Visual Space manual, Search, Search Within A Space
Use a space-scoped search when you know which community owns the work but not exactly where it lives. You will keep one query inside the current space, refine its accessible results, and then broaden the same search to **Global** when you need a wider view.
Use a space-scoped search when you know which community owns the work but not exactly where it lives. You will keep one query inside the current space, refine its accessible results, and then broaden the same search to Global when you need a wider view.
Before You Start
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Sign in to Visual Space - Search uses your current account to decide which content you may find.
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Open the space you want to search - You need to be inside that space and able to open Search from it.
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Keep existing access in mind - Search does not change content permissions. A result can appear only when you can currently read its owning space, area, document, or conversation.
Keep The Search Inside The Current Space
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Open Search - Choose Search while the space is your current workspace. Search should open with that space already selected as its scope.
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Check the space identity - Look inside the search field for the current space identity and a prompt that says you are searching in that space. This is the clearest checkpoint that the query will stay local.
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Check the available families - All, Articles, Goals, Events, Docs, Messages, and People can be available in this view. The Spaces filter should be absent because space discovery belongs to Global Search.
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Enter a distinctive phrase - Use words that identify the item without making the query unnecessarily narrow. Search updates after you type, and you can also submit the phrase directly.
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Read the owner context - Review the Results and confirm that the visible space or owner context belongs to the current space. Space result rows should not appear in this scoped view.
The active scope limits the search range, but it does not mean that every item in the space is searchable by you. Access remains the final boundary: private areas and shared messages appear only when you can read their owning area, and Direct Messages are not included in a space-scoped search.
The space bubble, missing Spaces family, and result owner context confirm that this query remains inside the current community.
Refine The Local Results
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Start with All - Use the mixed view when you are unsure whether the phrase belongs to an article, event, Doc, message, profile, or another searchable item.
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Choose useful families - Select Articles, Goals, Events, Docs, Messages, or People to focus the result set. You can combine families when the remembered phrase may belong to more than one kind of work.
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Keep Best match when relevance matters - This is a useful starting order for a phrase that may have several matches. Change the ranking only when another ordering better fits what you remember.
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Begin with All time - A broad time range avoids hiding older work. Narrow the time range only when you are confident that the item is recent.
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Recheck Results - Confirm that the result count and rows changed with your choices while the space identity remains visible. If the expected item is absent, remove a narrow family or time choice before broadening the scope.
Filters shape the eligible results inside the current scope. They do not grant access to a restricted area or reveal hidden matches through the result count.
Broaden The Same Query To Global
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Clear the space scope - Use the clear control on the space identity inside the search field. The scope changes to Global, and the current query and filter choices are applied to the broader search.
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Confirm the wider view - Look for Global in the Search header or scope control. The Spaces family may now appear, and results can include accessible matches from other spaces as well as broader families that are unavailable in a space-scoped view.
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Compare owner contexts - Review the spaces, authors, conversations, or other owners shown with the results. Matches may now belong to several spaces, but each one still follows your current access.
Global means “search beyond one space,” not “show everything.” It can reveal public or otherwise accessible work from more places, but it does not join you to a private space, open a restricted area, or add you to a conversation.
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Return to the space when available - If Search still shows a Global scope bubble and retains the space context from which you entered, select that bubble to restore the current space scope. This return works only while that route's space context is retained. If the bubble is not available, open the space again and choose Search there.
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Verify the restored boundary - Confirm that the space identity and space-specific prompt return, the Spaces filter disappears, and visible result owner contexts belong to the current space again.
Open A Result Without Losing Your Search
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Choose a promising result - Open it in the feature that owns the content, such as Articles, Docs, Events, Messages, or a profile.
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Return to Search - Go back after checking the item. The current search session should retain the query, active scope, filters, results, and loaded pages so you can continue comparing matches.
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Recognize what stayed unchanged - Search may visually distinguish a result you already opened, but this does not change the item's permissions or mark it as read for other people.
Common Problems
Why do I still see the Spaces filter?
You are in Global Search rather than a space-scoped search. Return through the Global bubble when a current space context is retained, or open the space and choose Search again.
Why is a result from the current space missing?
First select All, use All time, and broaden the phrase. If the item is still absent, confirm that you can open its owning area or conversation directly. Search cannot restore access that you no longer have.
Why did more families or spaces appear after I cleared the scope?
Clearing the space identity broadened the same query to Global. This changes where Search may look; it does not change what you are allowed to read.
Why is the Global bubble unavailable after I broadened the search?
The current space context is no longer retained in that Search route. Open the space again and launch Search from there to start a new space-scoped session.
Why can another member see more results from the same space?
Members can have different access to private areas and conversations. Search applies each person's current permissions, so identical queries can produce different accessible result sets.
Result And Next Steps
You have searched within one space, verified the local boundary, refined accessible results, compared the same query globally, and returned without rebuilding the search when the current space context was available.
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Search introduces the complete discovery experience.
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Search Scope And Access explains why scope and permission boundaries produce different result sets.
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Results And Filters covers content families, ranking, time choices, and result layouts.
