# Search

Canvas search finds elements on the currently-open board — shapes, text, frames, relationships, hierarchies, and more — and lets you jump straight to them. It's the fastest way to locate something on a large or dense diagram.

## Opening Search

Two ways:

* Press **Ctrl+F** (Windows) or **Cmd+F** (Mac)
* Click the **Search** button in the editor toolbar

A search modal opens, centered over the canvas.

<figure><img src="/files/XswvrTVw3bf9AZonm3yy" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Searching

1. Type your query in the **Search** field.
2. Results appear below, grouped by element type.
3. The count for each group is visible in the group header.

## Result Categories

Results are grouped by the kind of element they belong to. Categories include:

* **Shape** — shape elements on the board
* **Text** — text elements
* **Frame** — frame containers
* **Element** — bound ServiceNow elements
* **Hierarchy** — hierarchy-map items
* **Dependency** — dependency relationships
* **Image** — embedded images
* **References** — reference relationships
* **Related list** — related-list entries
* **Relationships** — standard relationships
* **Visualization** — visualization containers
* **Visual Relationship** — visual-only relationships (no data binding)

Each group can be **collapsed or expanded** independently so you can focus on the type you care about.

## Selecting & Jumping to Results

* Tick the checkbox next to a result to select it.
* Use the **Select All Visible** checkbox in a group header to select every visible result in that group.
* Click a result (or use the **Go To** action) to focus and pan the canvas to that element.

## Filtering by Type

A filter button lets you narrow which categories are searched. Toggle off categories you don't want to include. The **All** filter resets to search everything.

## Non-Selectable Elements

Some elements — roadmap objects in read-only visualizations, for example — can be found by search but not selected. Hovering shows the tooltip: *"Roadmap object is not selectable."* You can still Go To them to bring them into view.

## Limits & Gotchas

* **Search is scoped to the active board version** — switching versions runs a fresh search.
* **Hidden layers are not searched** — if a result seems "missing," check whether its layer is hidden via the [Layers](/models/work-in-the-app/editor/layers.md) panel.
* **Query matches are substring** — no regular expressions or exact-match flags.
* **No search history** — the query is cleared when you close the modal.

## Related

* [Layers](/models/work-in-the-app/editor/layers.md) — toggle visibility so searches include or exclude specific layers
* [Homepage Search](/models/work-in-the-app/homepage/search.md) — search across boards, folders, and teamspaces from the homepage
* [Keyboard Shortcuts](/models/reference/keyboard-shortcuts.md)


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.ins-pi.com/models/work-in-the-app/editor/search.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.