# Search for documents

The three ways to search — the always-there top bar, the Search page, and Power Search — plus field filters, exact-phrase matching, saved searches, and getting results out as CSV.

Product: content-central · Versions: 7.x · Audience: user · Time: 10 minutes · Last verified: 2026-09-05

Canonical: https://help.ademero.com/content-central/search-and-find/search-for-documents

**At the end of this guide you'll know all three ways to search, how to narrow results by catalog, document type, and field values, and how to save a search you'll run again — with results you can export as a CSV.**

## The fastest way: the top bar

The magnifier in the top bar works from every page. Click it, type, press Enter. When you don't know where else to start, start there.

## The Search page

Open the menu (**☰**) > **Search** > **Search**. The page asks its own question:

*[Screenshot: Type what you're looking for and click Find documents. The Exact words badge tells you how this system matches; Refine search opens the filters.]*

1. Describe what you're after in the search box and click **Find documents**.

2. To narrow down, click **Refine search**:
   - **Match this phrase exactly** — the words together, in order
   - **All Catalogs** / **All Document Types** — scope the search
   - **Field Filters** — match on specific field values (see below)

3. Results appear in a grid — **Name**, **Catalog**, **Document Type**, **Pages**, **Modified**, and more, plus columns for the document type's own fields. Click a row to open the document.

> **NOTE:** Some systems have meaning-aware search enabled, where descriptions in your own words work well; others match exact words. The page tells you which with a badge — **Exact words** means choose your terms the way they'd appear in the document.

## Search a specific field

Two ways:

- **Type it**: the search box understands `field:value` — start typing and the **Search suggestions** popover offers the exact syntax for your fields.
- **Build it**: under **Field Filters** > **Add Filter**, pick a **Field**, an **Operator** (**Equals**, **Contains**, **Starts With**, **Between**, **Is Empty**, and more), and a **Value**. Stack as many as you need.

> **NOTE:** Custom fields belong to document types — if the field you want isn't offered, select the document type first. The panel says so: "Select a Document Type above to filter by custom fields."

## Power Search: filters-first

Open the menu > **Search** > **Power Search** for the same engine with a different posture — a single search line with every refinement already open:

*[Screenshot: The same catalogs, document types, and field filters, permanently visible — built for precise, repeatable queries.]*

Use it when you live in filters: exact terms in the box, **Exact phrase** one click away, and the catalog/type/field controls always on screen. Everything you learned above applies unchanged.

## Save searches you'll run again

Open **Saved Searches** (top right on either search page):

1. Build the search first — terms plus filters.
2. Type a name into **Enter name to save...** and press Enter.
3. Run it later from the same menu with one click. Each saved entry also offers **Copy search link** — paste the link to a colleague and they land on the same search.

## Get results out

With results on screen, **Export CSV** downloads the full result set — field values included, up to the system's export limit. A big export runs in the background: you'll see **Export Queued**, and the file arrives in your **Messages** with a download link.

**What you should see:** the row count line ("Showing X of Y") above the grid tells you whether your filters bit. Zero results with filters set? Clear them one at a time — the stale-criteria notice will remind you if the grid is still showing a previous search.

## When the document exists but search can't find it

That's its own problem with its own guide: [Can't find a document](/content-central/search-and-find/cant-find-a-document) walks permissions, filters, and indexing in order — and [Why text you can see isn't searchable](/content-central/search-and-find/why-text-you-can-see-isnt-searchable) covers the scanned-image case.

## What's next

- [Can't find a document](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/search-and-find/cant-find-a-document)
- [Why text you can see isn't searchable](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/search-and-find/why-text-you-can-see-isnt-searchable)