Searching

Two different searches

The portal has two, and reaching for the wrong one wastes time.

	Where	Searches
Global search	The box at the very top of the screen	Every kind of record you can see
Search this list	Above a list, on the right	Only the list you are on

Global search — when you do not know where it lives

Where: the Search... box at the top of any page

1. Click Search... in the middle of the top bar.

2. Start typing. A few letters is enough — you do not need the whole name.

3. Results appear underneath as you type, grouped by kind of record.

   

4. Click a result to open it.

Use this when you know the name but not which tab it is under — or when you are not sure whether "Acme" is an account or a contact.

Search this list — when you are already there

Where: a tab → Search this list...

1. Open a tab and its list.

2. Click Search this list... above the table on the right.

3. Type part of a name. The table narrows as you type.

   

This only looks at the records in the current view. If you search "Acme" in a view filtered to one region, you will not find Acme in another region — the view excluded it before the search ran.

Which to use

You want	Use
One record, name known	Global search
Not sure which tab it is on	Global search
To narrow a list you are working through	Search this list
Everything matching a condition, not a name	Not search — use a filter

That last row matters. Search finds by name. "Every account in London" is not a search, it is a filter.

What goes wrong

Symptom	Cause
No results for something you know exists	Searching a list that excludes it. Try global search.
Nothing found at all	Sharing — you may not have access to that record.
Too many results	Add more of the name, or filter the list instead.
A record you expected is missing	Search covers what you are allowed to see, nothing more.

Where this fits

Search finds one record. Filtering finds a set. Reports answer questions about a set. Those three cover almost everything people try to use search for.