Finding and connecting
Search and go
Search public nodes, find Pixls, notes and audio, open the quick search with Command+K, and travel or pin a result.
Search helps you find a place or a piece of work, then open it or keep a way back. The canvas search box offers public-node results as you type. Its expanded Search window also finds Pixls, your Listr notes and audio. Command+K on a Mac or Ctrl+K elsewhere opens a compact search for nodes, Pixls and pin notes.
You can search public nodes while signed out. Sign in for the searches that include your work and to pin a result into a canvas you can add to.
Search from the canvas
The rounded bar over the canvas is the search box. On a phone, a signed-out visitor's search box sits at the bottom of the screen, with results opening above it.
- Select the box and type at least two characters. A search can contain up to 100 characters.
- Pause briefly while Searching… appears.
- Choose a result's title to go to that node.
For example, search for gardening, then choose a result about growing herbs. You travel into the chosen node; you do not have to find it by opening each place above it.
A result can show its title, a short text preview, an Inside path and the owner's name. The path describes where the result sits within its public share. Topics with a description show it as their text preview. Unnamed leading ancestors are omitted from the Inside path; a long path keeps the nearest parent visible. A result without a title appears as Untitled node. Some results, including places in the Nexus, have no individual owner to show.
Clicking outside the results closes the list and keeps your search text. Select the box again to bring the results back. Escape closes the results and takes focus out of the box.
Search across your work and public content
While signed in, type at least two characters in the canvas search box, then press Enter to open the broader Search window. You can also choose Search everywhere for “…” beneath a filtered list in a tool such as Listr. That brings your query into Search without saving it as a new list entry.
Search floats on the right over your workspace. The field says Search pixls, nodes, notes and audio. Use Clear search to start again, Close search to dismiss the window, or Escape.
| Tab | What it finds |
|---|---|
| All | A mixture of matching kinds. |
| Pixls | Readable matching artwork, grouped as Mine, Saved and Public. |
| Nodes | Nodes eligible for public search. |
| Notes | Your matching Listr notes, checklists and snippets. |
| Audio | Available public tracks and your own private tracks. |
Type tabs show counts. Show all… expands the returned selection when that control appears. A count ending in + is a lower bound; it is not a promise that every matching item is loaded. Changing the type tab keeps your search words.
Choose a Pixl to open it in Pixl Studio. Choose a note to close Search and bring its entry forward in Listr; if the entry is in a folder, Listr opens that folder, and every folder it sits in, to show it. On a phone, Listr opens the entry's folder on its own. Choosing an audio result opens the Jukebox window; find the track in the Jukebox to choose playback.
Choosing a node previews it with Peek. Use the result's right-click menu for Go to node, Pin here, Save to Listr or Copy link. Go travels within the canvas; Pin here adds a linked placement; Save to Listr keeps the node in your saved list. A result with a reportable picture can also offer Report image. Placement still needs a suitable canvas and permission to add there.
Results can be dragged onto the canvas to place the kind of item they represent. A saved-list note and a node can become linked placements; placing a Pixl uses its artwork. Check sharing and destination permissions before completing a placement. Listr and Pins explain linked items.
Listr's capture box has a different Enter action: it saves the words you typed. Use its Search everywhere button when you want the broader search instead.
Open quick search with Command+K
Press Command+K (⌘K) on a Mac or Ctrl+K on Windows or Linux, while focus is outside a text field. A centred search box opens over the current workspace. Type at least two characters.
Results are grouped as Nodes, Pixls and Notes. Your matching nodes appear before other public nodes, and Yours marks your own entries. The Notes group here uses pin notes whose targets have a readable title in your own work; use the broader Search window's Notes tab for Listr text, checklists and snippets.
Use Up and Down to move through the results, then Enter to choose one. You can also click a row. A node result travels to the node, a Pixl opens in Pixl Studio, and a pin-note result opens its target in Peek. Choosing a result closes the search box. Escape or clicking the background also closes it and returns focus to the previous control.
This quick search has no Audio group. Use the broader Search window or Jukebox for music. It also leaves keys to a field you are editing: move focus outside the field before trying the shortcut.
What public-node search includes
Public search matches words in node titles, text and hashtags. It can also find places in the Nexus by title.
A shared node needs to finish settling before it appears. Settling is the period before a new public version reaches discovery. A later edit can therefore be visible in a node before search reflects it.
Search leaves out unshared work, withdrawn nodes, content held from public discovery, and adult-marked content. A node that has faded from discovery also leaves the results. Its absence from search does not by itself tell you whether a link to it still opens.
Signing in does not add your unshared nodes to the public-node dropdown or the broader Search window's Nodes tab. Quick search can also find your own matching nodes. Listr holds your saved entries, and pins keep doors on the canvas.
Travel and return
Choosing a result normally opens the node inside the current canvas view. This is the same kind of travel you use when entering a node through a pin. The canvas keeps the place you left so you can step back out again.
While settled inside a node, zoom out to leave it. Escape can also leave when you are not typing and there is no open menu or panel to dismiss first. See nodes and the canvas for the other ways to move around.
You can open a result as an ordinary browser link too. Use the browser's open-in-new-tab action, or Command-click on a Mac or Ctrl-click elsewhere. That opens the node's public page.
If the node is no longer available when you open it, return to search and choose another result. An old search result is not a guarantee that a node is still readable.
Pin a result
Signed-in results include a Pin here icon. It places a linked node on the canvas you are standing in, near the centre of your view. You can also drag a result onto the canvas to choose its position.
A pin gives you a way back to the original node. Read more about what it carries and how to remove it in pins.
You need an open canvas and permission to add there. If pinning is unavailable, the control is disabled or a notice explains the refusal. Open a canvas you can add to, then try again.
When search cannot find something
No public nodes match “…” means the search completed without a match. Try a shorter subject, a word from the title, or the node's tag page. A direct link may still work for a place absent from discovery.
Too many searches at once. Wait a moment and try again. means you should pause before searching again.
Search is not available right now. Try again in a moment. means the request failed. Check your connection, clear the box, then type your search again. In the broader window, Nothing matches “…” is its empty result. You can change the type tab to retry that query for another kind.
Quick search uses Search is unavailable right now. for failure and Too many searches — wait a moment. when it asks you to pause. A partial set of results can still open the items it found; if a kind seems missing, try the corresponding tool directly.