Search & Recents

Copera's global search lets you find anything in your workspace — channel messages, documents, boards, to-do items, Drive files, and members — from a single keyboard-driven search bar (Ctrl+K on Windows or Cmd+K on Mac). Results are grouped by content type across seven tabs (All, Channels, Boards, Todos, Docs, Drive, Members), sortable by Last Updated or Last Created, and include natural-language AI search via the ! or $ prefix. The Recents sidebar complements search by surfacing items you recently viewed or edited, so you can jump right back into your work without searching or clicking through the sidebar.

Opening Global Search

There are several ways to open global search:

• Keyboard shortcut --- Press Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+K (Mac) from anywhere in Copera. This works regardless of what you are currently focused on.
• Slash shortcut --- Press / from anywhere in Copera (as long as you are not typing in a text field). This opens the same search dialog.
• Command Palette --- The command palette also provides access to search.

The search dialog opens as a centered window with a text input field at the top, category tabs below it, and a scrollable results area.

What You Can Search

Type your query in the search field to find matching items across your entire workspace. Results are organized into categories that you can browse using the tabs below the search field:

Tab	What it searches
All	Every content type combined --- shows all results in a single list
Channels	Text channel names, meeting channel names, and messages within channels
Boards	Board names and task content
Todos	To-do list names and individual to-do items
Docs	Document titles and document content
Drive	Files and folders stored in your Drive
Members	Workspace member names and profiles

Click any tab to filter results to only that content type. The All tab is selected by default, showing matches from every category in one combined view.

Understanding Search Results

Each result in the list displays key information to help you identify the right item:

• Icon --- A visual indicator showing what kind of item it is. For example, text channels display a comment icon, meeting channels display a speaker icon, meetings display a video icon, documents display a file icon, and to-dos display a checkmark icon.
• Name or title --- The name of the channel, document, to-do list, or other item.
• Author and context --- For messages, you see who wrote the message and which channel it belongs to. For example, "Jane Smith in #product-updates channel."
• Content preview --- For channel messages, a snippet of the message text is shown so you can verify it is the one you are looking for.

Click any result to navigate directly to that item. The search dialog closes automatically and takes you to the relevant channel, document, board, or to-do list.

Result count

A badge next to the Results label shows the total number of matching items found. This count updates as you refine your search or switch tabs.

Sorting Results

Use the Sort By dropdown to the right of the results header to change how results are ordered:

• Last Updated --- Shows the most recently modified items first. This is the default.
• Last Created --- Shows the newest items first, regardless of when they were last edited.

AI-Powered Search

Global search includes an integration with AI Chat for questions that go beyond simple keyword matching. Instead of searching for exact words, you can ask natural-language questions and have AI analyze your workspace content.

How to use AI search

1. Open global search with Ctrl+K / Cmd+K.
2. Type your question with one of these prefixes:
   • ! (exclamation mark) --- Sends your question directly to AI Chat. For example: !What were the key decisions from last week's planning meeting?
   • $ (dollar sign) --- Sends your question to AI Chat and automatically includes workspace search results as additional context for the AI. For example: $Summarize the latest updates to the marketing board.
3. Press Enter to submit the query.

You will be redirected to the AI Chat interface with your question already submitted and the AI working on a response.

tip

Use the $ prefix when your question is about specific content in your workspace. The AI will search your workspace first and use those results to give you a more accurate, context-aware answer.

Recents

The Recents section in the left sidebar gives you quick access to items you have recently viewed or edited:

• Recent items --- Shows the documents, boards, channels, and other items you have interacted with most recently, listed in chronological order.
• Configuration --- Use the settings popover in the Recents section header to configure which content types appear in your recents list.

Recents makes it easy to pick up where you left off. Instead of searching or navigating through the sidebar, simply glance at your recent items and click to jump right back in.

Tips for Effective Searching

tip

Be specific with your keywords. Searching for "Q3 marketing budget proposal" will give you more precise results than just "budget." Include terms that are unique to the item you are looking for.

tip

Filter by category first. If you already know you are looking for a document, click the Docs tab before scanning results. This removes all non-document results and makes it much faster to find what you need.

tip

Use AI for complex questions. If you cannot find what you need with keywords --- for example, you want a summary rather than a specific item --- try the ! or $ prefix to ask AI Chat instead. AI can analyze and synthesize information across many items at once.

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Start typing immediately. After opening search with Ctrl+K / Cmd+K, the text input is already focused. Just start typing your query --- there is no need to click into the search field first.

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Search results update automatically as you type. There is a brief delay (about half a second) after you stop typing before results appear. There is no need to press Enter for standard keyword searches --- just type and wait for results to load.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I search inside message threads?

Yes. When you search for a term that appears in a channel message, results include messages from both the main channel and from threads within that channel.

What happens if I search while on a specific tab and there are no results?

If no items match your search in the selected category, Copera displays a "no results" message with a suggestion to try different keywords. Switch to the All tab to see if results exist in other categories.

Does search find content inside documents?

Yes. The Docs tab searches both document titles and the text content within documents. If a keyword appears in the body of a document, that document will appear in the results.

Is search available on mobile?

Search is available wherever you use Copera. The keyboard shortcut may differ on mobile devices, but you can always access search from the navigation controls.

Related Features

• AI Chat --- Ask AI questions about your workspace content using natural language.
• Command Palette --- Quick-access tool for navigating and executing actions across Copera.