Ascend Documentation

Appearance

Unified Search Guide ​

Unified Search is a powerful tool that allows you to find information across your entire workspace, including pages, databases, individual rows, workspaces, and even time entries.

There are multiple ways to open the search panel:

  1. Keyboard Shortcut: Press Cmd + K (Mac) or Ctrl + K (Windows/Linux) anywhere in the application.
  2. Sidebar Search: Click on the search input in the sidebar (if sidebar is expanded) or the search icon (if sidebar is collapsed).
  3. Refocus: If the search panel is already open but obscured, clicking the sidebar search input will bring it back to focus.

🔍 Searchable Entities ​

Unified Search searches across five different types of content:

  • 📄 Pages: Searches page titles.
  • 🗃️ Databases: Searches database titles.
  • 📝 Database Rows: Searches values within text-based properties of database rows.
  • 📁 Workspaces: Searches workspace names.
  • ⏱️ Time Entries: Searches descriptions and notes of time logs.

🛠️ Search Interface & Controls ​

The search panel provides several ways to refine your results:

1. Entity Filters ​

Use the toggle buttons at the top to filter by type:

  • All: Shows all results.
  • Pages: Show only pages.
  • DBs: Show only databases.
  • Rows: Show only database rows.
  • Spaces: Show only workspaces.
  • Time: Show only time entries.

2. Workspace & Tag Filters ​

Click the Filters (sliders) icon to open advanced filters:

  • Workspace: Limit search to a specific workspace.
  • Tags: Filter results that have specific tags attached.
  • Sort By: Sort results by Relevance or Last Updated date.

3. View Modes ​

Switch between two visual representations using the icons in the toolbar:

  • 📑 Grid View: Large cards with icons and rich metadata.
  • 📋 Table View: Compact list view with badges and timestamps, ideal for scanning many results.

4. Recent Searches ​

When you open search without typing, you'll see your most recent successful searches for quick reuse. You can clear these at any time using the Clear button.

🖱️ Navigation & Interaction ​

Clicking Results ​

Clicking a search result will navigate you directly to its context:

  • Pages/Databases: Takes you to the page/database.
  • Database Rows: Opens the specific database and automatically attempts to focus/scroll to the row.
  • Workspaces: Takes you to the workspace landing page.
  • Time Entries: Navigates to the page or database row the time entry is associated with.

Panel Behavior ​

  • Resizing: You can drag the left edge of the search panel to adjust its width to your preference.
  • Smart Closing: Clicking anywhere outside the search panel (except for the search input/icon that opened it) will automatically close the panel.
  • Keyboard Navigation: Use ↑ and ↓ to move between results, and Enter to open the selected result.

💡 Best Practices ​

  • ✅ Use filters early: If you know you're looking for a time entry, click the "Time" filter to reduce noise.
  • ✅ Leverage tags: Tagging your pages and rows makes them much easier to find via the advanced filter.
  • ✅ Resize for context: Use a wider panel when using Table View to see more columns/metadata clearly.
  • ✅ ⌘K is your best friend: Get into the habit of using the shortcut for the fastest navigation experience.

Related Guides: