What On-set Global Search Actually Looks In

On-set global search returns three groups: scenes, shots, and takes. The interface filter reads “All / Scene / Shot / Take,” and the search field prompts for “Name, number, notes, or clip name.” That prompt does not mean every visible piece of text participates in matching, because each result group looks at a defined set of content; when a term does not appear, first check whether the information belongs to one of those sets.

Search can match the strings that currently participate in matching, not every piece of text that happens to be visible somewhere in the project.

What scenes, shots, and takes each look at

Scenes match scene number, scene name, and summary. Shots match shot number, description, and notes. Takes match the take number, take notes, and the camera strings shown on the page, including a reel name shaped like A001, a clip number shaped like C001, and the combined form; the string that participates is the same one a person can read in the interface rather than a separate user-facing identifier.

Take numbers and text content also use different matching rules. A take number is matched as a complete numeric value, so searching 12 can match take 12 but does not match take 112 merely because the digits are contained inside it; scene names, summaries, descriptions, notes, and camera strings use case-insensitive containment. When looking up a take number, treat it as the complete take number rather than as a fuzzy text fragment.

Why dialogue does not appear here

Words in the script body are outside global search matching, so dialogue, character names, and parentheticals do not enter these three result groups merely because they appear in the script text. A slugline is retained as the scene name after import, but the slugline itself is not stored as a script-body item for this search path; What a Slugline Is Made Of and How Int./Ext. Is Guessed from Slugline Delimiters cover how that scene-heading information is formed.

Also outside matching are shooting-day values, episode name and notes, project name, and camera-definition details such as lens, ISO, frame rate, camera model, notes, and sound roll. Timecode, duration, rating and status, file paths, continuity-media category, and continuity-media notes are outside matching as well, so the presence of those values elsewhere in the project does not make this search field their lookup surface.

Other boundaries on global results

Global search is limited to the current project, and an empty query produces an empty result set, so there is no mode where an empty search term browses the project records. The result view offers no user-controlled sort, no pagination, and no search history; scenes marked omitted can still appear when their matching content fits the query. When checking a known record, search with information that actually participates in matching instead of inferring the range from what happens to be visible on another screen.

The receiver should confirm which participating content contains the information being located; when it is outside that set, use scene-by-scene review instead.

“Currently supported query fields” is only a description of the interface range a reader can verify, not a claim about result volume, hit quality, or response speed. If the question is which handoff column receives a given note, Where a Note Is Written Determines Which Handoff Column Receives It covers that mapping; handoff columns should not be read backwards as a list of search fields.

Why the same term differs across four search surfaces

Global search is not the only search surface: the sidebar, schedule mode, and the scene-selection dialog each have their own matching range. The sidebar prompts for scene name or notes and, in scene mode, stays inside the currently selected episode; schedule mode filters inside each shooting day and hides a day block when nothing inside it matches; the scene-selection dialog matches only scene number and scene name, after already excluding scenes that have been scheduled.

When the same term produces different matching sets in four places, start the check with “which search field am I using?” Global search reads its three record groups, the sidebar reads its scene scope, schedule mode filters inside each day, and the scene-selection dialog carries the additional “unscheduled scenes” condition; they are not four presentations of one shared result list.

FAQ

What three result groups does global search return?

It returns scenes, shots, and takes; scenes match scene number, scene name, and summary, shots match shot number, description, and notes, and takes match the complete take number, take notes, and the displayed camera reel and clip strings.

Why can a line of dialogue return no result?

Dialogue, character names, and parentheticals in the script body are outside global search matching; use scene-by-scene review when the information to locate exists only in that script text.

Does searching 12 also match take 112?

Take numbers use complete numeric equality, so 12 corresponds to take 12; text content uses case-insensitive containment, which is a different rule.

Why can the sidebar and global search return different results?

Their participating content and pre-filtered scope differ; first identify the search surface, then interpret the result according to that surface’s matching range.

Axiom One LLC — SlateX. Figures current as of 24 September 2026.