The search bar sits at the top of your dashboard: "Search or ask about your notes...". It does two different things — keyword search (this page) and Ask, which answers questions.
Searching
- Type a word or phrase into the search bar.
- Your notes filter as you search — every note whose title or transcription contains what you typed.
- Tap a result to open it in the viewer. The lines containing your match glow briefly on the handwritten page, and a small pill at the top ("3 matches") lets you flash them again or jump into Live Highlights at the first match.
Narrowing a search
- Inside a notebook — open the notebook first; the search bar then only looks at that notebook's notes.
- Starred notes only — turn on the star filter, then search. The two combine: "starred notes containing meeting".
Search finds words, not meanings
Keyword search is literal. If you wrote "my sister's wedding" and search for marriage, keyword search won't find it — but Ask will, because Ask searches by meaning, not spelling. A good rule of thumb:
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| The page where you wrote a specific word or name | Search (free, unlimited) |
| An answer, a summary, or "what did I say about…" | Ask (uses your monthly Ask allowance) |
If a search comes up empty when you're sure the page exists, see Search can't find a note — the usual culprit is a transcription that spelled the word differently than you remember.
Next: ask your first question.