Search a community

Find messages, files, and members across your community.

How search works

When you search a community, Root searches across three categories simultaneously:

Category	Description
Messages	Message content in channels you have access to
Files	Files uploaded to channels
Members	Member usernames and display names

Results appear in separate tabs, each showing a count of matches. You can filter your search to specific channels or search the entire community.

Search the community

Desktop

1. In the members panel on the left side of the community, right-click to open the context menu.
2. Select Search. The search pane opens on the right side of the screen.
3. Type your search term in the search field.
4. Results appear automatically as you type, organized into three tabs:
   • Messages (n): Messages containing your search term
   • Files (n): Files with names matching your search term
   • Members (n): Members whose username or display name matches your search term
5. Select a tab to view results in that category.
6. Navigate to a result:

• Message results: Select a message to jump to that message in the channel.
• File results: Select a file to open or download it.
• Member results: Select a member to view their profile card.

Mobile

1. In the community header at the top of the screen, tap the Search icon (magnifying glass).
2. Type your search term in the search field.
3. Tap the Enter button on your keyboard to submit the search.
4. Results appear in three tabs:
   • Messages: Messages containing your search term
   • Files: Files with names matching your search term
   • Members: Members whose username or display name matches your search term
5. Tap a tab to view results in that category.
6. Navigate to a result:

• Message results: Tap a message to jump to that message in the channel.
• File results: Tap a file to open or download it.
• Member results: Tap a member to view their profile card.

If no results match your search term, you'll see a "No results found" message with a suggestion to try a different search phrase.

Filter by channel

You can narrow your search to specific channels instead of searching the entire community.

Desktop

1. In the members panel on the left side of the community, right-click to open the context menu.
2. Select Search. The search pane opens on the right side of the screen.
3. Select the channel filter dropdown (displays Community by default).
4. In the channel picker, select one or more channels to filter by.
5. The filter text updates to show the selected channel (for example, #general or #general +2 if multiple channels are selected).
6. Enter your search term to search within the selected channels.

To clear the channel filter and search the entire community, deselect all channels in the channel picker.

Mobile

Channel filtering is only available when you open search from within a text channel.

1. Open a text channel and tap the Search icon in the channel header.
2. Below the search field, tap the channel filter pill (displays the current channel by default).
3. In the channel filter sheet, select one or more channels to filter by.
4. The filter pill updates to show the selected channel (for example, #general or #general +2 if multiple channels are selected).
5. Submit your search to search within the selected channels.

To clear the channel filter, deselect all channels in the channel filter sheet.