Using Global Search
Global search lets you find events, accounts, contacts, invoices, and other records across your entire EventWorks account from anywhere in the application. Instead of navigating to a specific section and scrolling through lists, you can type a few characters and jump straight to the record you need.
Getting There
The search bar is located in the top navigation bar on the right-hand side of every page. You can click directly into the search field, or use the keyboard shortcut to jump there instantly:
- Windows / Linux:
Ctrl+J - Mac:
Cmd+J
Tip: TheCtrl+J/Cmd+Jshortcut works from anywhere in EventWorks, no matter which page you're on. It's the fastest way to start a search.
Overview
Global search works in two stages:
- Instant suggestions — As you type, a dropdown appears below the search bar showing the top matching results grouped by type. Click any suggestion to go directly to that record.
- Full results page — Press Enter or click View all results... at the bottom of the dropdown to open a dedicated results page with all matches, type filters, and pagination.
What You Can Search For
Global search covers the following record types:
| Record Type | What's Matched |
|---|---|
| Events | Event name, event code |
| Accounts | Account name, code, address, city, postcode |
| Contacts | First name, last name, email, phone, mobile, position |
| Quotes | Quote number, recipient address |
| Invoices | Invoice number, recipient address |
| Packages | Package name |
| Credit Notes | Credit note number, recipient address |
| Purchase Orders | Purchase order number, recipient address |
Search Tips
Partial Matches
You don't need to type the full name or number. The instant suggestions use wildcard matching, so typing just a few characters is often enough. For example:
- Typing "smith" will find contacts named "John Smith" or "Smith & Co" accounts
- Typing "INV-20" will find all invoices starting with that prefix
- Typing "wed" will find events with "wedding" in the name
Using the Type Filter
On the full results page, you can narrow your results to a specific record type:
- Run a search by typing your query and pressing Enter.
- On the results page, select one of the radio buttons above the results: All results, Accounts, Contacts, Events, Quotes, Invoices, Packages, Credit Notes, or Purchase Orders.
- Your results will update to show only records of the selected type.
Tip: If you know you're looking for an invoice, selecting the Invoices filter can help you find the right record faster when there are many results.
Special Characters
Search handles special characters like &, +, and - correctly. You can search for account names like "Smith & Jones" without any issues.
Understanding Results
Suggestions Dropdown
As you type in the search bar, a dropdown appears after a brief pause showing the top matching results. Results are grouped by type (e.g. Accounts, Events, Contacts), with a heading for each group. Click any result to navigate directly to that record.
At the bottom of the dropdown, click View all results... to open the full results page with all matches.
You can navigate the suggestions dropdown using your keyboard:
- Up / Down arrow keys — Move between suggestions
- Escape — Close the dropdown and return focus to the search field
- Enter — Open the full results page
Full Results Page
The full results page shows all matching records across every type (or a single type if you've selected a filter). Each result displays:
- A type label (e.g. Event, Account, Invoice) so you can quickly identify what kind of record it is
- The record name or number as a clickable link
- Additional context depending on the type — for events, you'll see the event code, date, and client account; for invoices, quotes, and purchase orders, you'll see the address
Results are paginated with 15 results per page. Use the page navigation at the bottom to browse through larger result sets.
Tips & Best Practices
Tip: Use the keyboard shortcutCtrl+J/Cmd+Jfollowed by a few characters — this is often the fastest way to navigate to any record in EventWorks.
Tip: For financial documents like invoices and purchase orders, searching by document number (e.g. "INV-001" or "PO-045") is the most reliable way to find a specific record.
Tip: If you get too many results, try being more specific in your search term, or use the type filter on the results page to narrow things down.
Tip: Click directly on a suggestion in the dropdown to jump to the record without loading the full results page. This is faster when the record you need appears in the suggestions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I searched for something but got no results. Why?Check that you've spelled the search term correctly. Search matches against specific fields for each record type (see the table above), so make sure you're searching by a field that's indexed. For example, searching by an event's description won't return results, but searching by the event name or code will.
Q: Why do some contacts not appear in search results?A contact must be linked to an account to appear in search results. If a contact isn't associated with any account, it won't be returned.
Q: Is there a limit to how many results are shown?The suggestions dropdown shows up to 15 results. The full results page also shows 15 results per page, but you can page through all matches using the pagination controls at the bottom.
Q: Can I search for the contents of notes or documents?No. Global search covers core record types and their key fields (names, numbers, addresses, etc.). It does not search within notes, documents, or file attachments.
Q: My search results seem slightly out of date. Why?Search results are indexed in the background. When you create or update a record, it may take a moment for the search index to catch up. If a recently created record doesn't appear, wait a few seconds and try again.