Search and the command palette
Jump to any screen with ⌘K, search work items, pages and files, and narrow results with filters.
UnitX gives you two ways to find things. The command palette (⌘K) is for getting somewhere in a hurry: jump to a screen or open the best few matches. The Search page is for looking properly: every result, filtered by type, sorted, with archived items if you want them. Both search only what you are allowed to see.
Who can use it#
Permissions
search.viewThe command palette#
Open it
Press ⌘K on a Mac or CtrlK on Windows and Linux, or choose Search… in the top bar. Press the same keys or Esc to close it.
Jump to a screen
Type part of a screen’s name. Matching areas you can open appear under Jump to. Use ↑ ↓ and Enter to open one.
Or search for something
From two characters onward, the best eight matches appear under Search results, each labelled Work item, Document, Project or Comment. Choose one to open it.
See everything
Choose See all results for “…” to open the Search page with your term.
When you open the palette without typing, it lists your Recent searches. Choose one to run it again. Your recent searches are visible only to you.
The Search page#
Choose Search in the sidebar, or See all results in the palette. Type in Search everything… and choose Search. Results show a title, a type badge (Work item, Page or File) and a short snippet of the matching text.
Narrowing results#
- Type buttons: All and one button per type that matched, each with a count, such as Work items · 12 or Pages · 3.
- Sort: Most relevant (the default), Newest, Oldest or Recently updated.
- Include archived: adds archived items. The button changes to Archived included.
- Show more results: loads the next page of results.
The counts only include results you are allowed to see, so two people running the same search often see different numbers.
Sharing a search#
The search term, type, sort and archive setting are kept in the page address. Copy the link from your browser to share a search, or use Back to return to a previous one. Whoever opens it runs the same search against their own access, starting from the first page.
Search syntax#
Plain words find items containing those words and their variations: “invoice” also finds “invoices”. Search matches whole words, not fragments, so “voic” finds nothing. You can refine a search in the box itself:
| Type this | To |
|---|---|
"exact phrase" | Match an exact phrase |
-word | Exclude a word |
task: doc: file: | Start with one of these to search only work items, documents or files, e.g. task: overdue invoice |
status:open | Filter by status |
priority:urgent | Filter by priority |
assignee:me | Only items assigned to you |
type:bug | Filter by work item type |
project:ENG | Filter by project key |
due<2026-01-01, created>=2026-01-01 | Compare dates with <, <=, > or >= |
is:overdue | Only overdue items |
-status:done | Exclude with a minus in front of a filter |
status:open,in_progress | Either value (a comma means “or”) |
status:"in review" | Quote a value that contains a space |
F3L-12 | Find the item with that key, while still searching for the text too |
Different filters are combined with “and”; there are no brackets. When you use filters, the page shows Reading that as followed by what it understood, so a typo such as status:opne is visible instead of silently finding nothing. Anything before a colon that isn’t a known filter is treated as ordinary text.
Need more complex filters?
For nested conditions, use the filter panel in a project view or a saved view, where you can see the logic as you build it.
What is searched#
- Work items, documents (pages) and the text of files are searchable today.
- Titles count for more than body text when results are ranked by relevance.
- Customers, tickets and calendar entries are not included in search yet. Use the list and filters in those areas instead.
- Files appear in results but have no screen to open yet, so they are listed without a link.
- Search terms can be up to 512 characters.
Messages you might see#
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Type at least two characters to search. | The palette needs two characters before it searches. |
| Nothing matches “…”. | The search ran and found nothing you can see. Try fewer words, a different spelling, or include archived items. |
| Search is unavailable right now. Try again in a moment. | The search could not run. This is not the same as “no results”. |
| You do not have permission to search. | Your role lacks search.view. You can still use Jump to. |
Frequently asked questions#
Why can a colleague find something I can’t?
Search applies your own permissions. If you haven’t been given access to a project or document, its items are never in your results.
Are my searches visible to my administrator?
No. Your recent searches are visible only to you.
Someone sent me a link and it says the item doesn’t exist.
A link is not access. If you can’t open the item, it looks the same as one that was deleted. Ask the sender to share it with you.
Related pages#
Still stuck? Search the docs with ⌘K, open Help inside UnitX, or contact support.