Version: 2021.1
Unity Search
Filtering searches

Using Search

To use Search, do the following:

  1. Launch Search
  2. Search
  3. Perform actions on items in the results

Launch Search

There are several ways to open the Search window:

From the Unity menu:
Choose Edit > Search All.

Shortcuts:

Shortcut: Function:
Ctrl + K Open Search in the state it was in the last time you used it.
- The last search term you used appears in the search field.
- The last changes you made to the filter configuration are still in effect.
Alt + Shift + M Start a search for menu items only.
Alt + Shift + C Start a contextual search. The scope depends on what has focus when you open the Search window.
- If the Hierarchy window has focus, Search searches Scene items.
- If the Project window has focus, Search searches Project Assets.
- If any other window has focus, Search opens as though you used the Ctrl + K shortcut.

Tip: You can change the keyboard shortcuts used to launch Search from the Shortcuts Manager.

Searching

To perform regular or special searches, type a query into the search field.

For most search queries, using the Search All window and the default Asset index created with your project will find your content effectively.

Regular searches

A regular search uses all regular Search Providers unless you exclude them.

  • To perform a regular search using all active Search Providers, enter the search terms in the search field. Results appear as you type.

  • To only display results for a specific Search Provider, prefix the search terms with the Search Provider’s search token.

    A search token is a text string that you can use in the search field to search using only a specific Search Provider.

    Press the Tab key with your cursor in the Search field to view a list of prefixes, or select one from the More(:) menu.

The following table lists regular Search Providers and their search tokens:

Provider: Function: Search token: Пример:
Project Searches Project Assets. p: (for “project”) p:Player

Searches for Assets that match the term “Player”.
Hierarchy Searches GameObjects in the Scene. h: (for “hierarchy”) h:Main Camera

Searches the current Scene for GameObjects that match the term “Main Camera”.
Menus Searches the Unity main menu. me: me:TextMesh Pro

Searches the Unity main menu for commands that contain “TextMesh Pro.”
Settings Searches all Project Settings and Preferences. se: se:VFX

Finds Project Settings and Preferences pages that match the term “VFX”.

Special searches

A special search is opt-in: Search only uses special Search Providers when you perform a special search.

  • To perform a special search, prefix the search terms with the Provider’s search token.

    Press the Tab key with your cursor in the Search field to view a list of special searches, or select one from More Options(:) menu.

The following table lists special Search Providers and their search tokens:

Provider: Function: Search token: Пример:
Help Searches the Quick Search help. ? ?asset

Searches for Quick Search help entries containing the word “Asset”.
Calculator Computes mathematical expressions. = =2*3+29/2

Calculates the answer to the expression 2*3+29/2.
Command Query Searches for items that support a specific command. > >select

Searches for Scene items that you can select.
Files Searches for files find: find:Paint Mat

Searches for all assets paths containing the words paint AND the word mat (e.g.: PaintBrush_Mat.mat, DryWallPainted_Mat.mat)
Objects (Prefab or Scene indexes) Searches for objects o: o: asteroid

Searches all Scene or Prefabs indexes for GameObjects containing the word asteroid in their name.
Static API Method Finds and executes static API methods. # #Mesh

Searches for static API methods with “Mesh” in their names.
Packages Searches the Unity package database. pkg: pkg:vector

Searches the Unity package database for packages that match the term “vector”.
Asset Store Searches the Unity Asset Store. store: store:texture

Searches the Unity Asset Store for Assets that match the term “texture”.
Resource Searches for loaded resources. res: + optional sub-filter res: t: texture

Searches all loaded resources, and returns Texture type resources only.
Saved Queries Searches for saved queries q: q:enemies

Searches all Search Query assets containing the word enemies.

Navigating search results

Use Alt + ↑ (up arrow) and (down arrow) cycle through the search history, or choose a saved search from the left pane.

Performing actions

After you search, you can perform actions on the items Search returns in the Preview Inspector pane or through More Options () . The actions you can perform depend on the type of item.

For example, if Search returns a package, you can install/uninstall it. If Search returns an Asset, you can select, open, or highlight it in the Hierarchy window.

To find out which actions you can perform on different types of items, see the pages for individual search filters in the Regular searches and Special searches sections.

Default actions

Every type of item has a default action.

To perform the default action for an item do one of the following:

  • Double-click the item.
  • Select the item and use Enter.

Note: You can edit the default actions in the Search section of the Preferences page.

Additional actions

Some items support additional actions that you access from the Preview Inspector menu.

To access the additional actions context menu for an item, do one of the following:

  • Right-click the item.
  • In the item entry, select More Options ().

You can also use the following shortcuts to perform additional actions on a selected item without opening the contextual menu:

Shortcut: Function:
Alt + Enter Second action
Alt + Ctrl + Enter Third action
Alt + Ctrl + Shift + Enter Fourth action

Drag and drop actions

Some Search Providers (for example, the Asset and Scene providers) support drag and drop actions. You can drag items from the results area to any part of Unity that supports them, for example, the Hierarchy window, the Scene view, or the Inspector.

Unity Search
Filtering searches