Search limited to predefined values of Single and Multiple value fields

Welcome to the Airtable community!

Could you explain how you are doing your search? When you are setting the filtering conditions for a view/lookup/rollup/count you are presented with a drop-down of options to chose.

I should have been more specific - I’m referring to the search app from the dashboard. But that is a good comparison.

When a search in the search app (web and desktop) is limited to fields with pre-defined options can there be drop menus like the ones for filter or sort criteria?

You could create filter view.

Any thoughts on this? The situation is a locked view that I hope to use a reference point for users, including a number of ‘keyword’ tags in single and multiple fields to aid search. I’m a newbie here but I understand the filter conditions will off-limits to a locked view, and I’d prefer to send users to the Search App in any case.

The Search app cannot be limited the way you want. This is in part because the Search app is setup for searching across multiple fields. You could limit the search to a single field, but that doesn’t change how the Search app works under the hood.

You could let your users create their own views and set their own filter conditions in their own views.

You could also have a shared view, which allows filtering.

A lot depends on what other features uses need access to and what else users need to be prevented from having access to.

OK. Sadly the solution I’m after isn’t filtering nor, it would seem, the Search App. Ironically it is pretty much, though simpler, the format of the Advanced Search on this very forum that I was using to see if I could find a solution before posting.
Food for thought. Thanks for your time.