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Documentation/Search and filters

Guide 04

Search and filters

Turn a long history into a focused set of results using text, types, apps, dates and length.

Start with a detail you remember

Open the popup and type part of the content into the search box. Start with a short distinctive phrase such as a project name. Add filters only when you need to narrow the result.

Filter by content type

Use the content-type controls below the search box to select the kinds of items you want. The current interface supports multiple selected types. If the strip extends beyond the popup width, scroll the strip to reach the remaining choices.

Add a condition

  1. Open the filter control beside the search box.
  2. Choose a condition such as source app, date or character count.
  3. Set its value and apply it.
  4. Use Add condition for another constraint.
  5. Review the active tokens in the search field. Remove or edit a token if it is hiding a result you expect.

Example: find a short piece of text copied today by selecting text, setting today’s date range and adding a character-count upper bound.

Understand character counts

Character-count filters support a minimum, maximum or range. Bounds are inclusive: an item exactly at your selected minimum or maximum can match.

Count-based filters narrow text by the app’s stored character-count model. They are not a measurement of visual line count or how much space text occupies when pasted.

Find words inside images

Enable OCR: recognise and search text in images in Settings → Appearance when you want image text to participate in search. Recognition needs a supported, readable image and processing may not be immediate. A clear image usually gives better results than tiny, rotated or decorative lettering.

If text is missing from search, open the image and use Preview and OCR to inspect recognition directly.

When the result list is empty

  1. Remove date and source-app conditions.
  2. Return content types to All.
  3. Try a shorter search term.
  4. Check capture was enabled when the item was copied.
  5. Consider retention, deletion and unavailable original files.

Search can retrieve stored content. It cannot reconstruct a clip that was never captured or has already been removed.