DrillerDB's global search feature provides instant access to projects, customers, equipment, and other critical data from anywhere in the application. No need to navigate through multiple sections—simply search and go.
Global Search
Quick Access
The global search bar is located in the top navigation between the DrillerDB logo and notification icons. Access it instantly using:
- Mac:
Cmd+K - Windows/Linux:
Ctrl+K
The keyboard shortcut works from anywhere in the application, even when typing in another field. Press Escape to close the search dropdown or clear the input.
Note: On mobile devices (screens under 768px wide), the global search is hidden to conserve space. Use section-specific searches instead when working on mobile.
Basic Search
To perform a simple search across all data types:
- Click in the search bar or press the keyboard shortcut
- Type your search query
- Results appear instantly as you type (after a 300ms delay)
- Click any result to navigate directly to that item
When you search without a prefix, DrillerDB searches across all entity types simultaneously—projects, customers, equipment, inventory, employees, work orders, and navigation pages. Each category shows up to 5 results.
Example: Type "smith" to find all projects, customers, and employees with "smith" in their name or details.
Search Prefixes (Power User Feature)
When you know the type of data you're looking for, use prefix filtering to narrow results and search faster. Type the prefix followed by a colon, then your search term.
Available Prefixes
Projects: Use p: or project:
p:12345
project:smith
Searches project IDs, customer names, and addresses.
Customers: Use c: or customer:
c:ABC Company
customer:john
Searches business names, contact names, and locations.
Equipment: Use e: or equipment:
e:drill rig
equipment:SN123456
Searches equipment names, types, and serial numbers.
Inventory: Use i: or inventory:
i:PVC pipe
inventory:SKU-12345
Searches item names, SKUs, and categories.
Employees: Use emp: or employee:
emp:john
employee:smith
Searches active employee names and email addresses.
Work Orders: Use wo: or workorder:
wo:456
workorder:ABC Company
Searches work order IDs and associated customers.
Navigation: Use nav:
nav:reports
nav:users
Quickly jump to main sections or specific Settings subsections.
Navigation Features
The nav: prefix provides quick access to any section of DrillerDB:
Main Sections: Projects, Pump & Service, Scheduling, Maps, Rolodex, Reports, Stats, Equipment, Inventory, Daily Logs, Settings, Help
Settings Subsections: Jump directly to specific Settings tabs:
nav:company- Company Settings (business info, logo, address)nav:users- Users & Permissions (team management, roles)nav:invoicing- Invoicing (Stripe, billing settings)nav:timecards- Employee Hours (timesheets, payroll)nav:activity- Activity Log (audit history)nav:fields- Custom Fields (custom metadata)nav:templates- Proposal Templates (quote templates)nav:costs- Default Costs (pricing defaults)nav:superadmin- Super Admin (system configuration)nav:inventoryadmin- Inventory Admin (stock management)
You can also search by keywords. For example, typing "billing" will suggest the Invoicing subsection.
Tips for Effective Searching
Start Simple: Begin with a few characters and let the search narrow results. There's no need to type complete terms. Typing "joh" is often sufficient instead of "john smith".
Use Prefixes for Speed: When you know what you're looking for, prefix filtering returns results faster by searching only one data type. For example, p:12345 searches only projects, not all seven entity types.
Search is Case Insensitive: Type in any case you prefer—"john", "John", and "JOHN" all return identical results.
Partial Word Matching: Search uses "contains" matching, so "mai" will match "Main Street". This makes it easy to find items even when you only remember part of the name.
Refine When Needed: Each category displays a maximum of 5 results. If you don't see what you're looking for, add more characters to make your search more specific.
Use Section Searches for Advanced Filters: Global search excels at quick lookups by name or ID. For advanced filtering (date ranges, status, assigned employees), navigate to the specific section and use its search tools.
Understanding Results
Search results are organized by entity type in the following order:
- Projects (folder icon) - Project IDs, customer names, addresses
- Customers (contacts icon) - Business names, contact names, locations
- Equipment (manufacturing icon) - Equipment names, types, serial numbers
- Inventory (inventory icon) - Item names, SKUs, quantities
- Employees (people icon) - Names, email addresses
- Work Orders (build icon) - Work order IDs, customers
- Pages (explore icon) - Navigation links to sections
Each result displays an icon, primary identifier (project ID, customer name, etc.), and additional context (address, quantity, status) in a subtitle.
When you click a result:
- The search dropdown closes immediately
- The application navigates to the appropriate section
- The item opens automatically (for projects, customers, equipment)
- The search input clears, ready for your next search
Search Behavior and Limits
Global search is designed for speed and scannability:
- Instant Results: Results appear as you type after a 300ms debounce delay
- Per Category Limit: Maximum 5 results per entity type
- Total Limit: Maximum 35 results (7 categories × 5 results)
- Active Items Only: Archived or deleted items are excluded from results
- Multi-Tenant Isolation: You only see data from your company account
If no results appear, you'll see "No results found. Try a different search term." Check your spelling, try fewer characters, or use universal search (no prefix) to search all entity types.
Common Use Cases
Finding a Specific Project: If you know the project ID, use p:12345 for instant access. If you only know the customer name or address, type that instead—all projects for matching customers will appear.
Locating Customer Information: Use c: followed by a business name, contact name, or even city. The search finds customers across multiple fields.
Equipment Lookup: Search by equipment name, type, or serial number using e:. This is particularly useful when equipment is assigned across multiple projects.
Inventory Checks: Quickly find items by name, SKU, or category with i:. You'll see quantity and location information in the results.
Employee Search: Use emp: to find active employees by name or email. Only active employees appear in search results.
Quick Navigation: Type nav: followed by a section name or keyword to jump directly to that page without clicking through menus.
Security and Privacy
Global search respects DrillerDB's security model:
- Authentication Required: You must be logged in to use search
- Multi-Tenant Isolation: Results are always filtered by your company ID—you'll never see data from other companies
- Permission-Based: Search respects your user role and permissions. Sections you don't have access to won't appear in results
- CSRF Protection: All search requests include CSRF tokens to prevent cross-site request forgery attacks
Troubleshooting
Search Bar Not Visible: The global search is hidden on mobile devices (screens under 768px wide) to save space. Use section-specific searches on mobile, or resize your browser window on desktop.
Keyboard Shortcut Not Working: Firefox users may experience conflicts with Firefox's built-in search bar on Ctrl+K. Press it again to close Firefox's search and try again. Some browser extensions may also override keyboard shortcuts.
No Results Appearing: Wait at least 300ms for the debounce delay. Ensure your internet connection is active. Try a different search term to verify data exists for that entity type.
Slow Search Response: Check your network connection, as slow internet affects search speed. Very long queries may take longer to process. Contact your administrator if search is consistently slow, as the database may need optimization.
Results Show Unexpected Items: Use prefix filtering to narrow results by entity type. Add more characters to make your search more specific. Verify you're logged into the correct company account.
Search works across all major browsers including Chrome 90+, Firefox 88+, Safari 14+, and Edge 90+. For persistent issues, check the browser console (press F12) for JavaScript errors and contact your administrator.