# Search finds nothing

Why a search in Nest comes back empty or misses a file you know exists, and what to try instead.

A search that finds nothing is usually looking in the right place for the wrong thing. Each heading below is something you might see, with the reason and the fix.

## No results found

![A magnifying glass above the lines No results found for zzqx and Try a different search term or adjust filters.](https://www.sorviai.com/help/nest/find-files/no-results.png)

*Nothing you can reach has a name close to what was typed.*

**Why:** no file or folder name is close enough to what you entered, or a filter is hiding the matches.

**What to do:** set both filters back to **All types** and **Any time**, then try a shorter or different word from the name.

## A file I know exists doesn't appear

**Why:** one of these, most often the first.

- **The word is inside the file, not in its name**: Search reads names only. Search for a word from the file's name instead.
- **It's in a folder shared with you**: Files inside a shared folder aren't searched. Only files shared with you directly are.
- **It's in a team folder you don't belong to**: Ask to be added, or ask for the file to be shared with you.
- **It's in Trash**: Deleted items are left out. Look in Trash and restore it.
- **There are more than 20 closer matches**: Use a more distinctive word, or filter by type or date.

## Nothing happens as I type

**Why:** search starts after two letters.

**What to do:** keep typing. One letter is too little to match on.

## The page says Search Nest

![A magnifying glass above the heading Search Nest and the line Use the search bar in the header to find files and folders.](https://www.sorviai.com/help/nest/find-files/search-start.png)

*The results page with nothing searched for yet.*

**Why:** you've opened the results page without a search, for example from a bookmark with the search removed.

**What to do:** enter what you're looking for in the search bar at the top of the screen.