Search, filters & views

Creating a search / search nodes

You can use flexible views on any list created in Tana, but they are particularly useful for search nodes. You can create a new search by running the command Find nodes (Cmd-K or Ctrl-K to open the command line). This command allows you to narrow down on what you are looking for step by step. For example, we might say that we want to find all nodes with the tag #book, with the field topic=Greek.

This results in a search node, which is dynamically kept up to date with the whole graph - any new node added anywhere that fulfills the criteria of the search will appear, and any node which stops fulfilling the criteria of the search (for example removing the tag #book from any of the nodes) will disappear from the search.

The nodes themselves are references, just like any reference you might create yourself, and can be expanded and edited directly from within the search.

You can view and edit the search expression itself by clicking on the Query button. This is a very simple search (find all nodes with the tag #book), but you can construct complex search queries.

You can also create new nodes as children of a search node. The nodes created from within search nodes actually end up living in your Daily Node, and a reference will be put in the search node. As far as possible, Tana tries to set up the node to match the existing search query and active filters.

Live Search/search expressions

Different views - list, table and cards

You can view a list (any list, not just searches) using a variety of views. The default is the List view, but Table view and Cards view are very powerful, and will be introduced here. There is also tabs view, which you need to turn on in the Tana labs, and we plan to introduce many more. To change the view, click on the View button (for non-search nodes, you might have to use "Show view options" from the context menu or command line first).

Table view

In table view, you can see the various fields used in the nodes as separate columns, that can be edited directly in the view. You can choose which column(s) to sort by, and which columns to show.

You can also add new columns. If you add a regular column, any node where you enter a value will get this field added to the node (the field will not be added to the supertag template automatically). If you add a contextual column, this data "lives" on the parent node, and will show up in the Reference section of the node it relates to.

Filters let you narrow down on nodes that fit a specific criteria, for example all Books about Greece, or all books by a specific author. You can select multiple values for a specific field to include using shift+click, and you can combine multiple filters. You can also filter by whether a field has a value or not.

Tables

Sorting

Cards view, grouping

In cards view, you see each node as a card. You can choose any of the fields available to group by, enabling you to easily create a kanban board, group nodes by category etc. You can drag cards from one column to another, which will also edit the value of that field. You can also use Add+ to add a new card, which will have the field of the grouping automatically set.

You can also choose fields which are displayed on the card even when it is collapsed. Cards can always be expanded and edited.

Note that grouping and display fields are also viewable in the list view

Cards View

Grouping