Search in library

ftv88

Hi,

If I search in a folder with subfolder, it only search the folder without files in the subfolder. Isn't possible to search in the main folder so it hits results in all subfolders too?

bwiernik

Yes in the Advanced Search window.

See also
https://www.zotero.org/support/collections_and_tags#recursive_collections

ghiozzo

I think many users will have the situation, where they start collecting literature about a certain topic, and create a folder for that topic. As the collection grows, many users will start using subfolders for more specific sorting of the various literature. Later on they wish to perform a quick search by choosing any folder on any level, and always be assured that Zotero finds all relevant literature within that folder, wether it is situated in that folder itself, or in a subfolder.
From my perspective, the current practice of Zotero to exclude subfolders from quick-searches is not a feature, but a bug. And quite an annoying one, that I keep stumbling across. IMHO it's counter-intuitive, especially as this behaviour is different from any other search-dialogue on my pc, e.g. file-searches. And overly complicated to be forced to use the Advanced search Window instead.

bwiernik

You can enable the recursive collections feature linked to above.

ghiozzo

yes, I'm considering doing that as a workaround (I haven't done it so far, because it means loosing a clear order of items in the folder-subfolder structure... the recursive collection feature is going to visually bloat up my parent folders). I'd much prefer being able to change the search-behaviour by itself.

bwiernik

The quick search feature functions as a filter of the current view. As a result, it doesn't really make sense for items that are not currently visible to appear when searching just because they are included in a subcollection.

An easier-to-access switch for recursive view as part of a View menu is planned:
https://github.com/zotero/zotero/issues/1372

fschuman

Has an easier-to-access switch for recursive view been implemented already?
(I can't find it on the link above).

The default search behaviour also makes little sense within my workflow. When searching within a folder, I intuitively expect that the search will search in this folder and its subfolders. Only searching at the top-level somehow implies that I need to remember in which folder I stored an item - but if I knew that, I probably wouldn't have to search for it.

At the same time, I do often NOT want to search in the whole of 'My Library', which incidentally DOES search recursively if it is selected as the current view.

adamsmith

(My Library contains all items, so "recursive" doesn't really apply there.)

There's no quick toggle for recursive collections yet, no.

fschuman

Ah, I see, it's simply wrong to think of My Library or Collections as folders.

Easy recursive search seems a killer feature to implement. Search is among the most frequent actions I do in a reference manager.

joycekwc

For anyone else who comes upon this thread, you can also easily enable quick search to search subcollections now by going to the 'View' menu and ticking the search subcollections feature (found in another thread).

While this has solved my problem and is much easier to implement than recursive collections or always using the Advanced Search, I don't think it's intuitive. I have set up a number of collaborative teams and this always seems to be a pain point that I need to address expressly in instructions.