Global Search – Find Everything with a Single Keystroke

Why a Global Search Makes All the Difference

Managing a choir means working with many different pieces of information at the same time. Sheet music needs to be found, events are coming up, members have questions, and somewhere in the notifications there was something important. Until now, that meant navigating to the respective section, opening the right page and manually scrolling or filtering until you find what you are looking for. For a choir with hundreds of scores, dozens of events and active communication, this can cost a surprising amount of time.

The new global search in Chorilo changes this fundamentally. Instead of searching individual sections one after another, there is now a single place where everything can be found. Sheet music, events, notifications, members, choirs and even cashbook entries – everything is searched simultaneously, and results appear instantly as you type. The concept is familiar from Spotlight on the Mac or the search function in modern code editors: one search field that finds everything.

How to Open the Search

The search is accessible in two ways. The fastest way is the keyboard shortcut. On Mac, press Cmd+K; on Windows and Linux, press Ctrl+K. An elegant search window immediately opens in the centre of the screen, the cursor is already in the input field, and you can start typing straight away. Alternatively, you will find a magnifying glass icon in the top navigation bar that opens the search with a click. Both methods lead to the same result.

The keyboard shortcut Cmd+K or Ctrl+K was deliberately chosen because it has established itself as the standard for quick search in modern applications. Anyone who uses Slack, Notion, GitHub or VS Code already knows this shortcut and will feel right at home in Chorilo. It works from every page, regardless of whether you currently have the sheet music overview, the calendar or the member list open.

Fully Keyboard-Accessible

A special feature of the global search is its complete keyboard accessibility. You do not need to touch the mouse a single time to find and open a search result. After opening with Cmd+K, you type your search term. Results appear instantly, even while you are still typing. Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate through the result list. The currently selected result is highlighted in colour so you always know where you are. Press Enter to open the selected result, and the search closes automatically. If you decide not to open anything, simply press Escape.

This consistent keyboard support makes the search particularly fast in daily use. Hands on the keyboard, Cmd+K, type a few letters, press the down arrow twice, Enter – and you are at the right score. The entire process takes just a few seconds without your hands leaving the keyboard.

What Gets Searched

The global search covers six different categories simultaneously. In sheet music, titles, composers, arrangers and lyricists are searched. So if you search for a particular composer, you immediately find all associated scores. For events, titles, descriptions and venues are considered. Searching for a concert hall therefore shows all events taking place there. Notifications are found by their title and content. For members, first name, last name and voice part are searched, so you can quickly find the right contact. Choirs themselves are also searchable – particularly useful if you are active in multiple ensembles and want to quickly navigate to a specific one. Finally, cashbook entries are also searched, including description, counterparty and reference number.

Results are displayed grouped by category. At a glance, you can see which scores, which events and which members match your search. Each result shows the title, additional information such as the composer or venue, and – if you belong to multiple choirs – a colour-coded badge with the name of the associated choir.

Filters for Targeted Searches

Sometimes you already know which area you want to search. The search offers two filtering options for this. First, you can filter by choir: if you are active in multiple ensembles, you can restrict the search to a specific choir. Second, you can filter by category. The categories sheet music, events, notifications, members, choirs and cashbook are available as quick filters. One click on a filter restricts the results immediately; another click removes the restriction.

Both filters can also be combined. So you can specifically search only the sheet music of a particular choir or only the events of a specific ensemble. This keeps the search clear and precise, even in large organisations with extensive data.

Data Protection and Permission Management

The search only shows you content that you actually have access to. Chorilo checks the permissions of the logged-in user with every search request. If, for example, you do not have permission to view the cashbook in a choir, you will not find any cashbook entries in the search results either. The same applies to sheet music, events and notifications: results only appear where the corresponding permission exists.

Particular care is taken with sensitive member data. Fields such as IBAN, email address, postal address or phone number are only searchable if the searching user has permission to view this data. A regular member will therefore not find another member by entering an IBAN number – this search remains reserved for people who hold the appropriate rights in the permission management system. The same applies to custom member fields that may contain sensitive information.

Instant Results Thanks to Full-Text Search

The global search is powered by a high-performance full-text search engine specifically optimised for fast and typo-tolerant searches. In practice, this means results appear in real time, even while you are still typing. After just two or three characters, relevant matches are displayed. The search engine also tolerates small typos and finds results even when the search term does not exactly match the stored text. If you accidentally type "Bacch" instead of "Bach", you will still find the right scores.

Should the search engine ever be unavailable, Chorilo automatically switches to a direct database search. Results may come slightly slower, but the search continues to work reliably. Users typically do not even notice this switch.

Direct Navigation to Results

Every search result is a direct link. Clicking on a score or confirming it with Enter takes you immediately to the detail view of that score. Selecting an event takes you directly to the event view. Clicking on a member takes you to the member overview of the associated choir. And selecting a choir navigates you directly to the choir details. Navigation happens as an internal redirect without reloading the entire page. This makes the transition fast and seamless.

A Tool for Everyday Use

The global search is not a feature you try once and then forget. On the contrary: it quickly becomes the most-used tool in Chorilo. Instead of clicking through menus, you simply press Cmd+K and type a few letters – and you are instantly where you want to be. This applies to choir directors who need to quickly find a particular piece, just as much as to the treasurer searching for a transaction, or the choir member who wants to know when the next rehearsal is.

The search is available in the Chorilo web application and works across all your choirs. Try it out: Cmd+K on Mac, Ctrl+K on Windows – and you will be surprised how much faster you can navigate through Chorilo.