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How can I search globally in all tables ?



No the existing search app doesnt work. See the image below. it only search in the records in current base not globally.



Please guide me whats the possible solution to this.



Screen Shot 2020-09-17 at 10.53.07 AM





I’ve used the search app daily for almost a year, it works fine. Make sure to set it to search all tables.






Please define “globally”.




Please define “globally”.


all records under my account.


all records under my account.


So, you want a search feature at the Workspace level, not in a specific base, right?


So, you want a search feature at the Workspace level, not in a specific base, right?


Yes, and whats the the app name that Tim provided the screenshot with ?


Yes, and whats the the app name that Tim provided the screenshot with ?


Imagine you perform a search from Base A, it gives you hits in Base B which you select. This closes Base A, opens Base B, displays the table and record you chose, but it’s the wrong record.



What should the UX be now that the original base is closed, and the search hits are no longer visible?


I’ve used the search app daily for almost a year, it works fine. Make sure to set it to search all tables.




Tim can you please send me the link of this ?


Yes, and whats the the app name that Tim provided the screenshot with ?




I believe that’s the search block (app).


Tim can you please send me the link of this ?


@Bill.French is correct, that’s the search app. It will let you search every table in your base. Not every base in your workspace.




@Bill.French is correct, that’s the search app. It will let you search every table in your base. Not every base in your workspace.




In the above image I dont see the option of ’ All Tables ’ like its shown in the above screenshot.


In the above image I dont see the option of ’ All Tables ’ like its shown in the above screenshot.


That’s the page to install it from the marketplace. Once it’s installed, click the gear for the app settings. It’s on of the choices in the settings.


Imagine you perform a search from Base A, it gives you hits in Base B which you select. This closes Base A, opens Base B, displays the table and record you chose, but it’s the wrong record.



What should the UX be now that the original base is closed, and the search hits are no longer visible?




Since no one has taken me up on this question, I’ll answer my own question. :winking_face:



There is no good answer to the suggestion that cross-base search is a “Major Drawback”. Sure, we can all agree it would be nice to have this capability, but few of us have actually considered the true user requirements for a good search experience and this is especially the case when it comes to security in search.



There’s a lot of talk about the Major Security Holes in Airtable; some of it is unwarranted and misleading. When it comes to search, users are quick to assert there are major feature gaps without giving any thought to search in the context of security. We assume search is easy; it’s not. Blindly, we also assume that search hits are not security breaches unless the hits allow us to access the data. Try to explain this to an employee (and HR) who has discovered a record titled “Q1 2021 Layoff Plan” for which they cannot access. Um, yeah - that’s not going to work.



Now toss in cross-table and cross-base findability features, and all in a context of field-level security and accessibility; indexing data for search suddenly becomes very complex.



Indeed, we should strive to compel Airtable to build better search features. But we should also be prepared to articulate what that means and this little primer that I penned a few years ago might help.


Yes, with a custom search API you can!

https://community.airtable.com/t5/development-apis/search-multiple-bases/td-p/187372


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