How to Use Smart Search
Master advanced search syntax and choose the right tool for your task
Choose Your Search Tool
🔍 Smart Lookup
Best for: Browsing and selecting records from filtered results
- See all matching records in a clean table view
- Click any row to select it directly in your sheet
- Perfect for data exploration and record selection
- Great for databases and inventory management
Extensions → Smart Search → Open Lookup
📍 Smart Search
Best for: Google Sheets-style search with navigation and filtering
- Navigate between matches with arrow buttons
- Apply Google Sheets filters to matching rows
- Mimics default Find functionality with superpowers
- Ideal for large datasets and quick navigation
Extensions → Smart Search → Open Search
Search Syntax Basics
AND Search (space by default)
Find rows that contain all of the terms:
honda civic 2025
Finds rows containing “honda” AND “civic” AND “2025”
OR Search (comma by default)
Find rows that contain any of the terms:
civic,accord,crv
Finds rows containing “civic” OR “accord” OR “crv”
Advanced: Separator Operator
Use the separator (colon by default) to match specific parts of cell values
Starts With
:pvc
Finds “pvc” but not “upvc” or “cpvc”
Ends With
1.7:
Finds “1.7” but not “1.75” or “2.17”
Exact Match
:4:
Finds exact “4” only, not “14” or “40”
Customize Your Operators
When to Change Default Operators
❌ Problem with Defaults
Your data contains spaces and you need to search for exact phrases
new york office manager
✅ Custom Solution
Change AND operator to “.” and search becomes:
new.york.office.manager
Popular Operator Combinations
For Programming Data
- AND:
& - OR:
| - SEP:
:
error&warning|critical:2025:
For Text-Heavy Data
- AND:
. - OR:
, - SEP:
*
new.york,chicago*branch*
Configure Default Operators
Access Operator Settings
Go to Extensions → Smart Search → Configure Operators
Set your preferred AND, OR, and Separator characters
Settings are saved per spreadsheet for different use cases