Problem
Currently, when working with data in a base view, the only way to find specific records is by creating persistent filters. This works well for permanent organization, but creates friction for quick, one-time searches.
Base views currently only allow filtering based on property values, but sometimes you need to search within the actual content of notes. For example, imagine you have recipe notes where the ingredients aren’t stored in properties but within the note body. If you want to filter the current base view to find all recipes containing “turkey”, that functionality isn’t currently available in bases.
Proposed Solution
Add a search function that works within the current view, similar to Obsidian’s core search plugin functionality. This should search both note properties AND the full content of each note. This could be implemented as:
- Quick search box at the top of each base view (like the global search bar)
- Keyboard shortcut (Ctrl/Cmd+F) to open search, matching Obsidian’s standard behavior
- Full-content search that searches through both property values and the entire text content of notes in the view
- Search behavior that temporarily filters visible records in real-time as you type
- Search syntax that could optionally support the same operators as Obsidian’s core search plugin (quotes for exact phrases, OR/AND logic, etc.)
Like Obsidian’s core search, this would temporarily show only matching records while the search is active, but wouldn’t create or save any permanent filters.
Current Workaround
None currently exist.
Benefits
- Faster workflow for quick record lookups
- More intuitive user experience consistent with core search functionality
- Ability to search a smaller subset of vault notes more efficiently
Related Feature Requests
- Bases: Temporary / Quick Search / Filtering Columns - #5 by mattt
- This feature request differs because it specifies the ability to filter based on the content of the entire note, including YAML frontmatter. However, this feature request mostly satisfies the requirements of that one. Even the solutions suggested by some comments about adding search boxes to each base view column could be replicated by filtering against the full content of notes already filtered by the base view. I think their popularity is additive. Feel free to combine them if needed.