nextcloud / nextcloud/notes

Add "Find in Current Note" (Ctrl+F) to the Web Interface

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feature request needs discussion
Dominant language
JavaScript
Stars
738
Forks
162
Avg merge
6h 2m
Merged PRs (30d)
35

Description

Feature Request

Summary

The web version of Nextcloud Notes provides global search across notes, but it currently lacks a way to search within the note that is currently open.

For users working with long notes, documentation, procedures, inventories, or knowledge bases, finding specific information often requires manually scrolling through large amounts of text.

Current Behavior
  • Global search can locate notes containing a keyword.
  • After opening a note, there is no way to search inside the current note.
Expected Behavior

Add a standard "Find in Current Note" feature similar to what users expect from text editors and web browsers:

  • Ctrl+F keyboard shortcut
  • Search box inside the note
  • Highlight all matches
  • Previous / Next result navigation
  • Available in both viewing and editing modes
Why This Matters

Many users use Nextcloud Notes as a lightweight knowledge-management system rather than only for short notes.

Common use cases include:

  • Technical documentation
  • Procedures and operational guides
  • Server and infrastructure records
  • Project documentation
  • Personal knowledge bases
  • Reference information

In these situations, notes can become very long, making in-note search an essential usability feature.

Additional Context

The Android Notes client already supports searching within a note. Bringing similar functionality to the web interface would improve consistency across the Nextcloud ecosystem.

My Use Case

I maintain a large collection of plain-text (.txt) files synchronized through the Notes folder and use Nextcloud Notes as a central knowledge repository.

The lack of in-note search is currently one of the main limitations of this workflow.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by locating the web interface entry points for the open note and compare the viewing and editing paths; the issue does not name specific files or tests. Review how the Android Notes client provides in-note search for useful behavior to mirror. Done means Ctrl+F opens a search box, matches are highlighted, previous/next navigation works, and the feature is available in both modes.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
javascript
Domain
frontend, web-dev
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
52/100

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