Search & Discovery

Find anything in Cardinal — messages, properties, issues, leases, contacts — from a single search bar.

Search & Discovery

Open global search from anywhere in Cardinal with ⌘K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows), or by clicking the Search… pill in the header. A single query searches across Messages, Properties, Issues, Leases, Units, People, and Companies, grouped by type. Each group shows up to 10 results with a View all link to the full list.

Global search with grouped results across messages, properties, issues, and contacts (click to zoom)

Universal Search

Search across all your communications using natural language queries:

  • Email addresses and contact names
  • Subject lines and message content
  • Property addresses and names
  • Attachment names and file content
  • Phone numbers — search a number like 555-1234 to jump to the contact

Smart Content Filtering

Narrow your search results by content type and context:

  • Messages: Search within email content
  • Properties: Find property-related communications
  • People: Locate contacts and participants
  • Attachments: Filter by file types

Message Filters

When searching Messages, refine results with sub-filters that pair with any keyword query:

  • :from — limit to a specific sender by name or email
  • :to — limit to a specific recipient by name or email
  • :unread — show unread-only or read-only messages
  • :date — restrict to Today, This week, This month, or Before last month

Sender and recipient filters accept either a contact from the autocomplete list or any email address you type.

Match Highlighting

Every result shows you why it matched. The matching text is highlighted in the result title and, when the match is on a secondary field like an email address or phone number, that field is surfaced and highlighted in the subtitle so you can confirm the result at a glance.

Property-Linked Issues

Searching for a property name now also surfaces Issues linked to that property — useful for finding every open item tied to a building without leaving the search modal.

Filters Follow You

When you apply a sub-filter (for example, :status Overdue) and click View all, Cardinal carries the filter through to the destination page — so the Issues list opens with the same Overdue filter already applied, instead of resetting to an unfiltered view.

Page-Level Search

Most list pages in Cardinal — Properties, Issues, Leases, Contacts, Mailboxes, Mailing Lists — include a dedicated search bar at the top of the page. Use it to filter the current list in place without leaving the page or opening the global search modal. It's the fastest way to narrow a long list when you already know which entity type you're looking for.

Page-level search on the Properties list — filters the table in place as you type (click to zoom)

In-Place Filtering

Results update live as you type — the table or list on the page narrows to matches without a separate results view. Clear the search box to restore the full list.

Scoped to the Page

Each page's search only matches the entity type on that page and respects any column filters or sorts already applied. Reach for global search (⌘K) when you need to look across multiple entity types at once.