The Search tab lets you find pages across all your notebooks using text, topics, or tags.
Tap the info icon in the header to open the Search Help page a built-in guide explaining search types (text search, hashtag search, topic search), how the hashtag system works, valid hashtag examples, manual tag creation, and frequently asked questions.
When no search is active, the search home screen displays three sections: Recent Searches, Tags, and Topics.
2.10.1 Full-Text Search
Type at least 2 characters in the search bar to search across all your pages. Search results update automatically after a brief delay.
Results appear in a responsive grid (1-2 columns depending on device). Each result shows:
- Page thumbnail (handwriting preview)
- Notebook name badge (bottom-left corner)
- Page number badge with document icon (bottom-right corner)
Tap a result to open the page in its notebook. Search does not highlight matched text within the thumbnail it returns pages whose OCR content matches your query.
2.10.2 Topic-Based Search
XNote automatically extracts topics from your notes using AI. On the search home screen, topic chips are displayed in a horizontal scrollable list (up to 12 visible). Each chip shows the topic name and a count badge indicating how many pages contain that topic.
Tap a topic to filter results by that topic the chip highlights to show it is selected. Tap it again to deselect.
Tap "See All Topics" to open the All Topics screen, which displays all extracted topics. Tapping a topic on this screen returns you to the search results filtered by that topic.
2.10.3 Tag-Based Filtering
Tags you have created are displayed on the search home screen as colored chips with a "#" prefix (e.g., #work). Up to 6 tags are shown (2 per row, 3 rows). Tap a tag to filter pages by that tag.
- Tap "Manage" to open the Tag Management screen where you can create, edit, and delete tags (see 2.14.5)
2.10.4 Recent Searches
Your recent searches are saved automatically and displayed as horizontally scrollable chips at the top of the search screen. You can:
- Tap a chip to re-run that search
- Tap the x icon on a chip to remove it
- Tap "Clear All" to delete all recent searches
Up to 10 recent searches are stored. Duplicate searches (case-insensitive) are moved to the front of the list.