Using the advanced search dropdown is already a great way to get complex searches of your tasks. But to really level-up your search skills, you need to start putting query language to use!
Search Fields
Fields refer to certain information that might be recorded for a task, such as date, tag, etc. To search a specific field in a task, type the name of the field, followed by a colon and the search value in parenthesis.
For instance, to search for tasks with the tags VIP and At Risk, you would type tag:(vip AND at risk) in the search box.
The following fields can be used in search queries. ❗️Please Note: The field names are case-sensitive.
Search Field | Format | Example |
title: | text | title: review |
notes: | text | notes: blog post |
tag: | text | tag: urgent |
attachment: | text | attachment: Q2_graph.png |
assignedTo: | text | assignedTo: name@mycompany.com |
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dateCreated: | yyyy-mm-dd | dateCreated: >2020-01-01 |
dateCompleted: | yyyy-mm-dd | dateCompleted: >=[-7 days] |
lastModified: | yyyy-mm-dd | lastModified: >[-1 days] |
dueDate: | yyyy-mm-dd | dueDate: <[+14 days] |
dueTime: | "HH:MM" must be in quotes, can be 12- or 24-hour format | dueTime: "08:15 pm" |
duration: | number of minutes | duration: 120 |
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crossedOut: | true or false | crossedOut: true |
repeats: | true or false | repeats: true |
hasDueDate: | true or false | hasDueDate: false |
hasDueTime: | true or false | hasDueTime: true |
hasReminder: | true or false | hasReminder: false |
hasNotes: | true or false | hasNotes: true |
isSubtask: | true or false | isSubtask: false |
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numTags: | number | numTags: >0 |
numAttachments: | number | numAttachments: 0 |
numAssignments: | number | numAssignments: 1 |
numComments: | number | numComments: 0 |
numSubtasks: | number | numSubtasks: >0 |
numOpenSubtasks: | number | numOpenSubtasks: >3 |
numArchivedSubtasks: | number | numArchivedSubtasks: >0 |
❗️Please Note: Open refers to tasks in the Active portion of the queue. It doesn't matter if they are crossed off or not. It's just that Open is the opposite of Archived.
Operators
Search operators are key for creating more complex queries.
Parentheses are used for logical groupings, and quotes can be used to search for exact phrases.
For example, to search for tasks named revise meeting minutes or edit meeting minutes, enter title:(“revise meeting minutes” OR “edit meeting minutes”) in the search bar.
The following boolean operators can be used to search in GQueues:
AND
OR
NOT
For instance, if you want tasks that are tagged today or urgent but not tagged home, you could write tag:((today OR urgent) NOT home) in the search box.
The following numeric operators can be used with the number fields and date fields in search queries:
>
>=
<
<=
No spaces are allowed between an inequality sign and the value following it.
Relative dates
Relative dates are super useful if you plan on saving your search for use over and over again. To use a relative date, type the number of days + or - from today in square brackets. Today is 0, anything in the past is negative ( - ), and anything in the future is positive ( + ).
For example, to create a search for all tasks that have been completed in the last 30 days, type: dateCompleted: >=[-30 days]
The timeframe you want to search is 30 days.
The 30 days is negative because you're searching for tasks completed in the past.
The numeric operator is >= (greater than or equal to) because you want all results greater than -30 (30 days ago, 29 days ago, etc.)
If you save this search, whenever you view it, it will recalculate the dates based on the current date so you always see tasks from the last 30 days, not the 30 days prior to when the search was created.
To search for all tasks overdue or due in the next 2 weeks, type dueDate: <[+14 days]
The timeframe you want to search is any time in the past and 14 days into the future
The 14 days is positive because you're searching for tasks due in the future.
The numeric operator is < (less than) because you want to include all tasks due before 2 weeks from now. This includes all negative values, so any overdue tasks are automatically returned too.
You can also put brackets around the word today for a search that will always look for tasks dated on the day you perform the search. A search for dueDate: [today] OR tag: urgent will return any tasks due today or marked as urgent.
Special characters
The following are considered special characters in search, because they are used in the search syntax itself:
* ! : & | ( ) { } [ ] - + ^ " ~ /
If you want to use one of these characters in your search term, you should either put it in quotes or escape the character by putting a backslash ( \ ) before it.
For example, if you have tag urgent! and want to search for tasks with this tag, you would search tag:“urgent!”
You could also search tag:urgent\!
If you need help formatting your query language or you’re not sure why your search isn’t pulling up the expected results, reach out to our customer care team! We’re here to help 😊