Visual Space manual, Search, Find Content Across Visual Space

Use Global Search when you remember a name, phrase, or topic but not which space or content type owns it. This walkthrough helps you search broadly, narrow only when the results give you a reason, open the best match, and return to the same search session.

Before You Search

You need to be signed in. Search respects the access rules of every space, area, document, and conversation, so it shows only content available to you. Another person can use the same phrase and see a different result set because their memberships or permissions differ.

Begin with the broadest useful setup: Global scope, All content, Best match, and All time. This combination gives Search the best chance to reveal what kind of result you remember before you add boundaries.

Start With A Broad Global Query

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Open Search - Go to Search and check that the scope shown near the query is Global. If a space name appears instead, you are searching only that space; use Search Within A Space when that is intentional.

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Keep All selected - Let the first search include Spaces, Articles, Goals, Events, Docs, Messages, and People. A mixed result set is useful when the same phrase may appear in several kinds of work.

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Keep the broad defaults - Choose Best match and All time. Best match brings likely matches forward, while All time avoids hiding an older item whose date you do not remember.

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Enter a useful phrase - Start with a distinctive name or short phrase, such as quarterly plan, instead of a long sentence. Search updates shortly after you type; use Find when you want to submit the current phrase immediately.

When the search settles, confirm that the header still says Global and that Results shows a count. That count belongs to the current query, scope, filters, time range, and your access. It does not include private matches you cannot read.

Let The Results Guide Your Next Choice

Scan the first mixed results before changing anything. Their different layouts help identify what you may have remembered: an article can show its author and space, a goal can include status, an event can show date and attendance details, a message identifies its conversation context, and a person or space carries its own identity details.

Narrow only when the evidence supports it. A promising result family, an obviously recent memory, or too many unrelated matches is a good reason to refine the search. Uncertainty is a reason to stay broad.

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Focus the content mix - Choose one family such as Docs or Messages when the first results show that the item belongs there. You can also combine several families, such as Articles and Goals, when both remain plausible. Choose All again to remove those family restrictions.

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Change the order - Keep Best match for relevance. Choose Newest when you know the item is recent, or Popular when you are looking for an established result among many similar matches.

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Limit the time range - Use Past year, Past month, Past week, or Today only when you have confidence about when the item was created or shared. A shorter range can remove the correct older result.

Each filter change refreshes the result set. Recheck the Results count after a change: a large drop can confirm that the boundary was useful, while zero or very few matches often means the search became too narrow. For more detail on these choices, see Results And Filters.

Once the result family is clear, narrowing to Articles keeps the owner, area, and excerpt cues needed to compare plausible matches.

Choose And Open The Right Match

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Compare owner context - Read the title together with the available author, space, conversation, date, status, excerpt, folder, or profile details. These cues are often more reliable than a familiar title alone.

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Load more when needed - Continue through the result set. If another page is available, select Show more to append it without replacing the matches you already reviewed.

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Select the best-supported result - Open the row or tile whose content and owner context fit what you need. Search takes you to the result's own destination, such as its space, article, goal, event, conversation, profile, or document context.

At the destination, verify that both the item and its surrounding context match your intention. A familiar phrase in the wrong space or conversation may be a different item, so return to Search and compare another result when necessary.

Return Without Losing Your Search

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Return to Search - Use Back after inspecting a result. The preserved session should still show your query, Global scope, selected content families, sort choice, time range, loaded results, and any additional pages you opened.

The result you visited also receives a subtle seen style. Treat that styling as a personal scanning aid for the current session: it helps you move on to the next candidate, but it does not change the content or mark it as read for other people.

Recover When Search Finds Nothing

If you see No results, remove boundaries in the order most likely to preserve your intent:

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Broaden the phrase - Remove extra words, spelling guesses, or a date fragment and search for the most distinctive part again.

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Restore All - Clear a narrow content mix when you are no longer sure whether the item was a document, message, article, or another type.

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Restore All time - Remove a recent-time boundary when the item's age is uncertain.

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Confirm Global - Make sure a space scope is not excluding content elsewhere. Global broadens the search range, but it still cannot reveal content you do not have permission to read.

If the page shows Search failed, wait a moment and run the query again. The message indicates that Search could not complete the request; it is different from a successful search that returned no matches.

An expected private result can still be absent after you broaden the query. Confirm that you can open its owning space, area, document, or conversation directly. Search cannot restore access; Search Scope And Access explains why visible results can differ between users.

Complete The Search

You are finished when you have opened the intended item in its correct context, or when the remaining evidence shows that access or availability must be checked at the item's original home. If you compare several candidates, the preserved query, filters, result pages, and seen styling let you continue without rebuilding the search.

Next, use Search for the complete feature overview, Search Within A Space for a focused community search, or Find Documents And Media when filenames, folders, and visual previews are the strongest clues.