Part 6: Search & Filters
Learn more about:
Besides the Command Bar ( CMD+J
) which you can use to switch quickly between notes, you will find the need for a more fine-grained search.
To find overdue tasks and more, click on "Filter" in the left sidebar.
🍿 Watch here the latest about filters
Filters
You will find a few predefined and editable "Filters" in this view:
All Tasks:
Shows all open tasks in your Project Notes and Daily Notes. This means "closed" tasks (canceled or completed) are not shown.
Note Tasks:
Shows open (and scheduled) tasks that exist only in your Project Notes. The tasks from your Daily Notes are ignored.
Overdue:
Shows all open or scheduled tasks which are in the past. Tasks, which you have scheduled from a Project Note are also included here.
Upcoming:
Shows all open or scheduled tasks which are due today or in the future. As above, scheduled project tasks are included.
Customize Filters
If you need a very specific search not covered above, you can add or modify your own filters. Click on "New Filter", choose a name, and select what you are looking for:
First, select the task type you're interested in: Open, Done, Canceled, Scheduled, or anything that's not a task (which includes bullet points, checklists, and plain text for broader searches).
- In the "by orign" section, you can select "Regular Notes", and "Reminders". If you select Regular Notes, NotePlan will search for tasks within the notes displayed in the left sidebar (means in all your non-calendar notes). The search results will be sorted by the note in which each task was found. If you select Reminders, NotePlan will search all Reminders sorted by the list (with or without date).
- In the "by date" section, you can choose to display "Dated Tasks" (i.e., tasks that have been scheduled using a date link like "* some task >2024-01-26").
- NotePlan can also search within Calendar Notes, Events, and Reminders. You can narrow down the search results by selecting a specific timeframe, such as "This Month" or "This Week". There's also a sorting option to arrange tasks by either the oldest or newest at the top of the list.
Tip: The results of filters and search are editable and you can also add tasks. Choose a closed timeframe like "This Month", and NotePlan will display also empty days, so you can add tasks directly or drag them from other days there to plan ahead.
Search
Search for anything inside your notes. This will search in your Project and Daily Notes and return any paragraphs where the keyword could be found. Click on the search result and it will open the note and scroll to the paragraph with the keyword.
It's your turn
Click on "Filters" in the sidebar and check all your overdue tasks. If needed, close them right here.
Then create your own filter by clicking on "New Filter", and name it "Completed". Set it up so you can see all the completed tasks in the past.
Pro Tips
- Use
#tags
or@mentions
with the "Search by" field of a filter. This way you can search for overdue or upcoming tasks which are flagged as#waiting
for example or are assigned to@someone
. - Search for
#tags
or@mentions
directly by clicking on them in the sidebar. They are indexed and will return immediately. - You can also start a search from the Command Bar by selecting "Search '...' in tasks and paragraphs" from the results.
- Complete tasks directly from the search and review results by clicking on the task circle.
Next up: → Part 7: Important Places
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