# Quickly sift through search results (node red palette)

**URL:** <https://discourse.nodered.org/t/quickly-sift-through-search-results-node-red-palette/94324>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [2 January 2025 19:33 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/quickly-sift-through-search-results-node-red-palette/94324 "2025-01-02T19:33:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 10\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![hazymat](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/hazymat/32/108159_2.png) [@hazymat](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/hazymat)\
**Post date:** [2 January 2025 19:33 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/quickly-sift-through-search-results-node-red-palette/94324/1 "2025-01-02T19:33:18Z")

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Not sure if this is a feature request, or if someone can tell me I'm doing it wrong 🙂

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/4/c/4cc9c793168cb35d52d8614b5de93647cff445b7.png)

**The problem:**  
When I search for something in palette, then I click on one of the many results, it takes me to that result and closes the search box.

On paper, that sounds perfectly reasonable.

But in reality I use search a LOT now and I'd like to be able to quickly click through each result, bearing in mind that each time I click a result it teleports me right to location within the tab (flow), which helps me see very quickly if that's the result I was looking for.

The issue is that, the way I want to find nodes, I not only have to bring up the search box, type the search term, click the first result, realise that's not it, then also have to do the whole lot again (as it doesn't even pre-populate the search box with the previous search) - but also I have to count down the list of the item I clicked (e.g. try the first result first, try the second result second.... remember to try the 7th result on the 7th time you do this...)

Is there a more effective way to search through 5-10 results quickly?

I really like being teleported to the location of the thing you are searching for, although I would **love** for the little highlight animation to be less subtle as it's often impossible to see the node that is flashing for the short duration after you click on the search result.

Basically I'm quite a visual person and as soon as I see the node, in the context of where I put it, I know immediately whether or not it's the one I'm looking for.

Is there a way to achieve that?

**Ideas:**

1. Wouldn't it be nice to implement a kind of "hover" function, so when you hover over one result, it switches to the correct flow / location and highlights the node? That way you could move your mouse around each result and just see immediately. (Potential problem: the search box might obscure the view of the node it found.)

2. What about just keeping the search box open until it's explicitly closed? It could make quick searches a bit slower, as it adds an extra mouse click to close the search box. Also same potential problem as above: the search box may obscure the highlighted node.

3. A sidebar search - now we are talking...

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**Author:** ![bakman2](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/bakman2/32/6207_2.png) [@bakman2](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/bakman2)\
**Post date:** [2 January 2025 20:08 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/quickly-sift-through-search-results-node-red-palette/94324/2 "2025-01-02T20:08:36Z")

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As a first remedy maybe: give your nodes names

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**Author:** ![hazymat](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/hazymat/32/108159_2.png) [@hazymat](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/hazymat)\
**Post date:** [2 January 2025 20:21 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/quickly-sift-through-search-results-node-red-palette/94324/3 "2025-01-02T20:21:22Z")

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Ahh - I almost pre-empted this answer when writing my initial post 🙂

Yes you are right, it's sensible to name nodes carefully. But I bet if you looked, you'd find a lot of nodes named the same thing. It's almost inevitable when you've a very high number of flows and nodes. Also my recall of words is not nearly as good as my recall of the visual context shown within palette.

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**Author:** ![Steve-Mcl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/steve-mcl/32/4826_2.png) [@Steve-Mcl](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Steve-Mcl)\
**Post date:** [2 January 2025 23:10 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/quickly-sift-through-search-results-node-red-palette/94324/4 "2025-01-02T23:10:44Z")

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> [@hazymat](#):
>
> I have to count down the list of the item I clicked (e.g. try the first result first, try the second result second.... remember to try the 7th result on the 7th time you do this...)

In never versions of node-red, pressing the f key will take you to the next search item. Pressing shift plus f will take you to the previous search item. There is also the plus and minus buttons either side of the spyglass icon button in a footer toolbar at the bottom of the workspace that displays "1 of 7" etc

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**Author:** ![smanjunath211](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/smanjunath211/32/95742_2.png) [@smanjunath211](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/smanjunath211)\
**Post date:** [3 January 2025 04:34 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/quickly-sift-through-search-results-node-red-palette/94324/5 "2025-01-03T04:34:15Z")

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This is what i use to continously search like @Steve-Mcl suggested above.  
 ![find](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/b/c/bcdd1e08788abd9bde9b1652d609214b853a26d7.gif)

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**Author:** ![jbudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f8ce5/32.png) [@jbudd](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/jbudd)\
**Post date:** [3 January 2025 07:46 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/quickly-sift-through-search-results-node-red-palette/94324/6 "2025-01-03T07:46:45Z")

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I had no idea about the next/previous buttons!

But: If I search for "template" it gives me 60 results to step through, including

- tabs and groups with "template" in the description,
- comments with "template" in the contents,
- all template nodes even if renamed,
- all node-red-dashboard and @flowfuse/node-red-dashboard templates.

Maybe an option in the search dialog to filter results by "flow file object type" and by exact name only would be useful?

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**Author:** ![Steve-Mcl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/steve-mcl/32/4826_2.png) [@Steve-Mcl](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Steve-Mcl)\
**Post date:** [3 January 2025 08:24 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/quickly-sift-through-search-results-node-red-palette/94324/7 "2025-01-03T08:24:17Z")

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Enter type:template in the search. Also check other options in the drop down to the right of the search input. You can also do compound search like `type:template is:modified test` Which means find template nodes that have been modified and have the name test in it.

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**Author:** ![hazymat](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/hazymat/32/108159_2.png) [@hazymat](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/hazymat)\
**Post date:** [3 January 2025 17:20 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/quickly-sift-through-search-results-node-red-palette/94324/8 "2025-01-03T17:20:30Z")

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Super - this was the exact answer I was hoping for! i.e. "you missed it - it's already there!"

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**Author:** ![smanjunath211](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/smanjunath211/32/95742_2.png) [@smanjunath211](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/smanjunath211)\
**Post date:** [4 January 2025 00:00 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/quickly-sift-through-search-results-node-red-palette/94324/9 "2025-01-04T00:00:46Z")

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Tips in the info tab is where I get many good stuff to learn.

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/8/1/81fca30623a158f23fa3faf0d5de2fc79e4a3a18.png)

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/1X/d073cd938eafa2e558d7c2cd59003b3ef4963033.png) [@system](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [18 January 2025 00:01 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/quickly-sift-through-search-results-node-red-palette/94324/10 "2025-01-18T00:01:39Z")

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