A result cannot be added or removed from the search's table or board. Change the note or the conditions.
• The Markdown copy records the conditions as a sentence and as a structured record.