Hi
Is it possible to search inside a certain notebook only? Currently both Ctrl-G and regular search bar brings results from all notebooks, and that is abit confusing since I do not know where the results are coming from exactly. This is an issue when hundreds of hits are returned, so in such situation I would like to limit my results to a certain notebook.
thanks
I'm also interested in this feature, it looks so natural to me to search in the current notebook. I like the way it is implemented in github:
It's been implemented for some time now:
notebook:my_notebook whatever
There is a whole section of the guide dedicated to searching (https://joplinapp.org/#search-filters), granted it isn't as neat as the github one but it is definitely functional - I've been using the tabs plugin to pin a 'cheat sheet' tab that contains all useful Joplin stuff like shortcuts, markdown and search tags.
The link has changed: https://joplinapp.org/help/#searching
Sorry for posting in an old thread, but I believe it's still relevant. There's another such thread which was closed: Search within folder/notebook
Basically, currently searching within a notebook is not quite convenient. The idea of typing notebook:name prefix is cumbersome when you have to often search only within a notebook.
I do understand that there're many use cases when all notes need to be searched (and I also do this). However, I strongly believe that it needs to be addressed in a different way, which supports both variants.
There's also a usability issue atm: the "Search" field is located among the notes (New note button, notes sorting button, notes list). This suggests very specifically that the search will be done among the list below. However it suddenly does the search across the entire account. The relevant location in this case would be above Notebook list on the left.
So, my suggestion would be one of the following:
Option 1:
Have 2 separate search fields: one above the notebook list on the left - to search all notebooks, like currently; another one above the notes list (like now), but make it search within the current notebook only
Option 2:
Add a tick next to the search box (and remember its state): "Current notebook only". This would make people with both use cases happy. One likes to always search all notes - fine the tick stays off (can even be hidden via custom CSS). One likes to always search current notebook - also fine, the tick is always on.
Option 3: (maybe less preferable, but could be implemented together with the above)
Add a shortcut for the current notebook search. I.e., instead of making the user type "notebook:name" where "name" changes from notebook to notebook, have a static shortcut like "current: " or "here: "
This is really such basic functionality which is missing. I have hundreds of folders and subfolders, each descriptively labeled for easy reference but which are not exactly easy or quick to type. I fact, just adding the
notebook:"My Notebook Name with Date and Location" record
to find my all my flight record locators for a particular journey (As an example) seems a lot more complicated than just typing "record" from within that subnotebook.
Or finding a name in my phone log or among my business cards - I don't want to find Steve across a hundred other notebooks, just the phone log. My query is 5x as long as just selecting a check box or having a global setting searching within the notebook or the current one (esp considering I can select "all notes" with a single click)
And, yes, my notebook names have spaces in them; I need quotes in addition to the 9 character search limiter - 11 characters plus a 5-20 character folder name to save me from having to click a check box. Every single time pretty much, as I almost never want to search all my notes.
How about just a shift-enter to search within the local folder? Then people who cannot stand the visual clutter of a checkbox (but somehow enjoy 3 different, unlabeled view format buttons) don't need to even see the option.
Hi,
Have you tried this? In the search box at the beginning put in this:
notebook:"notebook" [seach for this]
This lets you search only within one notebook. I just tested it and it works.
@LeoW, this has been mentioned above and both @Jordan and myself have highlighted that while technically possible it's quite cumbersome for people who do this often. It's a plausible solution for a one-off action, but not on a daily basis.
Hi,
Sorry for the duplicate.
I agree that if you highlight The Notebook you should be able to search within the notebook but you can't. It would be a nice feature to only search within one notebook and make it simple.
I use special voice dictation software in windows so adding the search criteria only takes a second. When I say the words search notebook news it types notebook:news
