## Introduction Blinksale offers powerful search capabilities that allow you to quickly find clients, estimates, invoices, and payments across your organization. The search functionality is accessible throughout the application and provides a seamless way to locate and navigate to your business data. ## Global Search The global search feature allows you to search across multiple entity types simultaneously. This command palette-style search provides immediate results as you type, organized by category. ### Accessing Global Search Global search can be accessed from anywhere in the application by: * Using the keyboard shortcut Cmd + K (Mac) or Ctrl + K (Windows/Linux) * Clicking the search icon in the top navigation bar Global search requires at least 2 characters to begin searching. This helps ensure relevant results and optimal performance. ### Search Results Search results are organized into four categories: * **Clients**: Searches client names, emails, and other identifying information * **Estimates**: Searches estimate numbers, client names, and line item descriptions * **Invoices**: Searches invoice numbers, client names, and line item descriptions * **Payments**: Searches payment reference numbers and related invoice information Each result shows: * A relevant icon indicating the entity type * The primary identifier (name for clients, number for documents) * Additional context (email for clients, associated client for documents)

Search results interface showing categorized results

### Keyboard Navigation The global search supports keyboard navigation for quick access: * ↑ and ↓ arrows to navigate between results * Enter to select and navigate to the highlighted result * Esc to close the search dialog ## Entity-Specific Search In addition to global search, Blinksale provides dedicated search boxes on list pages for clients, estimates, invoices, and payments. These search fields allow for more focused searching within a specific entity type. ### List Page Search Entity-specific search is available on the following pages: * Clients list * Estimates list * Invoices list * Payments list

Entity-specific search on the clients list page

These search boxes: * Filter the current list view based on your search terms * Preserve other active filters while searching * Update results in real-time as you type (after 2 characters) Search terms in entity-specific searches may behave differently than in global search. Entity-specific searches may include additional filterable fields that aren't available in global search. ## Search Technology Blinksale uses [TypeSense](https://typesense.org/) with Laravel Scout for powerful, fast, and typo-tolerant search capabilities. The search engine indexes your data in real-time, ensuring search results are always up to date. ## Best Practices To get the most out of Blinksale's search functionality: 1. **Use specific identifiers** when possible - invoice numbers, client names, or reference numbers will yield more precise results 2. **Try partial terms** if full search terms don't yield results 3. **Utilize global search** when you're not sure which section contains the information 4. **Use entity-specific search** when you need to filter a specific list with additional criteria ## Troubleshooting If you encounter issues with search functionality: ### Common Issues 1. **No search results appear** * Ensure you've entered at least 2 characters * Try simplifying your search term or using partial matches * Check if the item was recently created (indexing may take a moment) 2. **Unexpected search results** * Consider if your search term might match other fields you're not targeting * Try using more specific identifiers (invoice numbers instead of generic terms) 3. **Search appears slow** * Large datasets may take slightly longer to search * Network connectivity can impact search performance If search functionality appears completely non-responsive or consistently returns errors, contact your system administrator as there may be an issue with the search index.