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.
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 — full numbers or fragments; see Searching by Phone Number below
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
Searching by Phone Number
You rarely remember a whole number — usually it's the last four digits on a missed call. Type whatever you have and Cardinal finds the contact. Punctuation and spacing are ignored, so (503) 555-1234, 503-555-1234, and 5035551234 are the same search.
- Four or more digits match anywhere in the number —
1234finds a number ending in 1234, and5551matches from the middle - Three digits read as an area code —
503returns every contact with a 503 number - Extensions are searchable on their own:
x204,ext 204, or#204 - International numbers work by typing them from the country code:
+4420narrows as you go
Results show the number that matched, with the matching digits highlighted, so a contact with several numbers tells you which one hit.
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 — narrow to Unread by me or Unread by everyone, matching the inbox's per-person read state
- :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.
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.