Search and Navigation

Now we'll move to finding things. Cocoa searches every note the moment you type, and can limit itself to one folder. It also finds within the note you are reading, replaces across all notes, and reaches any note or command from one keyboard-driven palette. This chapter covers each of those, plus the ways to move between notes and pages without the mouse.

The search field

The field ① sits at the top of the sidebar whenever a notes folder is open. Click it, or press ⇧⌘F (Find › Search All Notebooks…), and type. Results ⑤ replace the folder tree as you type. Press ↑ and ↓ to move through them and Return to open the highlighted one; Escape clears the text.

Results are grouped: notes whose title matches under Notebooks; notes whose body matches under their folder's name, each with how many times the words occur and a snippet around the first one. A summary line reads 3 matches in 2 notes. When a folder scope is on and other folders also match, a final row in the accent color reads 4 more in other notebooks — click it to widen.

Scope: searching one folder

The scope pill ② shows where the search looks: All Notebooks (a books icon), or a folder's name (a funnel icon). Click the pill for a menu of folders. Click the ⊗ inside it to widen back to all notebooks. Two keyboard habits:

• Escape in the field clears the text; a second Escape clears the scope.
• Delete in an empty field widens the scope one level.

You can also scope by typing: in: followed by a folder name. The suggestion list ③ appears while you type an operator and offers values to complete it. The operators:

• in: — "Only inside one folder"; in:Accounting II looks there and in its subfolders.
• tag: — "Notes carrying a tag"; tag:exam.
• title: — words that must be in the note's title.
• created: — a date the note was made, or created:>2026-09-01 for after and created:<2026-09-01 for before.
• is:archived, is:active, is:task (notes with checklists), is:highlighted (notes with marks). Archived notes are left out of every search unless you ask for them.

Choosing a folder in the command palette scopes the search to it too.

When a scoped search finds nothing: No Results in Accounting II — Nothing in this folder matches “ratio”. with a Search All Notebooks button.

Saved searches

While the field has text, a small Save This Search button ④ (a bookmark) sits under the pill. Click it and the search — words and scope — becomes a row in a Saved Searches section of the sidebar, with a magnifying-glass icon. Click the row to run it again.

Finding inside the open note

Find… (⌘F) opens the find bar above the page for the note you are reading. Find Next ⌘G and Find Previous ⇧⌘G step through the matches. Find and Replace… (⌥⌘F) adds a replace field. These are the Find menu's first group.

Replace in All Notes

Find › Replace in All Notes… changes words across every note that is not archived. The sheet has Find and Replace fields and a Match case toggle. The caption warns: Archived notes are left alone. Every note this changes is saved as a version first. Click Replace Everywhere; an alert asks Replace “color” in every note? and explains that this rewrites files across the whole vault, each saved as a version first. Afterwards the sheet reads Replaced 12 in 4 notes. or Nothing matched. Done (Escape) closes it. There is no shortcut, on purpose.

The command palette and Open Quickly

Command Palette… (⇧⌘P, or View › Command Palette…) opens a sheet with one field that reaches every note, every folder and every command. Matching is fuzzy — typing "snf" finds "Strategy Notes Final". ↑ ↓ move, Return runs, Escape closes. Picking a note opens it; picking a folder scopes the search to it; picking a command runs it.

Open Quickly… (⌘O) is the same palette limited to notes — the fastest way to switch notes by name.

Moving between notes and pages

• Next Notebook ⌥⌘→ and Previous Notebook ⌥⌘← step through the sidebar's order.
• Next Page ⌥⌘↓, Previous Page ⌥⌘↑, Go to Page… ⌥⌘G (Navigate menu).
• Open in New Window ⇧⌘↩ puts the selected note in its own window with no sidebar, outline or toolbar — park it beside a lecture slide. Float on Top ⇧⌘T (Window menu) keeps that window above others. Close ⌘W.
• Copy Link ⌘L copies a link to the open note; paste it in another note, a calendar event or a to-do app, and opening it brings the note up.
• Reveal in Finder ⌥⌘R shows the note's file.
• Hold ⌘ and click a [[Note Title]] link to follow it.

Hide and show

Hide Sidebar ⌃⌘S gives the page the whole window; Show Library / Hide Library ⌥⌘0 switches between the Library and the editor.

From outside the app

• Spotlight: type a note's title in macOS Spotlight; the result shows its folder as the description, and choosing it opens the note.
• The menu-bar book icon: a small window with a Search notes field, a Recent list, New Note, Open Cocoa and Quit. It works even with the main window closed, or with Run in the menu bar only on (chapter 14).
• Quick Capture (⌥Space) is covered in chapter 12.

Maya finds a formula in a hurry

In a study session Maya presses ⇧⌘F, types "in:Acc" and picks Accounting II from the suggestions, then "return on equity". Two notes match; the snippet under Chapter 10 shows the formula. She presses ↓ and Return — the note opens. Later she presses ⌘O, types "bus com" and jumps to Business Communication in two keystrokes.

Summary

• The sidebar field searches every note as you type; the scope pill or in: limits it to a folder; Save This Search keeps it.
• ⌘F finds in the open note; Replace in All Notes… rewrites across the vault with versions kept.
• ⇧⌘P reaches every note, folder and command; ⌘O is notes only.
• ⌥⌘→ / ⌥⌘← switch notes; ⌥⌘↓ / ⌥⌘↑ turn pages; ⇧⌘↩ opens a note in its own window.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting a folder scope is on and thinking a note is gone — look at the pill, or click N more in other notebooks.
• Using ⌘F to search all notes — ⌘F is the open note; ⇧⌘F is everything.
• Replacing a short word without Match case.

Best practices

• Save the searches you run every week.
• Learn ⌘O; it is faster than any click for switching notes.
• Copy Link (⌘L) into your calendar for the lecture the note covers.

Keyboard shortcuts used

Related features to learn next

• Chapter 12, Organizing Your Notes — the sidebar tree and Quick Capture.
• Chapter 15, Keyboard Shortcuts.
• Chapter 4, Your First Note — links between notes.