Using the app

Search

Search lives in two places: Search at the top right, which works on every screen, and the Search screen, which also finds passages inside documents. Switch the search field to Ask to get answers quoted from your own notes.

Finding with Search

Press Search at the top right, or Ctrl/Cmd + K, and the folded search field opens wide. Type and the results appear right below. Below, token has been typed.

  1. Search mode Pick Find or Ask.
  2. Query Looks at meaning and keywords together, so a near miss on the word still lands if the meaning is close.
  3. Ctrl K Ctrl/Cmd + K brings you to the search field from any screen.
  4. Enter Enter opens the first result.
  5. Results Nodes and documents whose name matches, with their topic. A node opens in the graph, a document where you are.

Under the results, All documents opens the full list of documents, and Search inside documents takes what you typed to the Search screen. When nothing matches, Enter opens the All documents list. Esc folds the field back into a button.

Ask

Switch the search mode to Ask, type a question, and a conversation opens below. Below, the question was What is Design token, and Design token was picked from the candidates Vinc asked about.

  1. Question The question you sent. When several nodes match, Vinc asks Which one do you mean? and answers once you pick.
  2. Answer The name and one line of the node you picked.
  3. Related nodes Nodes linked to it. Press one and Vinc answers about that node.
  4. Open in View Opens the node in the graph.
  5. History Brings back earlier questions and answers. Clear empties the conversation and Close folds it away.

Ask does not make up sentences. Answers quote what is in your graph and documents. For now it answers questions about what X is and the sources for X.

The Search screen

Press the number key 3, press Search inside documents under the search results, or open the Search screen from the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + K). Here it finds passages inside documents as well as nodes. Below, the search is for dark mode.

  1. Search field Write things like domain:design, tag:core or "exact phrase" to filter by topic or tag, or to find a phrase as written.
  2. Passage A passage from a document that contains the query. Press it and that document opens.
  3. Node A node whose name or one line matched. Press it to go to that node in the graph.

With the field empty you see the All documents list and your recent searches, and Narrow by title filters the list. When nothing matches, it suggests Open View.

If searching by meaning is briefly unavailable, a note above the results says only keywords were used. Use it to tell a short result from a real absence.