Vault Search
Vault search is the search box at the top of the Vault page that finds files and folders by name. It searches every Vault section and group folder you can open, or only the locations you choose, and lists the matches in the file list with the folder each one is in and its project. A match is the same item as in its folder: you open, download, transfer, share or drag it from the results as you would from the folder.
Vault search is not a content search. It matches names only, so a file whose name does not contain the words you type is not found, whatever is inside it. It also does not search VMs or My Computer: the box is hidden while a VM's or your computer's files are shown.
Why Vault search exists
The Vault spreads one person's files over several places. Your own files are in My Files, files delivered to your inboxes are in their inbox folders, group files are in each group's folder, and files other people shared with you are in Shared With Me. Each place has its own owner and rules, which is why the Vault keeps them apart (see Vault File Tree). Without a search, finding one file means opening each of these in turn.
Results keep the rules of the folder each match is in. A match in a group's folder offers the actions that group allows you, and a match in Trash offers only the Trash actions. Searching never gives access to anything you could not already open by browsing.
When to use Vault search
- You know part of the name but not the folder: type the part you remember. Several words find names that contain all of them, in any order.
- You want every file of one kind: choose a Type filter, such as PDFs or Spreadsheets, with or without words.
- You want to search one place: choose a Location, such as Trash or one group's folder, to search only there.
- You want the files of one project: choose a Project filter to keep only the matches tagged with that project.
To find a file inside a ZIP or tiCrypt inbox archive, open the archive and use its own search. See View ZIP Archives.
Before you begin
- Backend: your deployment runs tiCrypt backend 3.16.3 or later. With an earlier backend, the Vault shows no search box.
- Permission: your account needs View their directories and their groups' directories. Without it, the box is not shown.
- Active projects: a group folder whose project is not active in your session is not searched, and opening a match from a project you are not active in is refused as it is in its folder.
Search the Vault
This procedure describes how to search the Vault by name and narrow the matches with filters.
- Go to the Vault icon in the top left panel.
- Click the Search ... box at the top of the Vault page, next to the Vault title. You can also press / while the Vault has the focus, or Ctrl+K (⌘K on a Mac) anywhere on the Vault page.
- Type part of the name. The matches appear in the file list as you type.
- Optional: in the drop-down under the box, click Type, Location or Project and tick one or more choices. The choices you make appear as chips in the box.
- Open a match: double-click it, or press Enter on it.
- To end the search, delete the words and remove each chip with its ×, or open a folder in the tree. The file list then shows the open folder again.
How names are matched
- Part of a name: a word matches anywhere in a name.
budgetfinds "2026 budget final.xlsx". - Several words: a name must contain all of them, in any order.
2024 reportfinds "report 2024.pdf". Only spaces separate words, soq3_reportis one word. - Regular expressions: a search written between slashes, such as
/^scan-[0-9]+\.tif$/, is a regular expression. If it is not valid, the list shows "Invalid regular expression."
Filters
Choices within one filter widen the search: two types match either type. Choices in different filters narrow it: a type and a project match only items of that type in that project. Filters with no choice match everything. A filter button shows how many choices it has, for example Type (2), and Clear removes every choice.
The following table describes the filters.
| Filter | Typed as | Choices |
|---|---|---|
| Type | type: | Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Photos & images, PDFs, Videos, Folders, Audio and Archives (zip). The type comes from the file name's extension. |
| Location | in: | My Files, Inboxes, Shared With Me, Shared By Me, Downloads, Trash, the folder of each of your groups, and the folder you have open when it is none of these. Only the sections your account can see are offered. With no location chosen, the search covers all of them. |
| Project | project: | The projects you can see. The filter is offered only when your account can view projects. |
Changing a Location runs the search again in the new places. Type and Project only filter the matches already found.
Type filters in the box
You can write a filter in the box instead of using the buttons. Type the filter's key, such as type:,
in: or project:, and the drop-down lists that filter's choices under the heading of the filter.
Keep typing to narrow them, for example type:pd for PDFs or in:tr for Trash, and press
Enter to take the first choice, or click one. A word that starts the name of a choice, such as zip,
also suggests it under Narrow your search.
Previous searches
The drop-down lists your Previous searches, up to ten, newest first, with their filters. Click one to run it again, or click its × (or press Delete on it) to remove it from the list. While you type, the drop-down shows only the previous searches that contain your words. The list is kept for your account in this browser until you log out.
Work with the results
In Table view, the results have two extra columns:
- Location: the folder the match is in. Hover over it, or click it, to see the folders that lead to it from the Vault, and click one of them to open it.
- Project: the match's own project tag.
The results can be sorted by clicking a column header: the first click sorts, the second reverses the order, and the third returns to the order the search found them in.
Selecting results shows the same actions as in their folders, such as View, Download, Transfer, Manage Share and Move to trash, in the header and in the right-click menu. When the selected results are in different folders, only the actions that every one of those folders allows are offered. With one result selected, Show location opens the folder it is in, with the item selected. Opening a folder in the results opens that folder and ends the search.
Results can be dragged like other Vault items, for example onto a group's folder or a VM. A result is dragged from its own folder, so a move takes it out of that folder.
The search runs again on its own two seconds after you change something in the Vault, so a file you move, rename or delete from the results is shown where it is now.
What happens next
Each location returns at most its first 50 matches, or its first 500 when a Type or Project filter is chosen or no words are typed. When a location had more, the status line adds "(only the first 50 per location: type more of the name to find others)". Type more of the name to find the others. The search never changes the Vault: it reads the names of the folders it searches.
Errors and resolutions
The following table describes what the file list shows when a search finds nothing to show.
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| "Searching..." | The search is running. |
| "No matches." | Nothing where you searched has a name that matches. Check the spelling, type fewer words, or remove a Location. |
| "No matches for these filters." | The search found names that match, but the Type or Project filters hide all of them. Click Clear filters, or remove some choices. |
| "No matches for these filters among the first 50 per location." | The filters hide all of the matches returned, and some location had more. Type more of the name. |
| "There is nothing to search here." | The chosen location cannot be searched. Choose another one in the Location filter. |
| "Invalid regular expression." | A search written /like this/ is a regular expression, and this one is not valid. Check its syntax. |
| "Search failed." | The server did not answer the search. Try again, and contact your administrator if it keeps failing. |