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Global Event Search

Search across all events in your calendar with powerful filtering and quick navigation.

Overview

The Global Event Search modal provides a fast way to find and navigate to any event in your current calendar. Unlike the toolbar search which filters the visible calendar, this modal shows all matching events in a searchable list.

Command Palette

  • Open command palette (Ctrl/Cmd + P)
  • Search for "Open global event search"
  • Press Enter

Hotkey (Recommended)

  • Assign a custom hotkey in Obsidian Settings → Hotkeys
  • Search for "Open global event search"
  • Bind to your preferred key combination (e.g., Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + F)

Basic Usage

Search Events

  1. Open the global search modal
  2. The search input is automatically focused
  3. Type to filter events by title
  4. Results update in real-time as you type

Event Information

Each event in the results shows:

  • Title: The event's name
  • Type: Visual indicator (🔴 Timed, ⚪ All-day, 🔁 Recurring)
  • Date/Time:
    • Timed events show start and end date/times
    • All-day events show just the date
  • Recurring Indicator: Shows if the event repeats

Quick Actions

Two buttons appear for each event:

Open

  • Opens the event's note file in the editor
  • Use this to edit event details or content

Navigate to

  • Switches calendar to week view
  • Navigates to the event's date
  • Opens the event's note file
  • Use this to see the event in context with surrounding events

Filtering

Three cycle-filter buttons let you narrow results by event type.

Filter Buttons

Each filter button cycles through three states when clicked:

  1. Normal (default) - Shows all events
  2. Only - Shows only events of this type
  3. Skip - Hides events of this type

The cycle order: Normal → Only → Skip → Normal

Available Filters

Recurring

  • Normal: Show both recurring and non-recurring events
  • Only: Show only recurring events (have RRule property)
  • Skip: Hide recurring events

All-day

  • Normal: Show both all-day and timed events
  • Only: Show only all-day events
  • Skip: Hide all-day events

Skipped

  • Normal: Show both skipped and normal events
  • Only: Show only skipped events
  • Skip: Hide skipped events

Combining Filters

Filters work together. For example:

  • Only Recurring + Skip All-day = Shows only recurring timed events
  • Only All-day + Skip Skipped = Shows only all-day events that aren't skipped

Use Cases

Find Specific Events

Search for events by name across your entire calendar:

Search: "dentist"

Instantly see all dental appointments regardless of date.

Review Recurring Events

Filter: Only Recurring
Search: (leave empty)

See all recurring event series in one list.

Check All-Day Events

Filter: Only All-day

View all full-day events like holidays, deadlines, and birthdays.

Find Skipped Events

Filter: Only Skipped

Review events you've skipped to decide if you want to restore them.

Search: "project kickoff"
Action: Navigate to

Jump to an event from months ago to see what else was scheduled that week.

Tips

  • Auto-focus: Search input is focused automatically when modal opens, start typing immediately
  • Event Count: Bottom of modal shows total matching events
  • Color Rules: Events display with your configured color rules
  • Global Filters: Respects calendar-level filter rules from settings
  • Physical Events Only: Only shows actual event files, not virtual recurring previews

Keyboard Navigation

  • Enter - Opens first event in results
  • Escape - Closes modal
  • Ctrl/Cmd + F - Re-focuses search input (if focus moved)