Skip to main content

New and Improved - Global Search (Early Access)

An entirely new Global Search is coming to Synergy!

Updated this week

Edition: Professional, Business, Enterprise

User-level: All Users


Overview

The new Global Search turns the search bar into a primary navigation tool in Synergy:

  • Users can quickly jump to any record in a couple of keystrokes

  • Results are more forgiving of typos and variations

  • Rows are designed to be recognisable at a glance, with key context for each result

  • Behind the scenes, we combine improved keyword search with Azure AI semantic search to interpret intent and context

Everything happens in a single, powerful dropdown — there is no separate Search page.


Access & Entry Points

The Global Search bar now lives on the left side of the top navigation, alongside other primary tools.

Users can:

  • Click into the search bar to start typing

  • Use a keyboard shortcut to open it instantly

    • The hotkey to use is / (forward slash)

  • See recent items or recent searches when the bar is focused but empty, making it easy to get back to ongoing work

    • Recent Searches: displays last 3 search queries, clicking re-executes the search

    • Recently Selected: displays last 10 selected results with full result cards

Note: If you open a result in a new tab, it will not be captured in “Recently Selected”


Supported Objects

Global Search supports searching across:

  • Projects – number, name, external name, site address, CRN, status, key contacts

  • Invoices – invoice number, linked project, contact, PO number, status, due date

  • Contacts – name, email, phone, organisation, job title

  • Documents – name/title/extension, linked project, folder, uploaded by

  • Emails – subject, from/to, linked project, content snippet

  • Staff – name, job title, email

Each object type has a tailored row layout so users can quickly distinguish between similar results.

Out of scope for this release: Reports, Bills and Purchase Orders, external storage (e.g. SharePoint), and advanced AI “insights” queries. These are candidates for future iterations.

Would these additions or any others improve how you use find things in Synergy?

We want to to hear your thoughts!
Leave your feedback on the Feedback Forum.


Search Behaviour

The new Global Search supports a broad range of queries:

Keyword & Identifier searches

  • Project numbers (e.g. PN-10432, P0456)

  • Invoice numbers (e.g. INV-1023, INV1023)

  • Client / contact names (Rufus Design Group, John Smith)

  • CRNs and PO numbers (CRN 04934905, PO 12345)

  • Email addresses and phone numbers

These are boosted heavily so they appear at the top when matched.

Fuzzy & forgiving search

Search is tolerant of minor spelling mistakes and punctuation differences:

  • Kings ~ King’s

  • Jonh Smith ~ John Smith

  • Synonyms and abbreviations (e.g. CRN ↔ Client Reference Number

Natural language search

You can use natural language to search by combining entities with context.

Try queries like:

  • "invoices for project X"

  • "documents for project X"

  • "overdue invoices"

  • "active projects in Sydney"

Note: This feature is in early development. Feel free to experiment with different phrasings—if it doesn't work as you'd expect, let us know through feedback. We'll be improving this feature in future releases.


Dropdown with Infinite Scrolling

The dropdown is the only results surface - it’s where all search results live.

How it behaves

  • As the user types, the dropdown shows up to 30 results initially

  • Results are ordered by relevance, recency, and intent

  • Users can scroll in the dropdown to load more results (infinite scrolling)

  • Matched terms are highlighted within each row

  • Recent items / recent searches appear whenever the search bar is focused and empty

There is no separate Search page. All discovery, navigation, and refinement happens inside the dropdown.

Ranking principles

  • Exact identifiers first – project number, invoice number, CRN, email, etc.

  • Entity importance and usage – projects/invoices/contacts tend to appear higher for generic queries

  • Recency & popularity – recently opened or modified items get a small boost

  • Semantic relevance – used to rank conceptually similar results when no exact match exists

  • Permissions always apply – users only see results they’re allowed to see

Keyboard navigation

Users can fully operate the dropdown via keyboard:

  • Arrow keys to move up and down the list

  • Enter to open the selected result

  • Esc to close the dropdown

As users scroll, more results are fetched and appended, up to the internal limits.


Limitations & Out of Scope (Release 1)

  • No Reports, Bills or Purchase Orders in search results yet

  • External document stores (SharePoint) are not indexed

  • Document search is limited to titles/names/metadata, not full file contents

  • Some advanced predictive/AI queries (e.g. “projects at risk of running late”) remain future enhancements and are not part of this release


We'd love your feedback on the Global Search - anything we missed, anything you'd love to see in the future?

Head to our Feedback Forum to leave your feedback and suggestions.

Did this answer your question?