How do I search for content in Notion?

Notion offers multiple built-in search capabilities that can instantly locate any content across your workspace, but understanding which method to use when makes the difference between quick discoveries and frustrating hunts. Whether you're searching across your entire workspace or diving deep into specific pages, Notion's search tools adapt to different scenarios with varying levels of precision. However, these powerful features come with certain limitations that can catch users off-guard, particularly when searching within database entries. Let's explore how to leverage each search method effectively while working around their constraints.

The global workspace search serves as your primary gateway to finding content anywhere in Notion. Simply click the search icon in your left sidebar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P (Windows) or Cmd+P (Mac) to open the search bar. As you type, results appear instantly, showing pages, databases, and blocks across your entire workspace. You can enhance your searches by using quotation marks for exact phrases like "meeting notes" or applying filters to narrow results by page type, author, or workspace section. The search results can be sorted by relevance, creation date, or last edit, helping you prioritize the most useful content.

For content within specific databases, use the search bar at the top of any database view to find entries by their properties and titles. This method works well for locating database rows by name, tags, or status, but it won't search the actual content inside database sub-pages—only the visible properties. When you need to search within a single page's content, the Find & Replace function (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) becomes invaluable, highlighting all instances of your search term and allowing you to navigate through matches or replace text entirely.

While Notion's search capabilities are robust, they do have notable limitations. The global search won't index text deep within database entry sub-pages, which means you'll need to open individual entries and use the page-level search instead. Additionally, very large workspaces may experience slower search performance, and Notion doesn't support advanced Boolean operators or wildcard searches that power users might expect from other platforms.

To maximize your search effectiveness, focus on using descriptive page names and consistent tagging in your databases. Combine different search methods strategically—use global search for broad discovery, database search for property-based filtering, and page-level search for detailed content exploration. These approaches, while requiring some navigation between different search modes, ensure you can locate virtually any content in your Notion workspace efficiently.